Is liquid cooling worth it?

[LandynSilence]

So i'm building a new desktop and i'm wondering if i should go liquid or not.

I really havent done anything yet so use your imagination on all the parts...
maybe i7 or core 2 ______ maybe even an amd in the end

The thing is i have heard that LC is really a sick way to cool but it is a little work

if i build one online at cyberpowerpc they will upgrade to LC for free but i heard you have to switch or refill it again down the road
plus i also am worried about potential hardware destruction if it fails, for that matter how likely is it to fail?

as you can see i'm in the dark about liquid cooling i wont do the install but any info helps...

if it matters i'm leaning to the GTX 260 Nvidia by EVGA in a Apevia-X Jupiter Junior Full Case with upped power to 750

So... Is it worth the money and would you do it if its free?

 

[Why_Me]

LQ is decent if you plan on going for super high over clocks. Seeing how your going to get a pre built, I would hardly doubt you are going to over clock to the moon, if at all. So no, LQ is not for you. Most of us here use air cooling, and it works just fine for over clocking.

Word to the wise...if you use Cyberpower prepared to be screwed. In fact if you use any prebuilt rig for gaming purposes prepared to not get your money's worth. It's like taking your money and flushing it down the toilet.

 

[leo2kp]

Agreed, if you want to liquid-cool, may as well build your own and not only save some cash, but get a better rig out of the deal to actually warrant a liquid system.

 

[LandynSilence]

Ok so that makes sense, but what if it is free?

If i go with i7 i wont overclock but i can choose to LC for free...

 

[stoner133]

It would depend on the quality of the parts they use for the cooling loop. There are a few cheap cooling systems that are made with plastic fittings that get brittle over time and can break. If it's free it can't be the best quality, quality watercooling setups aren't cheap.

 

[daship]

water cooling for a noob, that wont/cant build his own=fail. i7 can reach max oc on air also so water is kinda pointless.

 

[japps2]

they're not going to give you a good LC system for free. A good system starts around $250...and that's just for cooling the CPU. Add in the Northbridge and Southbridge and I ended up spending $650. there are a lot of good resources at overclockers.net and several sites that sell whole kits or parts to build your own.

Oh, I did drop my temps considerably:

CPU - aircooled with Thermalright Ultra 120 lapped = 43C
CPU - watercooled = 32C
both under heavy load.

 

[cjl]

water cooling for a noob, that wont/cant build his own=fail. i7 can reach max oc on air also so water is kinda pointless.

Actually, that isn't really true. Even with a TRUE, my overclock is temperature limited on my i7. I could go to as high as probably 4.4 or so on water if I had it. The i7 runs quite hot, and as a result, good cooling is important if you want to push it to the limit.

 

[LandynSilence]

Ok so i think the parts are what matter

It is i7- 920
6gb ddr3
asus p6t
gtx 260......

but the cooling is

Asetek Liquid CPU Cooling System for free

and the CoolIT Domino A.L.C. Advanced Liquid Cooling System for 11$ more