When to water cool?

g335

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Oct 14, 2008
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Hello

I would like to know when it is a good time to water cool?

I have a GTX 570 with a q6600 I am about to put into a case. I will oc the q6600 and maybe the 570. The q6600(from old computer) is until I can build a SB comp.

I will buy a cpu cooler for the q6600 and the SB once I build it.

How about if I had a GTX 580?
 
Solution
When to water cool comes down to a few things most of all is your budget and what your after for hardware temps i would say if your looking to tweak your system to its full potential go liquid
with my lcs i have found consistent temperatures across the board and more room for overclocking
yes lcs is expensive but keep in mind MOST of your lcs can be used in future builds but... build it properly and don’t buy a cheep kit or you may as well of stuck with air cooling

my air cooled 5850 xfire ran at 45c / 42c idle and 80c / 80c max and my now liquid cooled cards run 34c / 34c idle and 51c / 51c max and i dont have to listen to the crazy loud fans
so if you want to run your hardware at more even temperature , you have the room in...

rubix_1011

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Moderator
^^ Do you know what you are talking about?

I have a Q6600 that has been watercooled since the day it was unboxed...I have mine running at 3.4ghz for most applications (stock is 2.4). At load, it never goes over 45C. I also have SLI GTX 260's that never go over 45C at load...ever, compared to 60-70C at load with the stock coolers.

The only maintenance for watercooling is draining and cleaning your loop once a year or so and refilling with distilled.

So yes, if you have problems feeding your fish once a year, don't watercool. :/
 

rubix_1011

Contributing Writer
Moderator
There isn't a place here for people that want to offer bunk advice without any valid arguments or proof for their arguments. WC builds can vary widely depending on the desired result, budget and preference of the builder.

Come prepared to offer valid arguments if you are going to first criticize and mock.
 

g335

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When will I need to water cool if I can use cpu cooler and buy a pci slot cooler to help cool down gpu?
 

grahamie

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When to water cool comes down to a few things most of all is your budget and what your after for hardware temps i would say if your looking to tweak your system to its full potential go liquid
with my lcs i have found consistent temperatures across the board and more room for overclocking
yes lcs is expensive but keep in mind MOST of your lcs can be used in future builds but... build it properly and don’t buy a cheep kit or you may as well of stuck with air cooling

my air cooled 5850 xfire ran at 45c / 42c idle and 80c / 80c max and my now liquid cooled cards run 34c / 34c idle and 51c / 51c max and i dont have to listen to the crazy loud fans
so if you want to run your hardware at more even temperature , you have the room in your case and dont mind getting off your wallet i would highly recommend the benefits of a well built liquid system
but if your happy with the way your system runs with all air cooling and your temps are all with in oem recommendations air is soooo much cheaper
 
Solution

rubix_1011

Contributing Writer
Moderator
If you have a case with great airflow and good coolers installed (or replacing the TIM on your GPUs with good stuff and reinstalling the stock coolers) you can run air fairly well. The main key is case airflow. No cooler can perform unless it has the airflow to allow it to perform...this includes watercooling radiators.
 

rubix_1011

Contributing Writer
Moderator
You should go for water cooling when ever you feel it is required to as now it has become very common and even people having PC at home are also doing it.

I disagree, but only from a logical standpoint. You do not need watercooling with most current hardware if you have great airflow and properly configured coolers. I am a huge supporter of watercooling, so don't let my response confuse you. While it's not something that is really necessary, there are some great benefits and incredible fun to be had. Graphics cards benefit a great deal from 30C drops in temps.