Sealed water cooling system noob

[axlrose]

So, I'm thinking of upgrading my cpu and motherboard soon and I love a function on an MSI board that I've seen that will overclock the CPU for me. I'm also thinking of trying watercooling for the first time as it will be my first time overclocking. I have been reading about the Antec Kuhler H20 920 and wondering if anyone has any opinion/experience with it? This doesn't require a water block (wrong term???) like a full blown liquid cooled system right?

 

[rubix_1011]

No, it is a sealed LCS (liquid cooling system) that only requires it to be mounted and a place for the radiator...there are no user-serviceable parts and everything you need should come in the box.

Good luck...if you need more details, let us know.

 

[axlrose]

I have plenty of space in my lian li case, but tell me more about the radiator. maybe that's what I was thinking about. I know some cases i looked at talked about having a space at the top of the case where you could mount something externally that was part of the lcs.

thanks.

 

[rubix_1011]

Not sure what you mean...the pump and CPU block are integrated into one piece, the tubing then connects to the radiator...I'm almost positive it's a 120mm sized rad with high FPI like the Corsair and Antec's...so high CFM/static pressure fans are a good idea.

To mount an LCS externally, you need to determine how to get the radiator outside, and the pump/block to remain inside without modding or disconnecting the 'loop'. It can be done, but no reason to void a brand new warranty. You are likely going to need to mount the rad internally somehow.

 

[Motopsychojdn]

Yup, thats a 120 on the rad, The way I usually see those things hooked up is on the inside of the case where the rear fan goes,so from the front of the case its fan>radiator>casepanel, if I ever used one I'd add a second fan on the outside as well, so it was a pushpull set up
Heres an Asetek video showing how they set it up, with both fans inside the case, you may not have room to do it that way, but then again you may
http://blog.antec.com/videos/introducing-the-kuhler-h2o-920-cpu-cooler/
I assume your not up for building a proper loop or using a kit, it has to be a sealed unit?

Moto

 

[JackNaylorPE]

The 920's radiator mounts to the case rear at the location of an existing 120mm fan that must be removed. The 920 is the highest performing self contained cooler ever tested at BNR site but it is a bit noisy. I'd consider the 620 as an alternative whicle while it won't match the 920's performance it is a very quiet and high perming cooler. It outperforms the H50 and H70 (when the H70 is on comparable fan setting where it isn't too load yet).

http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=721&Itemid=62&limit=1&limitstart=5

http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=694&Itemid=62&limit=1&limitstart=4

The one issue you with these coolers is that w/ MoBos w/ 3 or more GFX slots, the high placement of the 1st PCI-E slot results in the radiator hitting the GFX card in that slot.

BTW, all enthusiast MoBos have auto overclocking features. But w/ SB, it's so straightforward that they are really unnecessary and you can get significantly higher OC's doing it yaslef.

 

[chesteracorgi]

You can go with the Antec H20 920 or, if you are not going to do extreme OC'ing go with the Antec H20 620. If you like you can add a second fan to the 620 in a push-pull configuration and get something close to the 920. The Antec seem to provide better cooling than the Corsair because of larger, more flexible tubing.

 

[axlrose]

Thanks for all of the fabulous information. Let me digest it all and see if there are other questions that arise or answers to provide you with for your questions.

Thanks again.