Need Advice on cooling solution

[andrew63447]

I just purchased all of my parts for my new build on the egg except for the last piece... a CPU cooling solution

Budget is $300 US but less cost is better if it satisfies the requirements
CPU: i7 3770k
Target OC: 4.5 GHz
Case: CoolerMaster HAF X 942
Mobo: ASUS Sabertooth Z77
RAM: 16 GB Corsair Vengeance (4GBx4)
Graphics: EVGA GTX 670 4GB version
All other components of the build seem irrelevant to me but if you need them I will provide them


Just looking for a great cooling solution for my new comp preferably with some nice aesthics and glowy awesomeness, DOES NOT HAVE TO BE WATERCOOLED.

Also if watercooling is recommended I will be using DI water because its free from work.

Final Note: the kit and or components need to be in stock so I can actually buy them in the next 24 hours

 

[rubix_1011]

These are questions only you can answer; none of us can tell you what you need for a cooling solution.

You don't need anything other than the stock CPU cooler if you wish, so it really depends what your goals and expectations are.

 

[andrew63447]

Alright, so my expectations are to run the 4.5 oc as a constant while maintaining temps under 60c @ load
I was under the impression that air coolers would not be able to maintain that and uv reactive stuff is awesome anyway

If aircooling will do that fore me then awesome, aside from that i was leaning toward the xspc rasa or raystorm

 

[baddad]

This will do http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186058

 

[andrew63447]

just so I'm clear the recommendation is to get a good air cooler not worry about the maintenance aspect and put awesome lighting inside instead of liquid

 

[rubix_1011]

If you are going to overclock that i7 3770k as its likely going to pump out some ravenous heat. I'd consider at least a very good air cooler or consider a decent intro watercooling kit like an XSPC RX or EX 240 kit.

 

[andrew63447]

after some consideration I'm pretty sure on installing one of the XSPC raystorm kits is one 360mm rad enough to cool the cpu, graphics and possibly a second graphics card later or am i better off piecing together my own setup?

My only concern of piecing together my own custom loop is that im new to watercooling and dont want to forget somthing and delay my build any further

 

[rubix_1011]

after some consideration I'm pretty sure on installing one of the XSPC raystorm kits is one 360mm rad enough to cool the cpu, graphics and possibly a second graphics card later or am i better off piecing together my own setup?

This depends if you will be overclocking anything or running at stock. It seems you are wanting to run the CPU OC to 4.5ghz. This likely puts your CPU TDP in the range of 120-130w or so...your 670 (and possibly 2x) run about 170w TDP at stock. With that, you are still looking at under 500 watts which is quite do-able. You might consider one of the Raystorm kits with the DDC or D5 pump upgrade if you are going to possibly be adding 2 video cards to the mix.

 

[andrew63447]

I'm having difficulty locating the XSPC Raystorm RX360 kit in stock, Newegg doesnt have the greatest selection of real watercooling stuff and frozencpu is out of stock for the intel waterblock :-( . Can anyone help me out with a reputable dealer or will I be fine saving the $20 and grabbing the EX kit instead?

Any thought on color choices for the tubing? Interior is mainly black due to the sabertooth thermal armor with red corsair vengeance ram and the red case fan in the front.

 

[rubix_1011]

Can anyone help me out with a reputable dealer or will I be fine saving the $20 and grabbing the EX kit instead?

There is a list of online retailers in the watercooling sticky.

Any thought on color choices for the tubing? Interior is mainly black due to the sabertooth thermal armor with red corsair vengeance ram and the red case fan in the front.

This is possibly a choice only you can make? I vote white.

 

[andrew63447]

I finally ordered this system...went with blue for the UV tubing
http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=59_202_972&products_id=33590
I went with the UV blue for tube, I might look at other colors or mixing it up when i order the GTX 670 waterblocks once theyre released

 

[andrew63447]

Best answer selected by Andrew63447.

 

[andrew63447]

thanks everyone especially rubix

 

[rubix_1011]

NP, anytime. BTW, there's a new sticky now.