Corsair H50 or Megahalems - Which to Choose?

[kailuaboi]

Thread title says it all

I'll be running an i7-930 OC'd inside an HAF 922/932 tower (haven't decided which yet) on a GA-X58A-UD3R mobo with G.Skill RAM that has tall heat spreaders (I've already measured - the megahalems will fit over the RAM, but just barely)

So which should I choose? Also, I will be doing a push/pull fan setup either way

Note: I've always used an air cooler so I'm pretty n00btastic when it comes to the H50 and liquid cooling...


1) Which has better cooling on the i7-930 (which runs fairly hot as it is)?

2) Does the H50 require any maintenance? Like do I need to change the fluid or anything? If so, how often and with what? (Remember, I'm a n00b to liquid cooling)

3) Which fans should I get? I'm looking into the 1800 rpm Scythe "Gentle Typhoons" as they seem to be a great balance of air flow, price, and quietness. Should I get anything else? (Note: I don't want a 4000 rpm fan at 50 decibels - quietness is key here) Also, keep in mind that the H50 prefers are external air intake over the radiator, rather than pushing air out of the system... just in case that makes a difference in fan selection

 

[carnedude]

To #2 the H50 is a closed system so no maintenance.

As far as everything I have read they cool pretty damn close to the same. Just that the h50 loses performance over 4ghz. So in the end Its a matter of looks and size I guess.

 

[kailuaboi]

Great! Thanks for the response


If they both cool the same (I don't plan to OC to anything over 4GHz), and since they are pretty much the same price, then I guess I may as well go with the Corsair since it's smaller and isn't a 3 pound weight hanging sideways off the mobo

Thanks again

 

[kailuaboi]

Well, after reading about these two coolers all last night it would appear that it's a pretty heated argument over which is better (like Republican vs Democrat or Honda vs Toyota or something like that - no obvious winner with clear victories for both in certain situations)... Apparently high-end air coolers (like the Megahalems) are about equal to low-end water coolers (like the H50)


Anyway, as I previously mentioned, I think I'm going to settle on the H50 simply for the reason that it's smaller and I have RAM with tall heat spreaders... but I don't know which push/pull fans to get and which way to orient them (intake vs exhaust since I've read people screaming from both sides saying that their way is better), so I want to ask:


1) Can someone point me to which fans I should use? I want something quiet so the Scythe Gentle Typhoons @ 1800 rpm look good.

2) Which way should I orient the fans on the radiator? Corsair recommends intake (sucking cool air IN from the back of the computer), but my case I'll be using the HAF 932 which breathes really well so I would prefer to orient the fans as exhaust since the air in my tower will already be quite cool and that will keep air flowing through the tower the way it was deisgned

3) Do low-end water cooling kits like this one have a short lifespan?

4) Does the H50 have a bad history of springing leaks and leaking all over your components? What are the odds of something like this happening?

 

[WR2]

They're close enough in performance not to make a significant difference.
4) Too early to know for sure. It's only been out about 8 or 9 months. The bigger problem might be user error when working inside the case.
3) You get what you pay for. At least it has a 2yr warranty.
2) Corsair Hydro Series H50 CPU Water Cooling Kit Review and Corsair Blog H50 Push-Pull
1) Scythe Gentle Typhoons @ 1800 or 1450 would be good.

 

[kailuaboi]

They're close enough in performance not to make a significant difference.
4) Too early to know for sure. It's only been out about 8 or 9 months. The bigger problem might be user error when working inside the case.
3) You get what you pay for. At least it has a 2yr warranty.
2) Corsair Hydro Series H50 CPU Water Cooling Kit Review and Corsair Blog H50 Push-Pull
1) Scythe Gentle Typhoons @ 1800 or 1450 would be good.

Great, thanks for the response.

One last kinda dumb question: Will the one cooler produce more heat than the other? The analytical side of my brain wants to say "no" since the CPU will be generating and dispersing the same amount of heat regardless of which cooler is sitting on top of it... But some of the reviews I read said that the exhausting fans on their towers were like "hairdryers" from how much heat the H50 puts out

 

[WR2]

The major heat producers are the CPU, GPU and motherboard.
Not having a big tower cooler and fan attached to the MB might help air circulation a bit.
But I can't see how anything other than minor differences would occur.

 

[daddyd302]

I have the H50 and I love it. Best part is the install, no wieght at all on the mobo.