Water cooling vs. SSD?

[blazer9131]

Hey,

My birthday just passed yesterday, and my friends got me a 150dollar giftcard to Microcenter, so instantly, two options popped into my mind.

Both options require me to add an additional 100 dollars which I'm willing to do..

First option I have is getting an SSD. I'm going to wait on this till 3rd gen comes out in mid-feb/early march (hopfully). I'll be getting a 120/128GB SSD, and that'll run me about 250 dollars... (estimating from the current prices)

The second option is a Water cooling system..

Right now my system on air is at 3.5GHz with a max temp of 84C under 100% load.. It's a perfectly fine and stable system at the moment. Water cooling would drop those temps by alot (From what I'm reading, anyone with first hand experience, please help me out. This will be my first WC'd system).

With WC I'll probably have to chip in an extra 50 or so..

Of course, with water cooling comes a whole new wave of research. So far I've looked up the components of a WC kit which costs 300 at Microcenter. Newegg doesn't have a kit, but all the parts inside are available. So far it's rated pretty well.

CPU block: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835108113&Tpk=Apogee%20XT
Radiator: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835108086&Tpk=MCR220
Pump: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835108082&Tpk=MCP655
MCRES-Micro Revision 2 reservoir (Not on Newegg, but other sites rate it well)
Mount: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835108084&Tpk=MCB120

And it comes with a SmartCoils 625 40 inch clear tube..

http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0326142

Online price: 240.95 + 7%tax + ~$20~ shipping = ~$280~
Microcenter price: 299.99 + 3.5% tax = ~$310~

I can also buy parts seperatly from microcenter, but that would probably cost more..

~also, my case has a CPU-socket hole? so I can replace the HS/F pretty easily without taking the entire computer apart~


Thoughts?


My current system is brand new. i7-950, Sabertooth X58, OCZ Gold 6GB DDR3 1600, 850W Corsair modular PSU, GTX580, HAF 932 Black, Prolimatech Megahalems Rev.B.

 

[joelmartinez]

What fans are you using on your current HSF those temps seem real high if you installed everything correctly, hopefully you are using fans.

SSD is the better choice.

 

[blazer9131]

Oh, I'm sorry, I ment to say 74C.. Haha, didn't double check. Hopfully that's not too high. I'm using a push/pull config of CM R4-L2R-20CR-GP (120MM RED LED Coolermaster's, 2000RPM)

 

[aznshinobi]

http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=26994

^ Theres a whole set for your parts that is cheaper.

As for WCing, expect everything to become cheaper. 32nm has proven to the entire overclocking community that WC isn't needed anymore. 32nm chips (IE SB and Bulldozer) have shown to be able to OC to 4.6ghz on a stock cooler and 5.1ghz on a Hyper 212+ w/ Asrock Extreme4. The only thing is that you won't be able to pick up any SB builds now. So if you wait, WC parts may or may not get cheaper, probably not but I think you should return all your parts if possible and just hold out 2-3 months for the 32nms to drop in Q2-Q3.

But... Otherwise, 74C is fine for the 950's on load. But at only 3.5ghz that doesn't seem right? Even the Hyper 212+ with Push/Pull P12s can keep a 3.8ghz 950 under 60* Course that's the 920, but still..

http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum/hardware-canucks-reviews/19383-cooler-master-hyper-212-plus-cpu-cooler-review-11.html

 

[blazer9131]

http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=26994

^ Theres a whole set for your parts that is cheaper.

As for WCing, expect everything to become cheaper. 32nm has proven to the entire overclocking community that WC isn't needed anymore. 32nm chips (IE SB and Bulldozer) have shown to be able to OC to 4.6ghz on a stock cooler and 5.1ghz on a Hyper 212+ w/ Asrock Extreme4. The only thing is that you won't be able to pick up any SB builds now. So if you wait, WC parts may or may not get cheaper, probably not but I think you should return all your parts if possible and just hold out 2-3 months for the 32nms to drop in Q2-Q3.

But... Otherwise, 74C is fine for the 950's on load. But at only 3.5ghz that doesn't seem right? Even the Hyper 212+ with Push/Pull P12s can keep a 3.8ghz 950 under 60* Course that's the 920, but still..

http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum/hardware-canucks-reviews/19383-cooler-master-hyper-212-plus-cpu-cooler-review-11.html

Oh yeah, thanks Shinobi, that is pretty good. However I'm limited to Microcenter cause of my gift-card.. Unless I can sell the card somewhere for atleast $140 (the card has $150 on it)

 

[aznshinobi]

Ahhh, then get the SSD. Actually hold off on getting the SSD, since you have SATA 6 (SATA III) Then you can get the Vertex 3 when it comes out that should prove to be a great buy. Boasting 480 reads and I forget the writes.

As for the build, can you return everything? I think it'd be better to get an SB or BD build when they come out.

 

[deuketc]

I have both a wc system and an SSD.. I think you will notice the biggest improvement to your system would be the SSD..... However I really think SSD performance/capacity will improve greatly in the near future and prices will drop.. don’t write off water cooling as an upgrade though as good wc parts can last for years, offer excellent cooling, reduces noise and looks amazing. . Whichever you choose both will offer good improvements and you won’t be disappointed.. Good Luck and Happy Birthday

 

[blazer9131]

I can return the CPU but not the Motherboard. *CPU was from Microcenter, and they accecpt returns as long as there's no physical damage, and within 30days, it's been like 20). So it's pretty useless to return it if I'll need to buy the new Mobo..

Plus, the 950 is a great chip and So far it seems there's only a noticeable difference while video-editing and gaming on lower resolutions, when the CPU is forced to do more computations than the GPU. However most of the high-resolution gaming benchs have the 950 ranked better.

Either way, Theres' only about a 20% increase, which is a decent amount, but I'm happy with my current build so there's no problem.

 

[cmcghee358]

For an i7-950, you will see a much greater performance increase from the SSD. imo this is no contest, SSD all the way. And I have an SSD in my latop and my desktop.

By the way, NICE RIG.

 

[blazer9131]

Thanks mate!

Alright, so that settles it. I'll wait for the 3rd gen SSD's.. Most likely a Vertex 3, or one of the Crucial drives (that C300's nice!)

 

[cmcghee358]

I can say with confidence, that you will be quite pleased moving from an HDD OS drive to an SSD. Also I think for your system, the SSD is the next logical upgrade, and it will balance the performance of your computer nicely.

 

[blazer9131]

Best answer selected by blazer9131.

 

[christop]

Hey man check out this set up . I own it and am running my I7 930 at 4.5 ghz with temp around the low 30s at idle.

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/11743/ex-wat-159/XSPC_Rasa_750_RS240_Universal_CPU_Water_Cooling_Kit_Hot_Item.html?tl=g30c83s137

 

[CopaMundial]

I think the general agreement is that an SSD would fit nicely. If you can afford the newer ones when they come out then perfect, if not then the current generation will likely drop in price... perhaps enough to allow you to go with two smaller drives in a RAID-0 config for another little speed boost.

But while you're waiting to see how the costs of those SSD's shape up, you might want to also look more deeply into your temp situation. You paid a decent amount of money for that CPU cooler, and you should probably be getting better results from it.

I would say one of two things is happening. Either:
(a) You're trapping hot, stale air in your case that limits the efficiency of your heat sink or,
(b) You may not have good thermal contact between your CPU and the cooler.

Both are relatively cheap to fix.

First thing I would do would be see what kind of temps you're getting from your other components. If everything is running hot then chances are it's a problem w/ general airflow in your case so maybe look to clean up airflow paths (cable routing etc) or add another/better exhaust fan.
If you check the other components and they're all running pretty cool then it's more likely a poor contact between your CPU and cooler so you would want to remove it, clean the surface, and re-install w/ new thermal paste.

That way you can get the best of both worlds... faster drive w/ SSD, and improved performance/lifespan from cooler temps.

 

[aznshinobi]

Lock up the topic please, Topic has been solved.
But, good advice nonetheless.