Should I Buy Liquid Cooling?

[rocktheicloud]

Hello everyone!

I have a gigabyte motherboard with a Z77X chip, And I currently have my Intel 3770K running at 5 GHz on stock cooling. Idles around 90F, 100% around 210F.

I want to make it run faster, since I do tons of 3-D rendering jobs. every ounce counts. I'm considering buying a liquid cooler, specifically the water 2.0 extreme. Would this allow me to overclock faster? Or have I pushed the CPU to the limit (voltage wise, etc.). I let my gigabyte motherboard automatically adjust the voltage, and it seems to work fine at 5.0. But when I go to 5.2 it gives me a boot failure and asks me to change the CPU speed. Is that voltage related or temperature related?

So in summary, will buying a liquid cooler help me make it run faster, or have I made the CPU run at its limit on stock cooling. Thanks!

 

[rds1220]

First of all you should never overclock with the stock cooler. The stock cooler is good enough for everyday use but it can not handle the extra heat created by overclocking. Secondly 90 celcius degree's is way to hot for tha CPU. You had better downclock it before you fry the CPU.

As for water cooling they are IMO a waste of money. Those closed looped kits don't perform any better than high end air cooling. If you really want to get the effects of water cooling do a custom water loop if not just get a good aftermarket cooler. Either way you have to do something because that is way to hot.

 

[lazyboy947]

Agree'd, u must be insane to attempt 5.0ghz on stock cooling lol The only thing that closed loop coolers give is more spacious look in ur case, but thats not a great reason to spend $100 on an h100 or something. High end cooler noctuas, zalman, phanteks, basically anything ranging from $60-100 lol lower usually a cooler master hyper 212, but rlly at this point anything is better than stock cooling

As for the overclocking part, id maybe post in the oc section, but beside voltages and there being a wall for cpus to reach on non extreme cooling ur partially limited

 

[mcnumpty23]

210f is near enough 100c

as already mentioned there are good high end air coolers

or closed loop water cooling

or custom water cooling

looks like theres also an in the middle water cooling option now

swiftech are getting a lot of press about their h220

comes as an AIO water cooler ready to use--filled with fluid like corsair h100 etc

even has the fans already attached--decent fans as well unlike the h100

but it also has a far better pump and has the option to add further radiators and gpu cooling etc

if you later want to

no impartial reviews yet but think corsair and other AIO water coolers will be worried by it

 

[rocktheicloud]

Thanks for your replies!

So if I'm understanding correctly, a good air cooler vs a water cooler really give me the same performance in heat dissipation?

And if so, should I get the water cooling if I want a more silent machine?

Also, if I get a good cooler, does the cpu even support going over 5ghz lol

 

[jaguarskx]

With water cooling you need to deal with pump noise. I'd rather get a heatsink fan combo that is known to be silent.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608018

Also, unless you love the i5-3770k so much that you are will to buy another one because you killed your 1st one running at 5.0GHz, then you better reset the clockspeed to stock speed.

 

[rocktheicloud]

Sorry I'm a noob, so even the "all in one" water coolers make a racket?

Also, it's not ALWAYS at 210F. That's only on 100% load. It auto adjusts the clock speed and voltage and with that, it idles at 80F. And normal 50% activity at 120-130F. Is that ok?

 

[Deeks]

Closed loop water coolers are typically pretty loud because they have undersized and high fpi rads so they need the high rpms and static pressure to push as much heat off of the rad as possible to keep up. I would get a high end air cooler as stated above here before i would get a closed loop water cooling system. if you want to go custom water loop be pre paired to spend a few bucks ( 250$+ ) . A custom water cooling loop will give you much better performance as well as silence if you get a low fpi rad that is a decent size. For running at 5ghz you should have a high end air cooler or a custom water cooling loops for appropriate cooling temps. Also like mentioned above if i were you i would be putting that cpu back to stock or only a mild OC for a stock cooler.

 

[rocktheicloud]

Thanks so much!

Can anyone recommend a good air cooler that is decently priced, and why it is good? Thx!

 

[payturr]

Brother you SHOULDN'T OVERCLOCK ON THE STOCK COOLER those temperatures, even at idle, are very harmful to your CPU! UNDERCLOCK THAT SOB NOW.
All in one water coolers are alright, they don't make much sounds, most water cooling systems don't make a lot of noise in general (unless you got a bad pump).
EDIT: Some good air coolers are like the Hyper 212 Plus, the Silver Arrow Extreme, etc.

 

[madthomas]

CPU temperatures up to 140F are fine. I mean 140F is maximum for me under heavy performance. Keep your CPU temp low to increase its life.

Also I prefer AIR cooling over liquid cooling.

 

[rocktheicloud]

Ok. Ill look into those air coolers.

People seem to have mixed opinions about water cooling. I have my eye on a "Thermaltake Water 2.0 Extreme" can anyone give their thoughts on that?

Also, I have an iMac that idles around 100F, and 130F at 50%. so I'm not sure how 80F (10 degrees above room) could be harmful.

 

[payturr]

Eh, not a big thermaltake guy. Corsair IMO has better all in one systems.
Also, thats STILL bad xD The average PC's CPU should idle at 34 or so degrees C, and at load 60 degrees C (or 150F)

 

[rocktheicloud]

Um, my computer idles at 26C (80F) so I think it's fine haha

Normal load usually doesn't go over 140F, so it really seems fine unless I'm doing hardcore rendering! I'm still going to buy a new cooler though cause I am stressing the CPU at 210F at 100%.

Thanks for the input on water cooling!

 

[payturr]

You really shouldn't have it overclocked that high on that cooler though man, it's not healthy.
Anyway, any consideration to do open loop water cooling? People like this cause they could cool their graphics card with the rest of the system.

 

[rocktheicloud]

Nah, I'm pretty much looking for a "buy and easily install" cooler, because I need something low cost and I have a tendency for setting things up wrong, and with water + electricity that could be dangerous!!! Lol

 

[Deeks]

For air if you dont want to spend much the CM212 Evo / + is a good cooler for cheap. 25.99 in my area. 40c at idle will not harm your cpu but it is on the higher side. its load temps you have to be worried about. i mean if your idleing at 60c+ then there is clearly some issues but 40c could be from high ambient temp. My water cooled rig changes idle temp depending on ambient. My older core i5 760 ( 4ghz oc ) idles at 40c in my room all though my room at times gets up to 30c

 

[rocktheicloud]

Thanks for the feedback everyone!

 

[Kingtr011]

Yea get off the stock Go high end air or H100i or if your case supports it the new kraken x60

 

[rocktheicloud]

Thanks so much! Ill go check those out right now. Has anyone heard of the "Frio" and is it any good?

 

[rocktheicloud]

Also, I clocked my cpu down to 4Ghz temporarily and now 100% load is 140F (Which sounds fine) idle still at 80-90F.

 

[rocktheicloud]

Oh one more thing, is their anyway I could check my cpu to make sure its ok? haha\

cause some idiot told me online that as long as its under the T.J. Max then it should be ok. (Even though 200F core temp sounded crazy lol)