h 2 o cooling

[MADe]

I decided to revisit this 1 more time, I kind of wrote it off due to the accident factor here. 1 and done!

I have been looking at closed loops for just the cpu. It would be equivalent costs for air or water cooling. I like the idea of buying something that's already primed and sealed. But on a number of units, I see peeps squawking bad parts, split hoses......

What is it I want to see in these units to convince me they ain't gonna leak, EVER!? I have a HAF 932 case and a 4 fan radiator will fit on top case just fine.........

so far its an ARTIC brand for my choice.
 

[Skuzzy]

The only CPU cooler I would recommend, which would NEVER leak, is made by Noctua.

[Bizman]

Yupp. Liquids and electronics just don't mix well.

That Noctua was set as counterpart in a comparison review of liquid coolers. Not only did it cool at least as well as the wet ones, it also was quieter.

[Skuzzy]

It is the one I use on my systems.  Inside the Fractal Design case, I have, you cannot hear it run.

[MADe]

Now skuzzy do I have to quote rule 4. he he
 

[MADe]

Yupp. Liquids and electronics just don't mix well.

That Noctua was set as counterpart in a comparison review of liquid coolers. Not only did it cool at least as well as the wet ones, it also was quieter.

You hav'em link to said comparisons?

[Skuzzy]

Now skuzzy do I have to quote rule 4. he he
 

Actually, I answered with the best answer I could, but you could technically nail me with a violation of rule #2.   Then again, I could have hit you with a rule #5 violation...technically speaking.

[MADe]

LMAO
 

I needed a good chuckle.

[Skuzzy]

If you really want to get down to it.  The latest generation air coolers, such as the one I linked to, are liquid coolers.  They use heat pipes, which contain a liquid.  They are just more portable than the radiator based coolers.

[Gman]

I ran a Noctua NHD14 for 4 years on a system that was o/c from 3.8 up to 4.4, and only switched it off when the power went out due to storms - guys with AIO coolers or closed loops could overclock that same chip up to 4.6, 4.7 at most, but for the associated cost, pita, and risk of leaks, why bother.

I'd considered doing a loop in one of my systems just to see if it performed much better, still have 2 EK water blocks for the 1080 cards, but put a D15 cooler on that cpu instead, only a mild overclock, but it works pretty well.

I put the first AIO I've bought in a system recently too, NZXT Kraken - for the money, may as well have just bought another D15.  The Nocuta ARE ugly as hell though, painting the beige fans or changing them out helps.  A bit.  If you have a closed case, it doesn't really matter anyway, and so far as sound goes, the Noctua CPU coolers I never found to be really that loud in the first place.

[Bizman]

You hav'em link to said comparisons?

It was in Mikrobitti magazine #3/2015: https://summa.talentum.fi/article/mb/uusimmat/viileammin-vedella/236877

Since you'd have to register to read the article and online translators don't translate Finnish well to any language, here's a summary:

Noctua NH-D15 vs. SilverStone Tundra TD02-Lite, LC-Power LC-CC-120-LiCo and Antec Kühler H2O 950. The Noctua was the quietest, 34.1 dB idle/46.8 full load vs. 47.7/54,8, 40.1/54.9 and 45.3/59.6. The NH-D15 also was the coolest at full CPU load. The liquid coolers were of closed loop type for easy install and they all were of the same price range.

You might also like to read this, especially the temperature and noise charts plus the conclusion: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/corsair-h70-liquid-cooling-radiator,2757-6.html

[Krusty]

I've been using the Antec Kuhler H2O 620 closed circuit loop on my GPU for a while now with good/great results. I'm not using it to overclock or anything -- I'm just replacing a whirlwind-sound-level stock fan and on hot summer days with no AC it would really drown out any enjoyment I had playing games. Some copper heatsinks for the RAM and this keeps me on moderate GPU temps even at max load, and I can hear the game I'm trying to enjoy.

No leaks or drips or anything. I ordered that back in 2012 (dayum, hard to believe it's been that long!) so take this as a testimonial for reliability. I do sometimes have to remove the fan and vaccuum any lint/hair off the radiator, but you'd have to do that anyways.

[Gman]

Using the H70 as an example isn't a very good example of an AIO cooler - those smaller units, especially the older ones don't perform nearly as well as the newer, larger ones.  Compare a newer 280mm sized unit from say Swiftek, NZXT, or even Corsair to the D15, and you'll find that they perform largely the same - you can usually push a CPU a bit higher with the AIO cooler if you crank its settings, but not a whole lot.  The smaller H70/80s will work, and allow modest o/c, but IMO if you're going that route you may as well have stuck to air cooling in the first place.

There is a huge difference between all in one h20 coolers and custom loops with their own separate res, pumps, and water blocks.  The cost goes way up, as does the o/c potential, but it's still a pita, lots of fittings and piping to do, and with each one so increases the risk of a leak or failure IMO.

The shop I used told me that they've had very, very few AIO coolers fail and leak, but you can read on various forums that while uncommon, it still happens frequently enough.  I look at like this - if you can afford a custom h20 loop, you can afford for it to leak and fail and replace things anyway, or if you're into high o/c, you should expect failures anyway, leaks or otherwise.  The D14/D15 is probably a better/safer option for most typical pc gamers than an AIO, however the AIO now are pretty reliable, but I keep an eye on the one I have now a lot more than I look at the other noctua cooled systems. 

There are a pile of articles/comparisons of the D15 vs higher end AIO - http://www.relaxedtech.com/reviews/noctua/nh-d15-versus-closed-loop-liquid-coolers/3

Most give the D15 either 3rd, 2nd, sometimes 1st place - considering it's air, and much cheaper...


My D15's are only a couple months old, but my D14 is 4 years old, and still has 2 years warranty left, that I'm pretty confident won't be needed.

[MADe]

hmm! I wonder if I should just buy a refrigerator and mount he stuff their. Couple of holes to pass cables.....or just place the HAF case in a refrigerator....

[Gman]

I've seen pictures of that being done - entire PC inside a cooling box.  No idea on how it works.