you have a point, since the rad can remove heat more efficiently (more surface area) than a reg air cooled heatsink you can use slower fans (thus quieter).
woo hooo.. 100 posts, king of spammers on a roll
you have a point, since the rad can remove heat more efficiently (more surface area) than a reg air cooled heatsink you can use slower fans (thus quieter).
woo hooo.. 100 posts, king of spammers on a roll
I disagree. I have seen many water cooled loops which look like crap, not all water cooling looks good and believe me , you get what you pay for. The less you spend the worse temps and overall appearance you will get.
These days water cooling is a very sound alternative to air cooling, honestly my entire rig now (water cooled) is quieter than what it was before with a stock Intel cooler and an 8800GTX with the fans at max. As a bonus my temps never go past 36*c under load, even while playing Crysis or other games with maxed graphic settings.
For a HTPC you could get away with upgrading your CPU cooler to a larger Thermalright passive cooler and do the same to your graphics card. If you wanted to water cool you could easily cool both your listed CPU and GPU on a single 240mm or duel 120mm radiator (depending on case space). You put Noctua or Nexus fans on your radiators and your system will be whisper quiet.
Water cooling is a viable option, just depends on your budget.
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we see "Viable" differently. Especially in this case (the OPs comp), water cooling adds a lot of complexity by adding water to the inside of an electrical devise for 1.
Than add a bunch of hoses where each end has fittings that are also possible leaks.
Throw in a rad (or several) a pump, and a res (if acrylic a major chance for leaks) and not to mention several hundred dollars in cost.
Yes it "can" be quieter but it can be noisier as well. My 9600GTs run in the 20-30C range passive cooled on air.
If you put a bit of effort into it you can make an air cooled comp that works very well that is nearly silent and dosent use the added complexity H20 cooling brings to the mix. The Noctua fans could just as easily be used on air cooled heatsinks without the added complexity.
That dosent even take into consideration that 99% of comp users have no clue what parts to buy or how to properly screw in a fitting with a o-ring seal. Thats not to say H20 cooling is bad, just it should be used where needed. For this comp it is not (there is a big difference in a 8600GT and an 8800GTX)
The only watercooling system I've built was a Zalman Reserator setup for a friend. After the installation, his Thermaltake Xaser case (11 fans!) was left with only 3 - 120mm fans, on the lowest setting. The machine was more stable, and definitely quieter. The Reserator uses an external reservoir with passive cooling fins on it, and a near silent pump. There is an available optional fan to clip onto the top of the res, and it too is really quiet.
If you really want quiet and cheap, you can just upgrade your system fans to the quietest ones you can afford. An upgraded cpu heatsink makes a huge difference too, so dont skimp on that either.
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You will actually find that using small bore fitting and hose will actually allow you more space to move within your case. How can you call this Link bulky?
I'm not saying he should water cool I'm just sating it is still an option and he should be getting information from other sources just not a single individual.
Yes water cooling can leak, that's why you leak test with the system powered down for 24 hours+ before powering on the system. IF you get coolant on your components with no power flowing through them then they will be fine. The first system water cooled system I built only had 1 minor leak which wasn't my fault, one of the Swiftech fittings had a crack in it. Believe me, with proper help in selecting components and constructing the loop it is very hard to stuff up.
And that is why he is posting here, so we can help him and instruct him on the best way to make a system.
@ Vital - If you are still considering water cooling you may want to look at Alphacool products. They use small hoses by stock and are reasonably priced and excellent quality. Koolance also use small stock hoses but can be a little bit more expensive. The reality any product on the market can be tailored to be used in almost any system, just depends on the fittings you use.
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LOL, unless the single individual had 100X more experience with just about everything than most do.
Leaks are very common over time, O-rings break down, hoses break down, fittings get cracks (especially acrylic parts) and pumps can fail too.
As to getting water on parts with no voltage, most mobos (and parts with capacitors) store voltage even while unplugged. Throw some dust into the mix and its even worse.
Water cooling is FAR from the best way to make a system. The best way is to take all the hardware and the purpose of the comp into consideration and make a recommendation based on his requirements/costs/needs/talent level.
Now that would be a good log to see..
I have a very tight budget, so I am just purchasing some quieter fans, a VGA cooler and a new CPU cooler. Also a new power supply. I think it should be fine. I really don't plan on doing any thing intensive like 3d benchmarking, just the occasional game or two and lots of movies. But thank you all, for your opinions. I would like to try water cooling in the future, when I have some money to spend and can do it properly.
By system I meant a loop.
Water cooling is for the niche crowd. It overly out performs air cooler and in my experience I have found it to be far quieter. I am an enthusiast. I am willing to pay the extra for a silent and cooler system.
As I said before. In this case water cooling isn't necessary but is still an option if Vital wants to give it a go. And if he wants extra info there are many people who visit the forum regularly who are seasoned experts in the field.
As for getting components wet. By unplugging your PSU and pressing the power button on your PC the system will try to boot off the little power remaining in the battery and capacitors, it will suck all the power and wont be able to boot. The PC now has no charge. I have used this many times before.
Sorry for the hijack Vital
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I like Cooler Master's stuff. It's not the most powerful, but it gets the job done. As for silent fans, grab some Scythe S-Flex fans. They work, and they are dead quiet. Swiftech blocks don't corrode as fast as many I've seen. They also seem to draw more heat.
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