H100i or Air Cooling?

[McKimS]

Hey guys, 

 

In all of my previous builds, I've always gone with air cooling because it was less expensive, I had experience with it, etc etc. However for the build I'm doing right now, which is a silence optimized build (http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/3wrTx) I found a deal on NewEgg that allows me to get an H100i for ~$120 all in. I was originally thinking I'd go with a Noctua solution of some sort, but I wanted your guys' opinions. ~$120 is the highest I can go.

 

Tl;dr, which should I go with, H100i, Noctua air cooler of some sort (state which you think is best), or another solution?

[Createinator]

Hey guys, 

 

In all of my previous builds, I've always gone with air cooling because it was less expensive, I had experience with it, etc etc. However for the build I'm doing right now, which is a silence optimized build (http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/3wrTx) I found a deal on NewEgg that allows me to get an H100i for ~$120 all in. I was originally thinking I'd go with a Noctua solution of some sort, but I wanted your guys' opinions. ~$120 is the highest I can go.

 

Tl;dr, which should I go with, H100i, Noctua air cooler of some sort (state which you think is best), or another solution?

Noctua NH-D14 will prove to be a better hassle free solution without any worries of leaks. Although, H100i is a great AIO Cooler and you can give it a try if it is well within your budget.

Hope it helps!

[McKimS]

Noctua NH-D14 will prove to be a better hassle free solution without any worries of leaks. Although, H100i is a great AIO Cooler and you can give it a try if it is well within your budget.

Hope it helps!

 

True, but I'm attempting to find out whether or not the H100i is worth the extra cash performance/silence-wise. Aesthetically the H100i is just plain better, but the Noctua coolers have a 6 year warranty that wouldn't be bad to have.

[Heisenbleurgh]

Performance-wise, the H100i will probably do a little better but the difference won't be huge. Watercooling is very interesting technology so there's the added value of trying something new. It would probably be more justified for the learning experience than from the performance gain.

Other great aircoolers are the be quiet! line of Dark Rock, which also look great

[McKimS]

Performance-wise, the H100i will probably do a little better but the difference won't be huge. Watercooling is very interesting technology so there's the added value of trying something new. It would probably be more justified for the learning experience than from the performance gain.

Other great aircoolers are the be quiet! line of Dark Rock, which also look great

 

Man, I was looking at those a year or so ago, and... Well, I was sufficiently moist post-browse. I guess the next question is how long the H100i would likely last, because if it has an expected life of ~6 years, then I might as well just go with the Noctua!

[Createinator]

True, but I'm attempting to find out whether or not the H100i is worth the extra cash performance/silence-wise. Aesthetically the H100i is just plain better, but the Noctua coolers have a 6 year warranty that wouldn't be bad to have.

You will get 2-3ºC cooler temperature when you compare H100i with a Noctua... which is not worth it from price/ performance point of view.

 

H100i does not take up as much space and can be fit into many MicroATX cases while looking neat and gives you the satisfaction and bragging rights of a water cooled PC.

Personally I have never used an AIO solution although I have built 3 custom loops in the past 2 years. I like air cooled systems for peace of mind.

Hope it helps!

[Heisenbleurgh]

Man, I was looking at those a year or so ago, and... Well, I was sufficiently moist post-browse. I guess the next question is how long the H100i would likely last, because if it has an expected life of ~6 years, then I might as well just go with the Noctua!

who needs water cooling when your air cooler gets you wet right

I'm not entirely sure of the expected life of an AIO watercooler, but the aircooler is definitely going to be more worry-free in the long run.

[McKimS]

You will get 2-3ºC cooler temperature when you compare H100i with a Noctua... which is not worth it from price/ performance point of view.

 

H100i does not take up as much space and can be fit into many MicroATX cases while looking neat and gives you the satisfaction and bragging rights of a water cooled PC.

Personally I have never used an AIO solution although I have built 3 custom loops in the past 2 years. I like air cooled systems for peace of mind.

Hope it helps!

 

I'll definitely keep that in mind! Turns out the H100i has a five year warranty, so that's sweet as well. I'll have to think whether or not it's worth the extra money, but thanks a lot guys!

[McKimS]

who needs water cooling when your air cooler gets you wet right

I'm not entirely sure of the expected life of an AIO watercooler, but the aircooler is definitely going to be more worry-free in the long run.

 

Quite moist indeed!

I'll most likely go with that anyway. The clay-brown colour irritates me a bit, but hey, no big deal.

[cae]

For a silence optimized build, I'd never go with an CLC. Noctua (or whatever air solution you find) all the way. CLC high points are its ability to relocate the heat, packaging and installation access to other components, and aesthetics.