NamelessTed

As long as you are applying the TIM properly, you should be able to use pretty much anything on the market. I just replaced the TIM on my 660Ti with IC Diamond and it is working amazingly. I am overclocked to 1215 MHz on the core and am sitting nicely at 72C (room temp of 27C). Before I was getting upwards of 78-80 and the GPU was throttling.

Dude, you need to use a different site to host the images. Imgur is free and easy to use. And they don't paste ads on top of every single image, and you can embed them onto pages and the forum. I didn't even look at the build because of the ads.

Great choice going with the Define R4. My original case was a Corsair 300R and I moved to the R4 and have not regretted the decision at all. Case has been really fun to build in. And the build quality is out of the world compared to other cases. As far as your cooling solution goes. If you are planning on getting an H100 and replacing the fans then I would personally suggest you take a look at getting a Swiftech H220. Yes, it costs more than the Corsair coolers but you won't need to replace the stock fans. I can tell you from experience that the H220 can be extremely quiet if you want it to be.

I feel like the Fractal Design Define R4 should be on the list. The H100 will be able to fit in the top in a push or pull config. It is also able to mount in the front of the case in a push or pull config. The list on the main page lists this as a mod to the case because the drive bay has to be moved. It seems strange to call this a mod considering it was designed by Fractal for that very purpose. it just unscrews and screws back in to a different set of holes.

Just to jump in on the discussion of the 240mm rads mounting on the top of the Define R4. I just bought a windowed version about a month ago, and it would appear that they have updated the top panel slightly since the initial release. My version of the case still has the same 140mm and 120mm mounting holes that you have probably seen in pictures and videos. But, it they also now have a second set of 120mm holes that are offset a single space. Most people were just mounting the radiators through the hexagon holes with a washer but now you can just mount straight into the new set of holes.

I saw your build on Reddit and commented on it. I just saw it here again and I can't resist. I love that build. So fucking clean. I have only had my Define R4 for a bout a month and have already rebuild in it twice, and am going to be doing it again soon if I finally convince myself to delid. I really think I am going to move my SSD to the back and my HDDs to the top bays like you did. I just fucking love how clean that is. And it allows for a super think 240mm rad in the front for expanding the H220 loop.

I am currently running my rig with the new Swiftech H220. So far I think it is going to be a great cooler, and it has me excited to expand it in the future. I started out with an H80 about a year ago, and I was happy with it. Then it developed a noise so it got RMA's just a few weeks ago and it was replaced by an H80i. I very much dislike the H80i. The physical installation was all pretty much the same, but the thicker tubes seemed to get in the way a little bit more. Then I had a few problems with the software and such. For a basic AiO cooler I think the button on the H80 and H100 made way more sense to use than shitty software. But now I have an H220, and I love it. As shown by Linus' benchmarks, the temps out of the box with this thing beat everything else on the AiO market. I really like the mounting mechanism that Swiftech uses for the CPU, making it easier to mount than the H80i. The tubes also feel looser and easier to move and adjust compared to the H80i. One frustration with block is that the way the tubes come out the sides, the left tube rubs up against the heatsink on the mobo. It is possibly most motherboards wouldn't have this problem, it might just be with the way ASUS placed them on the P8Z77-v pro. I like the way the fans are mounted on the H220. They provide separate short screws to mount the fans on the rad, and since I have mine top mounted, in a pull config, I can then just mount the fans straight to the case. One frustrating thing about mounting the H80i is that they provide longs screws that go through the case, fan, and then into the rad. So you have to balance the case between the radiator and case, and feed the screw through and fiddle with it until you get it in the rad and get it threaded. Also, the included fan controller is a great value add. It isn't anything too fancy, and you can just stick it anywhere on the backside of a case with the pre-applied double sided tape. You can plug up to 8 fans into the thing, which is plenty for the kind of setup where an H220 makes sense. I can only assume you would want a more powerful pump if you were using something like a 4x120mm radiator. Also, the way I have my H220 plugged in is that I have the 4-pin from the pump plugged in to my CPU header and then have the 8-port fan controlled plugged into the CPU_optional header. This way I can control/monitor the pump separately from the fans. It works out quite well. tl;dr: I really like the H220 so far. I would highly recommend it to anybody looking to buy any sort of AiO water cooler.

Just keep watching sites that have the product listed, but out of stock. I checked Newegg a couple times a day and saw them instock one minute, and sold out the next. I finally grabbed one last week when it was briefly in stock. As soon as I put my order in, the page showed it was out of stock again. Just keep checking, or just wait a couple of weeks to a month. By then I would imagine Swiftech would start to catch up on stock. Who knows though, it might just keep selling out for a while longer.

Because it performs better. That is kind of the point, right? Higher quality radiator, pump, and cpu block. If you check out Linus' retest of the H220 you will see that the H220 with stock fans @1100RPM outperforms every other AIO cooler that they tested. H220 w/ Noctua @ 1100rpm - 58.5C H220 w/ stock @ 1100rpm - 62.1C H100i w Noctua @ 1100rpm - 71C All these temps are on a 3930k @ 4.0GHz, 1.35V I double checked prices. In the US right now it would cost $155 to buy an H100i and two Noctua NF-F12 fans. That is $15 more than the H220 at $140. What possible reason could there be to choose the cooler than runs 8C hotter and costs $15 more? If you were expanding why would you not continue to use the radiator that comes with the H220? You would just add a second radiator to the loop, not replace it.

We are definitely looking at this completely differently. I assume you would advocate going with a custom water loop as it would offer the best performance, which is totally understandable. If somebody is looking to get an AIO and has absolutely no plans on adding a GPU to their loop then the absolute only reason not to buy the H220 is budget limitations. In that scenario I would agree that it might make sense to go with an H100i with the stock fans. However, a person is going to spend any extra money replacing the stock fans on the H100i or similar coolers it makes way more sense to put that money into buying an H220 and use the stock fans as it will outperform all of the other coolers according to Linus' benchmarks. In terms of expanding the H220, I would love to see more benchmarks. A custom loop will almost certainly perform better than an expanded H220, but I wonder by how much. At the very least the $140 for the H220 is a good starting point that somebody could easily add a second radiator, a couple of fans, and a GPU block since you already have a CPU block, pump, and rad with a small reservoir built in to it. I just don't see any argument for using an H100i over the H220 unless a person has a strict budget and they just can't afford it. Even then, it would probably make more sense to maybe wait and save up for another month or two and get the H220.

This is a super simple decision to make. Check out Linus' benchmarks and the H220 is the clear winner and the best possible choice. The H220 w/ stock fans at 1100RPM runs 8C cooler than an H100i with Noctua fans at 1100RPM. So, $140 for the H220 OR $100 for H100i + $40 for two Noctuas = $140. Two things cost the same price, one runs 8C cooler than the other. Plain and simple.

One thing that I had to do with my H80i is plug it in to a different USB header on the motherboard. Not sure if it was a bad header or something else but it made Windows recognize it. It should be something quick to test.

Dang, I was really hoping they would move to a different day. I always work Friday nights so I never get to watch live. I guess I will have to continue watching the archive on Twitch.tv.

Not sure what firmware you are currently on, but they have 1.0.5 available on their forums. Hopefully the firmware fixes the issue. I'm just glad I ordered an H220 to replace my H80i. My H80 was fine for what it was, but the H80i has given me some serious headaches with the software.

Both the Noctue NH-D14 and the Define R4 are great options. I haven't used a Noctua but have only heard good things about their performance. I just recently upgraded my case to the Define R4 and I absolutely love it. I have both of the 140mm fans that it shipped with as intakes in front connected to the internal fan controller on the lowest settings and they are extremely quiet and move enough air to keep my setup cool.

Alright, I got it all figured out for now. The problem was that Corsair Link wasn't recognizing the H80i. I plugged it in to a different USB header and it started to work. I set the profile to silent and it is much quieter. The default setting had the fans cranking away at 2000RPM. The silent profile has a range of around 800-1300RPM so it is a major difference. Everything seems to be working well right now but I don't think I could recommend the H80i (or presumably the H100i) to anybody looking into getting a closed loop cooler. All they managed to do with this new line of coolers is make them more complicated than necessary.

I really hope the solution isn't to get different fans. There is no way I am spending more money on this for crap products. I am trying to get Corsair Link to work and can't figure this out for the life of me. The software shows temps and whatnot, but it doesn't seem to recognize that I am using the H80i. It doesn't give me any settings to decrease or increase the fan profile. The H80 was much simpler with the hardware button.The worst part is that the pulsating almost echoes through my whole room. I hear the primary sound, and then I hear a quieter pulse that sounds like it is coming from the right of me, I think i might go insane.

Ok, so this has been a long process. I originally had the H80 and it seems solid. the fans didn't seem to make much noise, but there was an issue with the pump making some strange sounds, like there was air in it or something. It was intermittent, didn't make a lot of noise, but was noticeable. The fans themselves were fine. So while I have had the H80 off for RMA I have had my Intel stock cooler in. In my 300R this thing was pretty loud, and the worst part was how it would speed up and slow down almost constantly. So no I have a Define R4, and the Intel stock heatsink and fan were very quiet in the system, but the temps were obviously hot. I just installed the H80i cooler that I got back from the RMA process and it is killing me. On idle, this thing is making quite a bit of noise. Under load, it is crazy loud. The worst part is that is has this short pulsating noise. It goes up and down pretty quickly and is noticeable whether I am idle or under load, though it is much worse when under load. Do the fans on the H80i just have problems? Did I get a bad kit? These things are crazy loud. I would say the H80i fans at idle are twice as loud as the Define R4 case fans are at maximum. I am going to be pissed if I have to take this whole thing apart after I got it all installed and got all my cables run very nicely where they need to go.

From recent experience, getting a silent case makes a HUGE difference. So, while my H80 was away for RMA I have been using the stock Intel cooler. This thing is loud as fuck. I had it running in my 300R and I could hear it like crazy. The worst part is how it just spins up and slows down, that noise is so annoying. So, last week I got a Fractal Design Define R4 and it is amazeballs. I transferred my whole system over two days ago, even though I still don't have my H80 back. When I first turned it on I thought it didn't boot because it was so quiet as well as there being some background noise. I can hear it now, but it is a ridiculous amount more quiet than it was. This is also the model with the side panel window so the version without the window would presumably be even quieter. The Define R4 gets two big thumbs up from me and I would highly recommend it to anybody looking for a new case.

The 900D might be what you are looking for. It is going to be something like $350 but it is an absolute beast of a case. I posted two video links below. The TTL video is long as fuck and will show you everything about the case whereas the Linus video is still long, but shorter by comparison and will give you a solid run down of the case. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4XPxLD0GNI

The Fractal Design Define XL R2 supports e-atx as well as xl-atx according to their website.

I think there will be an ITX case coming from Corsair soonish. A few months back there was a forum post on OCN from one of the guys at Corsair asking questions about what people consider the most important features of an mITX case. It could be a while until we see something, but I think it is safe to say that something is in development.

Nice find on the images. Looks pretty slick. I definitely want to see some more details of what is going on inside that case. It doesn't look like the top mounts are offset but rather they just included more headroom to support a 240mm rad up top, specifically their own. I can only assume the front will also support a 240mm rad, but who knows. That is also a huge window, very impressive if you have internals that you really want to show off.

Oh, the Newegg page changed. It originally showed the 350D at $100 and the case with the side panel at $110. These might have been placeholders, although that pricing wouldn't surprise me as it would mirror the pricing of the Fractal Design Define Mini, which will be Corsair's primary competitor with this case.

If you already have a single 660Ti then I would recommend getting a second one and run them in SLI. If this is a new build, or you are upgrading from a generation or two ago then I would go with the 7970.