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Budget Air vs. Budget Water

Brainded

So currently, I'm debating on what to get as a new cooler for my i7-4790k. I'm looking at the CM Hyper 212 Evo and the CM Masterliquid Lite 120. They're only $10 usd apart from each other, but I'm wondering if the performance of the aio is worth the extra $10.

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What case and ram do you have and why are you looking at these coolers in particular?

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For a while I used the AMD stock cooler on the FM2 platform, but eventually switched to a Corsair H55. Didn't lower my temperatures by more than a few degrees, but the noise level was a lot nicer to sit next to.

 

A lot of people say that liquid coolers smaller than 240mm radiators aren't really worth it, since 120mm radiators don't perform that much better than a midrange air cooler. Worth mentioning though, the 4790K overclocked pretty nicely with a decent liquid cooler.

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14 minutes ago, Brainded said:

So currently, I'm debating on what to get as a new cooler for my i7-4790k. I'm looking at the CM Hyper 212 Evo and the CM Masterliquid Lite 120. They're only $10 usd apart from each other, but I'm wondering if the performance of the aio is worth the extra $10.

120mm AIOs and 4 heatpipe 120mm tower coolers will perform about the same

you only need the AIO if your case is limited

I edit my posts a lot, Twitter is @LordStreetguru just don't ask PC questions there mostly...
 

Spoiler

 

What is your budget/country for your new PC?

 

what monitor resolution/refresh rate?

 

What games or other software do you need to run?

 

 

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14 minutes ago, WoodenMarker said:

What case and ram do you have and why are you looking at these coolers in particular?

Some old Antec case but I'm gonna upgrade to the Phanteks P400s soon, 16gb G.Skill RipjawsX DDR3, and I'm looking at them because my 4790k is running 47c idle. They're also both pretty cheap which is a plus.

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4 minutes ago, Brainded said:

Some old Antec case but I'm gonna upgrade to the Phanteks P400s soon

You could get the Kotetsu instead for similar performance and lower noise at a similar price: https://pcpartpicker.com/product/7998TW/scythe-cpu-cooler-scktt1000

If you ever need help with a build, read the following before posting: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/3061-build-plan-thread-recommendations-please-read-before-posting/
Also, make sure to quote a post or tag a member when replying or else they won't get a notification that you replied to them.

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21 minutes ago, Brainded said:

Phanteks P400

You should really buy a case that actually has airflow, like the Masterbox 5 Black, or Mastercase MC500

Or the Silverstone RL06 Pro

Or there's a lot of upcoming cases that look nice. If you have a decently large case buy a 240mm AIO instead of either of those.
 

 

 

I edit my posts a lot, Twitter is @LordStreetguru just don't ask PC questions there mostly...
 

Spoiler

 

What is your budget/country for your new PC?

 

what monitor resolution/refresh rate?

 

What games or other software do you need to run?

 

 

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25 minutes ago, Streetguru said:

You should really buy a case that actually has airflow, like the Masterbox 5 Black, or Mastercase MC500

Or the Silverstone RL06 Pro

Or there's a lot of upcoming cases that look nice. If you have a decently large case buy a 240mm AIO instead of either of those.
 

 

 

P400s has airflow tho

 

Eclipse p400s

 

 

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Just now, Guanzo said:

P400s has airflow tho

 

Eclipse p400s

 

 

If the case has a closed off front you're going to  be limiting your airflow/cooling

The H500P has massive gains when you take off the front panel or replace it with mesh, despite it having 2 200mm fans for intake.
 

 

I edit my posts a lot, Twitter is @LordStreetguru just don't ask PC questions there mostly...
 

Spoiler

 

What is your budget/country for your new PC?

 

what monitor resolution/refresh rate?

 

What games or other software do you need to run?

 

 

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1 minute ago, Streetguru said:

If the case has a closed off front you're going to  be limiting your airflow/cooling

 

The classic debate between airflow and noise then?

CPU: i7-2600K 4751MHz 1.44V (software) --> 1.47V at the back of the socket Motherboard: Asrock Z77 Extreme4 (BCLK: 103.3MHz) CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D15 RAM: Adata XPG 2x8GB DDR3 (XMP: 2133MHz 10-11-11-30 CR2, custom: 2203MHz 10-11-10-26 CR1 tRFC:230 tREFI:14000) GPU: Asus GTX 1070 Dual (Super Jetstream vbios, +70(2025-2088MHz)/+400(8.8Gbps)) SSD: Samsung 840 Pro 256GB (main boot drive), Transcend SSD370 128GB PSU: Seasonic X-660 80+ Gold Case: Antec P110 Silent, 5 intakes 1 exhaust Monitor: AOC G2460PF 1080p 144Hz (150Hz max w/ DP, 121Hz max w/ HDMI) TN panel Keyboard: Logitech G610 Orion (Cherry MX Blue) with SteelSeries Apex M260 keycaps Mouse: BenQ Zowie FK1

 

Model: HP Omen 17 17-an110ca CPU: i7-8750H (0.125V core & cache, 50mV SA undervolt) GPU: GTX 1060 6GB Mobile (+80/+450, 1650MHz~1750MHz 0.78V~0.85V) RAM: 8+8GB DDR4-2400 18-17-17-39 2T Storage: HP EX920 1TB PCIe x4 M.2 SSD + Crucial MX500 1TB 2.5" SATA SSD, 128GB Toshiba PCIe x2 M.2 SSD (KBG30ZMV128G) gone cooking externally, 1TB Seagate 7200RPM 2.5" HDD (ST1000LM049-2GH172) left outside Monitor: 1080p 126Hz IPS G-sync

 

Desktop benching:

Cinebench R15 Single thread:168 Multi-thread: 833 

SuperPi (v1.5 from Techpowerup, PI value output) 16K: 0.100s 1M: 8.255s 32M: 7m 45.93s

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13 hours ago, Brainded said:

So currently, I'm debating on what to get as a new cooler for my i7-4790k. I'm looking at the CM Hyper 212 Evo and the CM Masterliquid Lite 120. They're only $10 usd apart from each other, but I'm wondering if the performance of the aio is worth the extra $10.

I have the i7 4790k too. I had a Corsair H60 (single 120 rad) and it could barely handle the 4790k tbh. While gaming i had spikes in the 80s (on stock!). I upgraded to the Scythe Mugen 5 and even under full load i am not going over 65°, while gaming it sits between 45 and 60°. High end 240 rads are probably worth it, but if you're on a budget i wouldn't recommend you a cheap aio considering the mugen 5 was even cheaper than my previous H60.

Main Rig:

CPU: i7 4790k -> Scythe Mugen 5 (Dual Arctic P12)

MoBo: Asus Z97 Pro Gamer

RAM: 32GB DDR3 1866MHz Crucial Ballistix Sport

GPU: EVGA GTX 1080 Gaming -> Arctic Accelero Twin Turbo ii

PSU: Bequiet Pure Power 10 700W

Case: Bequiet Pure Base 600 

 

Mobile Gaming 1: (XMG Fusion 15)

CPU: i7 9750H

RAM: 32GB DDR4 2666MHz

GPU: RTX 2070 MAX-Q

 

Mobile Gaming 2: (XMG P502 Pro)

CPU: i7 3740QM 

RAM: 16GB DDR3 1600MHz

GPU: GTX 675MX 4GB

 

Ultrabook: (Dell Inspiron 13 5378)

CPU: i5 7200U

RAM: 16GB DDR4 2133MHz

GPU: HD 620

 

Server:

CPU: Athlon II x4 630

MoBo: Gigabyte/Dell 4GJJT

RAM: 4GB DDR3 1066MHz

GPU: Radeon HD 5450 1GB

 

 

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If you can't go big with liquid, you should go big air instead. I've only ever been disappointed with single rad coolers, even thicker 140mm ones.

 

The better performing 240mm AIO coolers are pretty nice, but even THEY are only about par or very slightly better than the best air coolers, which are infinitely more reliable and could be reused until the end of time.

Oneplus 6 | Sony 55" X900F . Lenovo Y540 17" 144Hz RTX 2060 . i7 9750h. 

Audio-GD DAC-19MK3 > Schiit Lyr 2 + > FOSTEX TH900 . Sony XBA-Z5

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