Is water cooling optimal?

[duncan5200]

So I have made previous posts, and I have gone through multiple pc ideas so far, all being great options, and Im mostly leaning towards a water cooled pc. Now my question if I dont over clock is a loop worth it in the first place, if so would a dual 120mm rad be enough or should I step up to 360mm, or should I just get a after market cooler, and a h100i?

Forgot to add, there would also be a gtx 780 ti, in the loop, and it has gpu boost 2.0, but I guess there are great aftermarket options.

[Benjamin G]

So I have made previous posts, and I have gone through multiple pc ideas so far, all being great options, and Im mostly leaning towards a water cooled pc. Now my question if I dont over clock is a loop worth it in the first place, if so would a dual 120mm rad be enough or should I step up to 360mm, or should I just get a after market cooler, and a h100i?

No, a custom loop is not optimal and if you want water cooling a ready made kit is your best option. the h100i sounds like a good idea.

[Oshino Shinobu]

If you're not overclocking there is close to no reason to watercool unless you want it to look nice. 

 

Aircooling is better for non-overclocked builds as it's quieter and cheaper. 

 

EDIT: 1 240mm rad is enough for CPU, but you'd probably want another if you were cooling the GPU as well. 

[Lord Pantaloons]

If you aren't doing serious overclocking then a custom loop isn't worth it, sure silence freaks will say it is but a couple hundred dollars to lose 5db is a tall order. Just get some quiet fans and an H100i or a similar 240mm AIO cooler.

[lilc]

If you're just gaming and not even overclocking, get a hyper 212 evo. The h100i isn't needed as well and is louder.

[duncan5200]

If you're not overclocking there is close to no reason to watercool unless you want it to look nice. 

 

Aircooling is better for non-overclocked builds as it's quieter and cheaper. 

 

EDIT: 1 240mm rad is enough for CPU, but you'd probably want another if you were cooling the GPU as well. 

 

No, a custom loop is not optimal and if you want water cooling a ready made kit is your best option. the h100i sounds like a good idea.

Will the gpu be quiet still, is it worth it for a 780ti with gpu boost 2.0, or is it still not worth it?

[Benjamin G]

Will the gpu be quiet still, is it worth it for a 780ti with gpu boost 2.0, or is it still not worth it?

it depends on what card you get, as they all have different coolers (thus different amounts of noise generated). I would personally say no unless a quiet PC is of utmost importance.

 

EDIT: You can always change the fan speed of the GPU to lower the noise.

[duncan5200]

it depends on what card you get, as they all have different coolers (thus different amounts of noise generated). I would personally say no unless a quiet PC is of utmost importance.

I dont want to be able to hear, or at least be barley able to hear it, because I leave it on constantly, and I sleep with in 10 feet of it, and often to stuff while not wearing a head set, at my pc.

Something like the acx, would it be quiet?

[Benjamin G]

I dont want to be able to hear, or at least be barley able to hear it, because I leave it on constantly, and I sleep with in 10 feet of it, and often to stuff while not wearing a head set, at my pc.

Something like the acx, would it be quiet?

Okay so it's like this. You can either: a) pay a premium for a custom loop. b ) lower the fan speed of your gpu. c) optimise your purchase for the quitest possible GPU (To the best of my knowledge the reference 780 cooler is quiet enough)

[duncan5200]

Okay so it's like this. You can either: a) pay a premium for a custom loop. b ) lower the fan speed of your gpu. c) optimise your purchase for the quitest possible GPU (To the best of my knowledge the reference 780 cooler is quiet enough)

Point taken, if I want a system to last 5 years at least should I consider over clocking?

[Benjamin G]

Point taken, if I want a system to last 5 years at least should I consider over clocking?

Well yes, but if you want it to last 5 years, I would start overclocking ONLY when you start falling behind, that way, your hardware is still running in specified parameters, therefore your hardware will be less prone to failure and will have a better chance at lasting those 5 years

 

Edit: Keep in mind that when you overclock your GPU, you will have to up the fan speed resulting in more noise.

[duncan5200]

Well yes, but if you want it to last 5 years, I would start overclocking ONLY when you start falling behind, that way, your hardware is still running in specified parameters, therefore your hardware will be less prone to failure and will have a better chance at lasting those 5 years

So like wait three years then over clock, and by then the 4770k prob will cost something like a 100 usd, so it wouldn't be as bad to replace it? Is that what your saying?

[CCap]

Point taken, if I want a system to last 5 years at least should I consider over clocking?

Definitely. Yet, a closed loop cooler will save you quite a bit of money than going fully custom. Personally, I plan on overclocking everything on my machine to the last MH, so for me it was prevalent to go with water. Yet, since you don't have plans on doing major overclocking, if any at all, closed loop would be the way to go, especially since you will be able to overclock in the future to squeeze out that needed extra performance years ahead.

 

Note: You might be able to run a Kraken G10 alongside the H100i, so if cooling your GPU becomes necessary, then you could always opt for this option too :lol:

 

//CCap

[duncan5200]

Definitely. Yet, a closed loop cooler will save you quite a bit of money than going fully custom. Personally, I plan on overclocking everything on my machine to the last MH, so for me it was prevalent to go with water. Yet, since you don't have plans on doing major overclocking, if any at all, closed loop would be the way to go, especially since you will be able to overclock in the future to squeeze out that needed extra performance years ahead.

 

Note: You might be able to run a Kraken G10 alongside the H100i, so if cooling your GPU becomes necessary, then you could always opt for this option too :lol:

 

//CCap

I like this idea. how much life span will a over clocked 4770k get? And 780 ti, will over clock it self but will it degrade still?

[warmmilk]

I'd say watercooling isn't worth it at all for gaming, overclocking or not.  

 

but if you want it to be quiet (sounds like you do), then yes, its worth it.  Keep in mind though, lots of people will claim silent. Its never silent.  Especially at night when there's very little ambient noise.  Also keep in mind, even an air cooled setup is only loud under load.  So if you only need it to be very quiet when you're sleeping and you just let it idle, then an air cooled setup really isn't gonna be any louder than a watercooled setup.  But if you let it render all night while you sleep, then watercooling can be worth it... but I imagine you'd be overclocking if that was the case...

[Benjamin G]

So like wait three years then over clock, and by then the 4770k prob will cost something like a 100 usd, so it wouldn't be as bad to replace it? Is that what your saying?

When you say overclock, do you mean the GPU as well?

[duncan5200]

When you say overclock, do you mean the GPU as well?

Um doesnt the 780 ti do it on its own, if not yeah probably. But I might actually upgrade the gpu in like 3 years.

[Mcdoorknob]

only reason to get water cooling is if you want it. There are options that are cheaper and almost as good. But if you want water cooling specifically, then get it.

[duncan5200]

I'd say watercooling isn't worth it at all for gaming, overclocking or not.  

 

but if you want it to be quiet (sounds like you do), then yes, its worth it.  Keep in mind though, lots of people will claim silent. Its never silent.  Especially at night when there's very little ambient noise.  Also keep in mind, even an air cooled setup is only loud under load.  So if you only need it to be very quiet when you're sleeping and you just let it idle, then an air cooled setup really isn't gonna be any louder than a watercooled setup.  But if you let it render all night while you sleep, then watercooling can be worth it... but I imagine you'd be overclocking if that was the case...

Actually I forgot to mention Im gonna use it to render and upload youtube vids all night. Maybe not all night, but the time that im trying to fall a sleep at the least it will.

[Benjamin G]

Um doesnt the 780 ti do it on its own, if not yeah probably. But I might actually upgrade the gpu in like 3 years.

Well if thats the case man get a loop. If you are going to overclock, and you want this system to be quiet, thats the way to go. If youre not overclocking, lower the fan speeds of the card and grab a H100i (even then you can still OC the CPU, what I was saying before is if you want the components to last for 5 years with no upgrade, then overclocking later on to keep up with ever advancing hardware is a good idea, and your CPU will not degrade as fast as if you had an overclock already running)

[Oshino Shinobu]

Um doesnt the 780 ti do it on its own, if not yeah probably. But I might actually upgrade the gpu in like 3 years.

The 780Ti technically will overclock itself with GPU boost 2.0, but you can push it a lot further. It's common to get over 1200Mhz with a 780Ti. 

 

I have two EVGA 780Ti SC w/ACX and they go up to 1320MHz when benchmarking. They sit at around 1290MHz in Skyrim. (When I overclocked them further. With EVGA's overclock, they sit at around 1250MHz in benchmarks.  

[CCap]

I like this idea. how much life span will a over clocked 4770k get? And 780 ti, will over clock it self but will it degrade still?

Well, parts rarely "Degrade" when they are taken care of properly. The problem with older parts, is that they lose driver support, as well as games upgrading to the newer technologies, leaving your old parts in the dust. Now, for gaming, this processor doesn't yield any extra performance at the moment, yet a few years in the future, games might be able to take advantage of Hyper Threading, so you could be good if this is the case. 

 

Another thing to consider when overclocking a Haswell chip is it's Overclockability. Linus has a video on it, and it's all really luck of the draw. Some chips OC like crazy, and you could squeeze out a ton of performance out of in the future, and then some decide they don't want to OC past 4.3Ghz. 

 

All in all, Liquid Cooling is probably the way to go for your situation. 

 

If you have any further questions, let me know! :lol:

 

//CCap

[Oshino Shinobu]

Well if thats the case man get a loop. If you are going to overclock, and you want this system to be quiet, thats the way to go. If youre not overclocking, lower the fan speeds of the card and grab a H100i (even then you can still OC the CPU, what I was saying before is if you want the components to last for 5 years with no upgrade, then overclocking later on to keep up with ever advancing hardware is a good idea, and your CPU will not degrade as fast as if you had an overclock already running)

I agree with the GPU part, but if you want quiet, go with a low FPI air cooler for the CPU. Overclocking is hard to do well while staying quiet. 

[duncan5200]

Well if thats the case man get a loop. If you are going to overclock, and you want this system to be quiet, thats the way to go. If youre not overclocking, lower the fan speeds of the card and grab a H100i (even then you can still OC the CPU, what I was saying before is if you want the components to last for 5 years with no upgrade, then overclocking later on to keep up with ever advancing hardware is a good idea, and your CPU will not degrade as fast as if you had an overclock already running)

Great, well I do plan on over clocking down the road, so I will get the loop, and it will just look so good (it would look good with out it but this certainly improves it). Thanks for answering my questions.

[duncan5200]

Well, parts rarely "Degrade" when they are taken care of properly. The problem with older parts, is that they lose driver support, as well as games upgrading to the newer technologies, leaving your old parts in the dust. Now, for gaming, this processor doesn't yield any extra performance at the moment, yet a few years in the future, games might be able to take advantage of Hyper Threading, so you could be good if this is the case. 

 

Another thing to consider when overclocking a Haswell chip is it's Overclockability. Linus has a video on it, and it's all really luck of the draw. Some chips OC like crazy, and you could squeeze out a ton of performance out of in the future, and then some decide they don't want to OC past 4.3Ghz. 

 

All in all, Liquid Cooling is probably the way to go for your situation. 

 

If you have any further questions, let me know! :lol:

 

//CCap

Well sounds good, but I probably wouldnt oc it much, dont want to change the volts to much.