Arcric liquid freezer 280mm in Fractal Design Define 7

[Seance]

Hello eveyone!

 

I'm planning a build in a Fractal Design Define 7 with an Arctic Liquid Freezer 280mm mounted in the front.

 

Now I am unsure of these questions:

Will I be able to place the radiator high enough so that the highest point in the loop isn't the pump?

Also: Will this AIO be enough to cool my 5800X3D?

 

The fan configuration I think of would be three inward fans at the front (Two of them on the 280mm radiator, mounted as high as possible), two exhaust fans at the top (towards the back), and one back exhaust fan. All fans would be NF-A14, with the option to keep the included arctic fans on the radiator.

[will0hlep]

1) The 5800X3D only has a TDP of 105W and therefore I think a good tower cooler would be easily sufficent, let alone a 280mm rad.

 

2) Yes the pump will be higher than the CPU block in this configuration Correction: the pump can be placed lower than the cpu block in this configuration

 

3) If you are going rad on front make sure your GPU is going to fit

[Seance]

Just now, will0hlep said:

2) Yes the pump will be higher than the CPU block in this configuration

So you're saying that there will be air bubbles in the pump?

[will0hlep]

8 minutes ago, Seance said:

So you're saying that there will be air bubbles in the pump?

No sorry, I'm clearly losing it

 

You will be able to position the pump so it is not the highest point on the loop

 

(I am quickly just gonna say this again, I'd go for an air cooler, it will be easier to install, more reliable, probably cheaper and it should easily provide enough cooling for a 5800X3D)

[Seance]

Ooh, thanks for clarifying! Now I know what to get for my build

[jaslion]

Keep in mind that the define r7 is a poor airfloe case due to using the older desigb of noise insulation and closed panel to create a quiet system.

 

This limits airflow which then causes hotter temperature and the fans to work harder.

 

Which on a cpu cooler isnt too bad usually but a gpu with smaller fans gets WAY louder. So basically counteracting thr noise dampening the case does and potential performance loss.

 

This is why the define r7 is NOT recommended for water cooling with an aio in the front.

[Seance]

32 minutes ago, will0hlep said:

I'd go for an air cooler

I'm thinking of this AIO for these reasons:

-I have one aveilable for a really good price right now

-I heard many people complaining about 90C temps with this CPU even with air coolers like the NH-D15

(-Also I personally don't like the look of air coolers in general)

 

So I just want to have some extra security at a cheaper price

 

Also the fans on my GPU are fairly big, so the noise shouldn't be that much of a problem.

 

I do have the option of going for, say, a meshify 2 instead - but that would mean an upcost of ~40€ compared to the Define 7 that I got for only 130€.

[will0hlep]

19 minutes ago, Seance said:

-I heard many people complaining about 90C temps with this CPU even with air coolers like the NH-D15

- The 5800X3D will reach 80s-90s with basically any cooler (air or water) on full load, this isn't an issue, CPUs are designed to work at these temps and to throttle back to avoid over-heating. you may also get better performance with water cooling due to it not having to throttle back (or it happening less often) but you should watch reviews on this to see exact benefits

19 minutes ago, Seance said:

 

-Also I personally don't like the look of air coolers in general

- this is fair (your wrong , lol, air coolers are beautiful, but fair enough)

19 minutes ago, Seance said:

-So I just want to have some extra security at a cheaper price

- water cooling provided no extra security, in fact it adds a very large failure point. modern CPUs don't over heat and fail like they used to. Instead they throttle themselves to cool down when they get too hot. However, If the pump fails and you don't notice (say your not at your machine) then your CPU could be damaged very quickly as it will effectivly lose all cooling. Meanwhile, if your fan on your air cooler fails, your CPU should be fine as your case fans will continue cooling the CPU cooler (just a bit less effectively). Pumps do tend to be reliabile to combat this issue but the risk is always there.

 

If it is cheaper, then that is an advantage, you may also get better performance with water cooling (watch reviews on this to see exact benefits). However, your components are safer with an air cooler.

[freeagent]

5800X3D isn't hard to cool. I was doing it with a little PA120 that I am using for now. If you push it hard enough it will do 143w PPT, but you have to be pushing it all around. The thing with air coolers is that they need air, just like an AIO does. Most people don't like noise, so they starve their coolers for air. AIO has access to fresh outside air due to its proximity when compared to a heatsink. Thats why so many people report better temps immediately. In actuality though, if you can deal with a little more noise and feed the heatsink as much fresh air as the AIO would get, you would probably be surprised at your results. Before Airflow cases became a thing, people like me would run server grade 120x38s, which are still superior to most consumer grade fans on the market when looking at performance alone.

[Seance]

18 minutes ago, will0hlep said:

However, your components are safer with an air cooler.

So if I were to keep the Define 7, what air cooler would you recommend? Is there an option that's slim and can keep the 5800X3D cool? Ideally, you would still be able to see the ram and the io shield (For that RGB goodness :D)?

[freeagent]

20 minutes ago, Seance said:

what air cooler would you recommend?

Thermalright FC140. It is a beast of a cooler. I have my second one on the way, got it for the same price as PA120 

[Seance]

3 minutes ago, freeagent said:

Thermalright FC140

Thanks for the recommendation

Unfortunately, this model is very hardly available where I am... Any other ideas?

[QuantumSingularity]

3 hours ago, Seance said:

I'm thinking of this AIO for these reasons:

-I have one aveilable for a really good price right now

-I heard many people complaining about 90C temps with this CPU even with air coolers like the NH-D15

(-Also I personally don't like the look of air coolers in general)

 

So I just want to have some extra security at a cheaper price

 

Also the fans on my GPU are fairly big, so the noise shouldn't be that much of a problem.

 

I do have the option of going for, say, a meshify 2 instead - but that would mean an upcost of ~40€ compared to the Define 7 that I got for only 130€.

With EVGA CLC 280mm mounted front in Deepcool Matrexx 70 i keep it under 80°-82°C at full load for 10 mins of Cinebench R23 and it doesn't care the slightest. Out of curiosity tried Noctua nh-u14s and pretty much right at the start it hits 90°C. Literally and metaphorically HOT cpu. In games however with the quiet curve it rarely reaches 60°C usually hovers around 55°C. The other good thing about front mounted AIO, the GPU is running about 7-9°C cooler than usual.

No matter what AIO you get though, certainly go for Noctua fans on out. They are quite costly, but the quietness is unrivaled. 

 

P.S

Oh and if you are going for the front mount approach, don't forget to mount the radiator with its tubes DOWN. I forgot about the air bubbles at first and installed in tubes up, although the pump being lower than the reservoir, but it was keeping 5°C higher temps.