Is it worth it?

[Jerakl]

So I'm switching to a smaller chassis and then water cooling.

So in just wondering, is water cooling worth the maintenance and cost?

I mean, for a loop for CPU and GPU, 500$ish. Is it really worth all that money?

I figured this was the best place to post this.

[Enderman]

No. Watercool only if you already have a maxed out rig that you can't put any more money into, or you want to watercool for aesthetics.

Otherwise you can spend that money on better hardware that will perform better and put out less heat.

[Jerakl]

No. Watercool only if you already have a maxed out rig that you can't put any more money into, or you want to watercool for aesthetics.

Otherwise you can spend that money on better hardware that will perform better and put out less heat.

My hardware is pretty good. I have a 4770k and a 780.

[Hidden Orange]

We have a section for water-cooling. Personally, it wouldn't be worth it. Why? Well, I'm clumsy and paranoid so, I'd rather not have to deal with risking leaks or doing things wrong and frying a system. For a project? Hell yeah, I'd try it, but if it's my one and only system and since I'm pretty much broke, I'd stay away from water-cooling for now. 

 

You, on the other hand, aren't me, So, it's up to you.

[helping]

Water cooling is practically never worth it.

[Jodomcfrodo]

Mhmmm

Don't listen to the people above. There is no right answer. It's personal. In your case I would say go for it because it is a fun project. But that is my personal opinion.

[Jodomcfrodo]

Mhmmm

Don't listen to the people above. There is no right answer. It's personal. In your case I would say go for it because it is a fun project. But that is my personal opinion.

Wait wtf just happened? I didn't quote myself...

[Enderman]

My hardware is pretty good. I have a 4770k and a 780.

Yeah but you can still improve it a lot. By 'maxed out' I mean someone with quad sli gtx titans and a 4960x

 

watercooling is basically no performance improvement, but 10000x aesthetic improvement.

[Jerakl]

Mhmmm

Don't listen to the people above. There is no right answer. It's personal. In your case I would say go for it because it is a fun project. But that is my personal opinion.

Well I need to know so I can decide which case to buy. I'm running a 720p tv for a monitor. So that's first priority. Then when my family finishes the basement I need a new desk. If I was going to do watercoing it would be a ways down the line. The most urgent matter ATM is laptop for school.

[Enderman]

Water cooling is practically never worth it.

It's worth it if you're trying to make your PC a work of art rather than just a box that gets high fps.

[Jodomcfrodo]

Well I need to know so I can decide which case to buy. I'm running a 720p tv for a monitor. So that's first priority. Then when my family finishes the basement I need a new desk. If I was going to do watercoing it would be a ways down the line. The most urgent matter ATM is laptop for school.

There is no right answer. If you want water cooling and you have a 780 or higher I would go for it.

[Jerakl]

Yeah but you can still improve it a lot. By 'maxed out' I mean someone with quad sli gtx titans and a 4960x

 

watercooling is basically no performance improvement, but 10000x aesthetic improvement.

My case has no window. I'm just trying to decide whether to buy a case with good water cooling support or a case unlike the aesthetics of but doesn't have the best radiator support.

[DarrenP]

Yeah but you can still improve it a lot. By 'maxed out' I mean someone with quad sli gtx titans and a 4960x

 

watercooling is basically no performance improvement, but 10000x aesthetic improvement.

Who the hell cares? You can water cool a G3258 and 760. Who cares? Don't tell OP to not watercool  because he should upgrade. Give solid opinions. Such as well OP how much money would you have to spend on this? Do you really want it/need it?

[Enderman]

My case has no window. I'm just trying to decide whether to buy a case with good water cooling support or a case unlike the aesthetics of but doesn't have the best radiator support.

If you have no window there is no reason to care about watercooling...don't bother even considering it. Maybe consider space for a 240 or 280mm AiO but definitely not a whole custom loop.

[Vacsol]

My case has no window. I'm just trying to decide whether to buy a case with good water cooling support or a case unlike the aesthetics of but doesn't have the best radiator support.

get a H220x, then add stuff to it over time

[Enderman]

Who the hell cares? You can water cool a G3258 and 760. Who cares? Don't tell OP to not watercool  because he should upgrade. Give solid opinions. Such as well OP how much money would you have to spend on this? Do you really want it/need it?

There are only 3 reasons to watercool a PC.

 

1) You have enough money to do it because there is nothing else you can upgrade in your PC to give more performance.

2) You want to go for competitive overclocking under water (even though you should be using phase change or LN2 for this)

3) You care about the aesthetics and want to enjoy building a custom project.

[Dubesta11]

My hardware is pretty good. I have a 4770k and a 780.

 

Save up for another 780, it would be much more cost effective. Then look into a custom loop. For now, just get the largest air cooler you can and overclock your CPU to its limits.

[Excon]

There are only 3 reasons to watercool a PC.

 

1) You have enough money to do it because there is nothing else you can upgrade in your PC to give more performance.

2) You want to go for competitive overclocking under water (even though you should be using phase change or LN2 for this)

3) You care about the aesthetics and want to enjoy building a custom project.

There are alot of mid tier systems with 4770k and a single 770/780 tha tare watercooled, with that money they could have bought a second GPU. Its a balance of all of those and what the owner thinks they need performance wise, not necessarily quad GPUs

[Enderman]

There are alot of mid tier systems with 4770k and a single 770/780 tha tare watercooled, with that money they could have bought a second GPU. Its a balance of all of those and what the owner thinks they need performance wise, not necessarily quad GPUs

Which doesn't make sense when you can have more performance for gaming.

 

Maybe they wanted to overclock a lot and have good temps, maybe they wanted low noise, or liked the aesthetics of a watercooling loop.

[Excon]

Which doesn't make sense when you can have more performance for gaming.

 

Maybe they wanted to overclock a lot and have good temps, maybe they wanted low noise, or liked the aesthetics of a watercooling loop.

It's pretty much exactly that. You dont have to have maxed out hardware for it to be worthwhile.

[Jerakl]

I forgot to mention that I'll be investing in GTX 880's.

[menendez1293]

I forgot to mention that I'll be investing in GTX 880's.

If you plan on chaining hardware, I wouldn't recommend water cooling till you have what you want.

[Jerakl]

If you plan on chaining hardware, I wouldn't recommend water cooling till you have what you want.

What do you mean by chaining.

[menendez1293]

What do you mean by chaining.

You said you plan on getting the 800 series GPU. If you do that you would need to redo part of the loop.

Edit: just realized it was a typo, meant to say changing. Stupid Swype

[Jerakl]

You said you plan on getting the 800 series GPU. If you do that you would need to redo part of the loop.

Edit: just realized it was a typo, meant to say changing. Stupid Swype

Yeah. My whole upgrade schedule is based on water cooling. Because if I decide I want to water cool I need to get a good water cooling case. Then if I have the money to spend. I need a laptop for school as well. So I wouldn't be able to buy parts anyways for the next 5 months or so.