Watercooling , just because?

[rentaspoon]

So I've been looking at water cooling my system, I haven't got a GPU that would benefit from it so a custom loop (so I've been told is a waste of time) but I would like to overclock my athlon 2 x3 450 (8350 if I upgrade) and I'm the type of person that upgrades bit by bit.

Has anyone else done it just because? Are there any drawbacks doing it this way?

[twoscoops]

So I've been looking at water cooling my system, I haven't got a GPU that would benefit from it so a custom loop (so I've been told is a waste of time) but I would like to overclock my athlon 2 x3 450 (8350 if I upgrade) and I'm the type of person that upgrades bit by bit.

Has anyone else done it just because? Are there any drawbacks doing it this way?

 

Money. They can be expensive and time consuming and noisy. Unless you're overclocking a GPU madly, I don't see the point. I'd go for a nice air cooler to overclock, perhaps a Noctua.

[TheRunningOtaku]

for custom loops you have to go all in the first time, since you'll need a water block, pump, rad and tubing. However, there isn't anything wrong with watercooling it. custom watercooling is never really meant to save time or money, it's meant to be fun whilst giving you the best performance possible!

[Kevinclon]

if you do watercolor the GPU, water blocks cost money. and they won't fit every new part you get

[Solkia]

Honestly I think Water Cooling just looks nicer.

 

It's also good if you live in areas where ambient temperature get really high in the summer like I do.

[Oshino Shinobu]

Watercooling isn't really cost effective. The benefits from it aren't massive and it costs a lot of money. Personally, I think it should only be done if you're going to enjoy the process and that you like making your system look nice. 

 

There are some times when it makes sense from a performance perspective though. Such as a 4 way SLI/Crossfire setup where the cards have no room to breathe and start thermal throttling. 

[Freaky_spider]

Money. They can be expensive and time consuming and noisy. Unless you're overclocking a GPU madly, I don't see the point. I'd go for a nice air cooler to overclock, perhaps a Noctua.

watercooling builds are not noisy... they make your build a lot more silent

[Solkia]

IT'll be noisy if you use Delta fans!

[rentaspoon]

Money. They can be expensive and time consuming and noisy. Unless you're overclocking a GPU madly, I don't see the point. I'd go for a nice air cooler to overclock, perhaps a Noctua.

Honestly I can't find one that I like

for custom loops you have to go all in the first time, since you'll need a water block, pump, rad and tubing. However, there isn't anything wrong with watercooling it. custom watercooling is never really meant to save time or money, it's meant to be fun whilst giving you the best performance possible!

Yep, it would be purely for looks and temps.

You wanna talk about me and money? I just brought an enthoo pro with window but you can't see it as it's up against a wall, I just got it because I knew it would be there :lol:

Honestly I think Water Cooling just looks nicer.

It's also good if you live in areas where ambient temperature get really high in the summer like I do.

It gets as cold as 8c in house in winter and 40c in summer as my neighbors keep the heating on all year round and it radiates into our housr

Watercooling isn't really cost effective. The benefits from it aren't massive and it costs a lot of money. Personally, I think it should only be done if you're going to enjoy the process and that you like making your system look nice.

There are some times when it makes sense from a performance perspective though. Such as a 4 way SLI/Crossfire setup where the cards have no room to breathe and start thermal throttling.

I would enjoy doing it and my enthoo pro looks baron atm

[Shaqo_Wyn]

So I've been looking at water cooling my system, I haven't got a GPU that would benefit from it so a custom loop (so I've been told is a waste of time) but I would like to overclock my athlon 2 x3 450 (8350 if I upgrade) and I'm the type of person that upgrades bit by bit.

Has anyone else done it just because? Are there any drawbacks doing it this way?

I recommend you allocate your budget to getting PC components you're completely happy with before considering water cooling. 

 

Water cooling has some big advantages. Low noise, great aesthetics and low temps (when it's done properly) being the biggest advantages. The thing is, one needs to know what he's getting himself into. Watercooling is expensive. You're looking at upwards of $650 for an all out GPU+CPU. You need enough rad surface area to properly cool your components to get the insanely low DeltaT/noise that you're expecting.

 

So when is watercooling worth it? When you have some high-end PC components that you want to squeeze every last bit of performance out off + you have the kind of cash needed to properly water cool these components laying around.