Questions regarding Water Cooling.

[wyattzx]

Hey folks, apologies for my abundance of threads lately. I just haven't had access to such a diverse community wit ha vast tech knowledge that I can consult. 

 

Right now, I'm running a CoolerMaster Hyper 212 PLUS, in Push-Pull configuration with two 120mm Blue LED Rosewill fans. While the cooler is doing its job, and my CPU is not running hot, it's rather bulky, covers up two of my RAM slots, and makes it uncomfortable to work inside my case sometimes. I'm considering switching to Water Cooling, but I have very little knowledge in this regard. I don't know the upkeep of Water Cooling, and I don't know what kind of risks it brings along with it. My case is the NZXT Phantom 530, and it is advertised to support the NZXT Kraken x40 / 60 / 41 / 61, but reviews for them on Newegg are all lackluster, which is driving me away from it. Additionally, I've been looking at the Corsair H100i, but I can't come to a conclusion because I just don't know enough about Water Cooling. 

 

Could you folks help me out? What kind of maintenance would it ensue? What's the typical mounting procedure? How loud are they? What are the risks? Lastly, what would be my best choice for a Water Cooling system? 

 

Thanks,

 

~RDZX

[Archangel1994]

An AIO required 0 maintenance concerning the loop itself, that's why it's an AIO. As for the typical mounting procedure you would have to look it up because it is a bit too much to list in this post. How loud they are depends on how fast you have the fans spinning. Jayz2Cents has his running @ 50%-60% and is damn near silent when using SP120 quiet editions while keeping the temps really good. The risks are limited to any of the parts leaking. If any of the parts leak while the PC is powered you could short out and potentially physically damage the part that got wet however the chances of this happening are quite low.

 

When it comes to configurations though it's personal preference. There push, pull and push/pull with drawing air outside of the case through the rad and into the case. Similarly there is push, pull and push/pull drawing air from the case to the outside of the case. The former gives lower temps on the CPU but higher temps on the other components. The latter gives slightly higher temps on the CPU but doesn't increase the temperatures of the other components. Depending on the temperature of your graphics card during certain scenario's the temperature difference between these 2 configurations can range from 3-10 degrees celsius (Though it tends to be around 3-6). Push/pull of course is slightly noisier but also gives lower temps.

 

The kraken X61 is an excellent AIO but also very expensive and the stock fans are loud from what I hear. The corsair H100i is an excellent choice if you use SP120's on them.

[Solkia]

I'm convinced NEwEgg reviewers are either trolls or idiots. There's almost no product on the site that isn't riddled with 1 star reviews.

 

AIO loops need no maintenence, and under the usumption you aren't doing anything ridiculous with the tubing and no fins brake, it shouldn't leak either.

[ForsakenLive]

This is not actually considered water cooling, it's just an AiO.

There is no maintenance whatsoever besides cleaning dust between the fan and the rad.

Mounting procedures are rather simple, pretty much like an air cooler, but you have to be a bit more patient when you mount the block, there has to be good enough contact.

Most of them are noticeable, fans on them are pretty meh, while air coolers usually come with pretty good fans. Pump noise is also an issue sometimes, the best advice I can give you is getting one with a variable speed pump, like the Kraken X61 or Swiftech H220/X220. the pump strength needed for such short loop is very little and these units tend to pack pretty capable ones, lower speeds will make that thing quiet and won't loose cooling.

Risks? The pump is another failure point, if you get a bad one it's going to be noisy or cause you problems (you can always RMA it), but while an air cooler last forever (change fans) the AiO will be useless the day the pump starts going bad (usually takes 3-6 years).

Main risk is spending a lot of money on something that cool just as good as an air cooler, but a little bit more noisy. Chances of leaks are VERY minimal, and if they leak you will see it while you are installing it (bad shipping), it won't go bad inside the system.

 

The Kraken X61 is a pretty capable cooler, if not go with the Swiftech ones.

[rtpb5642]

mouting is easy, watch a youtube video, personally i didnt have room so i use zip ties to anchor the radiator and it runs fine

No maintainence other than dusting once a year. I have the H110 in my amd machine and the h100 in the intel so go for the h100i or the h110. 

If you want to make sure, run the cooler before installing to check for leaks (never heard of one getting a leak before though) 

The h100i is quiet, h110 is a bit noisy but he H100 is so loud... (need to get different fans other than stock ones)

 

I stick to corsair so best one is the H100

 

Excuse spelling and grammer etc, on my phone.

Hope this helps!!

[wyattzx]

Thanks guys! This has helped a bunch. You folks are really reliable both in information and speed, so I thank you very much for that. I think I'm going to look into the Kraken x61, because it's designed for my case, has the LED on the pump (that can be toggled) and looks to be the easiest to use for me.