"AIO" or small custom loop?

[JohnnyGrey]

I'm curious what you guys think I should do for CPU cooling. My specs are in my sig, but for those unable to see it, I have a 3570K sitting on an ASUS Maximus V Gene motherboard, all sitting in a Silverstone TJ-08 case. (Amazing case!) I'm currently using a Hyper 212 Evo as a CPU cooler, and it's fantastic for it's price. Right now I'm running at stock clocks, but would like to try overclocking again. I had it at 4.4ghz, and although it was P95 stable for about 4 hours, I started getting games crashing a month or two into the overclock, so rather than invest time, I just bumped it back to stock.

 

I've never ventured into water cooling, whether a closed-loop system or custom, and am thinking about getting into it. Because of the limited clearance this case has to offer with hard drives installed, I was thinking about a closed-loop cooler to occupy the rear 120mm fan cut-out. But then I thought, why not try a custom loop with a high density 120mm rad? I have no desire to put my GPU under water, as that would be a waste on a 660 Ti.

 

Should I go custom? And what's with all the hate for bay reservoirs? Do they leak? Would a high density 120mm rad be enough for just CPU? What if I added the board to the loop as well? Also, I plan on swapping out the front 180mm AP181 fan to Silverstone's AP182 fan. It's ball bearing and has a higher max RPM and more airflow. This motherboard is able to voltage-regulate non-PWM case fans as well. I plan on doing a push-pull config, with PWM fans plugged into the CPU and CPU_OPT fan headers.

 

I've done a lot of research over the years on water cooling, so I know all about rads, blocks, coolant, biocide, etc. I've just never had any hands on. I also plan on modding an "L" shaped window into the case, so it would be awesome to show off a water cooler :P

 

This is what I'm working with, what it looked like before the 660 Ti was added. (I was using an old 8800gt as a placeholder)

[xToFxREAPER]

if you can fit it somewhere get a swiftech h220 then you can expand later :)

[Godlygamer23]

If you decide to go with an AIO, Kraken x60 is a great option. Best performing AIO on the market.

[JohnnyGrey]

All this case has is a front 180mm fan (Not an option, due to hard drive cage) and the rear 120mm. So I only have one option when it comes to the size of rad.

[Godlygamer23]

Kraken is out of the question. Both the x40 and x60 use 140mm fans.

[JohnnyGrey]

My main concern is would a custom loop with a single 120mm rad be worth it? I'm also interested in it just for the sake of introducing myself to water cooling. I can always upgrade my case later on.

[Godlygamer23]

AIO would be better for getting your toes wet. Hydro H80 would be a good option. 120mm radiator.

[airdeano]

yeah, this is the case that the 180 up front is the PITA.. its brother PS07 has the 240

up front..

 

 

this is where you have to make that "look" decision. personally, air-cool all of it. the 660ti

just isn't the BA card that needs water-cooling and spending an extra 150-200 to include

it, isn't cost conscience. not to bully you, but the arc mini can hold a dual 240x 60 radiator

system to allow you full cooling and quietness.. i love the TJ-08, but it is severly limited to

un-mainstream hardware for water-cooling. seen this? LINKY water-cooling explained.

 

airdeano

[JohnnyGrey]

Perhaps I should just stick with an AiO cooler. I have too many hard drives to swap the front cage for a 180mm rad, and perhaps a single 120mm custom loop isn't worth it.

 

Are there better 1x120 options than the h80i? Can the Arc Mini fit a 240 rad and still carry an optical drive? I use my drive a lot for watching and ripping BluRay's, so scrapping it isn't an option.

[Godlygamer23]

Cooler Master and Thermaltake both make some 120mm liquid coolers. Are they better? I don't know.

[airdeano]

tbh, i would pass on the single fan rad AIO and go high-end air-cooler and call it

done. cost for H80 and two quieter fans far exceeds the NH-D14 and has equal

performance.

 

the newer V2 can.. the HDD cages can be relocated if front rad is used. the roof

can hold a 240 in push or pull. and HDD cages are still intact. my mini is using a

H100 push/pull and the fans are 900-1100rpm quiet. i'm still using V1 and love it.

 

airdeano

[Godlygamer23]

Whie looking for the best AIO cooler, I stumbled upon this topic on Google. http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/10248-best-closed-loop-120mm-liquid-cooler/

[JohnnyGrey]

I have absolutely no room for an NH-D14 in this case. There isn't even enough room for push-pull on my Hyper 212, so I am forced to just use pull. That cooler would work wonders with the front 180mm fan blowing towards the cooler, though.

 

And I found a review where they show the lower cage on the Arc Mini R2 in the furthest back position. I didn't know what you meant, but that's awesome!! This case is really appealing to me.