CPU Cooling - A horrible idea?!

[Inspirational]

Hello! I am trying to decide on what cooling I should get for my  Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor .

Currently I am thinking of Corsair H60 54.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  as it matches my budget of around $100 AUD for a cooling unit.

 

What do you guys think? Some people say that water cooling isn't needed and that a low budget water cooling unit is a horrible idea... However, I am really interested in the AIO water cooling units for the CPUs... Either way, apparently I can grab a CPU fan that is cheaper and has better performance for the overclocked CPU... What do you people think?Should I go along with it? Or is a $95 AUD AIO Water Cooling unit for a CPU a horrible idea? 

[comefightme]

I think the H60 is a great choice, water cooling is a huge step up from air cooling and You'll get more overclocking headroom this way

However, it is not essential

[TheRandomness]

1 minute ago, comefightme said:

I think the H60 is a great choice, water cooling is a huge step up from air cooling and You'll get more overclocking headroom this way

However, it is not essential

Except you can get air coolers that outperform 120mm AiOs. AiOs are only worth it when the rad size is >= 240mm or the case is really, really small. 

[zMeul]

4 minutes ago, comefightme said:

I think the H60 is a great choice, water cooling is a huge step up from air cooling and You'll get more overclocking headroom this way

no, just no

http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/corsair_h60_2013_review,10.html

the CPU Guru3D used was 77W TDP while OP's 6700K is a 91W TDP at stock cloks

 

the H60 is a horrible idea for OCing

 

---

 

Cryorig H7 is ~35$: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA85V4FU2360

has a TDP of 140W

 

Cryorig H5 Universal is 47$: https://www.amazon.com/Cryorig-Universal-CR-H5A-Tower-Heatsink/dp/B00MBTOY2S/ref=sr_1_2?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1474620789&sr=1-2&keywords=cryorig+h7+universal

has a TDP of 160W

 

[Naeaes]

You should definitely have a spare aircooler at hand at least. The AIO will break down. If you're lucky, it'll happen under warranty but even if it does, the rig will be unusable during the RMA swap. Unless, that is, you have an air cooler at hand. I'll personally rather take a raccoon in the crotch than put an AIO anywhere near my rigs.

[Inspirational]

I really hate how the community is so divided on water cooling vs fans... It makes it so much harder to pick the right one  It's like PlayStation vs Xbox....

 

I want a AIO Liquid cooling unit just for the sake of having a liquid cooling unit, and I also heard they generally perform better than fans, thus the more expensive pricing... 

 

However! If they are prone to breaking down, then I no longer want a liquid cooling unit. I'm building this desktop with the mindset of not upgrading any of the parts for a LONG time. This includes repairs. I want to just finish the build, and never open the case up again (with the exception of cleaning). 

 

Oh great LTT community! Please bless me with a great CPU fan that can handle the overclocking for under $100!

[TheRandomness]

12 minutes ago, Inspirational said:

I really hate how the community is so divided on water cooling vs fans... It makes it so much harder to pick the right one  It's like PlayStation vs Xbox....

 

I want a AIO Liquid cooling unit just for the sake of having a liquid cooling unit, and I also heard they generally perform better than fans, thus the more expensive pricing... 

 

However! If they are prone to breaking down, then I no longer want a liquid cooling unit. I'm building this desktop with the mindset of not upgrading any of the parts for a LONG time. This includes repairs. I want to just finish the build, and never open the case up again (with the exception of cleaning). 

 

Oh great LTT community! Please bless me with a great CPU fan that can handle the overclocking for under $100!

AiOs generally perform worse under $100 and they have a higher chance of failure. Something like a Cryorig H7 or NH-D14 (expensive but amazing)

[Inspirational]

2 minutes ago, TheRandomness said:

AiOs generally perform worse under $100 and they have a higher chance of failure. Something like a Cryorig H7 or NH-D14 (expensive but amazing)

 

Aren't there any regulations on this? I don't understand why unreliable products are even released to the market.

[TheRandomness]

2 minutes ago, Inspirational said:

Aren't there any regulations on this? I don't understand why unreliable products are even released to the market.

You can't exactly directly control the failure rate of a pump, but it happens more often because there're more moving parts. 

[zMeul]

11 minutes ago, Inspirational said:

Aren't there any regulations on this? I don't understand why unreliable products are even released to the market.

• AIO have more points of failure than air coolers: pump, radiator, fan(s), liquid, tubing; an air cooler's poit of failure is it's fan and that can be replaced quite easily
• for OCing, 120mm AIOs are generally unsuited as their ability to dissipate heat is as good as the 120mm rad

this is why you should go with a 240mm AIO at least if you plan to OC - I've already said this on your other thread

a very good 120mm rad (twice as thick as that pos H60) has about 100W TDP

[Gonio]

Allright maybe this helps: apart form budget restrictions there are a few things to consider in the story air vs liquid cooled.

 

Air pro's:

1. Cost/efficiency is great. A good performing air cooler does not have to be expensive.
2. Less points of faillure vs liquid cooled. Liquid has besides fans, tubesand their connections + pump that could fail.
3. Fans can be easily replaced, if you find the stock ones not performing to what you want or if they make more noise. In a way you can upgrade a cooler by using better fans.
4. Easy install, but liquid cooler kits are also overall easy enough. They are however more work.

Liquid pro's:

1. Has the potential to have more headroom when OCing. This is ofcourse great for performance, but this comes at an increased cost vs aircooler and the point where liquid pulls ahead is very costly.
2. On the mobo itself it overall gives a 'cleaner' look + you have more workroom since the block does not have a huge cooling tower on it. Easy with installing.
3. This is a tricky one that is very dependand on the fans used and how good the pump is, but it could be more silent then aircoolers.
4. Depending on how you setup ofcourse, but overall less internal system heat. Note however that the system heat for aircoolers is no issue for parts.

 

Allright now comes the points that wheight in on balans.

1. If you would have a leaking system it can destroy your setup, but if installed with care from decent brands you can expect that it won't break down. But ofcourse a misfit can always exist, no matter what brand.
2. It depends on your needs. But a good aircooler can still give you a big headroom to play with OCing. So a good cooler can still outperform a mediocre liquid cooler for a considerable less price.
3. Fans: this goes for both, but much of the performance and soundllv depends on the fans used. So depending on quality you sometimes might to take different fans, but this adds to total cost. So check reviews where they do decent noiselvl tests.
4. Radiator size matters a lot. The bigger size they are the more heat they can exchange. But obviously this also depends on what you can install in your case.
5. Looks. This is personal, but I can personally also like a nice cooler block.
6. Budget.
7. Requirements, plans for OC.

Long story already that gives you something to think about.

But what others say is correct for your H60i. That size AIO is beaten by a decent aircooler in performance and noise. Noctua has several good options like the NH-U14s, allthough they are very expensive coolers overall. Be quiet has a nice one, thought it was the dark rock pro 3 but also expensive.

The one I would recommend is the Scythe Fuma. Excellent cooling and soundlvls at a very decent price, or if not available the Mugen 4 PCGH is good follow up. All mentioned coolers are better then your Corsair H60i.

 

If you want a good AIO can recommend the NZXT Kraken X61, but it's far above your budget.

 

[LogicalDrm]

1 hour ago, Inspirational said:

I really hate how the community is so divided on water cooling vs fans... It makes it so much harder to pick the right one  It's like PlayStation vs Xbox....

 

Nitpicking, but water cooling still use fans. And I don't think community is divided at all. Its just that smaller AIOs have very weak standing point against air coolers of same price range.

 

1 hour ago, Inspirational said:

I want a AIO Liquid cooling unit just for the sake of having a liquid cooling unit, and I also heard they generally perform better than fans, thus the more expensive pricing... 

 

Well yes and no. Performance and price aren't linked when talking about coolers. Take Coolermasters V8 air coolers for example.

 

1 hour ago, Inspirational said:

However! If they are prone to breaking down, then I no longer want a liquid cooling unit. I'm building this desktop with the mindset of not upgrading any of the parts for a LONG time. This includes repairs. I want to just finish the build, and never open the case up again (with the exception of cleaning). 

 

Breaking down is one thing which is usually made bigger deal than it actually is. Sure AIO has more point of failure. While air coolers only point of failure is fan, with AIO its fan, pump, tubes and connection points. But in general AIO failing is as usual as fans failing in general. And most of the time its pump failing, no leaks or such.

 

1 hour ago, Inspirational said:

Oh great LTT community! Please bless me with a great CPU fan that can handle the overclocking for under $100!

Well, just looking at PCPPs selection, that price point fits all great air coolers under it. You have few of the best air coolers with D14, R1 Ultimate and PH-TC14PE. If you don't like massive coolers, step down also brings nice performance with Dark Rock 3 and H5 Ultimate. D14 and other dual towers are know to get same level with H100i and other 240mm AIOs.

 

My personal opinion on 120mm AIOs (H80i is only one which I could see some value in) is that they are good if you are after looks or have very limited height restrictions. If height isn't issue, Dark Rock 3 would be just fine for looks. And if you have lower profile RAM and don't care for looks at all, D14 is only thing you should get.

[Inspirational]

3 minutes ago, LoGiCalDrm said:

Well, just looking at PCPPs selection, that price point fits all great air coolers under it. You have few of the best air coolers with D14, R1 Ultimate and PH-TC14PE. If you don't like massive coolers, step down also brings nice performance with Dark Rock 3 and H5 Ultimate. D14 and other dual towers are know to get same level with H100i and other 240mm AIOs.

 

My personal opinion on 120mm AIOs (H80i is only one which I could see some value in) is that they are good if you are after looks or have very limited height restrictions. If height isn't issue, Dark Rock 3 would be just fine for looks. And if you have lower profile RAM and don't care for looks at all, D14 is only thing you should get.

6

I don't have a problem with large coolers, but I am a little worried about them. Since the aesthetics of the build isn't my concern, I only want reliable performance. With that said, I am still new to building custom PCs. So I don't know if big fans can fit into my desired tower... At this stage it is the Phanteks ECLIPSE P400S ATX Mid Tower Case. So would you know if any of the ones you have suggested can fit into the tower without any issues? 

 

Thanks!

[zMeul]

2 minutes ago, Inspirational said:

At this stage it is the Phanteks ECLIPSE P400S ATX Mid Tower Case. So would you know if any of the ones you have suggested can fit into the tower without any issues? 

from the specs: http://www.phanteks.com/Eclipse-p400s.html

the case has clearance for 160mm tall CPU coolers

 

the Cryorig H7 is 140mm tall

the Cryorig H5 Universal is 160mm tall

the Noctua D14 is 160mm tall

the Cryorig R1 Ultimate is 168.3mm tall - this won't fit

Phanteks PH-TC14PE is 171mm tall - this won't fit

BeQuiet Dark Rock 3 is 160mm tall

 

 

[Gonio]

The Scythe Fuma also fits.

[LogicalDrm]

2 minutes ago, Inspirational said:

I don't have a problem with large coolers, but I am a little worried about them. Since the aesthetics of the build isn't my concern, I only want reliable performance. With that said, I am still new to building custom PCs. So I don't know if big fans can fit into my desired tower... At this stage it is the Phanteks ECLIPSE P400S ATX Mid Tower Case. So would you know if any of the ones you have suggested can fit into the tower without any issues? 

 

Thanks!

Worried how? If you have heard horror stories about them bending mobos, just forget those. Big coolers use backplates just for that reason. Backplate will distribute weight of cooler all across mobo. So when you have mobo screwed tight and cooler mounted correctly, you are fine. They can't do miracles like withstand dropping etc.

 

Your case has clearance for 160mm coolers. D14 will fit. But you need to have low profile ram for it. Dark Rock 3 and H5 only block 1st RAM slot. And you can move fan to pull instead push for full ram compatibility.

[Inspirational]

1 hour ago, zMeul said:

from the specs: http://www.phanteks.com/Eclipse-p400s.html

the case has clearance for 160mm tall CPU coolers

 

the Cryorig H7 is 140mm tall

the Cryorig H5 Universal is 160mm tall

the Noctua D14 is 160mm tall

the Cryorig R1 Ultimate is 168.3mm tall - this won't fit

Phanteks PH-TC14PE is 171mm tall - this won't fit

BeQuiet Dark Rock 3 is 160mm tall

 

 

1 hour ago, Gonio said:

The Scythe Fuma also fits.

 

1 hour ago, LoGiCalDrm said:

Your case has clearance for 160mm coolers. D14 will fit. But you need to have low profile ram for it. Dark Rock 3 and H5 only block 1st RAM slot. And you can move fan to pull instead push for full ram compatibility.

2

I had a look at all of your suggestions, and well... They all seem similar (except for their prices). As usual, I am overwhelmed by the amount of available products. With that being said, can you guys suggest the strongest fan (I don't care how loud it is, it can be a jet engine for all I care), that is about $100 AUD, and will fit into the motherboard and case without clashing with any of the other parts? This would be HUGE help.

 

This is my CURRENT BUILD if you want to refer to the parts.

 

Thanks heaps!

[LogicalDrm]

3 minutes ago, Inspirational said:

 

 

I had a look at all of your suggestions, and well... They all seem similar (except for their prices). As usual, I am overwhelmed by the amount of available products. With that being said, can you guys suggest the strongest fan (I don't care how loud it is, it can be a jet engine for all I care), that is about $100 AUD, and will fit into the motherboard and case without clashing with any of the other parts? This would be HUGE help.

 

This is my CURRENT BUILD if you want to refer to the parts.

 

Thanks heaps!

I'd go for Dark Rock 3. RipjawV isn't lowest RAM, but since you have 2, you can use slots 2&4 instead of 1&3.

[Inspirational]

11 minutes ago, LoGiCalDrm said:

I'd go for Dark Rock 3. RipjawV isn't lowest RAM, but since you have 2, you can use slots 2&4 instead of 1&3.

 

 

 

What do you mean " RipjawV isn't lowest RAM, but since you have 2, you can use slots 2&4 instead of 1&3."?

 

EDIT: There are two versions... The pro and normal... Which one do you suggest?

[LogicalDrm]

1 minute ago, Inspirational said:

What do you mean " RipjawV isn't lowest RAM, but since you have 2, you can use slots 2&4 instead of 1&3."?

Motherboard has 4 ram slots. Bigger air coolers block 1st slot. If you would have normal or low profile RAM (HyperX Savage or something without heatspreader), you could fit that under the fans frame. But since RipjawV isn't like that, you can't use 1st RAM slot. So since you want to have dual channel and you can't use 1st slot (dual channel being 1st and 3rd slot), you will be using 2nd and 4th slots for dual channel.

 

Or you can use pull for the fan instead. that will also allow you to populate all 4 RAM slots. Adding 2nd fan would give small bump to performance, but you are fine with just single fan.

[Gonio]

Some coolers allow the fan to be shifted up. Would say you can take any of those coolers and if you really want add seperate noctua industrials 3000 RPM (2000 will be fine aswell) on it. You have a hurricane inside at max rpm. But really all mentioned coolers already have fine fans already. Would go with the one that is cheapest for you to get + that looks best in your opinion. As for the be quiet! you must have the pro then.

[Inspirational]

22 minutes ago, Gonio said:

Some coolers allow the fan to be shifted up. Would say you can take any of those coolers and if you really want add seperate noctua industrials 3000 RPM (2000 will be fine aswell) on it. You have a hurricane inside at max rpm. But really all mentioned coolers already have fine fans already. Would go with the one that is cheapest for you to get + that looks best in your opinion. As for the be quiet! you must have the pro then.

 

When you say "add separate ... on it" are you saying onto the CPU cooler (to get that double fan effect)? Or the tower?

[aisle9]

There is nothing wrong with AIO cooling in general. It tends to be more expensive, and there are three failure points instead of one, but if you get a good AIO, you're fine. 

 

There is a problem with buying a 120mm AIO, or even most 140mm AIOs: they're just not very good. Radiators that small are only useful for cooling GPUs, or in cases so tight that a 240mm AIO or more substantial air cooler wouldn't fit. The price to performance ratio is crap. 

 

I'm also a huge fan of big air. As long as you're buying a good cooler from a reputable brand and making sure it's a good deal (none of those $120 Cooler Master e-peens that perform on par with a $45 Cryorig H5 Ultimate), and you make sure it's got enough power for your overclocking goals, you're fine. 

[Inspirational]

1 minute ago, aisle9 said:

There is nothing wrong with AIO cooling in general. It tends to be more expensive, and there are three failure points instead of one, but if you get a good AIO, you're fine. 

 

There is a problem with buying a 120mm AIO, or even most 140mm AIOs: they're just not very good. Radiators that small are only useful for cooling GPUs, or in cases so tight that a 240mm AIO or more substantial air cooler wouldn't fit. The price to performance ratio is crap. 

 

I'm also a huge fan of big air. As long as you're buying a good cooler from a reputable brand and making sure it's a good deal (none of those $120 Cooler Master e-peens that perform on par with a $45 Cryorig H5 Ultimate), and you make sure it's got enough power for your overclocking goals, you're fine. 

 

Do you have any that you could recommend? Maybe one that you have used before? 

[WoodenMarker]

9 hours ago, comefightme said:

I think the H60 is a great choice, water cooling is a huge step up from air cooling and You'll get more overclocking headroom this way

However, it is not essential

The H60 is a horrible value at $95 and it doesn't perform much better than the much cheaper 212 Evo.

9 hours ago, Inspirational said:

I want a AIO Liquid cooling unit just for the sake of having a liquid cooling unit, and I also heard they generally perform better than fans, thus the more expensive pricing... 

Water cooling can perform better due to more surface area with rads usually 240mm or larger. Smaller rads tend to not perform as well as air cooling which is usually cheaper as well. 

9 hours ago, Inspirational said:

Aren't there any regulations on this? I don't understand why unreliable products are even released to the market.

Water cooling less reliable but it isn't unreliable due to more points of failure. 

If you can stretch the budget a bit, the best cooling you can get it probably a NH-D15S with the fan lowered. http://au.pcpartpicker.com/product/xCL7YJ/noctua-cpu-cooler-nhd15s

Otherwise, the H5 Ultimate: http://au.pcpartpicker.com/product/Ztp323/cryorig-cpu-cooler-h5ultimate

or NH-D14 are good alternatives. http://au.pcpartpicker.com/product/46tCmG/noctua-cpu-cooler-nhd14

8 hours ago, LoGiCalDrm said:

Your case has clearance for 160mm coolers. D14 will fit. But you need to have low profile ram for it. 

Standard profile and slightly taller ram works fine.