What dual 140mm closed loop to get?

[ChrisRK]

Hey guys.

 

I'm going to upgrade from my Antec Kühler H20 920 to something with a dual 140mm radiator.

 

I've had my eyes on the Corsair H110, but I've read that Corsair coolers have some issues.

 

I have a AMD FX-9590 and my 920 can't keep it cool enough when I'm using it for heavier tasks. (It runs at about 40c idle and 60 under load. It has reached 70+c under continuous load.)

[Rollergold]

I would go with the Kraken X60 as it has the software fan control and controllable LED on the CPU Block/Pump Top

[KrazyKap]

Or custom loop.

[ChrisRK]

I would go with the Kraken X60 as it has the software fan control and controllable LED on the CPU Block/Pump Top

 

Allright! I'll have a look at it! Thanks!

[flibberdipper]

Well, that was quick.

[ChillKyle]

Highly recommend the NZXT Kraken x60. Have it and get great temperatures.

[TheProfosist]

H110 as it has a thicker rad than the nzxt

[Prophet of Entropy]

pretty well all custom loops are closed, I think you meant AIO (all in one)

[Imabigmac]

I have had no problems with my H110 been 3 months so far. I believe the corsair has a 5 year warranty which is longer than the NZXT 2 year. If you don't have a fan controller already I would probably go the x60 because of its integrated fan control. Warning 140mm static pressure fans are not as common as 120mm.  

 

Forgot the H110 has a different fan screw spacing than the x60. Corsairs spacing is 20mm and NZXT spacing is 15mm. This may mean depending on your case that one will not fit.   

[jimi]

Nepton 280L

[ChrisRK]

pretty well all custom loops are closed, I think you meant AIO (all in one)

 

They call them "Closed loops" in most of the ads I see, but yes. I mean an All in one watercooling.

 

 

Forgot the H110 has a different fan screw spacing than the x60. Corsairs spacing is 20mm and NZXT spacing is 15mm. This may mean depending on your case that one will not fit.   

 

I have the Define R4, so i guess the H110 won't fit then as the top fan mounts are 15mm apart.

 

 

Nepton 280L

 

I honestly don't like how it looks. I know looks isn't everything, but I don't think it will look good in my case.

[Prophet of Entropy]

custom loops are also closed, which is why I mention it. its like saying "which xxx-HP auto-mobile should I get?" when your only in the market for cars, not SUVs, vans or light trucks.

 

 

       

    

http://www.xs-pc.com/watercooling-kits/raystorm-750-ex280-watercooling-kit  is also a dual 140 closed loop.

[brob]

They call them "Closed loops" in most of the ads I see, but yes. I mean an All in one watercooling.

 

 

 

I have the Define R4, so i guess the H110 won't fit then as the top fan mounts are 15mm apart.

 

 

 

I honestly don't like how it looks. I know looks isn't everything, but I don't think it will look good in my case.

 

I believe the R4 will only take 240mm radiators up top. The Kraken X60 is 280mm and is not listed as compatible with the R4 in the Nzxt QVL.

 

The Cooler Master Glacer 240L / Swiftech H220 will fit, but the radiator is 29mm thick which may cause issues depending on the motherboard.

[Imabigmac]

you could look at a swiftech H220 but its 240mm radiator. 

[ChrisRK]

I believe the R4 will only take 240mm radiators up top. The Kraken X60 is 280mm and is not listed as compatible with the R4 in the Nzxt QVL.

 

The Cooler Master Glacer 240L / Swiftech H220 will fit, but the radiator is 29mm thick which may cause issues depending on the motherboard.

 

I just looked it up myself and saw that.

 

I was thinking about mounting the radiator in the front, and I did find a guide explaining how. It was rather simple (in short: drill four holes, get some longer screws and move the bottom HDD bays.) http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1772316'

 

So a 240mm radiator seems more tempting now as I don't want to break any warranties on the case just yet.

 

 

 

you could look at a swiftech H220 but its 240mm radiator. 

 

I can't find a store that sells it here in Norway.

[ChrisRK]

If I go down to a 240mm radiator, will I loose much cooling performance?

 

I can get the Antec Kühler H20 1220 for a really good price. Is that something I should consider getting?

[Prophet of Entropy]

modifying cases isn't that hard, i'm surprised more people don't do it.  and case warranty? that's for shipping mainly, if you got it and it works probably not going to break just siting on your desk, I have cases that are 15 years old, and the lights and switches still work. id use them but they are designed for 300W systems, and are rather small.

 

240 from 280 is a 30% drop or so.

[brob]

If I go down to a 240mm radiator, will I loose much cooling performance?

 

I can get the Antec Kühler H20 1220 for a really good price. Is that something I should consider getting?

 

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/cooling/2013/03/18/antec-k-hler-h2o-1220-review/1 seems fairly positive but the difference between LGA1155 and and LGA2011 is puzzling and makes me wonder about the testing methodology.

[ChrisRK]

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/cooling/2013/03/18/antec-k-hler-h2o-1220-review/1 seems fairly positive but the difference between LGA1155 and and LGA2011 is puzzling and makes me wonder about the testing methodology.

 

Those charts are a bit confusing really. I have the H20 920, and on the LGA2011 it beats the 1200 with 2 degrees! On 1155 the 1220 cools only cools 2 degrees better.

 

The 920 is fairly thick though. (almost 5 cm thick)

[Prophet of Entropy]

those 2 degrees could simply be answered by sloppy installation and poor methodology.  they even don't mention if they use the same type of TIM.

[ChrisRK]

 

those 2 degrees could simply be answered by sloppy installation and poor methodology.  they even don't mention if they use the same type of TIM.

 

 

Yeah, true.

 

I think I'll give the Antec 1220 a go. It looks okay enough on the charts and I can get it at a very reasonable price.

[brob]

Yeah, true.

 

I think I'll give the Antec 1220 a go. It looks okay enough on the charts and I can get it at a very reasonable price.

 

Let us know how it works out.

[ChrisRK]

Let us know how it works out.

 

 

Will do! I hope it arrives before Xmas

[ChrisRK]

So I finally got the 1220 and it works great!

 

This will be a quick and dirty summary of the cooling performance I think... I have never reviewed something before, so wish me luck!

All feedback is welcome!

 

 

First off I have to say thank you to everyone who has given me feedback on this thread! A 280mm radiator would never have fitted in the top of the Define R4.

 

 

So, for testing I ran my AMD FX-9590 at stock speed with TurboCore disabled, used Intel Burn Test running for 15 minutes for torturing and had my side panel off.
Antec ChillControl was set to the Silent profile for both tests. The stock fans are replaced with Corsair SP120 High Performance Edition PWM fans.

 

And the obligatory specs list:

CPU: AMD FX-9590

MB: ASUS Crosshair V Formula-Z

RAM: Curcial BallistiX Tactical Tracer, 4x4 GB

GPU: MSI 780 Lightning

PSU: Corsair AX860i

Case: Fractal Design Define R4

Extra fans: Corsair AF140 Quiet Edition\w blue LEDs

 

 

Antec Kühler H20 920

 

 

I have to say that the 920 is looking pretty beast with it's thickness, and it was conveniently covering up the molex power calbe to the motherboard which looks a bit ugly.

 

 

 

 

For cooling performance, it wasn't doing a very good job at keeping my 9590 cool.

The CPU reached a max temp of 65c (149f) and avereged at almost 64c (147.2f) and dropping down to 57c (134.6f) when Intel Burn Test went to the next loop.

 

My motherboard was doing a nice job at keeping close to near absolute zero though. Which is -273.15c (-459.67f) for those who shouldn't know

 

 

 

The liquid temps and fan speed was... Acceptable I guess. The liquid temperature was at a steady 47c (116.6f) (plus/minus 0.1c when the fan ramped up and down) and the fan noise was noticeable, but not very loud.

(I should have pulled out my dB meter and actually measured this... But I didn't. I also forgot to take a screenshot of the dashboard tab that has a built in dB scale. I have no idea if that is actually measuring the sound level or if it just works off variables.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next up whe have the:

Antec Kühler H20 1220

 

The radiator on it was nearly impossible to install with a push-pull configuration in my Fractal Design Define R4 case!

I even had to cut away a part of the colored ring on one of my SP120 fans to make it fit over my RAM

And here you can see molex cable going to the motherboard (best viewed in the full size picture linked below). Not looking very good there.

 

 

Link to a full size photo for those who wants that: http://i.imgur.com/SZV7x5v.jpg

 

 

Here's a proper close-up to show how little space there actually is left between the motherboard and the fans:

 

 

And link to the full-size picture if you so desire: http://i.imgur.com/RcqmhJj.jpg

 

 

 

The 1220 was doing a MUCH better job at cooling my CPU! Keeping it 14c (23.4f) cooler than the 920.

 

My CPU was steadily holding itself at 51c (123.8f) during the torture test, reaching a max of 52c (125.6f) [or 53c (127.4f) if you want] with an averege of what I really cannot say as OverDrive crashed about 6 minutes in the test.

The temp dropped quickly down to 45c (113f) when Intel Burn Test was going to the next loop.

 

My motherboard still keeping it cool at almost the absolute zero.

 

 

 

 

So this is the moment I would tell you how much cooler the liquid temperatures would be and show how fast the fans would spin, buuuuut...

There where a few problems:

 

First: the CD that came with the 1220 did not have the drivers on it. It only came with ChillControl VI and Open Hardware Monitor.

 

So obviously I went to Antec's homepage and downloaded the latest software from them. Also no driver.

 

Then I contacted Antec support.

 

This is what I wrote to them:

 

 

Hello.

I cannot find the USB driver for my new Kuhler H20 1220.
The CD did only come with the CC VI software, and the online download has the same content.

So can you please send me the USB driver?

Thanks.

 

 

This is what they told me:

 

 

Thank you for contacting Antec. The drivers for the Kuhler H2O 1220 should install with the Chill Control Software.

Thank you,
Antec Support Team

 

I got a reply within 20 minutes which was very positive, but their reply was not helpful.

 

After some googeling and talkin with peoples I managed to get the driver for it. Yay!

 

But wait! I said there where a few problems. So.

 

Second: I think the pictures here will talk by themselves.

 

 

 

 

That's right. The ChillControl panel keeps saying "USB connection lost!".

 

I know the driver works at least because it will only show an error message when it doesn't detect the USB device.

 

 

But ignoring my technical difficulties, the fans never ramped up and still my CPU was nice and cool! And if you ask, yes I know that the fan controller work properly. If you unplug the USB cable the fans immediately spins up to the max.

 

 

 

So there you have it!

 

That's my little review of the Antec Kühler H20 920 and 1220. The upgrade was absolutely worth it! But next time I'm gonna upgrade I will look for a case that actually can fit a large radiator inside.

[brob]

Thanks. The software not working is a pain. Did you submit a ticket to Antec?