Cooling Water cooling research, or stick with air cooled...

I'm considering making the jump to a water cooled system. I'm not looking to overclock, but simply to pull my system temps down, especially in the summer. If I do this, initially, I am only going to cool the CPU, later I may add in, and cool the GPUs, as well.

Here's my current system:
Core2 Quad Q6600
Coolermaster Stacker 810 (the original Stacker)
2x 8800GTS 640MB

I'm currently looking at some components from Danger Den, the radiator someone on the DD forums suggested might not be enough. The radiator in question is the Black Ice Micro 2 (mounting for 2x 80mm fans) Part of the reason I'm looking at this radiator, is it will mount at the bottom of my case, where I currently have a pair of 80mm fans now. I couldn't fit a dual 120mm fan size radiator there.

I am also not planning to have a reservoir, could this be an issue? I have noticed DD carries a bracket to allow mounting of a 2x 120mm radiator on the bottom of the Stacker, presumably by removing the grill that's there now, but this tends to push the price a little more out of what I'd like to spend.

Any thoughts, comments, suggestions, appreciated.

As for sticking with air-cooling, I've got a Thermaltake Tower 112 Pure Cu (solid copper heatsink / fins) Here's a site that seems to still be selling it: AeroCooler Would this likely be sufficient to keep my CPU cool, especially with a pair of fans in a push / pull configuration to move the air through?

Thanks,
Jason

 

Hi,

What budget are you looking to spend?.

TBH getting a dual 80mm fan radiator is a waste of time, you need to be looking at 240 rad for it not to be a waste of time.

 

Water cooling on a PC that doesn't get hotter from overclocking? I guess you just want water cooling? Why put water cooling on a system that can be cooled perfectly with an air cooler? Keep in mind water and electricity are not friends. Assembled correctly they are safe but why expose your system to the chance for a water problem, without added heat from O.C. I am sure that the water cooler systems are getting real good, but a friend of mine had a water system on his PC and as time went on he developed a leak, and didn't realize it. He fixed the leak and still uses it. He saw my PC overclocked with air (Zalman 9700NT) on my GD70 and I am running in the 30's(c) to low 40's(c) and he talked me out of water cooling. His previous air cooler did not do the job when he went water a long time back, but the newer air coolers are better. So do you need it or is it a toy? Why expose you system to a small risk if not being used?
It will be a cool mod for conversation. But it will also be another item to keep an eye on.

Good luck.

 

Firstly, not overclocking!?

What coolers do you currently have for your cpu and graphics card? If you slap a Titan Fenrir on that cpu it'll run really really cool (after all, the fenrir can run an OCd quad core nice and cool ). Copper cpu coolers tend not to perform any better than aluminium ones. The one you've selected is pretty cheap for copper, but you'd be better getting an aluminium one that has lots more heatpipes (such as the titan fenrir or thermalright ultra-120 extreme).

 

Yeah, I'm not an overclocker...

As for the current system, I'm using the stock Intel fan / heatsink, I've not wanted to mount the big copper heatsink, in part due to concerns about it flexing the motherboard.

Price-wise, I got the cooler about a year ago, on clearance from the local MicroCenter, for under $20. I suppose I could always take it up to a recycling place, see what a pound of copper might get me right now...

As for watercooling, I know I'd have to be wary of leaks in the system. Partly, my PC room doesn't get cooled very well in the summer by the AC, I've seen my idle temps some days go quite high. I'm primarily looking to achieve two things:
1. Keep the system a bit cooler in the summer. I know WCing won't *ever* take it below ambient, but somedays, that would be much better than what it does get to.
2. Quiet down the system, at least a touch. Currently, I've got the following fans in the PC:

1. 2x 120mm intake fans
2. 1x 120mm exhaust fan
3. 2x 80mm exhaust fans
4. 120mm power supply fan
5. CPU fan
6. the fans on the 8800GTSes​

When the room gets warm, and those fans get going, it can get a bit noisy...

I suppose, if they're not total junk, I could look at getting one of those "one-piece" water cooling boxes, where the waterblock / radiator / pump are all one pre-assembled unit, to at least reduce the risk of a leak. Of course, this has the distinct disadvantage of, if I decide later to add cooling to the vid cards, making it much more difficult, if not impossible, short of buying a whole new kit...

Thanks,
Jason

 

Tbh if you're not an overclocker then temps don't really mean anything, as long as the system's stable.

So if the cooling atm works fine without too much noise then why fix something that isn't broken?

 

everyone just seems intent on not wanting you to get WC.



I'd say a dual 120mm rad would cool a stock Q6600, and with some quiet Scythe S-Flex 1600rpm fans should be pretty quiet.

The all in one watercooling systems are usually pretty rubbish, every single one that CustomPC have tested has failed miserably and been outperformed by the stock coolers.

Bear in mind though, that you may still have just as many fans as you have now when you watercool, as you'll still need air moving through the case for other components.


So, you may be wiser spending the money on some quieter fans and trying that Thermaltake HSF you've got, you never know, you might be surprised.

And to be honest, to get a really good watercooling kit, that'll keep it down at ambient temp, you are going to have to spend quite a bit.

 

QX9650, nForce 790i chipset and GTX295 on a dual 91mm radiator.


Proof you really dont NEED a GTX480/ThermoChill PA120.3/TFC Monsta.

 

Watercooling is unnecessary with the system you have, and air coolers get the job done VERY well. Take that money you considered on water cooling, and buy the baddest most evil top of the line air cooler there is if you want a piece of mind

Titan Fenrir seems to be one of the popular ones, but there are so many other great coolers. Check reviews here and on anandtech etc.