Do i have to have Water Cooling if i am going to Overclock?

[Lee Pigdon]

As the title reads really. I have no exerience in Water Cooling at all. I am also sceptical regarding fitting one in to my Corsair 400r case as some people have said the 240mm Radiator mount at the top of this case can obstruct the power port for the CPU when its top left of your Mobo (like my mobo). Can anyone help me out with my concerns.

 

Thanks.

[+LogicalApex MVC]

Do you need it? No. It can be a help depending on how much you want to overclock. At some point you reach a ceiling heat wise. At that point water becomes an option... Or liquid nitrogen.

[Kelxin]

You don't "have" to wear saftey glasses when you weld, you don't have to wear a cup when you play football, you honestly don't have to do anything.  Is it safer?  yes.   Is heat bad for a processor?  Definitely, the hotter the chip gets and stays, the more likely that the silicon is going to break down faster.  Is watercooling better than every other cooling solution?  yep, thats why people do it.

[Mindovermaster Moderator]

Water Cooling is not a necessity, but for a high overclock, it is recommended.

 

Get a closed circuit water cooling system, like Corsair H80, H100, etc. It's so easy to set up, and it cools my i5 3570, overclocked to 4.1Ghz, I get 50c on load. So, it's nice to have, but not a requirement.

 

With a Corsair H80, you can mount it to the back fan of your case.

[HawkMan]

No, air can cool as well as water unless you're going extreme with custom water cooling setup.

You need water cooling if you want to play on the computer without wearing a closed headset.

[Lee Pigdon]

Water Cooling is not a necessity, but for a high overclock, it is recommended.

 

Get a closed circuit water cooling system, like Corsair H80, H100, etc. It's so easy to set up, and it cools my i5 3570, overclocked to 4.1Ghz, I get 50c on load. So, it's nice to have, but not a requirement.

 

With a Corsair H80, you can mount it to the back fan of your case.

You mean replacing my rear exhaust fan? In which case (no pun intended) i would have to fit an exhaust fan elsewhere?

No, air can cool as well as water unless you're going extreme with custom water cooling setup.

You need water cooling if you want to play on the computer without wearing a closed headset.

Due to noise?

[Mindovermaster Moderator]

No, air can cool as well as water unless you're going extreme with custom water cooling setup.

You need water cooling if you want to play on the computer without wearing a closed headset.

 

Water cooling isn't exactly quiet. You still need fans to cool the reservoir.

You mean replacing my rear exhaust fan? In which case (no pun intended) i would have to fit an exhaust fan elsewhere?

 

Air can still travel through the back, just that there's this big thing on the back.

[HawkMan]

Water cooling isn't exactly quiet. You still need fans to cool the reservoir.

Yeah, big slow fans working on far more efficient radiators(btw you cool the radiators, not the reservoir ;)) and equally efficient air cooling solution is far more noisy, especially when you go up the the triple fan corsairs or the ones with external radiator towers.

Due to noise?

Yes, water cooling is primarily for making silent computers. At least today, with very efficient air coolers, but again, noisy.

[Lee Pigdon]

Water cooling isn't exactly quiet. You still need fans to cool the reservoir.

 

Air can still travel through the back, just that there's this big thing on the back.

Ill take a look at the possibilty of the H80 and possibly use the top fan mounts for X2 120mm Red LED fans.

[Mindovermaster Moderator]

Yeah, big slow fans working on far more efficient radiators(btw you cool the radiators, not the reservoir ;)) and equally efficient air cooling solution is far more noisy, especially when you go up the the triple fan corsairs or the ones with external radiator towers.

 

Radiators, that's what I was thinking of.

 

But my H80i is about quiet as my XIGMATEK Black Knight. But both fans, I had them underpowered.

[Lee Pigdon]

Radiators, that's what I was thinking of.

 

But my H80i is about quiet as my XIGMATEK Black Knight. But both fans, I had them underpowered.

Does that H80i use the new Link technology?

[spikey_richie]

Does that H80i use the new Link technology?

 

The i series all do, I believe. I have a H80 and it's not PWM; I have to press a button on the CPU block to change the pump & fan speed. I could buy a controller, but it's ~ ?80 which is the cost of a new i series module. I ended up getting a refurb H80 for < ?40 from Scan, as I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. After about a week I went back to a HSF.

 

Regards the original question; it's more a matter of noise. I have a Dark Rock Pro 2 on my i7 2770k which is OC'd to 4.6Ghz. I prefer that to the H80, as the H80 is louder when set to achieve the same temperature delta as the DRP2. There's also less risk involved with a HSF, due to the lack of fluid which COULD (but likely won't) leak.

Water cooling isn't exactly quiet. You still need fans to cool the reservoir.

 

And a pump, which can get quite noisy.

[Mindovermaster Moderator]

Does that H80i use the new Link technology?

 

The i series, yes.

[Lee Pigdon]

The i series all do, I believe. I have a H80 and it's not PWM; I have to press a button on the CPU block to change the pump & fan speed.

 

Regards the original question; it's more a matter of noise. I have a Dark Rock Pro 2 on my i7 2770k which is OC'd to 4.6Ghz. I prefer that to the H80, as the H80 is louder when set to achieve the same temperature delta as the DRP2. There's also less risk involved with a HSF, due to the lack of fluid which COULD (but likely won't) leak.

 

And a pump, which can get quite noisy.

I would be lieing if i said i was not worried about leakages.

 

Mixed reviews here has given me lots to think about.

[spikey_richie]

Another thing to mention is that a HSF will also cool the chips on the motherboard around the base of block. A water block won't do this, and if you're OC'ing you want to keep those chips and caps cool.

I would be lieing if i said i was not worried about leakages.

 

Mixed reviews here has given me lots to think about.

 

Be Quiet have just released the Dark Rock Pro 3. Worth looking at some benchmarks vs a water block.

 

http://hexus.net/tech/reviews/cooling/68713-quiet-dark-rock-pro-3/

[Mindovermaster Moderator]

I would be lieing if i said i was not worried about leakages.

 

Mixed reviews here has given me lots to think about.

 

I and friends never had an issue with them. But, if you are worried, you do NOT HAVE to use water cooling while OCing.

 

Be Quiet have just released the Dark Rock Pro 3. Worth looking at some benchmarks vs a water block.

 

http://hexus.net/tech/reviews/cooling/68713-quiet-dark-rock-pro-3/

 

That thing look enormous...

[spikey_richie]

That thing look enormous...

 

That's what she said ;)

 

The DRP2 is pretty massive too, but my FD R4 is plenty big enough.

[Lee Pigdon]

Another thing to mention is that a HSF will also cool the chips on the motherboard around the base of block. A water block won't do this, and if you're OC'ing you want to keep those chips and caps cool.

 

Be Quiet have just released the Dark Rock Pro 3. Worth looking at some benchmarks vs a water block.

 

http://hexus.net/tech/reviews/cooling/68713-quiet-dark-rock-pro-3/

Beastly isnt it. Not sure on the large profile.

[Aergan]

I always found the pumps end up being the loudest audible component for long sessions.

 

Water cooling can be quite high maintenance depending on the setup and certainly isn't a "fit and forget" experience. Di-ionised water is cheap but anti algae / anti corrosive agents aren't.

 

I recommend using a UV agent in any water cooling setup as it was most helpful in finding that the internal seal had failed on my first pump and flooded the motherboard tray.

[Astra.Xtreme]

I personally like water cooling because it's so much smaller.  A tiny plate connected to the CPU and a fairly thin radiator with a fan. 

A good air cooler is a massive chunk of metal that takes up a huge amount of space.

 

Both methods will work, but one is basically bigger than the other.  And I've found that water cooling is quieter, but then again I only have one fan on my radiator.  Overclocking my i7 to 4.5GHz was no problem.

[Slammers]

You need water cooling if you want to play on the computer without wearing a closed headset.

 

Lol! Is this a joke? Sure some people are picky about how noisey their pc is, but unless you playing on super quiet you cannot hear your pc over your speakers. 

To say you need water cooling if you want to play without a headset/earphones is ridiculous. 

[HawkMan]

I always found the pumps end up being the loudest audible component for long sessions.

Water cooling can be quite high maintenance depending on the setup and certainly isn't a "fit and forget" experience. Di-ionised water is cheap but anti algae / anti corrosive agents aren't.

I recommend using a UV agent in any water cooling setup as it was most helpful in finding that the internal seal had failed on my first pump and flooded the motherboard tray.

There's absolutely no maintenance on the closed loop water coolers

Lol! Is this a joke? Sure some people are picky about how noisey their pc is, but unless you playing on super quiet you cannot hear your pc over your speakers.

To say you need water cooling if you want to play without a headset/earphones is ridiculous.

sure if you're playing BF4 with constant shooting

What about all the other games with lots of silence and sneaking...

I personally like water cooling because it's so much smaller. A tiny plate connected to the CPU and a fairly thin radiator with a fan.

A good air cooler is a massive chunk of metal that takes up a huge amount of space.

Both methods will work, but one is basically bigger than the other. And I've found that water cooling is quieter, but then again I only have one fan on my radiator. Overclocking my i7 to 4.5GHz was no problem.

More fans is actually quieter, unless they're bieber fans :p

[vcfan]

I personally like water cooling because it's so much smaller.  A tiny plate connected to the CPU and a fairly thin radiator with a fan. 

A good air cooler is a massive chunk of metal that takes up a huge amount of space.

does it matter though if its in your case?

[Astra.Xtreme]

does it matter though if its in your case?

It might help airflow slightly.  If you pull in air from the front of the case, having the free space by the CPU will help the air flow smoothly out the back or top.  Not having a heavy heatsink will also be less stress on your mobo.  Though mine sits horizontal, so it wouldn't make a difference.  Overall, very very minor.

[Salty Wagyu]

My Corsair H50 (4 years ago?) was nosier than the new Coolermaster Hyper 212 EVO Cooler I bought last year, and it cools even better than the H50. I've overclocked by about 1GHz, makes no sense the EVO is way cheaper but there you go :)