XXXXXX

This topic is locked from further discussion.

231

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

#1 psych0mantra

Member since 2010 • 231 Posts

Which is more efficient? I am curious to know.

14 years ago

39858

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

Member since 2008 • 39858 Posts

Liquid is silent and will allow you to overclock futher but costs way more.

14 years ago

177

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

Member since 2005 • 177 Posts

Liquid is silent and will allow you to overclock futher but costs way more.MonsieurX

14 years ago

12552

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

Member since 2004 • 12552 Posts

More efficient? Air cooling of course. You don't have to power a pump, and your rad will need fans anyway which pretty much negates any lower noise benefits liquid cooling used to have (way back in the day, when CPU fans were often 80mm and there was no such thing as heatpipes).

14 years ago

12552

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

Member since 2004 • 12552 Posts

Liquid is silent and will allow you to overclock futher but costs way more.MonsieurX

Why does everyone keep saying liquid cooling is silent? Unless you're running a passive radiator and your pump in the other room, it's no quieter than air cooling. Both require fans, unless you're running a passive rad in which case a good air cooler will probably outperform the liquid setup.

14 years ago

2577

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

Member since 2003 • 2577 Posts

[QUOTE="MonsieurX"]Liquid is silent and will allow you to overclock futher but costs way more.RayvinAzn

Why does everyone keep saying liquid cooling is silent? Unless you're running a passive radiator and your pump in the other room, it's no quieter than air cooling. Both require fans, unless you're running a passive rad in which case a good air cooler will probably outperform the liquid setup.

because IT IS SILENT...depending on ur watercooling setup, u only need one fan to cool off both cpu and gpu...when you start playing games under air cooling, the fans starts to crank up which gets louder and louder...under watercooling, u don't really need to increase the fan speed

14 years ago

12552

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

Member since 2004 • 12552 Posts

[QUOTE="mike4realz"] because IT IS SILENT...depending on ur watercooling setup, u only need one fan to cool off both cpu and gpu...when you start playing games under air cooling, the fans starts to crank up which gets louder and louder...under watercooling, u don't really need to increase the fan speed

A good set of aftermarket CPU and GPU coolers can maintain very respectable temperatures at fixed speeds as well, and since heatsinks are a more open design than radiators, they don't need to move as fast either. And you still haven't addressed the issue of the pump. What do you think moves all that liquid around, gravity?

14 years ago

1839

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

#8 D1zzyCriminal

Member since 2009 • 1839 Posts

[QUOTE="mike4realz"] because IT IS SILENT...depending on ur watercooling setup, u only need one fan to cool off both cpu and gpu...when you start playing games under air cooling, the fans starts to crank up which gets louder and louder...under watercooling, u don't really need to increase the fan speedRayvinAzn

A good set of aftermarket CPU and GPU coolers can maintain very respectable temperatures at fixed speeds as well, and since heatsinks are a more open design than radiators, they don't need to move as fast either. And you still haven't addressed the issue of the pump. What do you think moves all that liquid around, gravity?

Good air cooling is just as good as water cooling for modest systems. Unless youre overclocking the proverbials off your CPU and SLI'ing some Fermi's or some other notoriously hot GPU, good air cooling will do the same job for much cheaper.

14 years ago

12552

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

Member since 2004 • 12552 Posts

Good air cooling is just as good as water cooling for modest systems. Unless youre overclocking the proverbials off your CPU and SLI'ing some Fermi's or some other notoriously hot GPU, good air cooling will do the same job for much cheaper.
D1zzyCriminal

Precisely. Unless you're an extreme overclocker, have a good bit of time and money on your hands, or are building a setup to impress potential clients, air cooling is almost always the better option.

14 years ago

2577

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

Member since 2003 • 2577 Posts

A good set of aftermarket CPU and GPU coolers can maintain very respectable temperatures at fixed speeds as well, and since heatsinks are a more open design than radiators, they don't need to move as fast either. And you still haven't addressed the issue of the pump. What do you think moves all that liquid around, gravity?RayvinAzn

an issue with the pump? i don't get it? is there an issue powering up a pump?

14 years ago

12552

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

Member since 2004 • 12552 Posts

an issue with the pump? i don't get it? is there an issue powering up a pump?
mike4realz

You do know that pumps make noise, right? Vibrations can get especially bad in poorly made cases. The days of liquid cooling being vastly superior to air cooling in terms of both temperatures and noise were a decade ago, when heatsinks were just blocks of aluminum or copper with a few fins cut in and 80mm fans were considered large for a CPU.

14 years ago

2577

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

Member since 2003 • 2577 Posts

[QUOTE="RayvinAzn"][QUOTE="mike4realz"]

an issue with the pump? i don't get it? is there an issue powering up a pump?

You do know that pumps make noise, right? Vibrations can get especially bad in poorly made cases. The days of liquid cooling being vastly superior to air cooling in terms of both temperatures and noise were a decade ago, when heatsinks were just blocks of aluminum or copper with a few fins cut in and 80mm fans were considered large for a CPU.

no i didn't know pumps make noise...my pump does not make any noise. the only thing i hear are my case fans moving the air. i know pumps generates vibrations but they usually includes noise isolating pads u can use when installing i know that companies came up with better air cooling solutions by makin them huge but still think liquid cooling is the best (if u buildi ur own that is). i've used the best aftermarket air coolers for my cpu and gpu but with the amount of heat they generate, i had to crank up the fan and really hate those fan noises. i just had to go back to watercooling.

14 years ago

12552

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

Member since 2004 • 12552 Posts

[QUOTE="mike4realz"] no i didn't know pumps make noise...my pump does not make any noise. the only thing i hear are my case fans moving the air. i know pumps generates vibrations but they usually includes noise isolating pads u can use when installing i know that companies came up with better air cooling solutions by makin them huge but still think liquid cooling is the best (if u buildi ur own that is). i've used the best aftermarket air coolers for my cpu and gpu but with the amount of heat they generate, i had to crank up the fan and really hate those fan noises. i just had to go back to watercooling.

Running a Yorkfield chip at 4GHz with a GTX 470 I can't say I blame you for wanting to go with liquid cooling. For those of us with more modest goals, it's really not necessary.

14 years ago

304

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 36

User Lists: 0

#14 capitalism25

Member since 2009 • 304 Posts

One difference is that watercooling setups can save you alot of space(depending on your case).The problem with aircooling is that pathways can be easily blocked by wires/etc (but wire management is alot helpful).Watercooling directly cools things but its buddy's (rads,pumps etc) are quite annoying at times. Aircooling is also easier to mentain.Watercooling is for extreme overclockers who junks their system to give extra FPS..which is not really necessary especially if the game is playable.

14 years ago

9816

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

Member since 2008 • 9816 Posts

I find the roar of my many fans quite soothing tbh.

14 years ago

3064

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

#16 ravenguard90

Member since 2005 • 3064 Posts

Saying water cooling is silent is wrong, but saying it's just as noisy as air cooling is false too. Many radiators out there can use low-RPM fans on them, and still provide even better results compared to air cooling. As for the complaint about the pump, that's probably the noisiest part of a water-cooling loop depending on your setup, and even then it's nothing compared to the high-RPM fans needed for good air cooling.

Water cooling is more for those who are overclocking a lot, and want to get every single ounce of speed from their system without breaking the bank too much. It's not so much for gaming anymore when you go water-cooling, but rather for the benchmarking enthusiasts.

And saying they don't perform that much better than air cooling is just plain wrong. You can easily shave 10-20C off your system temperatures just by switching from high-end air cooling to water cooling.

14 years ago

6606

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

Member since 2005 • 6606 Posts

For 95% of the situations you'd want to use Air Cooling, for the left 5% you might want to use Liquid Cooling. I've never used liquid cooling in my system before but it is for those who aim to overclock their systems to high levels. I for example have an i7 and GTX 480 both overclocked to 3.25 for the former and 1600/800/2050 for the latter and I'm still comfortable with Air Cooling. The best way imo to kill the extra noise that your fans usually make when putting high load on your system is to manually set the speed of your fans. I game with my GPU fan running @ 65% or 75% which is quite for me, 78% or more makes the fan noise clearly hear-able.

14 years ago

2276

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 20

User Lists: 0

Member since 2007 • 2276 Posts

Water cooling is better for serious overclockers, but otherwise, air cooling works just fine

14 years ago

127

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

Member since 2009 • 127 Posts

Liquid cooling is more efficient.

14 years ago

426

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

#20 California74

Member since 2002 • 426 Posts

[QUOTE="RayvinAzn"]A good set of aftermarket CPU and GPU coolers can maintain very respectable temperatures at fixed speeds as well, and since heatsinks are a more open design than radiators, they don't need to move as fast either. And you still haven't addressed the issue of the pump. What do you think moves all that liquid around, gravity?mike4realz

an issue with the pump? i don't get it? is there an issue powering up a pump?

mike4realz what kind of water cooling setup do you have? and what case. i have a system almost like yours.

Intel q9650, 4gb G-skill ddr2 ram, Gigabyte ep45-UD3R Mobo, EVGA GTX 460 sc, Creative X-Fi Fatal1ty, Windows XP home 32bit

14 years ago

3798

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 2

User Lists: 0

Member since 2008 • 3798 Posts

Ok first off after market gpu coolers is MORE ridiculous then water cooling blocks. Second I see no reason not to get water cooling if your an avid overclocker just cause you aren't doesn't mean he isn't.

14 years ago

2577

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

Member since 2003 • 2577 Posts

[QUOTE="California74"]

mike4realz what kind of water cooling setup do you have? and what case. i have a system almost like yours.

Intel q9650, 4gb G-skill ddr2 ram, Gigabyte ep45-UD3R Mobo, EVGA GTX 460 sc, Creative X-Fi Fatal1ty, Windows XP home 32bit

koolance CPU-330 cpu block swiftech MCW80 GTX470 gpu block swiftech mcp350 pump two swiftech MCR120 quiet power radiator (stacked) all of those inside my antec p182 case

14 years ago

426

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

#23 California74

Member since 2002 • 426 Posts

[QUOTE="California74"]
mike4realz what kind of water cooling setup do you have? and what case. i have a system almost like yours.
Intel q9650, 4gb G-skill ddr2 ram, Gigabyte ep45-UD3R Mobo, EVGA GTX 460 sc, Creative X-Fi Fatal1ty, Windows XP home 32bit
mike4realz

koolance CPU-330 cpu block swiftech MCW80 GTX470 gpu block swiftech mcp350 pump two swiftech MCR120 quiet power radiator (stacked) all of those inside my antec p182 case

cool!! thanx man.

so how quiet is your set up compared to stock fans?

14 years ago

14962

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 4

User Lists: 0

#24 Daytona_178

Member since 2005 • 14962 Posts

Liquid is silent and will allow you to overclock futher but costs way more.MonsieurX

But you need fans on your radiator!

14 years ago

2577

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

Member since 2003 • 2577 Posts

[QUOTE="California74"]

[QUOTE="mike4realz"][QUOTE="California74"]

mike4realz what kind of water cooling setup do you have? and what case. i have a system almost like yours.

Intel q9650, 4gb G-skill ddr2 ram, Gigabyte ep45-UD3R Mobo, EVGA GTX 460 sc, Creative X-Fi Fatal1ty, Windows XP home 32bit

koolance CPU-330 cpu block swiftech MCW80 GTX470 gpu block swiftech mcp350 pump two swiftech MCR120 quiet power radiator (stacked) all of those inside my antec p182 case

cool!! thanx man.

so how quiet is your set up compared to stock fans?

temp are way better now and not bothered by those jet engine fans of those fermi cards...it was 60C idle / 90-95C load on stock fans and now it's 35C idle / 45C load under low settings...25C-30C idle / 40C load under high settings

14 years ago

7971

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 23

User Lists: 0

#26 lettuceman44

Member since 2005 • 7971 Posts

There are enough silent fans out these days(silent and large fans), that I don't think watercooling is really worth it anymore.

14 years ago

12552

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

Member since 2004 • 12552 Posts

[QUOTE="IvanElk"]Ok first off after market gpu coolers is MORE ridiculous then water cooling blocks. Second I see no reason not to get water cooling if your an avid overclocker just cause you aren't doesn't mean he isn't.

Since when does an avid overclocker spend tons of money on hardware? I remember when overclocking was about spending as little as possible for maximum performance. I'm recommending against liquid cooling for him because I HAVE done it. Generally speaking, if someone is asking if they SHOULD go liquid cooling, the answer is no. If they're asking about tubing sizes, tips on res/T-line locations in a specific case or whatnot, they're probably ready. If they're too lazy to even use Google, a liquid cooling loop isn't something I'd recommend for them. As for block prices, a solid air cooler will run you about $60. A good water block tends to run you $120-$150. Unless you're willing to risk all the power circuitry and RAM on your graphics card to get a GPU-only block for around the same price as an air cooler. And of course the block itself doesn't make a whole loop. You still need a rad, pump, tubing, coolant, fans, clamps, and a res.

14 years ago

ColdfireTrilogy

4911

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 11

User Lists: 0

#28 ColdfireTrilogy

Member since 2005 • 4911 Posts

Uh both waterpumps in my loop are dead silent. Inside the case they make absolutely no db change on my db meter if have it sitting outside my case more than 6 inches. 2 or 3 Yate-Loon fans on a radiator and your looking at high air flow at extremely low db levels. My liquid cooling PC is basically silent. Using Yate-loon fans in a watercooling loop and using normal pump mounting proceedures such as vibration dampeners like a foam or cushion and you will have almost silent cooling. And cooling that is vastly superior to anything air cooling can provide. and you dont need a resevior btw ... a T-line can effectively function as your res. I do agree though that he doesn't need liquid cooling most likely. These aren't the forums to frequent if you want to learn how to do that anyway. Something like HardOC or EOC forums would be a more likely spot to learn. There are 2 things i don't EVER recommend for anyone interested in liquid cooling. 1) never use thermaltake Liquid cooling products, EVER. They make decent cases and some other parts like PSUs but their WC line is abysmal. 2) Don't buy liquid cooling bundles that include everything necessary, its good to learn and do research and usually (always) you end up with better parts, better cooling, and less of a dent on your pocket.

14 years ago

25

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

Member since 2009 • 25 Posts

If you mean financially efficient, you are wrong, air cooling gives far better results per dollar spent. If you mean Physically efficient, again you are wrong, air cooling has fewer moving parts and a more direct method of heat dissapation, after all it is still the air that cools the liquid, so adding more layers to that thermal transfer is less efficeint. Liquid cooling is also less efficient in reguards to the overall weight of components, number of components and distribution of components (ie. the routing of tubes to carry the liquid to the radiator). Air cooling is always the best choice for all applications, it is what is used in all industry applications through the use of high efficiency air conditioning units to cool the computer room until you get into the large supercomputers which use liquid nitrogen and must have the air dried with dehumidifiers so they don't frost up. Liquid cooling for desktop PC's is just a lot of hype to sell the components that manufacturers make.

14 years ago

1206

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 2

User Lists: 0

Member since 2008 • 1206 Posts

Liquid cooling is more efficient.
venjhammet

More efficient in WHAT??? Cost? Installation? Price/performance?

Air Cooling is more efficient... Cost less than liquid cooling, Installation is easier than liquid cooling, Price/performance a lot better than liquid cooling...

14 years ago

33028

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 17

User Lists: 0

Member since 2007 • 33028 Posts

[QUOTE="venjhammet"]
Liquid cooling is more efficient.
Aldouz

More efficient in WHAT??? Cost? Installation? Price/performance?

Air Cooling is more efficient... Cost less than liquid cooling, Installation is easier than liquid cooling, Price/performance a lot better than liquid cooling...

Exactly. I never saw the need for water-cooling. You can do some serious overclocking with air-cooling. Anything pass that? Does nothing really. It's just for enthusiasts. Although, nothing is wrong with that either.

14 years ago

29917

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

Member since 2005 • 29917 Posts

[QUOTE="RayvinAzn"] You do know that pumps make noise, right?

Most people seem to mount them on big pads of insulation foam these days so the effectively make no noise. Water cooling is better but efficient really depends on your definition. Do you mean more efficient use of materials, money, power, power to produce...?

14 years ago

29917

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

Member since 2005 • 29917 Posts

[QUOTE="RayvinAzn"] Since when does an avid overclocker spend tons of money on hardware? I remember when overclocking was about spending as little as possible for maximum performance.

Those days are long gone. Now it's about achieveing the highest clocks physically possible, no comprimises.

14 years ago

2652

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

Member since 2003 • 2652 Posts

The thing I like most about watercooling is there is no noise increase from idle to full load with max overclocking with my system. No more jet engine gfx card when overclocking it. I can take my HD5870 from 1.125v and 850mhz to 1.350v and 1070mhz without increasing a decibel, all while staying under 50C at full load.

14 years ago

30

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 1

User Lists: 0

#36 Nightfall31

Member since 2010 • 30 Posts

I find the roar of my many fans quite soothing tbh.C_Rule

For some odd reason, I agree with this. I even have fans running in my gaming room. And the sound of them is, like he said, a bit soothing as it were lol.....

14 years ago

tequilasunriser

6379

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

#37 tequilasunriser

Member since 2004 • 6379 Posts

I never notice the hum of my PC's many fans until I read threads like this. Screw you guys! :P

14 years ago

509

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

#38 paladinqueen

Member since 2010 • 509 Posts

Fan cooling

14 years ago

Jump to Top

Please Log In to post.

Use your keyboard!

ESC

Log in to comment