# Air vs Closed Loop Liquid



## fenurch (Dec 29, 2015)

Dear TPU'rs.

I'm currently running a 3750k at stock and have done so for the last couple of years since I stopped gaming and didn't see a need. I used to have an open loop WC setup but this was more of a childhood dream and I didn't maintain or utilise it as I should have so eventually took it off and stuck the stock cooler back on. I've recently gotten back into gaming and have started considering OC'ing. Having never done it before, I am only aware of the fact that I shouldn't bother on my stock cooler. Tried reading a bunch of guides and comparisons initially for air coolers but then discovered closed loop WC packages and it only got more confusing from thereon.

I trust Corsair and they have great warranty so I was looking into H80i GT (or something similar) but it seems that these are only rated for moderate OC'ing. Space shouldn't be an issue as I'm running 2x 140mm exhaust fans at the top of the case but the bigger, 280mm closed loops seem to cost more and I'm not sure if they're entirely necessary for the not overly extreme clocking that I shall be doing. 

I am put off by some higher end air coolers because they can't block my first PCI slot as my D2X is currently taking up that space.

So the question is:

Provided I may only clock up to 4.5 GHz, what cooler (air or liquid) would be better suited for no more than ~ £70 that would be as silent as possible?


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## FreedomEclipse (Dec 29, 2015)

Noctua NH-D14 - nuff said.


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## xkm1948 (Dec 29, 2015)

I went with Noctua D15, couldn't be happier. Used their C14 in the past, awesome quality and even more awesome customer service!


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## oinkypig (Dec 29, 2015)

Thermalright Ultra 120 true copper 2/3 the size and shiny


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## lonewolf (Dec 29, 2015)

I swapped to the corsair I believe it is the H100 about two years ago. It handles an I7 920 clocked at 4.0.  It is a matter of preference some of the better air coolers are just as good but I wanted the liquid cooling without the maintenance of a traditional liquid set up.


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## DarthBaggins (Dec 29, 2015)

BeQuiet Dark Rock Pro 3 or CryoRig R1 Ultimate for air is what I'd get and either are just below your budget


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## fenurch (Dec 29, 2015)

I'm afraid I can't go for a Noctua due to the vomit inducing browns that they use. It's silly, I know but I really can't.
I think the Thermalright has been discontinued and can no longer be purchased.
And the Dark Rock Pro 3 or R1 Ultimate (I would totally go for these) are both so big that they block the first motherboard expansion slot.

Is a closed loop setup really that bad?


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## GreiverBlade (Dec 29, 2015)

fenurch said:


> I'm afraid I can't go for a Noctua due to the vomit inducing browns that they use. It's silly, I know but I really can't.


you forgot about the price of them ..... BeQuiet, Thermalright, Cryorigs, Scythe  have far better price ratio (cooler master also ... but for me they look like Arctic : cheap price and cheap build albeit being good performer)

closed loop hum well ... H100i GT or Seidon 240m or Nepton 240/280 are not bad (fav goes for CM rather than Corsair for the price/perf ratio)
i ran a custom loop different air cooler and now a Raijintek Triton slightly modified (CF: Sys Specs )


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## Ferrum Master (Dec 29, 2015)

D15s and case closed . No crappy AIO.

Solution for vomit...

Thermalright TY-147A + EK vardar ER in the front.


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## R-T-B (Dec 29, 2015)

fenurch said:


> I'm afraid I can't go for a Noctua due to the vomit inducing browns that they use. It's silly, I know but I really can't.
> I think the Thermalright has been discontinued and can no longer be purchased.
> And the Dark Rock Pro 3 or R1 Ultimate (I would totally go for these) are both so big that they block the first motherboard expansion slot.
> 
> Is a closed loop setup really that bad?



Look at this Phanteks.  Not bad either and color options.  Performs nearly as good as top end Noctua stuff, if not equally:

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Phanteks/PH-TC14PE/


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## rtwjunkie (Dec 29, 2015)

Zalman CNPS 9900 Max.  I'm using one on my 3770k.  Keeps things very chilly, and almost always affordable.


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## CAPSLOCKSTUCK (Dec 29, 2015)

ive got this







http://www.corsair.com/en-gb/hydro-series-h50-quiet-cpu-cooler


they are cheap and good, my Xeon X 5670 is massively o/c and this works fine. with it...........i got mine new for 50 quid, you can always put another fan on the back as well, i havent bothered because my temps are good.


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## jboydgolfer (Dec 29, 2015)

CAPSLOCKSTUCK said:


> ive got this



couple questions bud....

how long have you been running that Cooler?
is it audible?


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## fenurch (Dec 29, 2015)

Thanks everyone, I think I've made up my mind.


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## CAPSLOCKSTUCK (Dec 29, 2015)

jboydgolfer said:


> couple questions bud....
> 
> how long have you been running that Cooler?
> is it audible?



hiya Pal

approximately 8 months

the unit makes no noise other than a barely audible squirt on startup, more of a clunk than a squirt i suppose as the pump starts.


I think it looks great too


ASUS





MSI
extra fan on reverse of rad






right now






yesterday i bought Corsair H100 240mm for 25 quid with no fans and a couple of bruised fins, i will replace the fans and conceal the fins with the new fans........


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## jboydgolfer (Dec 29, 2015)

CAPSLOCKSTUCK said:


> hiya Pal
> 
> approximately 8 months



nice. Yeah i have the Older no longer manufactured H-70 C edition and it is DEAD silent (aside from the start-up "swoosh"), and has been running Strong for 5 or 6 years now 24/7. I was only asking because I read several complaints that the newer models were on the louder side, but from looking @ pictured, the pumps look the same as the old ones..maybe just bologna-heads complaining for the sake of complaining. 
Here My 'ole girl..notice the old TERRIBLE "ribbed" for Noones pleasure tubing


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## CAPSLOCKSTUCK (Dec 29, 2015)

the H100 has a dial on the unit where you can adjust the fan speed of the 4 fans you attach  to the pump itself


which means more trailing cables because the fans dont plug into the board.






i will control the fans through a multi header on the mobo instead, rather than dangling cables everywhere.


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## jboydgolfer (Dec 29, 2015)

just as a test i tried not plugging in the Pump plug and the CPU still stayed cool. You can actually see in that older pic , I had the pumps cables tied up on the ribbed pump tubing ..

That h-100 never seemed like a fit for me... the 70 keeps me @ sub 70C so i see No reason to go any bigger. but im only running a 2500k , not a xeon


i AM kind of jealous the newer ones have the pump light though...i wish mine did. 



CAPSLOCKSTUCK said:


> i will control the fans through a multi header on the mobo instead, rather than dangling cables everywhere.



yup..the old one i have has those damn cables too. iiirc there are 3... two for plugging  fans in, and one to run the pump.


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## CAPSLOCKSTUCK (Dec 29, 2015)

at 4.5ghz  100% load i hit 70 degrees on the hottest core, I am ok with that considering that is a 50% o/c over stock

http://hwbot.org/submission/3039735_capslockstuck_cinebench___r15_xeon_x5670_1026_cb/

The H100 is more than likely going with an  X5650 which will also enjoy a 50 % o/c. It is a huge rad but i am thinking of building "  a PC in a hamster cage" for gaming so the rad can just go on top.


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## peche (Dec 29, 2015)

well air coolers are great, I have used a couple of Thermaltakes air units as typhoon and mini typhoon,  Frio OCK and nic3, they are great,  also some noctua units but I prefer AIO water-cooling solutions, closed loops are excellent due the minimal maintenance they do require [cleaning the fins on the rad is the unique maintenance you have to do, when you clean your case, ]

I have been running an closed loop since year and a halg ago, Thermaltake's Water 3.0 Pro, thick 120mm rad with x2 thermaltake Riing 12' fans, totally silent, those fans even at max speed still silent and are great for heat dissipation, so you cannot go wrong lad, think it twice before get air cooler for an OC'ed Ivy processor, those are hot chips, they retain heat between CPU Die and I.H.S. due the crappy paste intel uses there, if you could delid that chip could get better temps and stability for over clocking,

More about Water 3.0 Pro, I have purchased this unit because I was needing a 120mm rad based solution, so I have read about the 4 finalist I got at that time,

_*Corsair h80i
Antec 920 Khuler
Coolermaster Seidon 120V
Thermaltake's Water  3.0 or 2.0 Pro*_

*Corsair H80: *wasn't that great, also the most places I visit for example tom's hardware and Overclockers.net shown several reports of faulty and leaked units, 
late 2012-2013 versions,


Spoiler










* Antec 920 khuler: *Thick rad too! unfortunately was pretty hard to find I'm my country and a little overpriced in the places that I found a couple of older models, like 2010 models for example, so decided to put apart too or last option, but is a  great unit, solid enough and gooooood lasting, I have seen people that is running units like these from more than 6 years ad waterpump still good enough, it’s a shame that was pretty hard to find here, and the availability of newer models


Spoiler











*Coolermaster Seidon 120V: *weak tubing, also thin tubes that didn't gave good feeling about the system and most of them came with thin rad and just one fan, also was the most available unit, and the last model in the search, reviews about this units were like 50/50 bad /good, so was in the list still,


Spoiler











*Thermaltake Water 2.0 Pro: *go excellent reviews about the version but the biggest problem, the price and availability,  older model that was available only online, so warranty may be a pain in the ass for me, but still excellent unit that outperforms others 240mm based rad units such as h100 and seidons 240V, found a couple of used units at local used markets… but pretty worn, decided to take apart in the list.


Spoiler











*Thermaltake Water 3.0 Pro: *same reviews about quality and some others claims that pump was upgraded on this version, also the same thick 120mm rad, comes with 2 fans also, availability here was excellent the same as warranty  [got 3 years warranty from a local distributor and trusted friend!] and also the fact that a 120mm unit could perform same and even better compared to a 240mm unit made me got as soon as possible, no regrets on this unit,  later on decided to replace white stock fans with Riing 12 blue led fans, made the unit more silent and didn't noticed improvement over temps,  so far unique bad thing for most people about this unit is that stock fans aren't silent at full or mid speeds, but the performance and cooling of this unit is pretty great,  and I fully recommend you to grab one and try it out! if you connect stock fans to molex temps will decrease like 5c for sure, stock fans un this unit are insane but loudly …


Spoiler


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## fenurch (Dec 29, 2015)

Thanks a lot peche,

That's very insightful and helpful.


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## peche (Dec 29, 2015)

fenurch said:


> Thanks a lot peche,
> 
> That's very insightful and helpful.


added some pics! thanks !


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## thebluebumblebee (Dec 29, 2015)

fenurch said:


> Provided I may only clock up to 4.5 GHz


That's actually quite high.  If you had said 4.2GHz, I think most of us would have said 212 EVO.


fenurch said:


> they can't block my first PCI slot


That basically limits you to 120mm air coolers, such as the 212 EVO, or the CRYORIG H7 Universal, or the Phanteks PH-TC12DX
Moving up to AIO's, I'd suggest taking a look at the (140mm!) NZXT X-41.  It's a little above your budget, but it's something I think you should take a look at.  I don't know if you can mount it in the front of your case, which would help with noise.


fenurch said:


> Is a closed loop setup really that bad?


No, as long as they have software controls.  The benefit that an air cooler has is that the noise is located inside the case, which helps to "bury" any noise it makes.


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## fenurch (Dec 29, 2015)

thebluebumblebee said:


> That's actually quite high.  If you had said 4.2GHz, I think most of us would have said 212 EVO.
> 
> That basically limits you to 120mm air coolers, such as the 212 EVO, or the CRYORIG H7 Universal, or the Phanteks PH-TC12DX
> Moving up to AIO's, I'd suggest taking a look at the (140mm!) NZXT X-41.  It's a little above your budget, but it's something I think you should take a look at.  I don't know if you can mount it in the front of your case, which would help with noise.
> ...



Well, 4.5 is just something to that I could eventually get up to but I don't think I would bother with buying a lower end cooler now and if I decide to go above 4.2, buy another.
It's a shame about the overly obtrusive powerful air coolers but I've kind of made up my mind about getting an AIO anyway now simply because if it requires no maintenance from me (apart from getting the dust out of the radiator and fan or whatever) as well as looking pretty nicely then that appeals more to me than a large, heavy air cooler. Mounting shouldn't be an issue anywhere in the case, I used to have 240mm radiator in the bottom, currently have 2x 120mm fans in the front as intakes (but there's space for 2x 140mm) and have 2x 120mm (but space for 140) fans at the top. Noise is only a concern for me when I'm idling and browsing the web or whatever, if I'm playing a game or something then it doesn't matter as my Sapphire sounds like a jet engine anyway. I'll definitely look into the Kraken.

EDIT: I also forgot to mention that I used to keep my pump in the optical drive bay and so that would seemingly be an ideal location for the radiator, provided I went for the Kraken.

Thanks a lot.


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## thebluebumblebee (Dec 29, 2015)

fenurch said:


> It's a shame about the overly obtrusive powerful air coolers


Cooling is all about surface area.  It would be nice to see a "D12" though.
Are you sure the D14 won't work? It's listed as compatible by Noctua without any remarks. (actually, the same can be said for the D15)


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## fenurch (Dec 29, 2015)

thebluebumblebee said:


> Cooling is all about surface area.  It would be nice to see a "D12" though.
> Are you sure the D14 won't work? It's listed as compatible by Noctua without any remarks. (actually, the same can be said for the D15)



The D14 would probably work but according to TPU's review, D15 wouldn't.
However, I can't possibly put a Noctua in my case, purely because of the horrible colour choice.


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## peche (Dec 29, 2015)

i don’t like  even the look of bigger coolers, is better looking 1000 times a generic waterblock compared to a bigass air cooler, despite that maintenance may be the same on AIO watercoolers and aircoolers,  and also the advantage that air coolers could last more, waterpumps just die on AIO's…



fenurch said:


> EDIT: I also forgot to mention that I used to keep my pump in the optical drive bay and so that would seemingly be an ideal location for the radiator, provided I went for the Kraken.


you already purchased NZXT kraken unit?


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## fenurch (Dec 29, 2015)

peche said:


> i don’t like  even the look of bigger coolers, is better looking 1000 times a generic waterblock compared to a bigass air cooler, despite that maintenance may be the same on AIO watercoolers and aircoolers,  and also the advantage that air coolers could last more, waterpumps just die on AIO's…
> 
> 
> you already purchased NZXT kraken unit?



No, not yet but I used to have an open loop setup.


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## thebluebumblebee (Dec 29, 2015)

@fenurch , I know these are above your price range, but do you know about the _expandable_ AIO's, such as the EKWB EK-XLC Predator 240 and the Swiftech H240-X (there are others, just listing the best known)?  You could put a water block on that "jet engine" with one of these.


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## mrw1986 (Dec 29, 2015)

R-T-B said:


> Look at this Phanteks.  Not bad either and color options.  Performs nearly as good as top end Noctua stuff, if not equally:
> 
> http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Phanteks/PH-TC14PE/



I second this. Absolutely love my PH-TC14PE! It will be cooling my 5930k soon


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## fenurch (Dec 29, 2015)

thebluebumblebee said:


> @fenurch , I know this are above your price range, but do you know about the _expandable_ AIO's, such as the EKWB EK-XLC Predator 240 and the Swiftech H240-X (there are others, just listing the best known)?  You could put a water block on that "jet engine" with one of these.



Unfortunately these are very expensive in the UK, almost 2x the price and while I would perhaps like to cool my GPU, I'm actually quite alright with it being so loud when I'm gaming as it doesn't distract me too much. When it's idle, it's quiet as anything else.


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## peche (Dec 29, 2015)

fenurch said:


> No, not yet but I used to have an open loop setup.


gonna use old open loop?


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## fenurch (Dec 29, 2015)

peche said:


> gonna use old open loop?



No, it's too much maintenance for my lazy ass. 
Will get an AIO, just not 100% on what it will be yet.
Won't be that soon either, the holidays have emptied my wallet.
However I entirely intend on updating the thread once I've got something with my reflection on it.

Thanks for all the advice and tips.


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## peche (Dec 29, 2015)

we are here to help each other!


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## DarthBaggins (Dec 29, 2015)

I would shoot for one of the Corsair AiO's if you're going to go that route since they should be in the ballpark you're looking at, also EKWB's has their AiO's now as well but hose might be out of your budget at this time too


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## GreiverBlade (Dec 30, 2015)

i can't believe someone recommended a D14 or D15 and gave as solution for the fan color to replace them with other fans ... good solution  indeed: how to make something already OP,  for what they are, more expensive 



DarthBaggins said:


> I would shoot for one of the Corsair AiO's if you're going to go that route since they should be in the ballpark you're looking at, also EKWB's has their AiO's now as well but hose might be out of your budget at this time too


rather Cooler master, Thermaltake or Antec, than Corsair ... Corsair is the Noctua of the AIO's, overpriced and not obligatory better than the rest of the brands in the market. (ok the good argument most customer take in account with Noctua is the excellent customer service they have  for me it's not enough to justify the price difference, and Corsair do not qualify for that.)

i had some Corsair's AIO (only one passed the year without issue and is still running in a friends build, a H60v2013) i had also some Seidon Nepton and i have a Alphacool Eisberg 240 (cooler master rebrand) the Eisberg 240 i paid 80chf same price as i paid for my 1st H60 in the past (a 120 mm single fan)

actually i use a moded Raijintek Triton (and nope still no leak or cracking tank) with a Alphacool NexXxos ST30 240 full copper shorter tubing and coolmoves 2 fans well if i count the start price of the Triton core (79chf) after reselling the unused pieces an swapping with the news, it's still cheaper than a H80i GT (not hard ... Corsair reference it at 133.99€) and perform good enough


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## CAPSLOCKSTUCK (Dec 30, 2015)

@fenurch 

check PC World sale,  they have big reductions at the moment and they stock Corsair AIO s


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## peche (Dec 30, 2015)

GreiverBlade said:


> rather Cooler master, Thermaltake or Antec, than Corsair ...


knowledge is strong with you .... , despite Asetek also made most of corsair's untis too, they are the most refurbished units and also faulty ones, most on older generations of Hidro series like H70-80-80i and H100 ...

Regards,


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## thebluebumblebee (Dec 30, 2015)

I have an H50 that's been working since February 2011, and I bought it used.
I have an H80 that's been running off and on since November 2011, which I also bought used.  I originally hated it, until I figured out that there was that button that peche pointed to above. (on the H100)  On low, it keeps my 2600K at 4.4GHz that's crunching 24/7 under 72C and is very quiet while doing so. (medium setting is louder than the X-31, and high is so loud that it permeates my entire house )  Sitting next to it is a stock 2600K with an X-31 which is much noisier, although I haven't tried to adjust it with BIOS settings, that runs under 53C.


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