I'm old too computers (since punch cards and 7-track tape).
I've been building my own machines since Windows ME (echhh).
But I stuck to stock components - no hot-rodding.
Now I find myself thinking an OC'd i7-5820k would be good for video rendering projects (Vegas Pro 13) and occasional gaming (can't afford a 5930k or 8 core). So I've been going nuts (a short trip I assure you) thinking about cases, MBs, memory, SSDs, etc.
One thing that concerns me is if I can manage to get the 5820k up to 4.5ghz there's some ridiculous amount of heat being generated that really shouldn't be left inside the case. I've read that a full tilt 5820k could generate 250 to 300 watts of heat. I'm concerned about what the multi-pound air cooler needed to handle this much heat might do to cpus and MBs so I'm looking at water cooling.
My son has a Corsair h100 gtx on a i5-6600k and it's doing a decent job of cooling for him. But that chip isn't generating 1/4KW of heat and the h100 seems VERY loud (at least to my thinking and ears).
So after stumbling on the Swifttech h220-x2 coolers and their ability to be the basis for a custom loop, I thought I had a possible answer (since I don't think I could afford the expense of a buying individual WC components and then figuring out where to mount them.
One other requirement, I want to burn blu-rays (yeah I know - old tech - but blurays are sharper than anything my NAS can deliver to my 1080p home theater projector. Or maybe my wifi bluray player isn't up to it). No matter, I want to keep the optical bays.
After reading and looking at lots of reviews and utube video it seems some people say you need air blowing into the case through the radiator to maximize the cooling effect. But that will leave 250watts of heating inside the case when Vegas is banging out HD or UHD video. Others say, air should exit the case through the radiator so as to get rid of the heat asap, but then the radiator is less effective because of warmer in-case air.
What if I did both? Configure a custom loop so the coolant leaves cpu and goes through a exhaust mode radiator in the top of the case (swifttech h220x), then it's pumped to a second radiator in the front or the floor of the case configured with air coming in from outside. The first radiator gets most of the cpu heat out of the case, the second radiator cools the coolant further with cold external air with only a little of the cpu heat making it back inside the case. Then the (hopefully by now frigid) coolant heads back to the cpu.
Because I'm not planning on running massive banks of graphics cards (I have a single evga gtx 970 card), I'll let the gpu cool itself with air. It seems to work ok with my current i7-870 lynnfield system (sorry, no card readers or 7-track drives on it, though I think I have a paper tape reader stashed somewhere...)
So is this nuts and I should just use a Corsair h110i or Kraken or Termaltake 3.0 ultimate?
I've also been think which case to use. I can budget around $100 for a case and this left me thinking Phanteks Enthoo Pro, or maybe Enthoo Pro M (if I could fit the radiators in it) or a Fractal Define R5. I think there should be room for the ST H220-x2 in the top and still keep the optical drive cages in the Enthoo Pro. I'm not confident with the other two cases. Because the top radiator would be in exhaust mode, the lack of top dust filter on the R5 wouldn't be a problem.
The second radiator would need to go in front or on the bottom. The Enthoo Pro appears to be big enough (based on intently watching the hwcannucks review) to fit a 220mm bottom radiator, still have room for an 850W power supply, after taking out the bottom hard drive cage (leaving 3 HD slots). The front 200mm and rear 140mm fans would hopefully be sufficient to keep a suitable hurricane across the graphics card, the X99 chip, memories, and the power mosfets and chokes so they don't melt. The Enthoo Pro's power supply shield would like take some modding to get air flow for the bottom radiator, but swiss cheesing it toward the front of the case location should help. And I should be able to add a couple more SSD mount points over the PS for good measure (dunno if they'd be needed though).
For the R5 I suspect the HD cages would have to go. Or at least the bottom cages would need to move back. But the "offical" moved back position wouldn't leave another room for a 7" long power supply. Maybe a case mod would make it work? If there's an intake radiator in the front I don't think there would be space for another intake fan. While I love the idea of the R5 as a silent case, perhaps there's not really enough space for two radiators and the optical drive bays.
What other cases should I be considering?
The biggest question is likely my sanity - does any of this this make sense or have I just plain gone off the deep end?
I'm leaning toward the Enthoo Pro here (if you couldn't tell). If you have direct experience with these cases can you answer some questions for me?
1. Is there enough room in the top of the case for a Swifttech h220-x2 with the optical cages installed and not totally obscuring the reservoir window and blocking access to the hoses?
2. Is it possible to keep the 200mm fan (or replace it with a couple of 140mm fans) and still fit a radiator in the bottom of the case with water hoses toward the front (I wouldn't want to be threading coolant hoses through the power supply shield)?
3. How would I be able to fill, drain, and de-bubble a two radiator configuration where the the pump was up high (and Swifttech sez no-no to bottom mounting the h220x) and the lowest part of the system was the bottom radiator? Turn it over so it's standing on the front panel for draining?
Thanks in advance for y'all's collective wisdom.
Maybe I should just use a Kraken or Themaltake 3.0 ultimate...
MM
I've been building my own machines since Windows ME (echhh).
But I stuck to stock components - no hot-rodding.
Now I find myself thinking an OC'd i7-5820k would be good for video rendering projects (Vegas Pro 13) and occasional gaming (can't afford a 5930k or 8 core). So I've been going nuts (a short trip I assure you) thinking about cases, MBs, memory, SSDs, etc.
One thing that concerns me is if I can manage to get the 5820k up to 4.5ghz there's some ridiculous amount of heat being generated that really shouldn't be left inside the case. I've read that a full tilt 5820k could generate 250 to 300 watts of heat. I'm concerned about what the multi-pound air cooler needed to handle this much heat might do to cpus and MBs so I'm looking at water cooling.
My son has a Corsair h100 gtx on a i5-6600k and it's doing a decent job of cooling for him. But that chip isn't generating 1/4KW of heat and the h100 seems VERY loud (at least to my thinking and ears).
So after stumbling on the Swifttech h220-x2 coolers and their ability to be the basis for a custom loop, I thought I had a possible answer (since I don't think I could afford the expense of a buying individual WC components and then figuring out where to mount them.
One other requirement, I want to burn blu-rays (yeah I know - old tech - but blurays are sharper than anything my NAS can deliver to my 1080p home theater projector. Or maybe my wifi bluray player isn't up to it). No matter, I want to keep the optical bays.
After reading and looking at lots of reviews and utube video it seems some people say you need air blowing into the case through the radiator to maximize the cooling effect. But that will leave 250watts of heating inside the case when Vegas is banging out HD or UHD video. Others say, air should exit the case through the radiator so as to get rid of the heat asap, but then the radiator is less effective because of warmer in-case air.
What if I did both? Configure a custom loop so the coolant leaves cpu and goes through a exhaust mode radiator in the top of the case (swifttech h220x), then it's pumped to a second radiator in the front or the floor of the case configured with air coming in from outside. The first radiator gets most of the cpu heat out of the case, the second radiator cools the coolant further with cold external air with only a little of the cpu heat making it back inside the case. Then the (hopefully by now frigid) coolant heads back to the cpu.
Because I'm not planning on running massive banks of graphics cards (I have a single evga gtx 970 card), I'll let the gpu cool itself with air. It seems to work ok with my current i7-870 lynnfield system (sorry, no card readers or 7-track drives on it, though I think I have a paper tape reader stashed somewhere...)
So is this nuts and I should just use a Corsair h110i or Kraken or Termaltake 3.0 ultimate?
I've also been think which case to use. I can budget around $100 for a case and this left me thinking Phanteks Enthoo Pro, or maybe Enthoo Pro M (if I could fit the radiators in it) or a Fractal Define R5. I think there should be room for the ST H220-x2 in the top and still keep the optical drive cages in the Enthoo Pro. I'm not confident with the other two cases. Because the top radiator would be in exhaust mode, the lack of top dust filter on the R5 wouldn't be a problem.
The second radiator would need to go in front or on the bottom. The Enthoo Pro appears to be big enough (based on intently watching the hwcannucks review) to fit a 220mm bottom radiator, still have room for an 850W power supply, after taking out the bottom hard drive cage (leaving 3 HD slots). The front 200mm and rear 140mm fans would hopefully be sufficient to keep a suitable hurricane across the graphics card, the X99 chip, memories, and the power mosfets and chokes so they don't melt. The Enthoo Pro's power supply shield would like take some modding to get air flow for the bottom radiator, but swiss cheesing it toward the front of the case location should help. And I should be able to add a couple more SSD mount points over the PS for good measure (dunno if they'd be needed though).
For the R5 I suspect the HD cages would have to go. Or at least the bottom cages would need to move back. But the "offical" moved back position wouldn't leave another room for a 7" long power supply. Maybe a case mod would make it work? If there's an intake radiator in the front I don't think there would be space for another intake fan. While I love the idea of the R5 as a silent case, perhaps there's not really enough space for two radiators and the optical drive bays.
What other cases should I be considering?
The biggest question is likely my sanity - does any of this this make sense or have I just plain gone off the deep end?
I'm leaning toward the Enthoo Pro here (if you couldn't tell). If you have direct experience with these cases can you answer some questions for me?
1. Is there enough room in the top of the case for a Swifttech h220-x2 with the optical cages installed and not totally obscuring the reservoir window and blocking access to the hoses?
2. Is it possible to keep the 200mm fan (or replace it with a couple of 140mm fans) and still fit a radiator in the bottom of the case with water hoses toward the front (I wouldn't want to be threading coolant hoses through the power supply shield)?
3. How would I be able to fill, drain, and de-bubble a two radiator configuration where the the pump was up high (and Swifttech sez no-no to bottom mounting the h220x) and the lowest part of the system was the bottom radiator? Turn it over so it's standing on the front panel for draining?
Thanks in advance for y'all's collective wisdom.
Maybe I should just use a Kraken or Themaltake 3.0 ultimate...
MM
I've been working with computers since the very late 60's.
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