[SOLVED] Am I better off with liquid cooling in this build?

[yeww223]

https://au.pcpartpicker.com/list/zRZ8K4

 

[Phaaze88]

Nope. NH-D15 is a damn fine cooler to pair with that cpu.

 

[yeww223]

Nope. NH-D15 is a damn fine cooler to pair with that cpu.

Any issues with the size of the cooler impeding on the RAM or any other issues? From what I understand it is fairly large

 

[Phaaze88]

Any issues with the size of the cooler impeding on the RAM or any other issues? From what I understand it is fairly large

That is a non-issue: https://www.fractal-design.com/products/cases/meshify/meshify-s2/black/
Max cpu cooler height: 185mm
NH-D15: 165mm
All you gotta do with tall memory is take the fan clips and raise them higher on the heatsink. OR:

NH-D15S: https://au.pcpartpicker.com/product/xCL7YJ/noctua-cpu-cooler-nhd15s
Their very flexible version of the D15, and performs within 1C of the large model. It fits a greater variety of motherboards(D15 sometimes blocks the pcie x16 slot), and memory clearance is no issue for this unit.

 

[Karadjgne]

Given that the D15 is an option, it's going to be more about the looks than performance vrs an aio or other large twin tower. The D15 is the highest rated aircooler there is, but understand even it is going to be pushed if you decide to push that cpu, a 5GHz OC is not uncommon for that cpu, and it'll pull 200w when pushed to the limits.

The D15 is a 250w cooler, so it's plenty able, but there's not much headroom. A 280mm aio is @ 350w and and a 360mm is closer to 400w. That'll have enough headroom that the fans won't need to be closing on max speeds, and still maintain decent temps.

And that's the trade off. The D15 will get slightly better temps across a wider range of loads, but can't compete with the top end ability of the big aios.

So each will have its advantages and each has its disadvantages, neither design having a clear, overall win, just specific wins and losses. Which generally ends up in a contest of looks and aesthetics.

 

[yeww223]

Given that the D15 is an option, it's going to be more about the looks than performance vrs an aio or other large twin tower. The D15 is the highest rated aircooler there is, but understand even it is going to be pushed if you decide to push that cpu, a 5GHz OC is not uncommon for that cpu, and it'll pull 200w when pushed to the limits.

The D15 is a 250w cooler, so it's plenty able, but there's not much headroom. A 280mm aio is @ 350w and and a 360mm is closer to 400w. That'll have enough headroom that the fans won't need to be closing on max speeds, and still maintain decent temps.

And that's the trade off. The D15 will get slightly better temps across a wider range of loads, but can't compete with the top end ability of the big aios.

So each will have its advantages and each has its disadvantages, neither design having a clear, overall win, just specific wins and losses. Which generally ends up in a contest of looks and aesthetics.

Any recommendations on some good AIO water coolers?

 

[Karadjgne]

I'm a little biased, my nzxt Kraken X61 ran for the better part of 6 years with a 4.9GHz OC on a i7-3770k. And I do like the silent profile Cam software uses. It was always silent-quiet, and gaming temps never got over 55°C. I was very happy with that aio. The CoolerMaster ML360R (not the L version) is also good, the Asus Ryojin actually teamed up with Noctua, and uses its ippc 2000rpm fans, the TT Riing, Corsair H150i Pro, nzxt Kraken x62/x72.

With most of those big aios, it's going to be more about the particular look you want over actual performance, even with the big air, the differences in temps are negligible. I could have gotten gaming temps of 51-52°C by moving from silent to performance mode, the sacrifice being more noise.

And that'll be your bonus with either big air or big aio, you have options for OC, noise, looks, cpu punishment with heavy loads. It's not alway about the actual number in °C as to which is better for you. My Cryorig R1 Ultimate is a half step behind the D15 in every catagory, basically the same thing, still gets 55°C gaming, 70°C stress. Just noticeably louder than my old x61, and doesn't have that nice software adjustable fan curve. So I'm at its mercy when it decides to ramp up with loads.

There is no right or wrong decision, you are already past any I'll advised budget cooler designs, so now it's upto what you think you want for the direction of what's going to fit your design.

 

[Phaaze88]

@Karadjgne
You must've been one of the lucky individuals who didn't have to fight with the Cam software. I've constantly heard that it's garbage, as well as the Smart device in their I-series cases.
A recent re-review of the Smart device:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHC8_sMgH5Q

 

[Karadjgne]

Oh, I've had fights. Every time Windows had a major upgrade, it messed with Cam, Realtemp and several other apps that autorun, so that's no big thing, kinda expected it after a while. Never had any of the bugs or sluggishness GN talked about, it always started at boot, not when I opened it, used a windows task to get around the windows UAE crap in Win10. But as to the smart device, I don't have a I series case so can't really say anything about that.

But then again, my fans ran at @450rpm - 500rpm idle and hit @ 600rpm - 700rpm under gaming loads, 900rpm under stress, so running silent showed different results to what GN got.

Most issues about Cam are over its spying. Cam looks at your pc hardware and it's OC settings and basically gets a picture of your usage in general. Sends that to nzxt. Nzxt uses that info, combined with all the other nzxt users, to try and fix any issues it perceives, make any necessary changes to fan curves or other stuff that ppl supposedly would benefit from. A proactive approach. The problem being ppl are not happy with their info (there's absolutely nothing personal or even website info sent, it's just 'using browser at 30% usage' stuff) being sent, but it's still viewed as an invasion of privacy.

It's almost identical to that gizmo that Geico uses to track driving habits for insurance reductions. Doesn't care where you go, only how you go about getting there, how heavy on gas pedal or brakes, etc. Dale Earnhardt gets no reductions, Miss Daisy gets serious bonuses.