Fan Cooling or Liquid

mikexz · Aug 31, 2014

Hi everyone

I have had good help here so far and I was wondering if I should go with fan cooling or liquid. The place I am getting it from does everything, so that is good because I have never had a liquid cooling system before. My specs are:
i7 4790k
16gb RAM
Gtx 780 or 780ti still undecided
case Corsair 450D

What I want to know is what will be better for this, the choices available from the place I am getting from are: corsair h80 120mm liquid cooling, cooler master hyper 212 evo or noctua nh-d14 (the dual fan one that is huge). I am kind of scared of liquid cooling because of the risk and the noctua is very big so I am afraid it will be too big, so I am leaning towards the cooler master because it is one fan, but will it get the job done, should I go with the 120mm liquid cooling? Which do I choose please help

M0j0jojo · Aug 31, 2014

If you are a beginner, go with a fan cooling, its less of a hassle. and the Noctua D14 is great for overclocking. I got my Core i7 3930k to 4.3Ghz with it.

tyflikw · Aug 31, 2014

I've got the corsair and have been really pleased with it. As a first liquid cooling, it was really easy to put in and I've had it for a while now (6 months+) without any problems.

Pcbuilder123 · Aug 31, 2014

Hello, I'm sure you know this, but just to reconfirm, the liquid coolers need fans to cool down the liquid. I would either go with a corsair h100i or a be quiet! dark rock pro 3/ noctua nh-d14.

They perform almost the same, both need to be dusted out, but the h100i in my opinion looks cleaner, and also having liquid cooling has the bling factor. On the other hand, the nh-d14 fans are a bit ugly, but that thing is QUIET, as is the dark rock pro 3. Out of the 3, the noctua and dark rock perform 1-2 degrees worse than the h100i but WAY quieter.

H100i:http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Series-Extreme-Performance-Liquid/dp/B009ZN2NH6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1409541231&sr=8-1&keywords=h100i

NH-D14:http://www.amazon.com/Noctua-Heatpipe-Bearing-Cooler-NH-D14/dp/B002VKVZ1A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1409541220&sr=8-1&keywords=nhd14

Dark Rock Pro 3:http://www.amazon.com/Be-Quiet-Dark-Cooler-LGA775/dp/B00HPX7IKU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1409541211&sr=8-1&keywords=dark+rock+pro+3

jaimelmiel · Sep 1, 2014

mikexz :

The Noctua will Be more than enough. Pcpartpicker says it will fit.
http://pcpartpicker.com/parts/case/?compatible_with=noctua-cpu-cooler-nhd14

It tests better in just about every review I have studied over the last couple of years.
You do not need Aio or custom liquid cooling. Set your mind at ease, Go Air Cooling.

mikexz · Sep 1, 2014

jaimelmiel :

thank you so much, I have one more question. Is it better to have a bigger or smaller motherboard if I am going to go with the Noctua. I am looking at either asus z97c (atx) or asus z97m plus (matx). Is it good to have a bigger mother board or small, will the small provide more room and air flow or will the bigger atx be better because maybe not a lot of it will be blocked by the noctua?

legend001523 · Sep 1, 2014

Even the h100i is only a few degrees cooler than the noctua, any coolers under h100i isn't worth it, cheaper air coolers will do it better, get the noctua, you'd have one of the best cpu coolers in your rig

Pcbuilder123 · Sep 1, 2014

Yep, either the noctua, or if you really want to high end either a nzxt kraken x61 or a swiftech h220x. I would go full atx, the noctua is GINORMOUS. It might cover the ram or pci slot if you m-atx.

jaimelmiel · Sep 1, 2014

mikexz :

jaimelmiel :

thank you so much, I have one more question. Is it better to have a bigger or smaller motherboard if I am going to go with the Noctua. I am looking at either asus z97c (atx) or asus z97m plus (matx). Is it good to have a bigger mother board or small, will the small provide more room and air flow or will the bigger atx be better because maybe not a lot of it will be blocked by the noctua?

As others have said go with a full atx board. And make sure the VRM phasing is at least 8+2 even if you are not overclocking. Your cpu will run cooler than aboard with less . At least at higher temps.

Karadjgne · Sep 1, 2014

Question. Just what do you want to do with your cpu?

For a nice and easy multiplier OC to 4.0-4.3, the hyper212 EVO is amply up to the task. Higher than that, or if you just want as cool as possible at any speed, then the Noctua nh-d14 is good.

For clc's the h-60 is equivalent to the hyper212, and the h-80i equivalent to the d14. The nzxt Kraken x41 performs better than the h-100i, but only just and is a single radiator with some wild control software.

Top of the heap is the Noctua nh-d15 and nzxt Kraken x61, but those require some larger cases, especially the d15 if ram slot #1 is used.

Figure out just how far you are willing or wanting to push the cpu, then worry about how to cool it. Towers are basic, plug it in and maybe get some software to set fan curves or bios is fine. Clc's in the upper ranges all come with software, although some is not all that good, ahem Corsair link.

jimthenagual · Sep 1, 2014

Bling factor. I only get closed loop coolers if I have a windowed case and want things to look good. Aesthetics is the only reason to go H100i or whatever version you think looks the best.

If I'm building one that doesn't have an open window then it's the Hyper 212 evo for mild overclocks or the NH-D14/D15 for aggressive overclocks.

mikexz · Sep 1, 2014

I don't plan on overclocking the i7 4790k I just want everything to be cool, I have chosen to upgrade the regular chassis fans to corsair high performance fans as well. I think I am going to go with the Noctua, I've never done liquid cooling ever, I'd rather go with all air

Karadjgne · Sep 1, 2014

Hyper212 EVO will be fine then. It's more than capable of cooling stock speeds, is quite cheap compared to its good performance, and will handle a small OC on your cpu if you ever do think about bumping turbo up a little bit.

Don't be scared of clc's lol, they mount the same as an aircooler, same 4 screws, same fan plug. Only real difference is the radiator gets screwed to the case, same as any other exhaust fan

mikexz · Sep 2, 2014

so you are sure the evo single fan is enough to keep it cool so the cpu lasts a long time

jaimelmiel · Sep 2, 2014

mikexz :

You will be fine unless you delve into extreme overclocking.

Pcbuilder123 · Sep 2, 2014

As I said earlier, alot of people will recommend the 212 evo. On the other hand, tiny voices (moderator) has this zalman cooler (also known as the liquid cooler like 40$ cooler), and while it looks a bit peculiar, he has his 3570k at 4.7 ghz under 70 degrees. Here, check it out.

http://www.amazon.com/Zalman-LED-Aluminum-Cooling-CNPS9700/dp/B000JSFZPS/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1409633343&sr=8-5&keywords=zalman+cpu+cooler

jaimelmiel · Sep 2, 2014

The Tcase temp for the Intel 3570K is 67.4 Degrees Celsius. Tcase is the recommended max temp (core type) at which Intel
recommends you run a processor. He is right at or a little over his max. I would not get that cooler go for the Hyper 212. Maybe I am wrong but I do not think so. Your Tcase is 72.72 Degrees Celsius. You your chip runs hotter. You want to run a lot cooler than that. Get the coolermaster or Better. The (Swiftec Polaris 120) is better. More Expensive but better. I know from experience.

3570k
http://ark.intel.com/products/65520
4790k
http://ark.intel.com/products/80807/Intel-Core-i7-4790K-Processor-8M-Cache-up-to-4_40-GHz
Swiftec Polaris120
http://www.swiftech.com/polaris120heatsink.aspx

You would be better off with the Swiftec Polaris 120.

Pcbuilder123 · Sep 2, 2014

Yep, just maybe go for this:
http://www.amazon.com/NZXT-HAVIK-Cooler-Dual-140MM/dp/B005869XYK/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1409637571&sr=8-4&keywords=cpu+air+cooler

Nice dual 140mm fans and thick heatpipes

Fan Cooling or Liquid

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