I have some questions about water cooling.

[Mike_266]

I decided to go with a liquid cooler since ill be using the i7 6700k. The cooler i decided to use is the nzxt kraken 61 .
1) I only seen the basic installation guides to the kraken 61. After it is installed onto the motherboard and case, do i need to do something like add water into the pumps or will i be good to go after i just install it?
2)Im planning on installing the cooler to an nzxt s340(razer edition) and I wont be using the krakens fans, Ill be using corsair high performance fans. Will two 120 mm fans fit onto the radiator because the radiator is 280 mm and two 120 mm fans are 240 mm in total.
3)When I install the corsair fans onto the radiator, will they have to be intaking air or exhausting it from the inside?

 

[Multipack]

1. No its closed loop. You wont need to add liquid ever.

2. You need 140mm static pressure fans

3. Up to you but best to exhaust radiator air provided you have a good airflow in case.

# There are some great tutorials on this very site.. http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/faq/all.html?refine=cooling

 

[geofelt]

I have a question for you:

Why do you think you need liquid cooling for a I7-6700K?
14nm skylake runs cool. You will run into safe vcore limits before you run into thermal limits.

My canned rant on liquid cooling:
------------------------start of rant-------------------
You buy a liquid cooler to be able to extract an extra multiplier or two out of your OC.
How much do you really need?
I do not much like all in one liquid coolers when a good air cooler like a Noctua or phanteks can do the job just as well.
A liquid cooler will be expensive, noisy, less reliable, and will not cool any better
in a well ventilated case.
Liquid cooling is really air cooling, it just puts the heat exchange in a different place.
The orientation of the radiator will cause a problem.
If you orient it to take in cool air from the outside, you will cool the cpu better, but the hot air then circulates inside the case heating up the graphics card and motherboard.
If you orient it to exhaust(which I think is better) , then your cpu cooling will be less effective because it uses pre heated case air.
And... I have read too many tales of woe when a liquid cooler leaks.
google "H100 leak"
-----------------------end of rant--------------------------

Your pc will be quieter, more reliable, and will be cooled equally well with a decent air cooler like a Noctua NH-U12s.

 

[Mike_266]

1. No its closed loop. You wont need to add liquid ever.

2. You need 140mm static pressure fans

3. Up to you but best to exhaust radiator air provided you have a good airflow in case.

# There are some great tutorials on this very site.. http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/faq/all.html?refine=cooling

Its okay if I use this fan on the kraken 61? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835181028&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-PCPartPicker,%20LLC-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

 

[Rhinofart]

Liquid cooling loud? WTF? My liquid cooling system is dead silent. I also don't agree with your radiator placement theory. If you watercool a component, yes, air coming out the radiator will be warmer than the air coming in, but not by that much. That slightly warmer air will also "flow" over the heatsinks of components that are not being liquid cooled, and wont be any different than the warmer air coming off of the heatsink of the aircooler already inside your case, which in regard to your theory will just recirculate the already warmed up air.
Planning is the best solution.
My rig has 2 rads.
Top Rad has single 140mm Rad / Fan which sucks air from the top, through the Rad, and that air then flows over my RAM, VRMs, and onboard heatsinks.
My Bottom Rad has 3 120mm Fans which suck air in from the bottom. I have 1 unpowered "Exhaust" opening in the back. The higher pressure created inside the case from the 2 different intakes of air creates a higher pressure inside the case, and having it all flow out the back unpowered actually keeps the dust inside the case down to pretty much nothing.
If you want to go Liquid Cooling just for the benefits of 1 or 2 degrees, it may not be worth it. But if you are going to be doing some serious "learning" and OCing your components, then go for it. Go all in. Don't cheap out with some AIO cooler solution. Take the time, learn the trade, and go crazy. I haven't aircooled a pc in any way since 2001. My Intel 980x Extreme Edition (Stock 3.33 Ghz) runs perfectly stable at 4.25 Ghz and I get up to 54C under full load. That's Prime 95 running full tilt. The only noise that could be heard in my system was my actual mechanical HDs seeking, until I replaced them with 1TB SSDs. Now, I hear absolutely nothing.

 

[Multipack]

The computer CPU itself creates energy that is above and beyond ambient and system temperature, and recycling it back into the system is a very bad idea. All that will do is raise the temperature far and above ambient, which is what a chassis should aim for. The air in a chassis should be as cool as outside and you are using that to cool the energy dense radiator. Recycling that thermal energy back into the system is counter productive.

If you think liquid coolers are quiet and they only provide a 1 or 2 degree difference then either your water cooler doesnt work or it doesnt go into high performance, as every water cooler in the market (Corsair, Kraken, you name it) have higher decibel levels than their air cooler counterparts. Not only do you have the fans but also the revolutions of the pump motor to consider. Unfortunately you cannot create energy from nothing, or you will have discovered perpetual motion and deserve a Nobel prize..

Maybe you'd see the true benefit of a liquid cooler if you installed it properly, as an exhaust. Intake radiator air is hitting your chassis at a far higher temperature than ambient as a direct consequence of the energy/heat created by the chip's power. All you are doing is raising the overall component temps higher than they would originally be, thus created an infinite negative loop. By the time that intake fan air gets to the other side of the radiator it is warm. You want to get rid of that, not use it again.

 

[Mike_266]

The computer CPU itself creates energy that is above and beyond ambient and system temperature, and recycling it back into the system is a very bad idea. All that will do is raise the temperature far and above ambient, which is what a chassis should aim for. The air in a chassis should be as cool as outside and you are using that to cool the energy dense radiator. Recycling that thermal energy back into the system is counter productive.

If you think liquid coolers are quiet and they only provide a 1 or 2 degree difference then either your water cooler doesnt work or it doesnt go into high performance, as every water cooler in the market (Corsair, Kraken, you name it) have higher decibel levels than their air cooler counterparts. Not only do you have the fans but also the revolutions of the pump motor to consider. Unfortunately you cannot create energy from nothing, or you will have discovered perpetual motion and deserve a Nobel prize..

Maybe you'd see the true benefit of a liquid cooler if you installed it properly, as an exhaust. Intake radiator air is hitting your chassis at a far higher temperature than ambient as a direct consequence of the energy/heat created by the chip's power. All you are doing is raising the overall component temps higher than they would originally be, thus created an infinite negative loop. By the time that intake fan air gets to the other side of the radiator it is warm. You want to get rid of that, not use it again.

Ill be using the nzxt kraken x61 in the nzxt s340. So simply put, how should i orient my radiator and fans? Also can i add corsair quiet edition fans to my radiator. I only seen it done with the corsair h100 water cooler.

 

[Multipack]

The computer CPU itself creates energy that is above and beyond ambient and system temperature, and recycling it back into the system is a very bad idea. All that will do is raise the temperature far and above ambient, which is what a chassis should aim for. The air in a chassis should be as cool as outside and you are using that to cool the energy dense radiator. Recycling that thermal energy back into the system is counter productive.

If you think liquid coolers are quiet and they only provide a 1 or 2 degree difference then either your water cooler doesnt work or it doesnt go into high performance, as every water cooler in the market (Corsair, Kraken, you name it) have higher decibel levels than their air cooler counterparts. Not only do you have the fans but also the revolutions of the pump motor to consider. Unfortunately you cannot create energy from nothing, or you will have discovered perpetual motion and deserve a Nobel prize..

Maybe you'd see the true benefit of a liquid cooler if you installed it properly, as an exhaust. Intake radiator air is hitting your chassis at a far higher temperature than ambient as a direct consequence of the energy/heat created by the chip's power. All you are doing is raising the overall component temps higher than they would originally be, thus created an infinite negative loop. By the time that intake fan air gets to the other side of the radiator it is warm. You want to get rid of that, not use it again.

Ill be using the nzxt kraken x61 in the nzxt s340. So simply put, how should i orient my radiator and fans? Also can i add corsair quiet edition fans to my radiator. I only seen it done with the corsair h100 water cooler.

Clearly there is no definitive answer, as you can see, but if you had said that in the beginning, there would only be one answer. In the front. Because that's the only place it will go lol..

Front: 2x 140/2x120mm
Top: 1x 140/120mm (1 x 120mm FN V2 Fans Included)
Rear: 1x 120mm (1 x 120mm FN V2 Fan Included)

And yes as long as you match spec/voltage etc, you can use any fans you want

 

[Julio_17]

I have a question for you:

Why do you think you need liquid cooling for a I7-6700K?
14nm skylake runs cool. You will run into safe vcore limits before you run into thermal limits.

My canned rant on liquid cooling:
------------------------start of rant-------------------
You buy a liquid cooler to be able to extract an extra multiplier or two out of your OC.
How much do you really need?
I do not much like all in one liquid coolers when a good air cooler like a Noctua or phanteks can do the job just as well.
A liquid cooler will be expensive, noisy, less reliable, and will not cool any better
in a well ventilated case.
Liquid cooling is really air cooling, it just puts the heat exchange in a different place.
The orientation of the radiator will cause a problem.
If you orient it to take in cool air from the outside, you will cool the cpu better, but the hot air then circulates inside the case heating up the graphics card and motherboard.
If you orient it to exhaust(which I think is better) , then your cpu cooling will be less effective because it uses pre heated case air.
And... I have read too many tales of woe when a liquid cooler leaks.
google "H100 leak"
-----------------------end of rant--------------------------

Your pc will be quieter, more reliable, and will be cooled equally well with a decent air cooler like a Noctua NH-U12s.

I'm sorry, but some of these points are factually incorrect.
Liquid cooling is not like air cooling.
Air cooling works through a fan on top of the processor that directly applies cool air on top of it.
Liquid cooling works through a thermal compound, where the heat from the processor is cooled by the coolant, with the thermal compound in the middle. The coolant is cooled in the radiator, where fans blow cool air on the coolant, which then cools the processor through the compound. This is not "basically the same thing" as air cooling.
The "orientation of the radiator" will not cause a problem. For larger radiators you need larger cases, which are designed now to accomodate it, typically on top, but some Corsair cases on the bottom. Even for mid towers, there are smaller liquid cooling kits that can be oriented on the back of the case, where one of the case fans would typically go.
I also think you are confusing liquid cooling with the fans on the power supply. Liquid cooling of the processor does not "suck cool air in"
The fan on the power supply should be oriented away from the internal components and facing outside of the case, whether its positioned on the bottom or top.
The fan on the power supply is sucking cooler air from outside of the case and blowing it back inside to help keep everything cool.
The fans on the radiator of a liquid cooling kit are not sucking air from anything. They are directly applying cool air unto the coolant.
Yes, leaks happen, and is an inherent risk when liquid cooling. One should always do regular checks for signs of leaks. The risk of leaks is magnified with overclocking cause of how hot the coolant is getting.
Liquid cooling is substantially quieter than air cooling. The majority of the noise from a computer is coming from the cooler of the processor. The fans from the case fans and power supply are much quieter, and thats about what the fans of a radiator sounds like.
A computer's noise is substantially reduced, and temperatures also go down by a lot with liquid cooling. It is more work and more risk. But depending on your overclocking, and whether or not you want to reduce noise, will answer whether or not its all worth it.

 

[Mike_266]

The computer CPU itself creates energy that is above and beyond ambient and system temperature, and recycling it back into the system is a very bad idea. All that will do is raise the temperature far and above ambient, which is what a chassis should aim for. The air in a chassis should be as cool as outside and you are using that to cool the energy dense radiator. Recycling that thermal energy back into the system is counter productive.

If you think liquid coolers are quiet and they only provide a 1 or 2 degree difference then either your water cooler doesnt work or it doesnt go into high performance, as every water cooler in the market (Corsair, Kraken, you name it) have higher decibel levels than their air cooler counterparts. Not only do you have the fans but also the revolutions of the pump motor to consider. Unfortunately you cannot create energy from nothing, or you will have discovered perpetual motion and deserve a Nobel prize..

Maybe you'd see the true benefit of a liquid cooler if you installed it properly, as an exhaust. Intake radiator air is hitting your chassis at a far higher temperature than ambient as a direct consequence of the energy/heat created by the chip's power. All you are doing is raising the overall component temps higher than they would originally be, thus created an infinite negative loop. By the time that intake fan air gets to the other side of the radiator it is warm. You want to get rid of that, not use it again.

Ill be using the nzxt kraken x61 in the nzxt s340. So simply put, how should i orient my radiator and fans? Also can i add corsair quiet edition fans to my radiator. I only seen it done with the corsair h100 water cooler.

Clearly there is no definitive answer, as you can see, but if you had said that in the beginning, there would only be one answer. In the front. Because that's the only place it will go lol..

Front: 2x 140/2x120mm
Top: 1x 140/120mm (1 x 120mm FN V2 Fans Included)
Rear: 1x 120mm (1 x 120mm FN V2 Fan Included)

And yes as long as you match spec/voltage etc, you can use any fans you want

but even if theres one place to put the radiator, theres still the choice of whether to make the radiator intake or exhaust. Also thanks for the help.