I'd like to add a new watercooler, but not sure if i have the room

[Lag_behind]

I currently have a pc build in a haf xb, i wont go into specific details, but id like to replace my hyper 212+ with an h100i or similar aio cooler. My gtx 1070 strix doesn't give me a lot of clearance. Would the h100i work, and if not are there any other aio coolers that would fit?

 

[JackNaylorPE]

The only advantage you get out of a CLC cooler as opposed to an equivalently priced air cooler is:

a) If looking at a big heat sink n middle of you case window bothers you, you can move the big thing up higher in the case.
b) You get to tell your friends your system is water cooled.

The H100i does not cool as well as cheaper air coolers and it's 12 times as loud... yes TWELVE TIMES ... that's vacuum cleaner like

Go to 17:28 mark at link below
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TivNOgQqW-M

or listen for yaself .... at 55% CPU load, i need to move the PC into another room and get some really, really long cables
https://youtu.be/cTf0Vq1j4Ec

Corsair **says** that your case supports 240mm rads but 240mm rads come in all different sizes

http://www.coolermaster.com/case/lan-box/haf-xb/

Water cooling support: 240mm radiator x 1(front)

Grab a tape measure, steal cloth one from moms / wifie's sewing kit if need be and measure the length width and depth available.

See if you can mount it as shown on right of this image

In that position it is 10" high (254mm). 3.7" (95mm) wide and 5" (127mm into page)

 

[fry178]

any rad with 120mm fans should work, as you can put the fans in front of the frame (behind dust filter),
and mount the rad behind.
i gave my xb case to a friend, and hes running a 100i + gigabyte G1 980ti, so i can say it works.
get the v2 if you want to stay with corsair.

i would go with this, as all other AIO (besides EK) are prone to pump failure (based on aisteks design):
https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B013WAY9UQ/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=2DSDNRT3KLLAR&coliid=I1UYBCZCG3JSU&psc=1


@JackNaylorPE
and if you would not be limited in thinking (performance/price), you would realize, its a good way to dump the cpu heat outside the case.
all temps drop significant, especially the gpu (which also help oc).
and fans can be throttled, as i know couple of ppl running corsairs that dont sound like vacuum cleaners.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

and if you would not be limited in thinking (performance/price), you would realize, its a good way to dump the cpu heat outside the case. all temps drop significant, especially the gpu (which also help oc). and fans can be throttled, as i know couple of ppl running corsairs that dont sound like vacuum cleaners.

It's not "limited thinking"... it's called the scientific method and testing. None of those claims stand up to actual testing. If you're right, then Corsair is wrong ... can it be that the people who actually sell the thing just don't know the best way to use the product they are selling ?

1. If ya read the instructions for the H100i, they directly state that "for best performance, fans should be used as intakes " ... blowing air directly into the case, just like every custom water loop builder does. You can actually cool the case by blowing cool outside air into the case thru the radiator which greatly increases air turnover and uses one of every cases most important cooling features ... the rear grille. We have tested this every way from Sunday in our test rig (and others) using (6) temperature monitors, an infrared thermometer and a fog machine. While a poor case design and unbalanced fan mounting locations can "break the rules", in a well thought out design Rad fans blowing in creates better temps across the board.

2. In most cases, peeps who reverse the fans, contrary to Corsair's instructions, create negative pressure condition, where GPU and PSU exhaust air is sucked right back into the case thru rear case grilles. The HAF HB provided water cooling support for the front of the case meaning a) it's blowing right out into your face b) that makes 3 fans blowing air out of the case. Most folks using the hot air logic, will have that top 230mm fan also blowing air out the the case. So with all the fans blowing out how does air get in ? Is it filtered ? Or is it bringing a crap load of dust in with it thru unfiltered openings like slot grilles.

3. Yes we all learned in 8th grade earth science that hot air rises ... try that with a balloon while sitting under a ceiling fan blowing down. We use a fog machine for air flow testing ... hot air go where the fans tell it to.

4. Forget price / performance look at the test results:

In the link above, the H100i managed just 73C so I have to ask you to explain how the Noctua NH-D15 managed to do 2c better, with fans spinning at only 55% of the rpm ?

5. The number speak for themselves as to sound. The Hightechlegion test result, with actual instruments was 68 dbA ... the Noc was just 33 dba .. that's 35 dbA louder and each decibel represents a doubling of loudness. That's between 11 and 12 times louder. It broke 60 dba on martins test ... that's loud... granny's old vacuum does 70, modern ones much lower. The numbers are the numbers and speak for themselves.

6. CLCs utilize aluminum radiators which have a very low hear transfer coefficient. To make up for that, the only way they can begin to compete with air coolers is to use extreme rpm fans. Simply put, there is no way to have a 2700rpm fan run on top of a radiator w/o creating noise... its like driving down the road with the windows open.... it's a helluva lot louder at 54 rpm than it is at 30 mph.

 

[fry178]

i meant the difference between an air and a AIO water cooler.
1+2. never said anything in which direction the fans should run. besides that, the 2x80 fans can run cold air in (bottom) if the aio blows out.
and my friend is running it like that without trouble.
3. that hot air rises, only if no case fans are running. this has also be proven "irrelevant" by 1 or 2 websites i read up on about it, dont remember was guru3d or an overclocking site where ppl tested it.
4. never stated anything different
5+6. im running the smaller h60 with 2 enermax 9dB fans without any problems, absolute silent (case on desk, 2ft away) while
cpu is 60-65* under full load with all cores running @3.9

again, main reason for me is to dump the cpu heat outside, and still produces less "noise" vs all 2x 120/140mm air cooler i tried (as they spin up or cant keep temps low when throttled to certain rpm).

 

[JackNaylorPE]

1+2. How do you resolve the "dump the cpu heat outside the case" statement w/ "fans blowing in".

3. Ok since the fans are running I don't see the relevance. How do we stop the air being sucked in from open unflitered grilles bringing dust along with it.

4. I am having trouble resolving "never stated anything different" with "if you would not be limited in thinking (performance/price) "

5+6. It's not a matter of having problems... it's about choices. World isn't going to end, PC won't melt down but by using a CLC, you are paying more to get less thermal performance and more noise.

again, main reason for me is to dump the cpu heat outside, and still produces less "noise" vs all 2x 120/140mm air cooler i tried (as they spin up or cant keep temps low when throttled to certain rpm).

I am having trouble resolving the above with answer 1+2.

While I'm not discounting your personal experience, I just am unable to reconcile it with every test / review where they used sound meters and thermal probes for testing and their results are the opposite of yours. Here's just abut the cheapest air cooler you can buy, the $25 Hyper 212, toasting the $60 H55 by 2.4C

Here's the $45 Scythe Mugen 4 besting the $60 H60 by about 3C overclocked, tho it needed to be 1C louder to do it.
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2014/11/24/corsair_h60_aio_cpu_cooling_system_update_review/3

The limitation with CLCs is tied to the heat transfer between the liquid coolant and the aluminum radiator. When you look at All-in-one liquid cooling systems with copper rads, the performance is better than air coolers, they still tend to be louder than air coolers at max performance levels but they don't need to be to do better thermally..

When you limit the noise to 40dbA, we see something rather interesting (from previous link):

Noctua NH-D15 Air Cooler = 71C @ 33 dbA
Corsair H100i CLC Water Cooler = 76C @ 39 dbA
Swiftech H220-X OLC Water Cooler = 68C @ 40 dbA

So...

a) the Swiftech OLC water cooler w/ copper radiator and much slower fans manages an 8C advantage at the same sound level over the Corsair CLC

b) the Noctua Air cooler with much slower fans manages an 5C advantage at the same sound level over the Corsair CLC

As long as CLCs continue to be made with weak (0.11 gpm for h100i) pumps and aluminum rads, they are not going to be able to get away from using extreme rpm fans. But as long as they need those fans to get close to air cooling performance, manufacturers will continue to use them even tho dropping the rpm to reasonable levels, doesn't have the big of thermal impact.

 

[fry178]

fans sucking in unfiltered air isnt really an issue, since we dont even know if he/she has trouble with dust in the room, and i dont see a problem getting
filters or even window screen to put in front. its not really something connected to LC vs AC, but rather a case "issue".

my friend got my xb case and he asked same question, i told him to use the bottom fans to blow in, top fan removed, and replaced with 2 120 fans sitting right above gpu (blowing out as well). no issues.

i did recommend/linked the arctic AIO, since its not based on aistek design (and its weaker pumps).

price@performance isnt really an issue, since its a personal choice.
a golf gti costs 35k to get 200HP and ~150mph, a corvette goes for at least 3 times that, while only doing 200mph top speed.
is the golf the "better" choice"? sure.
do i still get it, if i like the corvette more and have the money to buy/own it? no. ill buy the corvette.

 

[Lag_behind]

The noisy stock fans are not an issue as ill be replacing them with quieter fans if i do buy one.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

I'd like to keep this discussion in "real life" .. we have a whole house air filtering system and I still have to clean and vacuum up dust. Unless the PC is in an Intel clean room, dust is an issue.... that's why they build clean rooms.

If you need to go out and buy window screening, then 1) you have made a poor case / cooling choice and 2) window screens are not fine enough to filter dust. You can buy filter material in rolls for custom PC mods, but again, you pay the case manufacturer to provide a proper design.

Yes everyone has a right to make choices, even poor choices. But the fact is the numbers, unequivocally so, destroy the myths about CLC based water cooling. If you want to have a CLC, go and get it, but to justify the choice using myths long ago destroyed by testing is inappropriate

1. No, again, it is does not lower air temps compared to air coolers. Yes you can say price / performance doesn't matter when ya CPU is too hot and "I needed to buy a $100 CLC to reduce CPU temps", but the fact remains that an $80 air cooler will outperform that $100 investment in ever respect. So, no... the extra investment in a CLC does not, in fact, bringing anything to the table. You could have done significantly better spending less

2. Yes, it is noisier.... only way to change that would be to live in a universe where they laws of thermodynamics don't apply. Maybe I should get Joe Pesci to argue the case https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVGXUrKJVCU

3. No, the weight of an air cooler has no significance outside of shipping via FedEx Gorrillas. Where is the worry about a 2 pound heat sink when you just applied 70 points of claiming force as per TIM manufacturers instructions ?
is not significant. My son took his PC back and forth to college twice a year on the roof of his off-road jeep... it survived.

4. CLCs are closed, that's what the 1st C stands for, as such you can not change the coolant nor replenish the corrosion inhibitors and algaecides which have a useful life of 18 - 24 months. Again, the laws of science dictate that when two dissimilar metals are present, corrosion will occur. There's no magic that will prevent this, so this is what happens when you use an aluminum radiator with a copper block.

https://martinsliquidlab.wordpress.com/2012/01/24/corrosion-explored/

Anyone who owns a boat knows this ... that's why they attach sacrifical anodes to the bhull so the anodes are 'sacrificed" instead of any parts in the water.

5. CLCs are closed, that means no adding a water block for GPU or anything else....

6. What is the flow rate of this Artic AIO you are recommending ?

7. Using the Corvette analogy was an extremely bad choice. The Corvette has better performance, the air cooler has better performance. To make your analogy "work", you'd have to spend 3 times as much to get the Golf.

8. I thought we were talking about this case ... which doesn't have bottom fan mounts according to the case's product page.

http://www.coolermaster.com/case/lan-box/haf-xb/

Cooling System
Front: 120mm fan x 2, 1800 RPM, 21 dBA (or 140mm fan x 2)
Rear: 120mm fan x 1 (optional), and 80mm fan x 2 (optional)
Top: 200mm fan x 1 (optional)

9. "If i like the corvette more and have the money to buy/own it,"... then perhaps consider buying a sports car, without a weak engine, without breaking local noise ordinances, without incompatible metals, that you can add aftermarket products to, is way faster, corners better, has better suspension and, in essence does everything better than the Corvette does. In other words, again, the idea is don't pay more to get less in every category across the board.

Sidenote: ...in 1994 I was given a Corvette as a "company car", hated it, gave it back. Not to mention the tax implications, it just wasn't fun to drive.

If you want to get a Corvette just cause you like the looks, then say so... I have no issue with that. But just because you like the looks better, you can not try and justify the choice by saying it's faster, handles better, has a better suspension, etc than an alternate choice when every car enthusiast magazine has tested and published the results on both both and it fails to measure up in any of those categories.