V6GT vs water cooling

[SargeK155]

I need some advice on which cooler to get for my new system. I had originally decided on the CM V6GT because of its performance and looks. However i also think its very big and i would have to mod the plastic armour of the z77 sabertooth motherboard if i decide to get it (i read this in the newegg V6GT comments). I have also been looking at the Thermaltake Frio Advanced as it would (as far as i can read) not force me to mod the thermal armour. I have been looking for top down blowing air coolers, but other than the NH-C14 i cant really find any good ones. Therefore im opening up for closed water cooling loop as they are small (around the cpu socket) and i've heard they deliver good performance.

So what closed water cooling could bring approx the same performance of the V6GT. And is water cooling good price to performance wise, like air cooling is? Or should i go with the V6GT and mod the armour or simply the Thermaltake Frio Advanced, and are there any cpu air coolers i might have missed, both towers and top/down blowing coolers (red and/or black are preferred colors). The CPU it will be used on is the I5 3570k and im looking for a 4-4,5 Ghz OC. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[wolfram23]

You'd need something like an H80 to have similar performance. Most of the all-in-one water coolers aren't really much better than a good air cooler. I spent about $200 on the Swiftech Edge 220 watercooling kit and it dropped my CPU temps by 10C over a Zalman CNPS10X Extreme, plus when I have the cash I can easily add more radiators and GPU blocks to it.

 

[SargeK155]

This is what i feared. Having to go for a more expensive thick rad mounted to the rear of my case. However i might look into a custom watercooling kit. It would be very nice if i could get one with a 200mm rad for one of the top fans of the HAF X case (which im using).

 

[wolfram23]

A 200mm rad would be awesome. Big and quiet. Definitely doable. Probably would have enough cooling power to add a GPU to the loop as well.

 

[SargeK155]

Can you move a computer around with a custom watercooled loop? As i probably will move this case sometimes.

 

[wolfram23]

Yeah of course. Just gotta make sure you install everything properly. It should be leak proof, and radiators/pumps all need to be well secured, ideally with screws (though I ended up using a bunch of zip ties lol)