Liquid, Air and Which??

[Baer]

Greetings all,
I am building a new i7 rig, all high end componnents. For example I will use either the 940 or probibally the 965 extreme. Yes I will OC but reliability and stability are key issues for this rig, price is not the main factor (for example, this rig will have an SSD for boot Etc). I believe that a 965 at 3.8Ghz is going to last longer, be more reliable and stable than a 920 at the same speed.
I was planing on going liquid cooled but with what I am reading it may not be necessary with the 965 only OC'd by about 12% or so. Air cooling is so much easier and cleaner.
So, I am leaning in the direction of air using one of the top end air coolers (Tunig, Zalman, Tt Etc),
There are some really sharp people in here, do you agree or not? What specific recomendations do you have?

 

[spearman914]

If the mobo ur buying is a P6T non-deluxe version go air. It has the abillity to use LGA775 coolers!! S1283 is the best choice IMO! I'm not a person that does water so i can't help u over there. Liquid is only meant for benching so that's a no go.

 

[DOM]

If the mobo ur buying is a P6T non-deluxe version go air. It has the abillity to use LGA775 coolers!! S1283 is the best choice IMO! I'm not a person that does water so i can't help u over there. Liquid is only meant for benching so that's a no go.

i say water cuz there hot cpus when oced and its not that hard and its not as loud as air and if you go water what are you looking to cool just the cpu ?

 

[RevengE]

Really it just depends on how far you are wanting to go with the I7. My personal opinion would be to watercool only if your going to Push it to the Limit! Otherwise a top air cooler will do. With Watercooling you can always run into unforseen problems like leaks etc, and it is alot more expensive than a good aircooler,however if you plan out really overclocking go watercooled or if you just want bragging rights well that's okay too or if you want it for a future in possiably overclocking to the extreame after getting bored with your current clocks than go for it..if you want to use the money that is

 

[Baer]

Thanks, let me give some more info.
The Mobo will probibally be an ASUS, either one of the P6T or the Rampage II but probibally the P6T. I also up[grade on a regular basis so that is one reason I am thinking air is easier. My case is big (Tt Armor +) with really good air flow. I am not going to be liquid cooling my GPU's as they are changed out more often. Price for the cooling solution is not an issue at all. The reason I am probibally going with the 965 is that I want to run at about 3.8Ghz and I think the 965 will get there easier and generate less heat than the 920 which will also get there but probibally generate a lot more heat and suffer reduction in service life in doing so. Now, if the 965 generates just as much heat at 3,8 Ghz and the 920 at 3.8 Ghz than that is a totally different issue.
Hence, my delima

 

[mlee49]

I say go balls out and get a custom water setup. Water keeps temps reliably under 40C idle proally around 30(depending on your voltage).
The best air coolers idle at 30+ and load over 50.

 

[WarEagleAU]

Id go liquid. You have the bucks going with I7 ( I recommend the Asus Maximus 2 which Binge or someone is selling on here or the Gigabyte X58 board) so you want something to keep it cool. Also check out the Liquid Cpu Coolers club, they got alot of useful information.

 

[RevengE]

Well if your upgrading all of the time scratch the watercooling that would be a pain. Video cards you really don't need to watercool once again unless you plan on o'cing the hell out of them. Really if I was you I would do only a CPU setup, but if you upgrade alot it could get annoying.

 

[spearman914]

i say water cuz there hot cpus when oced and its not that hard and its not as loud as air and if you go water what are you looking to cool just the cpu ?

I misread, I just assumed liquid as LN2. I need some common sense sry.

 

[J-Man]

Greetings all,
I am building a new i7 rig, all high end componnents. For example I will use either the 940 or probibally the 965 extreme. Yes I will OC but reliability and stability are key issues for this rig, price is not the main factor (for example, this rig will have an SSD for boot Etc). I believe that a 965 at 3.8Ghz is going to last longer, be more reliable and stable than a 920 at the same speed.
I was planing on going liquid cooled but with what I am reading it may not be necessary with the 965 only OC'd by about 12% or so. Air cooling is so much easier and cleaner.
So, I am leaning in the direction of air using one of the top end air coolers (Tunig, Zalman, Tt Etc),
There are some really sharp people in here, do you agree or not? What specific recomendations do you have?

 

[Baer]

Id go liquid. You have the bucks going with I7 ( I recommend the Asus Maximus 2 which Binge or someone is selling on here or the Gigabyte X58 board) so you want something to keep it cool. Also check out the Liquid Cpu Coolers club, they got alot of useful information.

Is the Maximus an x-58 chipset?
Thanks for the thread recomendation. I will go there.

 

[Binge]

Thanks, let me give some more info.
The Mobo will probibally be an ASUS, either one of the P6T or the Rampage II but probibally the P6T. I also up[grade on a regular basis so that is one reason I am thinking air is easier. My case is big (Tt Armor +) with really good air flow. I am not going to be liquid cooling my GPU's as they are changed out more often. Price for the cooling solution is not an issue at all. The reason I am probibally going with the 965 is that I want to run at about 3.8Ghz and I think the 965 will get there easier and generate less heat than the 920 which will also get there but probibally generate a lot more heat and suffer reduction in service life in doing so. Now, if the 965 generates just as much heat at 3,8 Ghz and the 920 at 3.8 Ghz than that is a totally different issue.
Hence, my delima

That's a Rampage II Extreme I've got one for grabs that WarEagle is talking about, but that's a different issue all together

The 940 is a 920 with a higher stock base clock. Same exact chip. The 965 would be high end, so go for either the 965 or the 920 but the middle ground has no reason for existing. The 965 will not generate less heat than the 920. If you get any 920 you will hit 3.8ghz no problem. The use of the 965 would be to get over 4.4ghz stable without the use of phase or LN2, but not to get just 3.8ghz.

I run a 920 @ 4.2ghz 24/7 on water with no stability issues, and no degradation (owned since early Dec). Going air would be a death sentence. The i7s should be under water. Under unrealistic loads like Core Damage my cpu will get as hot as 66C on water. It idles @ 25C with a water block that isn't really meant for the i7. Bla bla bla... good luck!

 

[Frizz]

If the mobo ur buying is a P6T non-deluxe version go air. It has the abillity to use LGA775 coolers!! S1283 is the best choice IMO! I'm not a person that does water so i can't help u over there. Liquid is only meant for benching so that's a no go.

I agree with spearman, liquid wouldn't be necessary unless you're a bencher or extreme enthusiast who tries to reach for 4ghz.

With your CPU the s1283 should be more than enough to cool your CPU at 3.6ghz without degrading it or going past its recommended operating temps while eliminating any kind of potential CPU bottlenecks.

liquid costs around 200 USD I think for a decent one or more >.>
Best air coolers will cost you under 90.

 

[Baer]

That's a Rampage II Extreme I've got one for grabs that WarEagle is talking about, but that's a different issue all together

!

I have heard of some issues with the R-II Ex. In fact at CES ASUS said privatly that they recommended the P6T D-OC Palm for my application over the R-II Ex. Did you have issues with it?
Also, thanks for your comments on the i7, I figured that the two lower end chips were the same and that the 965 was at least bined more severly. I really need reliability and stability so the 965 will probibally be my choice. Price is not an issue ,.... BUT, a $500 difference is not just chump change

 

[Binge]

I agree with spearman, liquid wouldn't be necessary unless you're a bencher or extreme enthusiast who tries to reach for 4ghz.

With your CPU the s1283 should be more than enough to cool your CPU at 3.6ghz without degrading it or going past its recommended operating temps while eliminating any kind of potential CPU bottlenecks.

liquid costs around 200 USD I think for a decent one or more >.>
Best air coolers will cost you under 90.

-_- spearman talks out of his arse... every person on this forum who's used an i7 effectively uses water. EVERY person. Not because we can afford it (I didn't pay $200 for my setup nor would I), but because these things can easily overload most air coolers.

 

[spearman914]

-_- spearman talks out of his arse... every person on this forum who's used an i7 effectively uses water. EVERY person. Not because we can afford it (I didn't pay $200 for my setup nor would I), but because these things can easily overload most air coolers.

Ok so u can forget what i posted. Binge is king!!!

 

[Binge]

I have heard of some issues with the R-II Ex. In fact at CES ASUS said privatly that they recommended the P6T D-OC Palm for my application over the R-II Ex. Did you have issues with it?
Also, thanks for your comments on the i7, I figured that the two lower end chips were the same and that the 965 was at least bined more severly. I really need reliability and stability so the 965 will probibally be my choice. Price is not an issue ,.... BUT, a $500 difference is not just chump change

There are a bunch of guys over at OCN who can't get their 965s as high as I can push my 920 on water, but I attribute that to bad luck. I have no problems with this RIIE. I'm only getting rid of it because of cosmetic reasons. I bought a Benchatto 101 tech station which is almost $400 and the board is longer than the Benchatto's motherboard tray. I'm going to get a different board that is less fat and do the exact same thing I did with my RIIE. That is get it to 4.2ghz 24/7 and do 3D rendering.

 

[crazy pyro]

Fitseries 3 and Dark 2009 both seem to like their P6T workstation mobos, IDK about them though since I'm still on 775 and staying for a while.

 

[Frizz]

Hahaha i completely misread, I jumped straight to Spearman's comment before reading the issue, which I do often of course because I am a lazy forumer I just jump onto someone reliable .

My bad my bad, sorry baer. If you're goin` i7 do AS BINGE SAYS!

 

[1Kurgan1]

Go watercooling, looking at your system specs seems its been quiet a while for a system update for you. I think in the past year I'be upgraded my vid card alone like 3 times

A WC loop is an easy swap later on, even if you have to buy a new block for a diff processor down the line. You don't need to WC the vid cards that is pricey, vid card waterblocks arent cheap.

So I would say WC the CPU, and chipsets and call it good. Plus WCing with blacklights looks amazing!

 

[Baer]

OK, so based on what I am reading I have to seriously consider liquid cooling. The Tt 760i which is made to fit my case is not getting great reviews by some. I also was looking at a peiced together set up based on the Thermochill pa120.3 which BINGE uses. If this is a good RAD what other componnents go well with it (initially I would only liquid cool the i7)

 

[Baer]

And now there is a new factor with the possiability of the i7 975 chip with huge OC capability being out soon.

 

[Binge]

OK, so based on what I am reading I have to seriously consider liquid cooling. The Tt 760i which is made to fit my case is not getting great reviews by some. I also was looking at a peiced together set up based on the Thermochill pa120.3 which BINGE uses. If this is a good RAD what other componnents go well with it (initially I would only liquid cool the i7)

Sorry for not getting back to you quickly Baer. You would be able to do fine with a pa120.3 or a pa120.2, but that's a completely different subject though worth looking into.

The other components that go into a simple cpu loop are:
-Reservoir
-Pump
-CPU block

This morning I saw a review of a new i7 water block that did very VERY well with below average heat dispersion for the overclock. It was run on the equivalent of a single 120mm radiator with pump and res all in the same package which = lots of heat. So with a better rad, res, pump, and pump cooling (just a small fan on the pump) it would perform much better. It's the Alphacool in my list of links below, but it's a new product/foreign, so kind of expensive.

Good pumps:
Dtek dB-1 Compact
Liang/Swiftech MCP655-B

You check how much flow you will get by comparing PSI and Liters/Gallons per hour.

Reservoirs:
Swiftech Multi-open Micro res
EK Multi-Open 100

i7 compatible water blocks:
Swiftech GTZ
NOTE: Fitseries has found that if you just buy the GTZ i7 mounting and a Swiftech GTX the GTX series waterblock will actually cool better than the GTZ which was designed for the core2 series.
EK Supreme LT
Aqua Computer Cuplex XT
Alphacool NexXxos X2
Heat Killer 3.0

 

[Baer]

Thanks Binge. You have provided a lot of valuable information and I truly apreicate the effort.

 

[DRDNA]

Asus P6T deluxe is a great overclocking mobo ..I am using it.
The i7 do create allot of heat when you start to overclock them!at stock they run pretty cool but once you give it some volts for stability then up the frequency they run hot....I think the upping the frequency heats my chip more than the voltage does...example i set the CPU voltage to say 1.4 volts ...then clock it to 4.2+GHZ ,then I go into my OS power options and knock it down to power saver and that knocks my multi down to 12 making the CPU frequency go down to 2.4ishGHZ , my voltage is reading the same 1.4volts but now amazingly the CPU is running allot cooler.So any way go water !
last part of top paragraph is an observation statement.Good luck !