What was your primary reason to get watercooling?

[m1dg3t]

Yeah, we used to reference the whole 10C = twice the lifespan of silicon, but with today's silicon doping methods, I'm not sure that still applies. It's definitely not the same tech today it was a couple of years ago, nevermind many.

And yeah, I mean, when it comes to gaming, I get really acceptable performance with stock CPUs, nevermind OC. Crunching, rendering, those see benefits, but what's out now, for most users is overkill performance at stock.

I am really impressed with Intel's products right now, they truly do let the average user get the most out of their chips with minimal effort, and OC is now warrantable, too. I mean really...shove 1.7V through IVB, and they will replace it...no problem. Sure, it costs $25, but that barely covers shipping.

If Intel can offer that kinda of warranty, their chips are pretty much bullet-proof for air users, and I truly feel that's why watercooling has such a little effect.


AMD, on the other hand...man, by 8350 just flies under water! my 3960X does too, but it's just not the same.

I was speaking to the "Total" lifespan of the chip, including useability. Not just the actual life of the silicone. A person can greatly extend the usefull lifespan of their system/chip by keeping it cool & clocked If you wanna blow up chips for a $25 fee, go right ahead! We could use more landfill

Sitting in your shed up north with an air cooler in sub Zero temps?

That the first thing that popped into my head

Watercooling does not leak unless the user does not know what he/she is doing

It happens, but yes. With proper preparation/installation they are usually trouble free

 

[TheLostSwede]

Actually, neither option as such, sure, I'm overclocking, but in the winter time my CPU runs cool enough on air, but in the summer air cooling simply doesn't cut it where I live, but water does...

 

[Sinzia]

More overclocking mainly, but also the added benefit of quietness.

 

[kid41212003]

I got my i7 920 to 4.6GHz from 4.2GHz 2 years back using watercooling.

Then realized it was a huge waste of money. 300usd+ for 400MHz.

Buying an extra video card gets you 1000% more boost.

I also realized it was a huge waste of time to overclock my CPUs, so I stopped.

Then I also realized I didn't need 4x AA or more, so I stopped being paranoid about pixels and cared more about the gameplay.

I "herd" people talking about "lifespan" and shitz, JEESUZ! My super old i7 920 was running 4GHz 24/7 when I bought it. I also ran countless hours of Prime95. It has been 4 years! and it's still running.

Joking aside.

Watercooling is a huge waste of money. Spend it on video cards or SSD for real performance boost.

 

[SaiZo]

My CPU temps are so good, I actually want to cool my graphics card next time.
But perhaps I should invest in a better graphics card first..

 

[amd/atifiend]

Going to liquid cooling(especially for gpu's) is one of those moments when you get mad at yourself for not doing it earlier.

I have been using the same cooling system I put together for almost 6 years without 1 single issue or need to upgrade the cooling system. The benefits far outweigh the cost imo.

At first I was chasing numbers but after a while you just forget that it is overclocked. It's so quiet, the efficiency will not only be felt on your processors but the inside of the case itself. personally i L/C the cpu and gpus and worrying about the temps and airflow inside the case becomes a faded memory as well. And that's what I like.......peace of mind without the feeling that you are sacrificing something.

my advice, if you are going to L/C do your gpu too.

 

[15th Warlock]

In my case I went with water cooling first and foremost to extend the life time of my GPUs by lowering their temps when they are working at max load, but the option is not in the poll

 

[EpicShweetness]

I'm aircooled all the way, its just easier and lower maintenance. Plus if my temps go to high, the room my main rig sits in is cooled by a 12000 BTU Mitsubishi AC unit that is supposed to cool down a room 4 times the size it's in!

 

[NastyHabits]

I first used watercooling back in the P-35 days. I bought an HD 3850 and couldn't close the case due to high temps! It was a really old case with virtually no air circulation. I used to water cool everything, but the $300 per PC got to me. My latest PC is air cooled.

 

[douglatins]

Lower temps is the most important and isnt there