Liquid Cooling vs Air Cooling

[PaulC2K]

Does anyone know of any good comparisons, reviews or such for this kinda question?

Im planning on upgrading my machine in 2 stages, i figured the first step should be to make sure that ive got everything i need in terms of the basics, the case, PSU, cooling and all that sorta stuff, and then later down the road while still being able to use the existing gear, get the CPU, Mobo and if needed GFX and RAM. I figure its best to get the important stuff out of the way first, important being the stuff which will save my expensive stuff from overheating and going *pop*, it also means by the time ive got the funds hopefully AMD in particular will have some nice new toys to consider.

Now im just wondering whether water/liquid cooling is something i'd consider running in my system.
I work from my computer, I eat, sleep (3m from it), and breathe from it, and its on 24/7.

At the moment the sound is managable and doesnt keep me awake unless I have a migraine, and heat wise i guess its ok although I have the side off because otherwise it warms up and the fans kick in and thats when it gets noisy! (there only a 120mm and then the x800 and PSU fans) so with the side off the 120mm fan is pretty quite, but i dont want to buy a whole new system including a nice case only to have the side off!


I'd decided to get the following items:
Akasa Evo120
3-4 Akasa Amber fans (however many the case took, in whatever sizes)
The Evo120 holds a 120mm Amber as standard, and these are very quiet with very good cooling, so i figured this would do the 2 jobs nicely, and then normal case cooling

As an alternative, im now looking at WC with Thermaltake BigWater SE:
http://www.thermaltake.com/2005/wate...l-w0005-01.htm
This is a standard kit for just the CPU, but at £50($80 give or take) it seems like a very good kit, im seriously considering the Thermaltake Armor case, which seems to take WC into account with the design and even has mounting for this unit, and for only £15/$25 more it could 'replace' the Evo120 and be used for further cooling.

I've purchased a Ati Silencer only a few hours ago before WC even entered my thoughts, but it could be a better option till all VGA chips are taken into consideration on blocks, but with HD coolers available and chipset coolers im quite tempted.
One thing i dont know is whether or not liquid cooling, particularly at this cost, is worthwhile.
Is it going to be stuggling to match good quality fan assisted cooling, or is it going to totally blow it out the water?

Thoughts or pointers to go read up on the subject are greatly appreciated,

PC2K

[Thermopylae_480]

Make sure if you get a liquid cooling set it will be compatible with the CPU and motherboard you wish to upgrade to in the future, otherwise you'll be buying it all again. Liquid cooling will definetly be quieter than acitve air, and if done well will be cooler too. If you are concerned about noise liquid cooling is the way to go.

When you get your new fans, if you arrange the properly, your computer will actually be cooler with the side on, rather than off. All temp sensors in my computer read 6-10~C cooler at idle with the side on.

[trog100]

these folks have tested most coolers..

http://www.overclockers.com/articles373/

trog

[PaulC2K]

Thanks for the comments guys.

Trog, im actually on there atm, just found them a few minutes ago