Ok, I have a question about noise. I'm running an air-cooled PC now that's pretty quiet but hot. Idle CPU temps are ~20 C above ambient, under load the CPU is ~20 C higher. Case temps are +10 C at idle, +20 C at load. I can turn up my fans and drop all temps 5-10 C, which I do during long gaming sessions. Total fans: 2 120 mm, 1 92 mm on Zalman HSF, 92 mm PSU, stock GPU HSF on X800 Pro.
How can I reduce temps without increasing the noise? I'd like to water-cool the CPU and GPU; together that's going to be pushing close to 200 W.
Zalman's Reserator is tempting, but I'm just not stupid enough to buy it.
Koolance's Exos is also tempting. I've had a mixed experience with Koolance in the past.
I like the idea of not dragging any more dirty air through my computer than I am now. This place is dusty, and we have two cats.
My case is an Antec Sonata, so I don't have a lot of room inside.
I could jam a radiator against the 120 mm exhaust fan in the back, put a bay res in (I have 2 bays free) and pump at the bottom. Route the tubing carefully to CPU and GPU and never add anything else. This worries me a bit that a single 120 mm radiator won't cool too much, and I added the noise of a pump.
I could mod the @$#% out of my beautiful case, put a double 120 mm radiator on top with 2 undervolted 120s pulling air out, bay res and pump as above. This would increase the airflow over the radiator (good) but increase the airflow through my computer (bad). Cooling wouldn't be a problem; I could overclock if I didn't have an Intel MB. But I probably added noise, complexity, and dirt accumulation.
Or, I could go elaborate and build my own Exos-style radiator on top of my case, put res, pump, rad, fans all in there with an intake--maybe filtered. This becomes expensive or difficult (depending on how much of it I construct myself). It also helps keep air out of my computer--right now, it has a lot going through it.
Those of you with custom water cooling, how quiet is it at night when all is quiet? What do you hear? (pump, fans, air movement) Koolance Exos owners, what do you hear?
I am really worried about making the system too loud. I've had a noisy machine in the past, and I hated it. This is why the Reserator is so tempting. That's just a lot of money for just a few degrees.
Anyway, opinions? I've not mentioned cost much. The Koolance and Zalman are both close to $300 shipped. Kits are cheaper, Ghetto-style DIY is even less.
Is there an option I'm missing?
What's a good, quiet pump?
Thanks.
kneht
How can I reduce temps without increasing the noise? I'd like to water-cool the CPU and GPU; together that's going to be pushing close to 200 W.
Zalman's Reserator is tempting, but I'm just not stupid enough to buy it.
Koolance's Exos is also tempting. I've had a mixed experience with Koolance in the past.
I like the idea of not dragging any more dirty air through my computer than I am now. This place is dusty, and we have two cats.
My case is an Antec Sonata, so I don't have a lot of room inside.
I could jam a radiator against the 120 mm exhaust fan in the back, put a bay res in (I have 2 bays free) and pump at the bottom. Route the tubing carefully to CPU and GPU and never add anything else. This worries me a bit that a single 120 mm radiator won't cool too much, and I added the noise of a pump.
I could mod the @$#% out of my beautiful case, put a double 120 mm radiator on top with 2 undervolted 120s pulling air out, bay res and pump as above. This would increase the airflow over the radiator (good) but increase the airflow through my computer (bad). Cooling wouldn't be a problem; I could overclock if I didn't have an Intel MB. But I probably added noise, complexity, and dirt accumulation.
Or, I could go elaborate and build my own Exos-style radiator on top of my case, put res, pump, rad, fans all in there with an intake--maybe filtered. This becomes expensive or difficult (depending on how much of it I construct myself). It also helps keep air out of my computer--right now, it has a lot going through it.
Those of you with custom water cooling, how quiet is it at night when all is quiet? What do you hear? (pump, fans, air movement) Koolance Exos owners, what do you hear?
I am really worried about making the system too loud. I've had a noisy machine in the past, and I hated it. This is why the Reserator is so tempting. That's just a lot of money for just a few degrees.
Anyway, opinions? I've not mentioned cost much. The Koolance and Zalman are both close to $300 shipped. Kits are cheaper, Ghetto-style DIY is even less.
Is there an option I'm missing?
What's a good, quiet pump?
Thanks.
kneht