CM 212 vs. Corsair H70

[joe_H]

I have all my parts ordered for my new Sandy build 2500k, and I have a CM 212 included with the shipment. I guess I underestimated how large the cooler is.

A buddy of mine has a self-contained water system, so I started reading around regarding the H50 and H70. I saw many people say that the CM212 was equal or better than the H50, but I couldn't find many comparisons to the H70. Can anyone confirm that the H70 will cool the 2500k significantly better than a CM212?

While I love the value of the CM212, I really can't stand how big these coolers are getting. Price is "relatively" a non-factor, so if the H70 is better, I may consider going with it. I'm not interested in building a water cooling system...was just very interested in pulling the bulk off of the cpu and onto the rear of the case.

My case is a Antec 1200 if that helps any.

Thanks!

 

[Diogenes2]

Here is a comparrison:
http://www.maximumpc.com/article/reviews/corsair_hydro_h70_liquid-cooling_system_review

Performance is real close, but you do get the space advantage..

 

[bcterps]

That comparison is a bit biased since they didn't test a H50 in a push/pull config. Add a second fan to the H50 for push/pull and the difference between that and the H70 is much smaller.

 

[Diogenes2]

I'm not sure how that relates to the OP..???

 

[Cebu]

I used a H50 in a push/pull configuration for almost a year after using a 212 and the H50 was okay as long as the ambient temps in your house are kept in check. I live in South Texas so in the summer it hits 100+ degrees every day. When it was that hot outside it was hard to keep the ambient temps in my house lower than 80 degrees without burning up my ac. That caused the H50 to run in the high 40's and low 50's no matter what I did. In the fall and winter it was in the high 20's or low 30's since the ambient temps in my house were lower. I finally decided to go back to the 212 since I overclock and I did not feel comfortable with temps that high on a 24/7 basis. Now I am in the mid 30's during the summer. I can live with that.

 

[joe_H]

Thanks for the responses so far guys. As far as ambient temps so, I'm in southern NM, so the summer days get pretty warm (95-100 degrees), but the ambient temps in the house are around 75F.

The MaximumPC comparison shows the H70 with a 5-6 degree cooling edge over the 212. I appreciate the input on the H50, but I've ruled that out. I already have the 212 on order, but would return it and possibly get the H70.

I know it's quite a bit more money, but I hate the look of how big these air coolers are getting. I mean, we're already up to sticking a 120mm fan on top of our processors. lol. If there really isn't any real-world difference, I'll just stick with the 212.

Anyone H70 owners that can chime in? I do plan on putting a fairly aggressive overclock on it if I can. Somewhere in the 4.4 to 4.6 range if possible.

Thanks.

 

[Diogenes2]

I would jump on the H70 to reduce case clutter in a minute - just sort of tapped out right now on the new build.
The H70 should be more than adequate for 4.4 - 4.6--
My OC is 4.9 and the 212+ maxed at 75 for me in an 8 hour run of P95..

 

[Juji]

Im using an h70 on my 2600k running about 30 degrees centigrade with the high ohm wires, ambient temp is around 25 i guess. Dont think i've seen it hit 50 degrees.
Using the haf x btw;-)

Edit: temp is 30 on idle, current oc is 4.6

 

[Aristotelian]

Im using an h70 on my 2600k running about 30 degrees centigrade with the high ohm wires, ambient temp is around 25 i guess. Dont think i've seen it hit 50 degrees.
Using the haf x btw;-)

Edit: temp is 30 on idle, current oc is 4.6

And you're sub-50C at load?

 

[Juji]

Been running prime since 4, Norwegian time max temp on one core is 69, that was 2 hours ago, other cores are at mid 60's. Anything "normal" which drives the cpu up to that temp at all?

 

[littlezipp]

And you're sub-50C at load?

I'll add my i7 970 is also sub 50C at load too with my H70. I did swap the fans though.

 

[Juji]

Been running prime for about 24hours, max temp still 69

 

[Aristotelian]

I'll add my i7 970 is also sub 50C at load too with my H70. I did swap the fans though.

Stock or overclocked?

 

[littlezipp]

Stock or overclocked?

Overclocked. Played Civilization V for 4 hours last night and checked the temp history and I spiked over 50c on only 1 core in that period. 4.0GHZ 1.325v

 

[Aristotelian]

I found this review: http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=25823&page=1 to be more informative. The H70 seems to perform marginally better than some of the better aircoolers, but is also louder and more expensive. Another plus is the lack of clutter.

@Littlezipp - what fans did you swap to? I wonder if some quiet fans in push/pull would be sufficient to cool the radiator. My Nexus 120mm fans are barely audible (to me), and could be a choice for replacing the stock fans.

 

[ViviTheMage]

I was looking at this review :

http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/corsair_h70/4.htm

i5 2500k

That swayed me to buy the H70. idle - 25C~ load 45~ not oc'd. I have the fans cranked down so I can barely hear them., works great.

My reasoning was it did just as good/if not better then noctua, and had a cleaner look to it.

 

[Patrick Wolf]

H70 is a pretty bad value. It's water cooling without water cooling performance. It looks neat, that's about it. And far too much to spend on cooling a SB CPU. The Hyper 212+ really isn't that big either. The H70 with it's two fans probably takes up more space.

 

[deimos3428]

H70 is a pretty bad value. It's water cooling without water cooling performance. It looks neat, that's about it. And far too much to spend on cooling a SB CPU. The Hyper 212+ really isn't that big either. The H70 with it's two fans probably takes up more space.

I just switched from an H50 to the 212. The tower cooler takes up more room directly over the CPU socket, but it's only slightly larger than the radiator. When you consider the space taken up by the tubing and pump, it's actually smaller.

My H50 cooled well enough, but unfortunately came with a somewhat noisy pump (the main reason I switched) so the 212 is actually quieter using the same fans. It also cools better than the H50 but I used MX-4 instead of the included TIM.

So I'd guess it's about equal in size and performance to the H70, and about half the price after including a tube of premium paste.

 

[joe_H]

Ordered the H70 yesterday. It was expensive, but I'm not really looking for value (otherwise I'd just keep the 212 that I ordered). I'm looking to get rid of the large air coolers hanging off the chip, with a mid to high end amount of cooling. Like I said in my OP, I'm trying to get to 4.5-4.6 with decent temps. I'm also too lazy to try and build/maintain a real water cooling solution.

Now, this is going into a Antec 1200, and I've seen debate over intake vs. exhaust...but I haven't seen many people install it in the front of the case vs the back.

If it will reach, I'm wondering if setting this up in the front as intake would increase cooling as opposed to setting it up as rear exhaust?

Anyone have experience mounting the H70 in the front?

 

[Patrick Wolf]

No way it'll reach the front. For the 1200, I'd think intake would be best since the top fan will exhaust the warm air.

I'm looking to get rid of the large air coolers hanging off the chip, with a mid to high end amount of cooling. Like I said in my OP, I'm trying to get to 4.5-4.6 with decent temps.

I think you're looking for any excuse to say your CPU is water cooled. I think that's really why most people buy these things. You don't need a monstrous, heavy heatsink with dual fans to keep an oc'ed 2500K/2600K cool.

 

[yottabit]

Is there a reason you don't want weight over the chip? I'm honestly ecstatic that coolers like the 212+ are available and so cheap. My 212+ with just it's one stock fan keeps my i5 750 around 52 deg C at load at 3.2 Ghz, and seems to be supporting my 3.8 Ghz overclock just fine, I'd guess it's under 60 deg C. And very quiet.

You can get to 4.5-4.6 with decent temps with a good air cooler. I get it if it's just a style issue, I just want to make sure you don't think there's some inherent advantage to having the weight off the chip. The mounting brackets that come with these things support the load quite well.

 

[joe_H]

No way it'll reach the front. For the 1200, I'd think intake would be best since the top fan will exhaust the warm air.


I think you're looking for any excuse to say your CPU is water cooled. I think that's really why most people buy these things. You don't need a monstrous, heavy heatsink with dual fans to keep an oc'ed 2500K/2600K cool.

Thanks for the advice on intake as opposed to exhaust.

Who am I going to brag about have a water cooled system to? My 3 year old? :sneaky:

I decided to get the H70 for these reasons:

1. I really am getting tired of how big these air coolers are getting now. I'm running a Arctic Freezer Pro now on my e8400. Looks like hell in the case. I guess it's primarily an asthetics issue.

2. Even with a backplate, with the increased size, I just have a hard time accepting that the weight of these coolers are good for the mobo when attached. Gravity sucks. lol

3. I'd like to try something different. I really don't consider this to be a water solution. It's just a closed loop. Most of the tests I've seen have the H70 beating the 212 by around 10 degrees C under load.

So if I can displace the weight of the unit to the case, quiet my system, and increase the cooling why not go for it? The only downside is the price...they are obnoxiously expensive.

Dunno...I still have the 212 sitting here...I can always return the H70 if I want.

Maybe I'll hook the 212 up first, and see how the temps are. If they look good, the H70 may never come out of the box.

 

[Aristotelian]

No way it'll reach the front. For the 1200, I'd think intake would be best since the top fan will exhaust the warm air.


I think you're looking for any excuse to say your CPU is water cooled. I think that's really why most people buy these things. You don't need a monstrous, heavy heatsink with dual fans to keep an oc'ed 2500K/2600K cool.

I wonder if the target market might be for people who are prone to high ambient temperatures. Having said that, I wonder about the ability of the radiator to dissipate heat if warm-ish air is being blown over it.

A side note: what's with the armchair psychology in your posts? You label this guy as "looking for any excuse to say (his) CPU is water cooled" and in a previous thread with me you labelled me as "looking to get the most expensive parts so you don't feel like you're missing out". I proved your claim false immediately thereafter in my thread and the OP of this thread has similarly done so with your claim here. I don't see the point to your labelling of posters here.

 

[kittysox]

I wonder if the target market might be for people who are prone to high ambient temperatures. Having said that, I wonder about the ability of the radiator to dissipate heat if warm-ish air is being blown over it.

I live in Texas where we very commonly have temps in the low 100s and on my old phenom rig the h50 would simply not keep it cool in the summer. My idle temps would range from low to mid 30s and spike up to around 45 to 48c in the summer. I have no doubt that these are great coolers but around here it's very difficult to keep cool ambient temps in the summer and from my limited experience I have decided air coolers work better or at least better than the corsair h50 that i had. Switched to a noctua nh-c12 and temperatures are quite a bit cooler in the summer months.

 

[Patrick Wolf]

A side note: what's with the armchair psychology in your posts? You label this guy as "looking for any excuse to say (his) CPU is water cooled" and in a previous thread with me you labelled me as "looking to get the most expensive parts so you don't feel like you're missing out". I proved your claim false immediately thereafter in my thread and the OP of this thread has similarly done so with your claim here. I don't see the point to your labelling of posters here.

I do it on purpose, gets under the skin so hopefully they rethink the BS going thru their head. The OP seems to understand what the H70 is and the reasons for wanting it are understandable. You OTOH didn't disprove anything. You said, "I want to set up this build and squeeze as much performance as I can out of it, then leave it alone." Considering that, I was wrong, your not just picking the most expensive parts, you simply don't know what you're doing. You don't need a 2600k, Maximus IV, and 1866 memory to accomplish that. Give me (good) specific reasons for choosing these parts and I'll concede. Or maybe you have none and just like having uber parts, that'd be fine too.