Should I upgrade to watercooling

[CDC Mail Guy]

Okay specs first cause I know I'll be asked

Asus blah blah blah motherboard
P4 Prescott 3.6 (not OC'd)
2 gigs PC4200 RAM running at 533
Evga 7600 GT KO (again blah blah blah!)
3 120mm case fans

Now, my HSF is a Zalman CNPS7700-CU 120mm 2 Ball Cooling Fan with Copper Heatsink
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835118115

My idle temps are around 44C, but when I'm gaming or video editing it gets up to 70C. Is this too hot? System had restarted a couple times, but I'm not sure that heat did it.

Thinking of trying my hand at water/liquid cooling.
#1 idea http://www.crazypc.com/products/938200.html
#2 idea http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835118120

Do you think water cooling will drop my temps "significantly"...that's the KEY word. Or do you think I'll just see a small decrease in temps, and should save my hard earned $$$ for a higher end video card???

 

[CDC Mail Guy]

Is anyone here at all???

 

[acegazda]

Nope

EDIT: HeHe... that would be really mean if I left it like that... I wanted to see what you would say
Anyway, I think it depends on the kit or parts that you get. For example a swiftech apex kit will perform much better than a tt big water kit. The swiftech is also of vastly superior quality and will last longer. If you're not oc'ing, and you're at stock volts, those temps are OK. Getting a better vid card is a good idea. Only if you are annoyed with the noise level of your pc would I recommend a water cooling system for that.

 

[Ayah]

You should try reseating the heatsink and reapplying fresh thermal paste.
Those temps aren't completely out of whack though. Since a 3.6 Preshot is VERY hot.

 

[tylerdustin2008]

Yea prescots usually run on the warm side compared to others. But i would have to say buy a new heatsink, and some good thermal paste. Becuase those kits wil not drop the temps that much, maybe like 4-8c. Buy a professional kit from www.dangerden.com . And then it might drop it 8-15c.

 

[corsa]

you say system restarted couple times....whats ur psu ?
anyways, I think its time to upgrade ur cpu cooler....think heatpipes

 

[CDC Mail Guy]

Thanks to all for the responses. (finally ) Anyway, I think the restarts in the middle of my game were flukes, not overheating, 'cause I should have got some warning beeps or something. I have already re-seated the HSF with Artic Silver after first temps were in the 60C's as my under load temps. I don't mind the noise, but don't want it as load as a jet!

What heatpipes do you suggest corsa?

I don't REALLY think I can drop my temps that much with WC from the sounds of things, unless I go with Danger Den stuff.

How much help would it be if I removed the side panel of my PC?

 

[CDC Mail Guy]

Originally posted by: corsa
.think heatpipes

What one recommend???

 

[TheJollyFellow]

I don't REALLY think I can drop my temps that much with WC from the sounds of things, unless I go with Danger Den stuff.

How much help would it be if I removed the side panel of my PC?

Wrong: a $150 watercooling setup will drop your temps below what any air can do. $150 will buy you a great, mid-range setup which can be easily expanded and replaced. My recommendations:
-Keep your side panel on, the only air benefit is....more air, if you have good circulation you should be fine
-Get:
Apogee CPU waterblock
Masterkleer 7/16" tubing from MCmaster.com
clamps from MCmaster.com (or use some you already have)
DangerDen D5 pump
BIP/BIGT I/II/II (depends how much you want to spend, get the biggest you can)
Maze4 GPU/NB blocks-these are optional, and something you can easily add in the future if you so wish.

That setup above will get your temps below what any air can do, it's more fun, it's expandable, it looks better, and it's universal!

 

[CDC Mail Guy]

Originally posted by: natewildes

BIP/BIGT I/II/II (depends how much you want to spend, get the biggest you can)

Tried to Google this, but came up with nada! What is it? The reservoir?

 

[TheJollyFellow]

it's the radiator. www.dangerden.com (BlackIcePro, BlackIceXtreme, BlackIce GT)

 

[LouPoir]

Originally posted by: Ayah
You should try reseating the heatsink and reapplying fresh thermal paste.
Those temps aren't completely out of whack though. Since a 3.6 Preshot is VERY hot.

Absolutely - reapply AS5. Very tricky with S775 processors. Must apply more in the center and little on the edges. This can make a difference of 10c easy.

Watercooling is a waste of money. Been there. Good air cooling is the way to go.

IMHO


Lou

 

[CDC Mail Guy]

Originally posted by: LouPoir

Originally posted by: Ayah
You should try reseating the heatsink and reapplying fresh thermal paste.
Those temps aren't completely out of whack though. Since a 3.6 Preshot is VERY hot.

Absolutely - reapply AS5. Very tricky with S775 processors. Must apply more in the center and little on the edges. This can make a difference of 10c easy.

Watercooling is a waste of money. Been there. Good air cooling is the way to go.

IMHO


Lou

So, a glob in the center thinned out toward the edge so it'll kinda resemble a pyramid? LOL Okay, I'll try anything at this point . I just think 44*C is a tad too ho at idle, then up to 65 to 70 under load. That's pushing it. Won't go water, I'm a chicken****, and don't want to spend too much $ for a 2 to 3* difference.

I thought the Zalman 700ALCU was the best, but I'll be checking out some heatpipes, as that was on my Dell, and it NEVER got too hot, and I am using the exact same CPU, just put it into a new mobo.

 

[tylerdustin2008]

Air cooling does great, just do some wire management. And buy a nice heatsink, like the Big Typhoon, or the Xp-120. I have a Zalman CNPS9500 and it keeps my 4400+ X2 OC'ed at 2.6Ghz at 35c on idle and about 43 c FULL load. And wire management is key here, and try upgrading your intake fan to a higher CFM one.

 

[SparkyJJO]

If you go watercooling the thermochill PA series is the best you can get for a radiator

 

[CDC Mail Guy]

Cable management is absolutely NO problem. I have a skill at zip tying , and my power supply is an Ultra modular PSU. Nothing is blocking the airflow. It is interesting to note that I just removed the side panel, and my cpu and MB temps dropped 6 degrees Celcius. I did, however, order a new HSF http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835185027
and 2 of these case fans http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835200021. Supposed to move air up to 87 CFM.

 

[Ayah]

You're going to hate yourself for loud fans. I did.
I'm loving these slow ADDAs.

 

[tylerdustin2008]

The fans have a fan controller, so while your computer is on idle you can have the fans on idle. And a full load turn the fans up.

 

[CDC Mail Guy]

Originally posted by: tylerdustin2008
The fans have a fan controller, so while your computer is on idle you can have the fans on idle. And a full load turn the fans up.

Yeah, I figured as much. I'm going to use 1 on the heatpipe/sink, and have it plugged into the fan controller on the side of my case that I'm already using for the Zalman (if I can). The 2nd is going to be the intake case fan, so I think I'll just plug it in directly to the mobo or PSU. I don't mind a little noise. NOTHING can be as loud as my first HSF which was a CoolerMaster. Damn, that thing actually whined, it was so loud. My wife was pissed every time I turned my PC on when she was trying to watch TV. LoL.

 

[tylerdustin2008]

Good, water cooling is pretty much for looks. If you know what you are doing you can get the same temps out air. Just be sure most wires are hidden.

 

[Zepper]

I don't think WC is worth the cost when a good and reasonably quiet air cooler is under $20.00...

.bh.

 

[SparkyJJO]

Originally posted by: Zepper
I don't think WC is worth the cost when a good and reasonably quiet air cooler is under $20.00...

.bh.

Agreed if he is looking at only CPU, though water cooling cools even more so allows for the possibility of higher overclocks

I want watercooling for my CPU and GPU, I don't like the stock cooler on my X1900XT, too hot and too much noise for my taste.

 

[Noubourne]

Originally posted by: tylerdustin2008
Good, water cooling is pretty much for looks. If you know what you are doing you can get the same temps out air. Just be sure most wires are hidden.

Water cooling is only worth the expense if you plan to push your hardware to the limit, but you can always get further using water than you can on air.

It's physics. Water can carry a much higher heatload away from your CPU than air can.

Is it worth the $300 it usually takes to get a decent kit? Probably not in most cases, because air can often get you close to what your hardware is capable of. It depends on the hardware though.

I certainly wouldn't spend $300 on a water kit for a Prescott when I could spend about the same and get a dualie Opty 165 and mobo for the same price, which with stock cooling, would easily overclock well over what any prescott is capable of as far as performance is concerned.

Water won't drop you to 10C, but a good kit should get you as close to ambient as you can get, and keep you there while it handles MUCH higher heatdump from the CPU. You can push a lot more volts with water than you can with air, and keep your temps low. For some chips, that's worth a couple hundred Mhz or more. Like I said; it depends on the hardware.

Water can carry thousands of times more heat per volume than air can. Other physical limitations prevent you from getting this much more performance out of an actual kit, but there is no doubt that water will get you lower temps with higher volts.

One has only to ask mr. tylerdustin here what kind of overclock 1.7v gives him with his X2 4400. The answer is he doesn't know, because he doesn't have water and that voltage will probably kill his chip on any air cooler. On the other hand, there are forums around with users testing 1.7v - and even higher, on water, and running 24/7 with 1.6v - something that would be just plain stupid to do on air.

I'm not saying it's worth it - in fact for a Prescott I don't think it is. But lets not pretend there aren't advantages by saying air and cable management gets you the same temps that water can. On a Prescott, I doubt that that statement would even be true at stock voltage.

 

[tylerdustin2008]

My cpu is on 1.4v, but you have a point.

 

[CDC Mail Guy]

Originally posted by: Noubourne

Originally posted by: tylerdustin2008
Good, water cooling is pretty much for looks. If you know what you are doing you can get the same temps out air. Just be sure most wires are hidden.

Water cooling is only worth the expense if you plan to push your hardware to the limit, but you can always get further using water than you can on air.

It's physics. Water can carry a much higher heatload away from your CPU than air can.

Is it worth the $300 it usually takes to get a decent kit? Probably not in most cases, because air can often get you close to what your hardware is capable of. It depends on the hardware though.

I certainly wouldn't spend $300 on a water kit for a Prescott when I could spend about the same and get a dualie Opty 165 and mobo for the same price, which with stock cooling, would easily overclock well over what any prescott is capable of as far as performance is concerned.

Water won't drop you to 10C, but a good kit should get you as close to ambient as you can get, and keep you there while it handles MUCH higher heatdump from the CPU. You can push a lot more volts with water than you can with air, and keep your temps low. For some chips, that's worth a couple hundred Mhz or more. Like I said; it depends on the hardware.

Water can carry thousands of times more heat per volume than air can. Other physical limitations prevent you from getting this much more performance out of an actual kit, but there is no doubt that water will get you lower temps with higher volts.

One has only to ask mr. tylerdustin here what kind of overclock 1.7v gives him with his X2 4400. The answer is he doesn't know, because he doesn't have water and that voltage will probably kill his chip on any air cooler. On the other hand, there are forums around with users testing 1.7v - and even higher, on water, and running 24/7 with 1.6v - something that would be just plain stupid to do on air.

I'm not saying it's worth it - in fact for a Prescott I don't think it is. But lets not pretend there aren't advantages by saying air and cable management gets you the same temps that water can. On a Prescott, I doubt that that statement would even be true at stock voltage.

Very, very well said. Thank you for the advise. I had briefly considered doing just that...getting a new CPU/Mobo combo, but decided against it as that would also require getting new RAM as well.

I will wait and see what my new HSF does for me temp wise. And then, failing that I will look around for a different option.