I've already bought parts for my Bulldozer system. Though the Bulldozer has to wait a couple more months, I plan to put together what I have using a Phenom II X6 -- so I can test parts before the Newegg replacement warranty "times out".

I like "air CPU cooling". But, there may be worthwhile advantages to water cooling or electronic cooling -- don't know though. In particular, thermo electric may do well in a warmer room. A liquid cooling radiator might go under my floor -- into the cool basement area of the house.

I'm no expert on those. Some folks here are

So, in your experience, what's the best non-traditional CPU cooler out there and why? If you've used it, how many degrees does it seem to improve cooling vs a good air cooler (right now I own Coolermaster 212 and Thermalright Venomous) ?

Thanks for your thoughts folks

Hello Allen - A few quick answers here; the order of cooling (from worst to best and from least to most expensive) goes air -> water -> thermoelectric -> subzero/phase change/LN. The sweet spot for the money is huge matter of debate. For folks who drive Maseratis and eat king crab every night, hundreds of bucks on liquid nitrogen is a regular day in the park. For others, even $30 for an air cooler is pricey. I am the co-principal investigator (PI) of a large lab where we employ 37 people and use 77 different computers, some very pricey workstations. For our reliability and day to day heavy load needs, we use a mix of air and water cooling. Thermo-electric is simply too much of a pain in the butt since you must prevent condensation and coat the motherboards, etc (the cheaper all in one kits are usually suspect and something I would avoid)....and LN is simply too much moolah for day to day use. We typically find that to cool the same system with water over air provides about a 12 to 17 deg C boost in lower temps on the CPU and about 12 to 38 deg C boost to GPU temps (all depending on load of course), with about a 5 to 20 dB drop in noise levels and about $250 extra added expense.

So my recommendation for an end user like you is to look at the water sweet spot and the following:

For the cpu - Swiftech XT Rev 2 CPU block or EK Supreme HF Rev 2
For the waterpump - Laing D5 (also called the Swiftech 655)
For the tubing - Masterkleer, Clearflex or if you have excess money Tygon (the sweet spot is 3/8 inch inner diameter or 7/16)
For the tubing barbs - Bitspower
For the Radiator - XSPC RX line
Reservoir - Whatever fits best in your particular case
For the GPUs (optional) - whatever block bests fits your GPU model and reference number (reputable brands are Swiftech, EK, Bitspower, Koolance)

With this type of setup on a Bulldozer overclocked, you might see at idle 12 deg C lower on the CPU, same on the GPUs and about 10 dB less for the noise. At load, you might have 20 deg C less on the CPU, 30 deg C less on the GPUs and perhaps ~ 20 to 25 dB less noise. You can expect to pay about $300 for the stuff listed above if you are cooling only the CPU. If cooling the GPUs, then add an extra $55 to $120 for each.

Hope this helps - S! - WD

Thermo-electric is basically a CPU/Fan with a current running through it (Peltier). Last time i checked, prices on these are crazy high, the problems are voltage usages, power consumption and power dissipation or so wiki says, IMHO, I wouldn’t put any voltage through my CPU Cooler with the risk of it going into the CPU and over-volting it. But they allow cooling to Sub Ambient temperatures.

I never dealt with water cooling, but Buying custom parts and tubing will prolly be expensive, and has too many risk with water in the system, the one reason I stayed with air coolers w/ heatpipes.

I am in general agreement with WhistlinggDeath regarding his watercooling recommendation. Just one word of caution, batches of EK water blocks have defects in their nickel plating. As a result, some users experienced severe corrosion of their blocks. Some even have theirs "half-eaten" away.

If i had to do water cooling, I'd run the lines out of my case, and keep the Radiator, Pump and Reservoir in its own mATX Case, that way if the radiator, pump or res. starts to leak its out of the system, then i just have to worry about the tubes/blocks.

Add Silent 60-80CFM Fans in Push/Pull on the Radiator, add 600RPM 50CFM Silent Fans to the System case.

These are some genuinely helpful responses. All the info I requested. You guys are good

My tendency is to go with WhistlinggDeath's make/model component recommendations "as given" (and seconded by Walternowi). I like the concept of mounting the cooling system parts in a separate case -- a la Skate Zilla's recommendation. The cost of a case and, maybe, low power PSU is free (have them on the shelves as left overs from previous systems taken out of service) or, if I buy new, low compared to the whole system. That approach would provide flexibility in multiple ways and "safety" against some leaks.

I am toying with the idea of mounting the radiator in the basement below the floor of my office (its under 20C year around and usually more than 5C cooler down there).

So then a couple additional questions:

Do I want a 2 or 3 or ?? fan radiator (of the brand suggested)?

Looks like I will not be able to get the suggested make/models at Newegg. I would like to procure everything from a single source. One such source I found was FrozenCPU.com. Do any of you have a suggestion for an on-line reliable source (particularly a "cheap" or "discount source)?

The quality of the responses have me almost ready to make an impulse purchase However, I will try to calm down for a day or so (fat chance). It would be an interesting experiment for me -- most of what I do is for fun and education as I sure have more system horsepower than I "need" to play games.

Some reputable places that are cheaper and better than FrozenCPU, would include PerformancePCs.com, Jab-Tech, Xoxide and SidewinderComputers. Newegg is not good for watercooling stuff. Performance has the largest selection and Sidewinder has the lowest prices (often). The problem with running a separate box with your pump, reservoir and radiator far away is pumping power. A small Laing D5 simply does not have the flow or head pressure to drive two liters of water from one lower floor in your house to one higher floor. You can make your idea work just fine if the other case is say five feet away and at the same elevation as your main rig. As you may already know from hydrodynamics and the Bernoulli equations, fluid force and the ability to cool greatly depend on head pressure. Unless you have a truly large case like the newer Lain Li 2120 V, I would suggest you stay with three fan radiator for the CPU and the same for your two GPUs. (called a 360mm by water heads)

If I were going to water cool, I'd personally buy one of these: http://www.corsair.com/cooling/hydro-series.html

It's a self-contained water cooling "kit", with everything you need. All you have to do is mount it to your CPU and mount the rad. to an available 120mm fan space. Its a lot less hassle than fitting the tubing, cutting, checking for leaks, etc. etc. While I there is personal satisfaction in creating and setting up a "true" water cooled system, it wouldn't be worth the (potential) trouble for me.

Good luck with your build!

What I ordered is in the Screen Clip below:




As I try to speak plainly, I really don't know that this will be "worth it". To be worth it, I must achieve two things: 1. 10C cooler at 100 percent CPU load than my air-cooled heat sink. 2. A component of a "quiet" final system.

Certainly, at the same cost, other mods could give me more of a performance increase -- e.g. an extra card for CrossFireX next Fall (when I update to HD7xxx).

I bought enough tubing to mount just below the floor of my office -- in air 5C cooler than in my "computer closet". I will depend on the "head" of the downward leg offsetting the "head" of the upward leg (pressure wise) -- as with an ordinary "siphon". Flow friction through a longer than normal length of tubing will be an issue -- to that end purchased 1/2" ID. We'll see how well that works -- maybe it will, maybe it won't

Getting this now so I can experiment with it in my basement work room as I assemble the system next week.

Allen,

I would suggest you leave the HydrX coolant out of your loop. I used that before and it left residues in the tubes and blocks. Nowadays, I just use distilled water and add a small silver coil to act as biocide. You can either get pure silver strips from Ebay and roll them around a pencil to create a coil or you can get them ready made at Performance-PCS .

Good luck with your water adventure!