Best PC Cooling Solution

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Lord Nikon6

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Hi All

So I have pretty much completed my latest build, apart from the cooling that I want to change, and the motherboard that needs to be swapped out.

I am trying to work out the best possible cooling solution for the build, and any help and suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Here is the components:

Asrock 990fx extreme3 motherboard (To be switched with an asus sabertooth 990fx R2)
AMD fx-8350 CPU
8 Gb corsair veangance ddr3 1600Mhz Low profile 2 x 4Gb kit
Powercolor HD 7870 Myst edition GPU
XFX core 550W PSU
Corsair C70 military green Mid tower chassis


I currently have the 3 stock fans running, as well as 2 Bitfenix 140mm fans at the top for exhaust (1 x spectre, 1 x spectre pro)

I also stuck a zalman cnps9500A on the cpu temporarily, as the stock hsf was driving me nuts.

What would be the best cooling configuration, apart from custom water cooling. For the CPU i was looking at the corsair H80i, or even the H100i, but I have heard these need to run as intakes, and I dont really want to lose the exhaust in the case. I have also looked at some air coolers, like the noctua NH-14 and the Thermalright silver arrow, but I am not sure which cooler to go with. I used a coolermaster V8 on other builds and was quite happy, but I think it is time for a change. Could anyone advise what a decent option would be?

For the fans, I was thinking of switching out some of the current fans with Noctua NF-12 fans, as I have heard they are top notch. They are pricy though:

http://www.evetech.co.za/PC-Hardware/noctua-nf-f12-pwm-120mm-case-fan-305.aspx

If anyone could please give some suggestions, as I am really struggling to make up my mind this time around. I like the closed loop watercoolers for the cpu, but haven't used one yet, so I am not so sure.
 
Last edited:
I have a corsair H80 pulling air through my radiator as an exhaust fan and it is running with no problems at all.
 
Crowley said:
I have a corsair H80 pulling air through my radiator as an exhaust fan and it is running with no problems at all.
Click to expand...

So mounted on the back for exhaust, only the one fan? In other words, it is case, then rad, then fan, or case, fan, rad?

Sorry, just want to make sure. THanks for the response
 
Mounted on the inside at the back for exhaust. Case|fan|radiator.

I am running a AMD Phenom II X4 970 Black Edition on a Asus M4A89GTD PRO/USB3 board and CPU temps are around 34-35°
 
noswal said:
Just worth a mention, if your internal cabling is messy you probably have turbulance instead of air flow.
Click to expand...

Thanks, my cabling is quite okay actually, i took some time to do the cable management and take the cables behind the other side panel, since the case provides pretty decent cable management.
 
Spinnek0p said:
Get a XSPC based loop from Titan Ice. No better cooling out there!!!
Click to expand...

I had a look at these last week, and I identifed 2 problems:

1. They really look brilliant, but it doesn't look like they have AMD waterblocks available, only intel.
2. Again, they look amazing, but I wouldn't know how to set it up correctly, and it will probably spring a leak with my luck.
 
Lord Nikon6 said:
I had a look at these last week, and I identifed 2 problems:

1. They really look brilliant, but it doesn't look like they have AMD waterblocks available, only intel.
2. Again, they look amazing, but I wouldn't know how to set it up correctly, and it will probably spring a leak with my luck.
Click to expand...

1) Get the RayStorm AMD Bracket (http://titan-ice.co.za/product_info.php?cPath=163_165&products_id=6368)
2) Ask them for some pointers! The normal leak test is a 24h test where you run your completed water loop without any of the PC components present (only the PSU, naturally)
 
Does anyone know if you can change the leds on these waterblocks? Also, where would one find green or red coolant?
 
Lord Nikon6 said:
I didnt see the AMD bracket. Thanks...It really is tempting O_O Is it fine for running long hours though, almost 24/7, and how often does maintenance have to be done?
Click to expand...

It is more than fine to run 24/7!! I would opt for the D5 pump tho . . . . .

Maintenance - uhm . . . . None needed. As long as you have a kill-coil in the loop (kills algae). Would also stay away from colorants, as this may "clog" your cooling blocks. Rather use coloured tubing.

And the LED's can be replaced with any 3mm dome LED.
 
Dont go for coloured coolant, rather go for coloured tubing. Coloured coolant just ends up clogging up the micro fin array in the CPU block, and it will stain your tubing, blocks, reservoir, basically everything. If you want pure silence, you want a D5 pump, for a bit more control, the MCP35x (PWM control). Or, for a bit extra, the D5 now also has a PWM version. Going to be a bit crazy with the current exchange rate though :/

If you do decide to go for it, there is only one thing to remember to be leak free - be patient. Hand tighten all the fittings, leak test for 12-24 hours, and you're golden. I've moved my watercooled PC over crazy speed bumps and bad roads and back again with no issue.
 
Thank you for the suggestions all.

THe kit comes with clear tubing, but If I do decide to go for it, I will ask them to swap it out with some green or yellow ones. I think this will look very good in my chassis as well.

When doing the leak testing, I assume you will need to have access to the chassis with cooling at all times, incase it does leak? So will be a weekend job then.

I had a look at the D5, but PWM might be a better idea. Perhaps I will just keep my CNPS9500A on for a bit longer, and do this thing properly, instead of just impulsively buying. Have a week off soon, seems like a great time to setup the cooling loop.

How does the kill coil work exactly, does it go somewhere in the loop, in the tubing?
 
Leak testing - everything is in the case except your PSU and hard drives. Dont power anything besides the pump, and use the paperclip trick to turn your PSU on (you basically short the same wires that your power on button would). This way if there are any leaks, nothing will get shorted, and you wont make this face -> :cry: You will just let it dry, and try again. I did however wrap some toilet paper around all the connection points, so small leaks would be contained, but I didnt have any leaks at any point.

The kill coil is just a piece of silver, and silver has antimicrobial properties. Hence, no bacteria in the water. Place it anywhere where it gets decent flow, and wont move. I put mine in the inlet of my reservoir, think in one of the pics in my build log you'll be able to see it.
 
Archer said:
Leak testing - everything is in the case except your PSU and hard drives. Dont power anything besides the pump, and use the paperclip trick to turn your PSU on (you basically short the same wires that your power on button would). This way if there are any leaks, nothing will get shorted, and you wont make this face -> :cry: You will just let it dry, and try again. I did however wrap some toilet paper around all the connection points, so small leaks would be contained, but I didnt have any leaks at any point.

The kill coil is just a piece of silver, and silver has antimicrobial properties. Hence, no bacteria in the water. Place it anywhere where it gets decent flow, and wont move. I put mine in the inlet of my reservoir, think in one of the pics in my build log you'll be able to see it.
Click to expand...

Very good advice, thank you. I will test this with my motherboard I am replacing now, so that if the worst does happen, it wont be too bad. The toilet paper idea seems like a good precaution.

That makes sense. I'll have a log at your build log.
 
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