Corsair H80i vs Cooler Master v8 GTS (water vs air cooling)

[rogermorse]

I may upgrade to a skylake cpu this winter. Once I disassemble everything, I may want to put a new cooler, although the one I have at the moment (zalman 9900) will be compatible.

The idea of having a water cooled cpu is appealing because I never had a water cooler and would be nice to try and experience noise levels (I like to have quiet in 2D environment, noise while gaming is ok).

At the same time, I would like something fancy (some lights) but not horrible. The monster v8 GTS is really big and 'weird' but I think it still looks really cool. I don't know how much space there will be left between CPU and RAM on the motherboard I will get but it should be no problem.

On the other hand, having the 'clean' empty look of a water cooler in the case (plus, the corsair has a RGB Led on the plate and very nice software to customize noise and temps) would also be cool.

The third option is just stick with my cooler which is a pain in the ass to mount, and has normal temps and noise levels (at the moment good noise levels for my taste on i5 2500k @ 4.5 GHz). But once I unmount everything and put new CPU and motherboard would be nice to have a new cooler as well, just that.

[Bad 💀 Motha]

What Case u going to be using?

The V8 is decent enough cooler, better than alot of cheaper air based ones out there. You probably wouldn't benefit that much going with a cheap all-in-one liquid cooler. Maybe for heavier Overclocking perhaps, but if that was the case I'd say look at the H100i (240mm) or H110i (280mm)

Going to a Skylake Motherboard, the V8 cooler (or ones of that sizing) shouldn't be of any issues, given how it sits on your current motherboard; overall spacing around your VRMs and RAM on a newer LGA-1150 or 1151 board should be roughly the same with regards to how much breathing room u have with various large-scale air coolers.

Overall u really shouldn't be hearing your V8 cooling fans, and u can set it up so u can adjust those RPMs manually in Windows OS if needed. As that cooler shouldn't need to run at 100% RPMs those fans are capable of doing, in order to cool even a moderately OC'ed 2500K CPU.

Case and surrounding Airflow will be much more an importance though if u go with any Liquid Cooling; as u'd be removing that element of better direct-cooling around the CPU/VRM/RAM area of the setup with liquid coolers.

[rogermorse]

this review I found

http://www.overclock3d.net/reviews/cases_cooling/corsair_h80i_gt_review/6

makes me like the water cooled one. You are right about the ram, I have a Corsair 600T with good flow (front, back and up).

Other than that, I would not like the double radiator because I would need to remove the big fan on top of the case which is nice (has led and good flow). But indeed the double radiator for the water cooler would be a good help in case of overclocking.

That said, I don't see how much of a problem could the overclock with the single radiator be. At the moment the Zalman 9900 which is not a perfect air cooler, keeps my i5 2500k @4.5Ghz. The Corsair water cooler with only one fan should not be less capable than the zalman right?

[Bad 💀 Motha]

Well if u do a smaller 120mm Rad cooler; then double up on the fans for that. Some models come that way, with 2 fans already included, but some do not.

As for OC'ing and such, it would be better overall to setup the Rad with Push+Pull fan setup.

Like for example:
[-chassis (rear or top)-] [-fan-] [-rad-] [-fan-]
with both fans pushing the airflow in the same direction

Similar to as shown here:
http://images.bit-tech.net/content_images/2012/11/corsair-h80i-review/h80i-2w.jpg

Also what u could consider is if you like the Corsair fans (as they are quite good) is you could use ones included with their Cooler as either extras, or for install elsewhere in your case, then u could get Corsair LED Fans (they come in a range of colors; offered in Single or Double Packs) and use those if u'd prefer that, to sort of highlight the Corsair Radiator and such.

[rogermorse]

that position is where i would put it in fact. The longer radiator would need to stay on top, and there I have already a big fan (bigger than 120, but don't know how big it's the stock fan given with the Corsair 600T).

So basically the two fans on the sides of the radiator couldn't they push the air out (in the photo, fans pulling the air from the right and pushing it outisde the case in the back, to the left) ?

[SundownKid]

Water cooling is pretty bad. You are basically putting a complex, highly expensive and in danger of leaking cooler into your PC in exchange for a few degrees lower temperature. CPUs aren't the bottleneck in modern systems, and the Hyper 212 can reach a pretty good overclock already. If you need a very high overclock there is the Noctua CPU cooler. Therefore I wouldnt recommend a water cooler for anyone buying a new PC.

Just stick with the CNPS9000 it will be perfectly A-ok for a new build.

[®NapalmSunrise®]

SundownKid původně napsal:

Water cooling is pretty bad. You are basically putting a complex, highly expensive and in danger of leaking cooler into your PC in exchange for a few degrees lower temperature. CPUs aren't the bottleneck in modern systems, and the Hyper 212 can reach a pretty good overclock already. If you need a very high overclock there is the Noctua CPU cooler. Therefore I wouldnt recommend a water cooler for anyone buying a new PC.

I couldnt disagree more, These water cooling systems such as Corsair are great and do far better than a few degrees cooler as compaired to just air, if you can put your own Rig together then you should have no issues installing one of these Corsair cooling systems, Now I do know that Corsair does have some type of replacement waranty if one of their cooling systems was to malfunction and leak and ruin your other hardware , but keep in mind if it's not properly installed and thats why it sprung a leak then you're up that creek without a paddle, I will also add that for the H series water coolers do come with a 5 year warranty !!

[rogermorse]

This is really complicated. I just looking for a nice solution that:

- lets me overclock
- it is beautiful / cool to see (I have a case with the window)
- has some kind of light/led

Until now I have the choice to:

- stay with my zalman and spare some money (hoping that I still have the bracket for the 1151 socket in case it's different)
- get the cooler master alien thing v8 GTS
- get some water cooler with a led

Unfortunately the Noctuas are really not that good looking, but I will investigate. I know that they are among the best in terms of temperature and noise.

[Bad 💀 Motha]

Corsair 600T comes with:
1x 120mm (Rear)
2x 200mm (Top & Front)

I would forget "what looks" good. Think about practicality over looks.
For example, if it is not going to cool better, then don't waste your time/money.

Overall I would suggest that if your Zalman keeps that i5 under 80*C while under heavy/sustained CPU loads; then just keep it. The 9900 ones aren't exactly cheap and the design are good. I don't see even a Hyper212 w/ Push+Pull beating out what you already are using now. Most Zalman I've tried over the years (since as far back as AMD Socket-A) have been rock solid and should last u many years.