Air or Liquid Cooling for new build?

[Megalon]

Howdy once more ladies and gents,

Building my rig and wondering which is the better cooling option for my specs and where the desktop will be placed.

So far, specs are as follows:
Asus Motherboard Pro
i7 2600k - I will be overclocking to around 4-4.5ghz
8GB 1600hz RAM
1GB MSI GTX 560 Ti Twin Frozr II OC
Fractal R3 Case
Corsair 750W Enthusiast Series TX750 Modular PSU

Ideally I would like to put the rig in the bottom of a desk/dresser type thing I have - the back is removed so has a relatively good airflow as will keep the door open and with an open back air should get through. However, that said it would be good if I could close my dresser drawer and just have the back bit open - if that makes sense!

So with this in mind and my current bits and bobs I'm wondering what would be the best cooling option?

I have these short-listed so far:
*Gelid Tranquillo Ultra Low Noise CPU Cooler
*H60 Liquid Cooler
*Arctic Cooling Freezer 13 Pro CPU Cooler
*Be Quiet! Dark Rock Pro CPU Cooler

I've got around £50-60 to spend, although if I could get it cheaper that'd be ace - although I don't want to sacrifice performance and have the thing overheat and crash!

All suggestions welcome - cheers in advance

[shaithis]

It does not matter if you go water or air as far as the "desk cupboard positioning" is concerned.

If the airflow is too restrictive, something will overheat - regardless of cooling used.

Saying that, I can't see it overheating as long as you do not wedge it in. If there is at least 1-2" clearance all the way around (and the back is fully open) then you should be fine.

[Megalon]

Ok mate thanks, in that case which would keep it cooler in general? I've heard Liquid is better, but doesn't neccesarily keep it cooler - it just pumps the heat out quicker or something along those lines.

[peterb]

Cooling is all about getting the heat away from the heat sensitive components, and getting it into the room or wherever. Statement of the blindingly obvious, yes?

Well, not quite. With air cooling, a fan forces air over the CPU heatsink and so into the PC case, heat only transfers if there is a temperature difference between two surfaced, so if the PC case was sealed, it would overheat because the air would get to the same temperature as the heatsink, and you are still putting energy into the box.

So, the hot air has to be replaced by cold air, usually by a case fan, and cold(er) air is drawn in to replace it. So if the PC is in a cupboard and that secondary air flow is restricted, you are still at risk from overheating. You could use ducting to duct the hot air away, and possibly to duct cold air in, which would solve the problem.

So water cooling. The heat from the CPU is transferred to water as the coloring medium, and the warm water takes the heat to a radiator (or heat exchanger) outside the case. That radiator may be fangled to increase the airflow across the radiator to get rid of that heat that has been removed from the PC. If the radiator is enclosed, same problem, but you could mount the radiator away from the case, and it might be easier to route two narrow bore water pipes than ducting.

Of course, it isn't quite as straightforward in practice, there is the flow resistance in the tubing, and the pressure within the loops if the vertical separation between the various components is too great, but if you are installing the PC in an enclosed space with poor ventilation, it might be something to consider.

[Megalon]

Thanks peterb that makes a lot of sense! I may need a rethink, just how 'enclosed' I need to be
Cheers

[Pob255]

in general, with a large hole in the back of the cupboard and a 2nd intake in the bottom or side or front you should be ok.
The thing that may be of issue is the overclock, and workload, a 4.5ghz oc with a heavy workload is going to produce a lot of heat.
It's all going to be about the amount of air flow in the cupboard

I'll post more later if you like, just in the middle of setting my eeepc atm

[Megalon]

Thanks mate TBH I've figured out a resituated site that may give it more flow Put think I'll go with the H60, read some good reviews and seems to do the job on O/C's.

[Chyronn]

I'm going with water (well, liquid) cooling with my new Sandy Bridge set up. i'm re-using a set up i never got to use on my 775 QX6800. although provisionally i'll be using my Arctic Freezer Pro rev 2 until i get the waterblock. as long as you have adequate air flow whether through your case via your cupboard or mount the radiator outside the cupboard.