Please tell me about extreme cooling...

[BlueMagician]

Okay, so I'll probably never do it, because I don't want to annoy that nice important man at my bank, but...

Tell me about extreme cooling options for CPU's, GPU's, and chipsets. I've been bitten by the bug of reassuringly high benchmark scores with reasonably little effort, but know I can't push much further on air cooling.

If I decided to take a departure from reality, I wondered what would be the best solution, giving a good compromise between performance/saftey/noise?


Just for s**ts & giggles, I was dribbling over the VapoChill Phasechange unit, but at a similar cost to an FX55 CPU, that must be stupidly extreme...


Educate me, plz..
S.

[skb3]

Coolriver is a great product and at 70 quid you won't get a better water cooling solution though the GPU clip is a little ...errr.. rubbish.

[Steve]

Please don't avoid the swear filter.

[Lee H]

Coolriver is a great product and at 70 quid you won't get a better water cooling solution though the GPU clip is a little ...errr.. sh1t.

I agree I got the "test" sample from work to test and was absolutely astounded by its performance. So much so that I sold my corsair hydrocooler there and then ( the EX2000 model ). I then had to remove it as a "hack" for a well known PC Magazine wanted it for testing, and both him and his editor have been arguing over who's having the unit for review ever since.

I'll also pass on the constructive comment regarding the GPU clip kit as well for you

[schmunk]

Do the Coolriver's 'poor' GPU clips fit on nVidia 6800s? I fancy silencing my noisy Shuttle...

[Lee H]

Do the Coolriver's 'poor' GPU clips fit on nVidia 6800s? I fancy silencing my noisy Shuttle...

Yes they do but you require some memory heatsinks to help remove the heat from the memory modules.

[skb3]

Yes they do but you require some memory heatsinks to help remove the heat from the memory modules.

You need the memory heatsinks which I found out recently to my detriment, I think I manage to kill my GFX card by not applying the heatsinks. They are made by Zalman and you can get them from scan, I can give you some pics of my setup if you wish. The GPU clip is fine for all cards though it is a little brutal.

Sorry bout that Kez, I will amend my post.

[BlueMagician]

Interesting kit, and cheap too..

Questions:

> Would I have any issues with clearance with the N/B cooler block and the 1st 6800GT PCIe I have installed - I know that card sits right over my current noisey little blighter of a fan.

> Can you buy additional blocks for my second 6800?

> Would the blocks have enough clearance when running in SLI mode (quite close on the DFI)

> How would this system compare to my current XP-120 CPU cooler, and stock HSF's on my GFX cards? The pictures give no impression of how well built or beefy the system is, and I have no idea what to compare it to.


Thanks so far, I'd just love to get an idea what the 'next step' would be, if I have a brave moment.. Are there safer options than water? How well do all the blocks attach - what's the risk of something dying through cooling/pump/fan failure with this sorts of systems in general etc etc?


S.

[skb3]

Interesting kit, and cheap too..

Questions:

> Would I have any issues with clearance with the N/B cooler block and the 1st 6800GT PCIe I have installed - I know that card sits right over my current noisey little blighter of a fan.

If the card does sit over the N/b then I would avoid the NB45J northbridge cooler by Zalman.

> Can you buy additional blocks for my second 6800?

This is not something I have checked out yet, I am going to purchase an additional 6600GT so I wouldn't mind knowing what options I have. The whole Coolriver products come preasembled and pre-filled so I am not sure as to its extensibility. Though I am happy to cool 1 GFX card with the stock HSF and the other watercooled.

> Would the blocks have enough clearance when running in SLI mode (quite close on the DFI)

Yeah no problems, they are no taller than the stock HSF's.

> How would this system compare to my current XP-120 CPU cooler, and stock HSF's on my GFX cards? The pictures give no impression of how well built or beefy the system is, and I have no idea what to compare it to.

Put is this way my 6600GT with Stock HFS idle would be 50'C and 72'c under load, with the coolriver it was 39'c idle and never above 50'C underload. It really has great performance. Just out the review:

Review @ caseclosed N.b The Coolriver nows comes with 939 adaptors.

Thanks so far, I'd just love to get an idea what the 'next step' would be, if I have a brave moment.. Are there safer options than water? How well do all the blocks attach - what's the risk of something dying through cooling/pump/fan failure with this sorts of systems in general etc etc?

Safer options than water? Probably air?

If the pump dies then your PC will either burn up (CPU and GFX) or it will turn itself off, depending on how your mb deals with it or luck. The pump for the coolriver product is guaranteed for 50,000 hours. Thats alot of years!


S.

[Firelord]

TBH that kit is gonna suck with the amount of heat your dumping into the loop. If your gonna watercool get a real watercooling kit like DangerDen or Aqua Computers stuff.

I wouldn't really call watercooling extreme anymore as its becoming more mainstream, phase change is still extreme in my books and if you want the best then you have to pay the price for it

[CluelesPasty]

Please don't avoid the swear filter.

Ettiquette is one thing, holding back frustration and sheer fury is another. So **** it, this is the real world. Sorry if anyone is a bit tetchy over this.

Al

[skb3]

TBH that kit is gonna suck with the amount of heat your dumping into the loop. If your gonna watercool get a real watercooling kit like DangerDen or Aqua Computers stuff.

I wouldn't really call watercooling extreme anymore as its becoming more mainstream, phase change is still extreme in my books and if you want the best then you have to pay the price for it

Its gonna suck eh? Well...how come it manages to cool my kit so well. The radiator must be quite efficient to remove the considerable heat. For 70 quid it has to be the best out there for performance in its price bracket.

[schmunk]

I would be surprised if the performance with two 6800GTs would be very good - that's a lot of heat!

[Firelord]

Well I don't know what your kit is do I?

2 * 6800GTs - 105w each
1 * 3500+ - 80w
NB - 25w

Total 330watts output by that system thats more than a Thermochill 120.1 can handle and thats specifically designed for watercooling and has one of the highest removal capability of any 120.1 rad on the market. That would even be almost too much for a 120.2 rad as well!

Somehow I don't think an 80mm rad would cope with that rig at all.

EDIT - Also whats your definition of cools quite well? To me thats holding below 40c on a overclocked system.

[schmunk]

easy now, chaps...

[BlueMagician]

easy now, chaps...

LOL! It's nice to see people get into a discussion, and I do appreciate the differing opinions, cos it means I don't get sucked into the first thing I hear..

Keep it coming - scare me if you have to...
S.