Case/Fan(s)/GPU Cooler/CPU cooler

Gumbi

OK, I've been planning this for a while now, and am finally almost ready to order.

Basically, I'd like to have a quieter, cooler, cooler-looking system. So that means, a nice case, with good cooling. I'd like to upgrade my Hyper 212+ (which has served me well these past 3 years, and currently pushes 4.6ghz out of my 3570k:) ) to a Dark Rock Pro 2, which will provide me slightly higher overclocks, but most importantly, much quieter cooling.

My case is a cheap budgetary one, almost 3 years old, doesn't look cool either :P I'm looking at a Nanoxia Deep Silence One. It seems to be a good buy, high end features (3 quiet case fans, fan controller for up to 3 other fans, noise-dampening material etc). From what I've read, though, it only has average cooling capabilities. I think I can augment this a bit with a high quality side fan (maybe a bequeit one) and another top exhaust/bottom intake. It's difficult to go through reviews to get an idea of how cases stack up against each other with so many variables in the mix

Lastly, I've been toying with the idea of an aftermarket cooler for my 7950, specifically the Arctic Accelero Xtreme. It'll put me back around 45 quid though, but let me justify it. My card as it currently stands is quite loud at high overclocks. It needs to maintain 80% fan speed for a 1200mhz OC, which is really quite loud. I have voltage headroom and lots of it (currently only need 1112mV for a 1200mhz core clock speed), so I do have moderate amounts of OC headroom left. I genuinely think I can hit 1250/1275mhz on high end air, which is a great performance boost. Another point is, it complements well my other upgrades, that is, it will be much quieter which is in line with all my other purchases.

What say ye? Better case for that price point? What fan should I buy? I haven't got a strict budget but I don't want to spend more than what I'm spending now really (unless it's well worth it).

Thanks!

Danger781

Can't get any cheaper than this case fan.. http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B002U50YAY

£3.80 each from Amazon when you spend over £20. I'm buying 4 of them myself :pac:

They seem pretty good!

Gumbi

Danger781 wrote: »

Can't get any cheaper than this case fan.. http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B002U50YAY

£3.80 each from Amazon when you spend over £20. I'm buying 4 of them myself :pac:

They seem pretty good!

Not looking to cheap out Looking for high quality fans, quiet, probably a 140mm one too. Plus I'm buying more parts than hat I've included here (buying a cx430 and 7770 to make up a rig of my old components and sell it) so it's definitely going to be HWVS all the way.

Genghiz Cohen

Some would say water will give you ll the things you want.

TheFlidKid

The Zalman Z11 plus case is extremely quiet and comes with five fans including two blue led fans http://www.hardwareversand.de/Midi/73549/Zalman+Z11+Plus+Midi+Tower+-+schwarz%2C+ohne+Netzteil.article the case itself looks like a jet fighter and the transparent grill on top which also acts as an exhaust looks pretty cool in my opinion

Gumbi

TheFlidKid wrote: »

The Zalman Z11 plus case is extremely quiet and comes with five fans including two blue led fans http://www.hardwareversand.de/Midi/73549/Zalman+Z11+Plus+Midi+Tower+-+schwarz%2C+ohne+Netzteil.article the case itself looks like a jet fighter and the transparent grill on top which also acts as an exhaust looks pretty cool in my opinion

I'll have a look at some reviews, thanks. The Nanoxia is supposed to be very quiet and have good cooling. From what I've read it definitely is very quiet, but I've read conflicting reviews with regard to it's cooling performance. The majority of them tended to wards the mediocre side =, which is disappointing. What do others think?

A ~60 quid case with 5 fans, I would be surprised if it were very quiet, but I'll definitely investigate!

As for water, I would have to go custom route for best performance, and I've not done any of that yet. It miht be a possibility, though. If I understand it correctly, I can have CPU and GPU loops going to the same radiator(s)? It will be expensive, though. I'll look into it.

TheFlidKid

Gumbi wrote: »

I'll have a look at some reviews, thanks. The Nanoxia is supposed to be very quiet and have good cooling. From what I've read it definitely is very quiet, but I've read conflicting reviews with regard to it's cooling performance. The majority of them tended to wards the mediocre side =, which is disappointing. What do others think?

A ~60 quid case with 5 fans, I would be surprised if it were very quiet, but I'll definitely investigate!

As for water, I would have to go custom route for best performance, and I've not done any of that yet. It miht be a possibility, though. If I understand it correctly, I can have CPU and GPU loops going to the same radiator(s)? It will be expensive, though. I'll look into it.

Well, from what I have read and seen on youtube the stock fans that come with the z11 are very quiet and sure a case that comes with five fans for under 50 quid, you may as well buy it and have a look before spending more money on fans

tuxy

If water-cooling is something you may want to look into at some stage or even closed loop options like the corsair h100 don't get the z11, it has no mounting points for a radiator.

Gumbi

tuxy wrote: »

If water-cooling is something you may want to look into at some stage or even closed loop options like the corsair h100 don't get the z11, it has no mounting points for a radiator.

I know, I'd probably end up getting the Nanoxia in that case. But to be honest I probably won't go that route. I'm reasonabley happy with my choices thus far, am looking for some opinions on them, that's all. For example, I've seen people say the Nanoxia Deep Silence 1 has good cooling, some reviews don't reflect this; they reflect almost the opposite.

Edit: For example, why are these cheaper cases beating it soundly in cooling performance? This seems to use a fairly controlled method of case cooling performance testing (although I think they leave their case open?). http://uk.hardware.info/reviews/4071/6/zalman-z11-plus-review-hot-rod-test-results-cooling-400-watts

http://uk.hardware.info/reviews/3684/8/nanoxia-deep-silence-1-review-promising-first-chassis-test-results-cooling-400-watts

marco_polo

Your probably as well off with the Macho Rev A TBH, its just as quiet, only barely inferior at cooling and less than 2/3 of the price.

Gumbi

I will try to find more out about the Macho Rev A. It's definitely better bang for buck, but I don't mind splashing out a bit. I will try to find other comparisons between it and the DRP2; to be hoesnt, I thought the performance difference was bigger.

Any thoughts on the case? So many sites test differently, get wildly different results, it's tough to make head and tail of it all.

BloodBath

If it's silence you're after get the Nanoxia. Of course it's thermals aren't going to be as good as other open front designs but with those coolers it won't have to be amazing. Add a couple of extra fans and it will be fine. I wouldn't base case choices on reviews that use the stock setup only.

marco_polo

Gumbi wrote: »

I will try to find more out about the Macho Rev A. It's definitely better bang for buck, but I don't mind splashing out a bit. I will try to find other comparisons between it and the DRP2; to be hoesnt, I thought the performance difference was bigger.

Any thoughts on the case? So many sites test differently, get wildly different results, it's tough to make head and tail of it all.

I was just really thinking that you aren't likely to squeeze a whole lot more out of the i5-3570K regardless of cooler anyway so if the Macho will be quiet enough anyway then might as well get that (Or the Truespirit 140). They are very similar in performance and noise except the Macho is a bit fatter than average and the True Spirit a bit taller than average, so keep case dimensions in mind especially for the 140.

Another foreign linky has them both up the near the top of the silent class even slightly ahead of the DRP2.

http://www.hardwaremax.net/reviews/kuehler/488-test-thermalright-archon-sb-e.html?showall=0&start=6

If you look at the next page you can see the DRP2 is clearly the superior cooler as both of the above mentioned fail the passive test, but do just fine in the standard one with their fans installed, and are more than good enough for really quiet, near maximal overclocking of the i5-3570K.

http://www.hardwaremax.net/reviews/kuehler/488-test-thermalright-archon-sb-e.html?showall=&start=7

Perhaps even put the 30 euro+ difference between those and the DRP2 into the case budget

Gumbi

You're convincing me... :P

Point taken on the Nanoxia, Bloodbath. I think I'll grab some quality fans to back it up. Cutting out the DRP2 opens up the budget a bit, too.

Gumbi

I just really need a powerful cooler for the 7950. I am passing Unigine Valley at 1.14v @ 1250mhz core! But fans needs to be at 100% to keep core just at 80 deg. And after 2 mins one of my VRMs is edging over a 100. Too hot.

Gumbi

Any other suggestions for a quality case ~€100 that would give me good thermals with reasonably low noise levels?

Thanks for all your help as usual.

BloodBath

The only competition is the Fractal Design R4 but the Nanoxia is better.

Gumbi

BloodBath wrote: »

The only competition is the Fractal Design R4 but the Nanoxia is better.

Thanks. I imagine I'll get good thermal performance with the Nanoxia if I add another exhaust (top if its not already there), a side intake, and a bottom intake.

I just have to wait for the Accelero to get back in stock

I'm still up in the air about the CPU cooler. I do want to invest in something high end, and i dont mind splashing out, even for aesthetics :PI got three good years out of a budget cooler, so I'm going to get good value out of this one whatever I buy.

Gumbi

Alright, I've been pondering a bit. Is there much point in getting a high end air cooler for both my processor AND graphics card. Perhaps I should look into a custom water cooling loop? I have a 3570k + 7950 (that's just begging to be water cooled), something which Bloodbath and another poster spoke about before. Some people have benched this 7950 at 1370mhz keeping core and VRM temps below 50 degrees.

What kind of money am I looking at for this kind of setup? I imagine a waterblock for the 7950 + all the other goodies will be expensive. What kind of money am I looking at, what should I buy, and where should I buy it from? I also need a case, but it seems like the Nanoxia is still a god buy for water cooling.

BloodBath

To be honest there's no point in either imo. When you end up spending more on your cooling than the hardware to get an extra 5% - 10% performance and or quietness it's not worth it imo. If you have a decent job and some money to burn it's not so bad I guess. Not to mention the massive pain it is if you want to remove a part.

A decent custom setup cooling card and cpu would be around €400 - €500.

For that kind of money you could go dual gpu keeping the cards at stock speed or a little over on a relaxed fan profile and a better quiet cpu cooler.

Gumbi

BloodBath wrote: »

To be honest there's no point in either imo. When you end up spending more on your cooling than the hardware to get an extra 5% - 10% performance and or quietness it's not worth it imo. If you have a decent job and some money to burn it's not so bad I guess.

A decent custom setup cooling card and cpu would be around €400 - €500.

For that kind of money you could go dual gpu keeping the cards at stock speed or a little over on a relaxed fan profile and a better quiet cpu cooler.

Yeah, that's true I suppose. I do have the money to spare and I would like to spend it. Perhaps I can see it as an investment such that a second water cooled 7950 down the line would be more justified? I don't know.

I would believe that it's something of an investment, too. As I said, I do have the money, and I would like to spend it. My current rig can be loudish, and I would like to remedy it to some extent, squeeze extra performance out of it, and have a cool looking rig, too.

The building it etc will be a fun experience, too, and I'll have a cool rig to show for it.

Having said all that, I don't want to throw money away. What do you think?

BloodBath

Well only you can decide if it's worth it for you. If you really want to push those parts higher and maintain silence then a custom water cooling setup is the only way to go. I'm sure Sereph will recommend you some parts.

I'd imagine something like a couple of dual 120/140mm rads, xspc blocks, reservoir and d5 pump.

Gumbi

I'm up for it if a quality setup can be kept below 500 including a new case + shipping etc.

I am buying a PSU and 7770 (most likely) and using my old case plus my older components to sell a (mostly) second hand gaming rig or about 500 quid so I will only be out of pocket by about 150 so it's not bad money wise.

If you could help me Serephecus that would be great, I'm totally new to water cooling and I think heading straight for a custom loop is very much jumping into the deep end.

Gumbi

Oh, and a point regarding my GPU - it's a 7950, but it has a 7970 PCB design, such that a 7970 waterblock will fit on it (I'm not sure if that means that only a 7970 one will fit on it, though). I'm really very new to this, so any help would be appreciated! I'm just reading up on a lot of it now, guides etc.

Thanks!

marco_polo

Watercooling eh



Out of my depth for reccomendation, but good luck with it

Gumbi

A seed was sown and I couldn't stop it growing haha. It's so appealing now lol.

game4it70

Check this out to help find a block for your gpu.
http://www.coolingconfigurator.com/

What case are thinking of getting?

Serephucus

I haven't read this thread, so apologies, but my recommendation goes to the Nanoxia DS1. It has everything the R4 has, but is much more flexible, and has a boatload of watercooling support.

Gumbi

Serephucus wrote: »

I haven't read this thread, so apologies, but my recommendation goes to the Nanoxia DS1. It has everything the R4 has, but is much more flexible, and has a boatload of watercooling support.

That was a stepping stone to my choosing water cooling, but I am very new to it and setting up a custom loop will take a bit of work I expect. I've been reading up it as much as possible. Specialtech have decent pricing. shop.watercooling.de seems like a good German site, flat shipping rate too which is good.

I'm just not really sure what to buy after the GPU block. I need tubing, a CPU block, a radiator (maybe 2? 2 x 120mm? for CPU and GPU?) and a pump/resevoir thingy. As you can see I'm new to it...