Is watercooling quieter than conventional cooling?

YAYitsAndrew · Feb 24, 2005, 09:29 AM

topic

***Zardon*** · Feb 24, 2005, 09:34 AM

This is very specific to the fans on the radiators. it varies. again some CPU fans are quiet some arent.

YAYitsAndrew · Feb 24, 2005, 09:39 AM

I see. I'm a fan of the thermaltake silentboost series which are 20db quiet.

FR4GGL3 · Feb 24, 2005, 11:11 AM

hi there i've got a double rad with 2 papst fans @ 6V - no noise!

but then you have to think about other components:
GFX - Board
HDD
Mainboard
.
.
.

now the loudest part is my galaxy 6800gt which already has a nv5 silencer on it. i will liquid cool it as soon as the guarantie has passed.

itchy5 · Feb 24, 2005, 04:59 PM

ya water cooling CAN be quieter but i like performance so i stick w/ my 52dba delta

YAYitsAndrew · Feb 24, 2005, 05:25 PM

How are the fanless water cooling systems? I saw a couple companies make those. They consist of your standard tubing and then a large phallic object that sits outside the computer case.

itchy5 · Feb 24, 2005, 05:34 PM

they are quiet (almost silent cause of pump) and perform quite well but dont count on, on-par perfromance with other faned WC rigs

YAYitsAndrew · Feb 24, 2005, 05:41 PM

Yeah I'm not big on overclocking, I just want QUIET. I used to get by on thermaltake silent boosts, but for some reason mine has started whining. I'm talking with their tech support about it, but if nothing good happens then I may make the switch to a fanless watercooling option.

YAYitsAndrew · Feb 24, 2005, 08:43 PM

So anyone have any experience with the fanless ones? Any recommendations? If not for fanless then how about quiet (~20db)

**Asmoday** · Feb 24, 2005, 11:10 PM

http://www.driverheaven.net/reviews/zalmanwater/

YAYitsAndrew · Feb 25, 2005, 10:01 AM

Thanks for the review and thanks to the reviewer. One question though, you didn't mention the measurement used for the big blue thing's dimensions. Could you post those, or, compare it to a 2 liter bottle of soda or a standard 8.5x11 piece of paper? Thanks.

YAYitsAndrew · Feb 25, 2005, 12:10 PM

I found my answer in another review, this monster is over 19 inches. My case is only 18 inches! Still interested, though.

YAYitsAndrew · Feb 25, 2005, 11:49 PM

Is something like fluid xp+ worth the money or does it prey off of fear? To fill the zalman reserator it would take 85 bucks worth of the stuff. How frequent are leaks, what cares need to be taken when moving the pc, and how much does it cost to just throw together your own fancy-ass water + anti algae mixture?

Thanks.

itchy5 · Feb 26, 2005, 12:03 AM

leaks dont happen if your carful just make sure that the tubes are secure and always test tube lenths and then set up the loop outside your case to catch leaks then install. you can move the case (very far) once the setup is in cause that reserator is so heavy. but if its all internal then there is no problem with moving it.

the fluid xp is useless just get some distilled water and anti algae mixture and your good >:P

The_Neon_Cowboy · Feb 26, 2005, 06:13 AM

I still don't like the IDEA of haveing watter anywhere near a PC
even if it never leaks increased mosture is a risk!

YAYitsAndrew · Feb 26, 2005, 08:40 AM

I don't have much space inside my case for anything, it's a beantech igloo 8. I could probably get creative and fit it somewhere if it were small enough. What's a nice small and quiet system?

OldBuzzard · Feb 26, 2005, 09:10 AM

I've been using the Koolance Exos for 2+ years now, and have had ZERO problems with it. Nice and quiet, and decent cooling. I'm cooling the CPU and the 9500 Pro with it. This is the 2nd system I've used it on, as it was originally on my 1.2 Athlon.

Very easy to install, and since it's external, can be moved easily to any new system that you build.
Down side is that they ain't cheap, but for me, the quietness is worth it.

itchy5 · Feb 26, 2005, 10:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The_Neon_Cowboy

I still don't like the IDEA of haveing watter anywhere near a PC
even if it never leaks increased mosture is a risk!

i love it

i hate being ordinary

El Kapitano · Feb 26, 2005, 02:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by YAYitsAndrew

I found my answer in another review, this monster is over 19 inches. My case is only 18 inches! Still interested, though.

LOL, they're not made to be mounted internally, it's a piece of desk art...if you look around there are some awesome looking passive cooling "towers" along the same lines.

Sandok · Feb 26, 2005, 02:17 PM

The zalman resorator is quite ain't it?

El Kapitano · Feb 26, 2005, 03:52 PM

Yes, very. Just a very faint hum from the integral pump that you can barely make out.

YAYitsAndrew · Feb 27, 2005, 12:16 AM

Are you referring to those passive cooling heat tube computer cases? The ones that make it look like you strap your motherboard into some copper bondage gear? I was trying to find links to those again to check them out.

El Kapitano · Feb 27, 2005, 04:03 AM

No I mean passive cooling towers for watercooling setups.

YAYitsAndrew · Feb 27, 2005, 09:40 AM

Here's what I was talking about

http://www.zalmanusa.com/usa/product...dx=64&code=020

YAYitsAndrew · Feb 27, 2005, 10:33 AM

Heh now I'm thinking of just RMA'ing my silent boost (does the job when it works) and using the money I was gonna spend on a water cooling system to buy some other computer part(s).

Does anyone else use that line of logic a lot? What to upgrade what to upgrade...

Lowfat · Feb 27, 2005, 06:32 PM

Watercooling can be very quiet.

I have a D-Tek Spiral cpu block, a Danger Den Chipset Z block, a Danger Den Maze4 GPU block a Hydor l30 pump, and a D-Tek Radiator (exact same as a chevette heatercore) with a 120 Sanyo Denki fan @ 7V. And its DAMN quiet except for the crappy ass Hydor pump that starts to sound like a grinder a few months into its life.