How much better is a custom loop compared to the Corsair H100 - Page 2

On my I7 3820, I was using an H100 in a push pull config, with fans at 1000RPM. My idle temp was around 38-40C

When I put in my custom loop. XSPC Raystorm, plus 2 watercooled GTX480's. XSPC RX360 Radiator, Powered by an MCP650, my idle temps went to around 28C.

That was just my experience though

Hope this helps!

Also, someone asked when you would watercool your Video cards...I decided to watercool mine, because I was tired of the fans being so load under full load

never, but if you want a cool running gpu then water is key. You will see a big difference in temps when watercooling a gpu. also if you dont like all that noise the graphic card fan makes, then water cooling is the solution.

for simple CPU performance and instant 30min install the Corsair H100
is a tough one to beat. but for the high-end overclock with a 24/7 usage
the custom is the way to go. plus with the custom, the GPU(s) can be added
later.

airdeano

In terms of money vs temps, I think its much more cost effective to go with the H100. I just went through this decision process on my build and finally decided on a full "custom' loop. The biggest factor for me was the noise. Mt powercolor 6950 had LOUD fans and they were getting on my nerves. With the addition of a 50 dollar EK universal GPU block and two compression fittings, my card runs no hotter than 45 degress and is SILENT.

I ended up getting the XSPC Raystorm kit with the RX240 rad and cannot say enough about how easy it was to put together and order. All I needed to add was the GPU block and a couple heatsinks for the Vram. Money well spent in terms of Noise VS temps.

In my experience thus far, I'd say that you've got three factors to consider when cooling a computer with water or air: Low Noise, Low Temps, Low Cost. You can only have two. While the H100 does come close, the stock fans are quite loud at the break even point where they start to oupterform a Noctua air cooler. Dropping 30 bucks on aftermarket fans puts you in custom loop territory in terms of cost.

Yes you are right on everything. The problem lies with hardware life. Those extra degrees C that the H-100 has above a custom set up could result in lower hours before failure. Not that I have ever experienced a CPU failure because of overclocking. But we are in new territory with chips hitting close to 5 GHZ and beyond.

Yeah, for the average person, the H-100 is hard to beat. But if you even mess with overclocking, then the custom set up is the way to go. Plus it is kind of fun putting it together. Not that we really build these things. All we do is buy the stuff and stick it in a box. The fan noise of the Corsair begs for better quieter fans. So the price rises...and as you said the cost ends up about equal with a custom set up or kit. I've got about $350 in my set up and so far it has worked great. Best set up yet for me.

I still haven't started building a desktop yet, but I want to cost wise, how much more expensive is the custom loop than H100?

Depends on what you need. There are kits that start around $149. The price goes up from there. You have to ask yourself what you are going to do. With the H-100, you will probably want to get better fans. Add that to the over $100 cost of the H-100 and you can now get a real water cooling kit although a basic one. You can then upgrade at any time to better CPU block, better pump, better anything plus adding GPU cooling if ever needed.

Gaming? Folding? Video encoding? Heavy CPU use means more cooling power needed.

You need to ask yourself if a 120, 240 or 360 radiator will fit in your case. Or do you want to have everything outside the case?

There are so many variables that you need to take into account. That is the number one reason why an H-100 or any other enclosed loop is just OK and not really the best answer.

I prefer to buy the parts separate and buy the best. Then you will know that you have the very best cooling no matter what you do. But, you have to ask the question.....do you want to spend the money and do you really need the heavy duty cooling power that the best pieces can offer.

Don't get me wrong. The H-100 is a great enclosed loop. It offers good cooling for most who don't want to mess with a custom water cooling system. They last a long time and need no maintenance except to clean off the radiator from all the dust.

The custom water cooling route gives you that "I did it" factor plus it is cooler by a long shot. I won't go back to an enclosed system.

Exactly.

The loudest part of my gaming rig was by far the video card. It is because of that loudness when gaming that I got into water cooling. While not totally silent, a well done water cooling system can be nearly silent, even when running down the road with it's hair on fire at 600mph.

There is a thread in the intel section where someone is complaining that they just got a custom loop and it's performing the same as someones h100.
Unless you get a really expensive custom loop the h100 will be within a few degress.

The custom loop is more for a hobby/looks/ silence.

Unless you are doing extreme ocing just get the h100.

As has already been said, putting your CPU and graphics card under water means that instead of having 5 potentially very noisy fans, you can have 3 relatively quiet fans. In addition, if you decide you want to upgrade certain parts you can, getting the h100 means you are stuck with that combination if the pump fails, you have to fork out getting a whole new setup (not likely to happen but should be considered).

The big thing for me was i had a single 5850, and then went xfire, during gaming it went up to 65-70c then when i added a second card it would get much hotter, and a lot noisier, when i went to cooling, my computer only made as much noise as the fans on my radiator, and my gpu never goes about 50c during furmark when clocked to nearly 1000mhz. Also my cpu which i've got undervolted will not go about 37c, and is now idling at 32c (air temp is probably 20c, my inside case temp is 30c). The only noise coming from my system is the pump.

Getting a custom loop is not cheap, however the long term costs are far cheaper, as you can just upgrade bits as you go, eg your case might fit the h100 now, but what happens if you decide you want to downsize you're stuck with that, with a custom loop if you wanted you could put the pump/radiator etc in another room and all you would need to cater for is the tubing. As it says in the name its custom, the sky/price is the limit.