re: PC Discussion - Gaming, Performance and Enthusiasts

Custom water cooling stuff only goes on sale if inventory is being cleared of an old item to make room for a new one, and in those cases you're probably still better off buying used. It's a niche market with so few vendors that there's rarely a need for much competition.

It is by far the least cost-effective hobby related to computers -- expensive, semi-low resale value on some parts, and doesn't necessarily beat the good all-in-ones like the swiftech line in terms of coolig performance unless you go balls to the wall. It's easy to spend close to $1000 on highly aesthetically pleasing custom loop with premium parts if cooling multiple GPUs and a CPU.

quote:

---

What's the bare minimum on rad size for a cpu and 2 780tis?

---

1 x 120mm rad per component = adequate but depending on fans used, can be noisy if overclocking CPU in particular

1.5 x 120mm rad per component (for example a 360 rad for a GPU/CPU loop)= balanced noise/performance and most likely to reach the desired DeltaT < 10C at sub-1000rpm fan levels on decent static pressure fans (like some quiet gentle typhoons).

2 x 120mm (240mm) rad per component = top of the noise/performance window and pretty much overkill, easily reaching DeltaT<10C with well-undervolted fans