My six-year-old PC (i7 930, 12G RAM, GTX 980, Win 7) is in a somewhat warm room; it’s warm even with the A/C running full blast. Perhaps not coincidentally, I seem to burn out video cards almost annually. My previous PC was watercooled, and I had better luck with GPU longevity. And now my video card seems unstable again: occasional driver crashes, BSODs, and last night, video anomalies while playing WoW.
Incidentally, I’m also debating whether to splurge for an entire new system. I suppose I should post about that separately. In brief, little things are bugging me: my slow SATA hard disks; my BIOS forgetting date/time settings if I turn off my surge protector between sessions; less storage than I’d like; SSDD would be great for X-Plane; etc. And then I’m debating about build-vs-buy. But for now, I’m mostly interested in your input on “hybrid” water-cooled GPUs.
The fan has a small radiator attached to it. The water cooling is moving the heat to the radiator and the fan is expelling it from the case, preventing the need for longer tubing and an external radiator, and hence the hybrid designation.
Like how warm are we talking, this room? Do you live in a year round hot climate?
Oops, I missed your question. It’s a finished attic in the mid-Atlantic (US) area, with one somewhat inadequate window A/C unit. The A/C gets the room down to 78 or 80 degrees at best in the warm months. It’s okay in winter, but the “warm months” last from April to October here. :)
I would definitely build a new PC as new parts run cooler anyway. Buy at the Core i5 range, Skylake, for max-coolness.
Get a very efficient power supply, like 80 platinum as well, so it will generate minimal extra heat (conversion inefficiency is always lost as heat).
The GPU will without a doubt be the largest heat generator in your system by far, so I think you are on the right path here going with optimal water cooling for that part. Note that newer GPUs are also more efficient and thus generate less heat, unless you buy at the extreme high end. I’d recommend something like a GTX 1070.
(1080 does around 335w here, not sure why they didn’t include it in the results!)
Thanks for those terrific replies. Wumpus, I appreciate all that info!
Would you recommend building over buying, then? I have built 2 or 3 of my systems before, and I kinda enjoy it, plus it’s nice to get exactly what you want and to feel confident you can replace stuff if things go wrong. I’m not sure if it saves money, though.
But those danged teeny little USB/power connectors fill me with dread! They are so small, and my fingers are so large. I think I’ve asked this here before, so at the risk of being a nudge: are there cases/motherboards that simplify the USB/power/HD connectors?
Thanks, guys. Installing an aftermarket cooler also makes me a little nervous. Is that still a necessity for Intel CPUs? I hate worrying about whether I get the thermal paste right.
It’s not unless you buy a K (I don’t think they ship them with stock coolers anymore, it’s at least the models my dad was looking at over Xmas didn’t). For most CPUs, the stock cooler is totally fine for basic usage. It’s a little louder than even fairly cheap after market coolers, and not much use for overclocking, of course, but really pretty decent!
