Swiftech H2O-120 Compact and Corsair Nautilus 500: Is Water Better?
by Wesley Fink on September 17, 2007 6:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
Noise
Everyone "knows" that water cooling is quieter than air cooling. We have been told that for years - so much so that many enthusiasts no longer question this idea. That is certainly true when comparing water cooling to the small, loud fans on air coolers of the past. However, the current top heatpipe towers use large, high-output, low-noise fans for cooling and it is time again to challenge conventional wisdom based on out-of-date "facts".
For many enthusiasts upgrading cooling, the goal is maximum stable overclock, and they will live with the inconvenience of a louder system. For other users silence is the most important factor, and these users will forgo maximum overclocking if that increases system noise levels. That is why many who value silence choose water cooling.
The belief was that water cooling noise levels would be so low that pages would be required to detail the lower noise levels of our new cooler test bed in complete detail. Once again we're totally shocked that these two cooling kits from major players using top water cooling components are among the noisiest cooling systems tested so far at AnandTech.
Assuming something must be wrong with our results or the 120mm fans in the water cooling kits, we tested many times and got the same results. Where then, does the 45-46 dB(A) noise come from at 24", when the system noise floor is 38.3 dB(A) on the old test bed and much lower on the new cooling test bed? What is generating the 52.3 to 52.5 dB(A) noise at 6" where the system noise floor is worst case 47 dB(A) and the new test bed is even lower?
It turns out the noise culprit is the water pump on both systems. Measured noise at 24" with the pump and fan running was around 46 dB(A) on the Swiftech, where noise level with the pump only and the fan disconnected for a short time was 45.5 dB(A). Results with the Nautilus were similar, proving the offender in noise is the water pump. With pump noise so high it was pointless to test the fan at lower voltage since it was only adding 0.5 dB(A) at full speed and highest noise.
It is very important, however, to talk about perceived noise. The water coolers measure very high noise levels, but the noise frequencies are not particularly irritating. The pump noise is a low hum instead of a high-pitched scream and most users would rate the noise as audible, but not particularly annoying.
There is also the comparison of the internal mount water pump on the Swiftech H2O-120 Compact and the external mount water pump on the Corsair Nautilus 500. Our test method with the open case side is the worst possible noise you can get with the Swiftech. If you close the case side the noise drops about 5 dB(A) with the Swiftech, which is much quieter but not silent or competitive with the best heatpipe towers using high-output low noise fans. The Corsair external cooler noise, on the other hand, is what you get. There are no noise producers inside the case that can be damped with a Corsair external water cooler install.
Everyone "knows" that water cooling is quieter than air cooling. We have been told that for years - so much so that many enthusiasts no longer question this idea. That is certainly true when comparing water cooling to the small, loud fans on air coolers of the past. However, the current top heatpipe towers use large, high-output, low-noise fans for cooling and it is time again to challenge conventional wisdom based on out-of-date "facts".
For many enthusiasts upgrading cooling, the goal is maximum stable overclock, and they will live with the inconvenience of a louder system. For other users silence is the most important factor, and these users will forgo maximum overclocking if that increases system noise levels. That is why many who value silence choose water cooling.
The belief was that water cooling noise levels would be so low that pages would be required to detail the lower noise levels of our new cooler test bed in complete detail. Once again we're totally shocked that these two cooling kits from major players using top water cooling components are among the noisiest cooling systems tested so far at AnandTech.
Assuming something must be wrong with our results or the 120mm fans in the water cooling kits, we tested many times and got the same results. Where then, does the 45-46 dB(A) noise come from at 24", when the system noise floor is 38.3 dB(A) on the old test bed and much lower on the new cooling test bed? What is generating the 52.3 to 52.5 dB(A) noise at 6" where the system noise floor is worst case 47 dB(A) and the new test bed is even lower?
It turns out the noise culprit is the water pump on both systems. Measured noise at 24" with the pump and fan running was around 46 dB(A) on the Swiftech, where noise level with the pump only and the fan disconnected for a short time was 45.5 dB(A). Results with the Nautilus were similar, proving the offender in noise is the water pump. With pump noise so high it was pointless to test the fan at lower voltage since it was only adding 0.5 dB(A) at full speed and highest noise.
It is very important, however, to talk about perceived noise. The water coolers measure very high noise levels, but the noise frequencies are not particularly irritating. The pump noise is a low hum instead of a high-pitched scream and most users would rate the noise as audible, but not particularly annoying.
There is also the comparison of the internal mount water pump on the Swiftech H2O-120 Compact and the external mount water pump on the Corsair Nautilus 500. Our test method with the open case side is the worst possible noise you can get with the Swiftech. If you close the case side the noise drops about 5 dB(A) with the Swiftech, which is much quieter but not silent or competitive with the best heatpipe towers using high-output low noise fans. The Corsair external cooler noise, on the other hand, is what you get. There are no noise producers inside the case that can be damped with a Corsair external water cooler install.
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Gul Westfale - Monday, September 17, 2007 - link
watercooling is still worth it ig=f you have th emoney; th etwo setups tested here are not exactly the best coolers available. also, the statement in teh article that watercoolers are quieter than aircoolers is ridiculous, after all a watercooler still has a fan thta blows air through the radiator, and that fan is jst as quiet (or noisy) as an aircooler... unless you go witth zalman's fanless reserator design.i'm afraid the conclusion of this article tries to tell you that all watercoolers perform like these two here, but that is simply not so. other, better systems include the aforementioned zalman reserator, the koolance exos, and several more advanced setups from swiftech. if you are interested in this, frozencpu.com is a good site to do some window sopping :0
Wesley Fink - Monday, September 17, 2007 - link
We state you will likely need to spend more than $300 to possibly outperform current top air coolers. We have recently tested several systems near that price point and stand by that statement based on our tests results.We did not say water cooling is quieter, we just said many reviews over the years have stated water cooling to be the quieter solution. As we showed in our review that is no longer thacase unless you buy a much more expensive water system. If you read carefully you will also see we found the water pump to be the biggest noise maker and not the radiator fan.
Finally, water cooling will have to be eons better than air if we need to spend more tha 6 times the top air cooler price just to match performance of the best air coolers. The only compelling argument in favor of water in our opinion is the ability to add video cooling blocks and possibly chipset blcos to a water system - but that cost is also high.
You CAN buy or build a superior water system if you spend big bucks, but as one expert water cooler showed me in his tests results he had yet to find a water cooling kit that outperformed the best air coolers. His own monster water cooler was a custom built and very expensive water cooling system. If I need to go to those prices I can buy phase-change coolers that have a chance of creating sub-ambient CPU temperatures.
haelduksf - Monday, September 17, 2007 - link
I'm sorry, but I don't believe you. I'm running a $200 loop, with CPU *and* GPU blocks, and getting 34 degree load temps (folding) on my q6600. Nothing special- 240mm rad, fuzion CPU block, Silverprop GPU block... frankly, you must be doing something wrong if you can't do better on water than on air.Plus, as others mentioned, this loop will cool any computer I own for the next 10 years, which no air cooler can claim.
mpc7488 - Monday, September 17, 2007 - link
Nice article Wes, and good way to phrase it - water cooling solutions under $300 cannot outperform top air coolers.Nickel020 - Monday, September 17, 2007 - link
But you also need to consider that you'll use watercooling for a long time. I just recently bought my watercooling, but my 45$ waterblock was already available 3 years ago, lots of people that bought it then for a Athlon XP/754 system are still using it on a Core 2 today, and it's still very good. In the last 4 years I've had 3 different 50+$ air coolers in my main rig, that kind of adds up as well.
Watercooling is a big initial investment, but pump and radiators will last you 5+ years and waterblocks last several years as well. If you're a guy that buys one 50+$ heatsink a year, then watercooling is only marginally more expensive (if at all) then air.
strikeback03 - Wednesday, September 19, 2007 - link
The only reasons to upgrade to a newer cooler (air or water) is if either the performance is significantly better, or the cooler does not support whatever socket you move to in the future. These factors are the same for air or water, so in theory both should have a similar lifespan. If water cooling sees improvements in the next few years the way air has in the past few years, you would probably upgrade your water setup sooner than you think as well.KeypoX - Tuesday, September 18, 2007 - link
that is not true i bought the koolance case/water cooler years ago and it was no match for my current air cooler. On top of that the water block i had bought the 200 koolance was dropped and no longer supported for newer chip sets.I had a athlon 2600xp OC with the water cooler but it wasnt as good as air. And it had to much upkeep and a TON of noise.
RamIt - Monday, September 17, 2007 - link
What happened to paet two of the micro atx motherboard roundup?