Closing the Loop: Contained Liquid-Coolers from Corsair and NZXT Compared
by Dustin Sklavos on December 26, 2012 12:01 AM ESTTesting Methodology
If you've been keeping up with our case reviews, our testing methodology for the fans here is going to seem relatively similar in some ways. Our test system may seem a bit unusual in more than a few ways, but stick with me and I'll explain why I put it together and tested it the way I did.
| Fan and Radiator Testing Configuration | |
| CPU | Intel Core i7-2700K overclocked to 4.4GHz @ 1.4V |
| Motherboard | Zotac Z77-ITX WiFi |
| Graphics | Intel HD 3000 IGP |
| Memory | 2x4GB Corsair Value Select DDR3-1333 |
| Drives | Kingston SSDNow V+ 100 64GB SSD |
| Power Supply | Corsair CX430 |
| Enclosure | BitFenix Shinobi XL Window |
The processor, with its healthy voltage boost and overclock, throws a pretty substantial amount of heat at our cooling system. Testing with an i7-2700K at stock speeds would defeat the purpose; Intel's own stock cooler can handle that, we want to "separate the men from the boys" so to speak.
I needed a case that could produce adequate airflow, handle all of the different cooling systems without much trouble, and did not include any sound dampening features. You might be surprised at just how difficult that was to find, but BitFenix came to the rescue and sent over a Shinobi XL. BitFenix's enclosure didn't get the best review when I tested it, but it's actually ideal for this testbed. I removed every case fan but the front intake, which I ran at 5V to prevent it from affecting acoustics while still providing adequate airflow.
Since a dedicated GPU wasn't needed, one wasn't used. This prevents a graphics card from generating additional heat or noise or deflecting airflow.
Thermal and acoustic test cycles were done the same way as our case reviews. First, the system is left powered and idle for fifteen minutes. At this point the sound level is tested, room ambient temperature is recorded, and idle temperatures are recorded. Then eight threads of small FFTs in Prime95 are run for fifteen minutes, and load temperatures are recorded.
Each cooler was tested using its available presets; the PWM-controlled Corsair H60 had its fan speed metered by the motherboard.
Thank You!
Before moving on, we'd like to thank the following vendors for providing us with the hardware used in our roundup.
- Thank you to iBuyPower for providing us with the Intel Core i7-2700K.
- Thank you to Zotac for providing us with the Z77-ITX WiFi motherboard.
- Thank you to Kingston for providing us with the SSDNow V+ 100 SSD.
- Thank you to Corsair for providing us with the CX430 power supply.
- Thank you to BitFenix for providing us with the Shinobi XL Window enclosure.
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buhusky - Wednesday, December 26, 2012 - link
i'm interested to see the comparison of these vs. the stock air cooler included with the processor. sure, i could go find it somewhere else, but it'd help make this a more complete review if it was all just here, imoBeenthere - Wednesday, December 26, 2012 - link
Unless you have some space limitation preventing you from using a quality HSF, a Closed Loop Cooler is a poor choice and has the very real liability of a water leak damaging your hardware, data loss, RMAs, etc.When you can buy a highend HSF for ~$60. that cools better, is quieter and never leaks water to damage your PC hardware, you'd be ignorant to buy a CLC which is inferior in every way as independent testing has confirmed.
The Xigmatek Aegir SD128264 double heat-pipe HSF is a perfect example of a very quiet, cost effective, HSF fully capable of cooling an AMD FX CPU OC'd to 4.8 GHz. without issue. There are other HSFs with dual fans that cost more but few perform better than the Aegir. Note that the Xigmatek Aegie and other HSFs cool better than the Corsair H100 and AMD CLC cooler both of which are inferior and can leak water.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8...
http://www.frostytech.com/articleview.cfm?articlei...
FriendlyUser - Wednesday, December 26, 2012 - link
Thanks for the review. It would be great to include the stock cooler and a good air cooler (Noctua, Thermalright or even the cheap CoolerMaster 212 EVO).I'm tempted by closed-loop coolers, but I'm not sure the technology is yet mature. I think it's the future...
etamin - Wednesday, December 26, 2012 - link
I'd like to see a CM Hyper 212 thrown into the charts for some kind of air cooler reference. That would be a big help to determining value.cmdrdredd - Wednesday, December 26, 2012 - link
As was said it would be nice to have a really high end air cooler from Noctua like the NH-D14 in the charts for reference. I mean, the noctua can be found for around $80 and the mounting is solid (no plastic to strip although it is heavier so...). Is a $140 closed water system worth an extra $60?rrohbeck - Wednesday, December 26, 2012 - link
The NH-D14 is on sale for $69.99 AR today at Newegg.Spacecomber - Wednesday, December 26, 2012 - link
Are these kits strictly designed to be CPU coolers, or are they expandable to include GPU and maybe even MB chipset cooling, too?Sorry if I missed the answer to this in quickly reading through the article. It seems like if you are going to switch over to a liquid cooling system, you'd also want it to include the GPU (at least this would be true for enthusiasts who also enjoy computer gaming).
If these are CPU only kits, I suppose they might find a place in a media player computer.
A5 - Thursday, December 27, 2012 - link
These kits are CPU only. You could probably hack a GPU block into one of the dual-length systems, but at that point you should just go full custom and get better performance.Foeketijn - Friday, December 28, 2012 - link
There are simple mounting frames to screw the 2012 Antec and corsair blocks on any recent GPU. But from what I see in reality, most people use tie wraps ; ). IMHO these closed loop cooler are more suitable for GPU's since the radiator conducting properties (relatively thin and aluminum) are often the limiting factor (considering the results according to the tweakers who changed the radiator of these things). The efficiency goes up when you1. Get more air in contact with the radiator (bigger radiator, better fan, a bit of spacing between the fan and the radiator to avoid airflowing "dead spots")
2. Get more heat from the water to the actual air (copper radiator, more fins etc.)
3. Get the temp delta bigger. (colder air or warmer water)
Cooling the GPU does number 3. Since modern GPU's can draw a lot more power than a CPU especially @stock and they function without a problem at much higher temps.
Novuake - Thursday, December 27, 2012 - link
No Static Pressure readings? Nothing about the pumps on these thinks? Thermal paste that come with them? Really... What is going on with Anandtech? MORE DATA! More effort into this PLEASE...