If you really want to go to town, but while still retaining a semblance of normality, a full custom water cooling loop and a Hailea HC-500A water chiller would be the way to go.

 

Now that looks like a very nice cooling arrangement. Not a horrible price for what you are getting. But then my wife would say, "What's that noise? I haven't heard that one before!" And then I would have to explain. And then I would have to tell her how much it cost. And then she would beat the crap out of me. :lol: :( :ph34r:

If you really want to go to town, but while still retaining a semblance of normality, a full custom water cooling loop and a Hailea HC-500A water chiller would be the way to go.

 

And yes, you could pipe the chiller through into another room. I believe they can be quite noisy.

 

I still think thru-the-wall A/C is a good option because your entire box gets cooled not just the CPU or even CPU & GPU.  Mobo, CPU, GPU, DIMMS, etc get the benefit, however it's true for moderate o/c no real need.  Even so, I like the fact w/ this approach there is no need for a revision when a new build is installed as it's separate from the PC.  The noise--well, headphones or turning up the volume on ext speakers works well.  Plus bonus:  no water leak risk!

 

 

What I didn't like about the Corsair (besides the fact that it was a liquid cooler) was that It would have replaced my case's 200mm top exhaust fan.

 

Could you not place that fan somewhere else and thus not losing it ?

Could you not place that fan somewhere else and thus not losing it ?

 

The case I want is the Corsair Graphite CC600TW (a mid-tower case).  It has two 200mm fans (1 front and 1 top) and one 120mm fan (back). The only optional fans are if you use the included mesh side panel (instead of the window), where you can add up to four 120mm fans (but not a 200mm fan).

I still think thru-the-wall A/C is a good option because your entire box gets cooled not just the CPU or even CPU & GPU. Mobo, CPU, GPU, DIMMS, etc get the benefit, however it's true for moderate o/c no real need. Even so, I like the fact w/ this approach there is no need for a revision when a new build is installed as it's separate from the PC. The noise--well, headphones or turning up the volume on ext speakers works well. Plus bonus: no water leak risk!

In terms of CPU cooling I'm not going to argue with that Noel, as you have actually used that method in the past, and found it very effective. However, for you noise may not be an issue, but for most it is. For most, it's about a balance between effective cooling and acceptable noise levels. We all have a noise level that's the max we will accept.

 

I'd also say that Mobo, DIMMS, VRM's, don't require as much cooling as GPU and CPU, so whether that gust of air from an air con unit is actually required is perhaps debatable. Would give you piece of mind though.

 

 

However, for you noise may not be an issue, but for most it is. For most, it's about a balance between effective cooling and acceptable noise levels.

 

In the prior builds I would use one BIOS profile for over clocks into Vista 64 for FSX, and one into XP 32 for digital audio where quiet was very important and so would use AC only for FSX at the highest over clocks, but again I was using a retain HSF.  No need for AC now and the machine is really quiet w/ the D-14 and the HaF X case.  But it gets hot here so it's nice if needed there and I can say w/o hesitation the noise, while I would agree is in no way desirable, is easily ignored as I say by using headphones or if the volume goes up on my speakers.  It's really just white noise as well.  Plus, overclocked SB-E + Titan systems crank out some wattage and some of that radiates to those surrounding parts.  If I was willing to  use high voltage for highest over clocks (which I may do in time after IB-E debuts and reports come out demonstrating a BIOS upgrade will accommodate it on my main board) then it would be quite helpful I'm sure as dropping ambient down that far starts to really matter.  What I really like about this setup now is that I've got the case covers all on so the cooling is very gentle and distributed.

The case I want is the Corsair Graphite CC600TW (a mid-tower case).  It has two 200mm fans (1 front and 1 top) and one 120mm fan (back). The only optional fans are if you use the included mesh side panel (instead of the window), where you can add up to four 120mm fans (but not a 200mm fan).

 

I'm in the same situation with my HAF X case and H110. If I instead go for a air cooler I got other problems.

In the prior builds I would use one BIOS profile for over clocks into Vista 64 for FSX, and one into XP 32 for digital audio where quiet was very important and so would use AC only for FSX at the highest over clocks, but again I was using a retain HSF.  No need for AC now and the machine is really quiet w/ the D-14 and the HaF X case.  But it gets hot here so it's nice if needed there and I can say w/o hesitation the noise, while I would agree is in no way desirable, is easily ignored as I say by using headphones or if the volume goes up on my speakers.  It's really just white noise as well.  Plus, overclocked SB-E + Titan systems crank out some wattage and some of that radiates to those surrounding parts.  If I was willing to  use high voltage for highest over clocks (which I may do in time after IB-E debuts and reports come out demonstrating a BIOS upgrade will accommodate it on my main board) then it would be quite helpful I'm sure as dropping ambient down that far starts to really matter.  What I really like about this setup now is that I've got the case covers all on so the cooling is very gentle and distributed.

 

 

As you say, you don't need to at the moment but have you tried blasting your air con into the side panel fan, just to see what can be achieved with the air con/ Haf combo?

As you say, you don't need to at the moment but have you tried blasting your air con into the side panel fan, just to see what can be achieved with the air con/ Haf combo?

Yes that is how I've set this up.  I used the blue poster board & a piece of cardboard to create a simple deflection of the A/C unit's discharge so that all that yummy cool air flows thru the HaF's powered intake port as well as towards the front intake (240mm fan I think it is), and bonus:  putting the case on its included casters above the layer of pavers keeps dust bunnies out of the PSU air intake and sends cool air into that intake as well.  I can tell you now having tested, this method provide a full 10C cooler than w/o it, which as you've aptly noted, is way cooler than needed for FSX.   I tried the ultimate test w/ this cooling approach:  HT enabled on 6 cores, Prime95 torture test at 4.423Ghz:  never went over 54C in any core.   Of course, FSX does not go there so really it's overkill, but nice for warm days!  And as I've mentioned--this solution takes care of ANY PC, so very little customization is needed for your next build.  The HaF X case is absolutely the perfect choice--thanks again Martin!

 

Just think how cool it would be with HT off.

 

HT does nothing for FSX.

 

Would be minus another 10 degrees.