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
New CPU Cooling Test Configuration
Cooling tests were first run on our existing test bed, which is the EVGA NVIDIA 680i SLI motherboard. Temperatures were measured using the NVIDIA Monitor temperature measurement utility, which is part of the nTune program.
All Cooling tests were then repeated on the new cooling test bed, which is a Rosewill R604-P-SL case sold without a power supply. The Rosewill is a www.Newegg.com brand typical of a moderately priced mid-tower case our readers might own. It was chosen because it is a Newegg top seller and includes a variable front intake louver and a quiet 120mm exhaust fan at the rear of the case. The case is also screw-less with components held in place by plastic holders instead of metal to metal connections. This appears to reduce case vibration and noise.
The new power supply is the Corsair HX620W, which has earned our respect as an exceptionally quiet PSU with a variable speed exhaust fan and a down facing intake fan mounted just above the CPU space in the case. To eliminate the video card as a source of noise we have moved to a fanless video card, currently a GeForce 7600 GS. Plans are to move to fanless DirectX 10 capable card in this test bed in the near future.
The new motherboard is the ASUS P5K Deluxe. This P35 chipset motherboard has exhibited outstanding overclocking capabilities in our testing, and it can also mount the newest 1333FSB Intel Core processors and can handle our existing high-speed DDR2 memory. The P5K3 uses heatsinks and heatpipes to cool board components so all motherboard cooling is passive.
Other components in the cooling test bed are generally the same as those used in our previous motherboard and memory test bed. We will feature the new test bed and its noise metrics in an upcoming cooling system review. The goal was to remove fans that might produce noise wherever possible, improve internal airflow, reduce the power supply noise floor, and eliminate the video card as a noise source. While we did add a 120mm exhaust fan to improve case airflow, the chosen exhaust fan is very low noise and will be replaced by the lowest noise 120mm fan when the 120mm fan roundup is completed.
All cooling tests are run with the components mounted in a standard mid-tower case. The idle and stress temperature tests are run with the case closed and standing as it would in most home setups. We do not use auxiliary fans in the test cooling case, except for the Northbridge fan attached to the 680i for overclocking. Room temperature is measured before beginning the cooler tests and is maintained in the 20 to 22C (68 to 72F) range for all testing.
Both Swiftech and Corsair provided a small tube of Arctic Silver Ceramic premium thermal grease with their water cooling kits. However, for consistency of test results we tested with our standard premium silver-colored thermal compound. In our experience the thermal compound used makes little to no difference in cooling test results. This is particularly true now that processors ship with a large manufacturer-installed heatspreader. Our current test procedure uses this standard high-quality silver-colored thermal paste for all cooler reviews.
We first test the stock Intel air cooler at standard X6800 speed, measuring the CPU temperature at idle. The CPU is then stressed by running continuous loops of the Far Cry River demo. The same tests are repeated at the highest stable overclock we can achieve with the stock cooler. Stable in this case means the ability to handle our Far Cry looping for at least 30 minutes.
The same benchmarks are then run on the coolers under test at stock, highest stock cooler OC speed (3.73GHz), and the highest OC that can be achieved in the same setup with the cooler being tested. This allows measurement of the cooling efficiency of the test unit compared to stock and the improvement in overclocking capabilities, if any, from using the test cooler.
The cooling test results of both water cooling kits are compared to a representative sample of air cooling results with the NVIDIA Monitor program on the EVGA 680i. This is done for a consistent comparison of water cooler test results to earlier air cooler results. We then repeated testing on the new test bed measuring results with both Intel TAT (Thermal Analysis Tool) and CoreTemp, a well-known and widely used shareware program for core temperature measurement. Both results are reported in additional test results so they can be compared and contrasted to each other and to NVIDIA Monitor results.
Noise Levels
In addition to cooling efficiency and overclocking abilities, users shopping for CPU cooling solutions may also be interested in the noise levels of the cooling devices they are considering. Noise levels are measured with the case on its side using a C.E.M. DT-8850 Sound Level meter. This meter allows accurate sound level measurements from 35bdB to 130dB with a resolution of 0.1dB and an accuracy of 1.5dB. This is sufficient for our needs in these tests, as measurement starts at the level of a relatively quiet room. Our own test room, with all computers and fans turned off, has a room noise level of 36.4dB. Procedures for measuring cooling system noise are described on page seven which reports measured noise results comparing the stock Intel cooler and recently tested CPU coolers to the Swiftech H2O-120 Compact and Corsair Nautilus 500 water cooling kits.
Cooling tests were first run on our existing test bed, which is the EVGA NVIDIA 680i SLI motherboard. Temperatures were measured using the NVIDIA Monitor temperature measurement utility, which is part of the nTune program.
All Cooling tests were then repeated on the new cooling test bed, which is a Rosewill R604-P-SL case sold without a power supply. The Rosewill is a www.Newegg.com brand typical of a moderately priced mid-tower case our readers might own. It was chosen because it is a Newegg top seller and includes a variable front intake louver and a quiet 120mm exhaust fan at the rear of the case. The case is also screw-less with components held in place by plastic holders instead of metal to metal connections. This appears to reduce case vibration and noise.
The new power supply is the Corsair HX620W, which has earned our respect as an exceptionally quiet PSU with a variable speed exhaust fan and a down facing intake fan mounted just above the CPU space in the case. To eliminate the video card as a source of noise we have moved to a fanless video card, currently a GeForce 7600 GS. Plans are to move to fanless DirectX 10 capable card in this test bed in the near future.
The new motherboard is the ASUS P5K Deluxe. This P35 chipset motherboard has exhibited outstanding overclocking capabilities in our testing, and it can also mount the newest 1333FSB Intel Core processors and can handle our existing high-speed DDR2 memory. The P5K3 uses heatsinks and heatpipes to cool board components so all motherboard cooling is passive.
Other components in the cooling test bed are generally the same as those used in our previous motherboard and memory test bed. We will feature the new test bed and its noise metrics in an upcoming cooling system review. The goal was to remove fans that might produce noise wherever possible, improve internal airflow, reduce the power supply noise floor, and eliminate the video card as a noise source. While we did add a 120mm exhaust fan to improve case airflow, the chosen exhaust fan is very low noise and will be replaced by the lowest noise 120mm fan when the 120mm fan roundup is completed.
| Cooling Performance Test Configuration | |
| Processor | Intel Core 2 Duo X6800 (Dual-core, 2.93GHz, 4MB Unified Cache) |
| RAM | 2x1GB Corsair Dominator PC2-8888 (DDR2-1111) |
| Hard Drive(s) | Hitachi 250GB SATA2 enabled (16MB Buffer) |
| Video Card | NVIDIA 7600GS (fanless) - All Standard Tests |
| Platform Drivers | NVIDIA 9.53 |
| NVIDIA nTune Intel TAT CoreTemp |
5.05.22.00 (1/16/2007) Version 2.05.2006.0427 Version 0.95 |
| Video Drivers | NVIDIA 93.71 |
| CPU Cooling | Swiftech H2O-120 Compact Corsair Nautilus 500 Thermalright Ultima-90 ZEROtherm BTF90 Xigmatek AIO (AIO-S800P) Evercool Silver Knight Enzotech Ultra-X 3RSystem iCEAGE Thermaltake Big Typhoon VX Thermaltake MaxOrb Scythe Andy Samurai Master Cooler Master Gemini II Noctua NH-U12F Asus Silent Square Pro Scythe Ninja Plus Rev. B OCZ Vindicator Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme Thermalright Ultra-120 Scythe Infinity Zalman CNS9700 Zalman CNS9500 Cooler Master Hyper 6+ Vigor Monsoon II Lite Thermalright MST-9775 Scythe Katana Tuniq Tower 120 Intel Stock HSF for X6800 |
| Power Supply | Corsair HX620W OCZ PowerStream 520W |
| Motherboards | Asus P5K Deluxe (Intel P35) EVGA nForce 680i SLI (NVIDIA 680i) |
| Operating System(s) | Windows XP Professional SP2 |
| BIOS | EVGA Award P26 (1/12/2007) Asus AMI 0501 (06/26/2007) |
All cooling tests are run with the components mounted in a standard mid-tower case. The idle and stress temperature tests are run with the case closed and standing as it would in most home setups. We do not use auxiliary fans in the test cooling case, except for the Northbridge fan attached to the 680i for overclocking. Room temperature is measured before beginning the cooler tests and is maintained in the 20 to 22C (68 to 72F) range for all testing.
Both Swiftech and Corsair provided a small tube of Arctic Silver Ceramic premium thermal grease with their water cooling kits. However, for consistency of test results we tested with our standard premium silver-colored thermal compound. In our experience the thermal compound used makes little to no difference in cooling test results. This is particularly true now that processors ship with a large manufacturer-installed heatspreader. Our current test procedure uses this standard high-quality silver-colored thermal paste for all cooler reviews.
We first test the stock Intel air cooler at standard X6800 speed, measuring the CPU temperature at idle. The CPU is then stressed by running continuous loops of the Far Cry River demo. The same tests are repeated at the highest stable overclock we can achieve with the stock cooler. Stable in this case means the ability to handle our Far Cry looping for at least 30 minutes.
The same benchmarks are then run on the coolers under test at stock, highest stock cooler OC speed (3.73GHz), and the highest OC that can be achieved in the same setup with the cooler being tested. This allows measurement of the cooling efficiency of the test unit compared to stock and the improvement in overclocking capabilities, if any, from using the test cooler.
The cooling test results of both water cooling kits are compared to a representative sample of air cooling results with the NVIDIA Monitor program on the EVGA 680i. This is done for a consistent comparison of water cooler test results to earlier air cooler results. We then repeated testing on the new test bed measuring results with both Intel TAT (Thermal Analysis Tool) and CoreTemp, a well-known and widely used shareware program for core temperature measurement. Both results are reported in additional test results so they can be compared and contrasted to each other and to NVIDIA Monitor results.
Noise Levels
In addition to cooling efficiency and overclocking abilities, users shopping for CPU cooling solutions may also be interested in the noise levels of the cooling devices they are considering. Noise levels are measured with the case on its side using a C.E.M. DT-8850 Sound Level meter. This meter allows accurate sound level measurements from 35bdB to 130dB with a resolution of 0.1dB and an accuracy of 1.5dB. This is sufficient for our needs in these tests, as measurement starts at the level of a relatively quiet room. Our own test room, with all computers and fans turned off, has a room noise level of 36.4dB. Procedures for measuring cooling system noise are described on page seven which reports measured noise results comparing the stock Intel cooler and recently tested CPU coolers to the Swiftech H2O-120 Compact and Corsair Nautilus 500 water cooling kits.
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psychotix11 - Monday, September 17, 2007 - link
But water cooling has never been about the best price for the buck. The same can be said of any high end parts. Extreme intel, amd FX, 8800gtx, SLI, none of this makes sense for the price you pay.Water cooling falls right into that category. If you really want it to show it's teeth load up an 8800 SLI system, build a custom loop at the 300 and 500 price point, water cool everything, and then compare temps.
Obviously it's going to cost a lot more, but this is a given.
You're article seems to hint that air cooling is better then water cooling, this isn't the case at all. All it shows is that high end air cooling is a better value then a water cooling kit designed for a novice on a budget.
As for "might" and 300, that's wrong as well. My apogee gt + lian DDC, + mcr 220 2x yate loons push, pentosion did drop my temps over a tuniqu tower. The water blocks on the 8800's with an mcr 320 moved even more hot air out of my case and temps dropped more. That CPU loop costs less then 300.
So, DDC pump $65, mcr 220 45, apogee gt 45, and about 30 bucks for fans, tubing and anti corrosive. Brings you to about 200, hardly the 300.
EODetroit - Monday, September 17, 2007 - link
Next time water cool the video card as well, and compare it against the CPU and video card on Air. OC both the video card and CPU and see how far they go. Then measure system noise. I agree with your conclusion that if you're only going to water cool your CPU, that you might as well go with a new air cool instead. But the CPU isn't the only expensive, hot, noisy thing in the case. In fact, the GPU is for many or most of us more expensive, hotter, and noisier.You shouldn't pretend the GPU isn't there. Water cool it as well and compare it THEN against air cooling.
Lonyo - Monday, September 17, 2007 - link
You forgot another element of one of your watercooling setups.It's external.
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE try looking at other temperatures, e.g. graphics card, motherboard, HDD, when doing these tests.
The heat has to go somewhere. With an air cooler it stays inside the case before passing by the graphics card and getting pushed out the back of the case.
With an external watercooling setup it gets transferred outside without going over the graphics card/motherboard, and hence internally other components beside the CPU should in theory be cooler.
My view is that the main advantage of watercooling is the low CPU temps combined with lower internal case temps, since I wouldn't think of running water with an internal radiator.
Nickel020 - Monday, September 17, 2007 - link
I don't understand how you reached the conclusion, that good air cooling is better than sub 300$ water cooling by testing two sub 150$ water cooling kits.I have recently upgrade from a lapped Scythe Infinity to a 300$ wattercooling setup and at a maximum fan speed of ~1300 rpm (two fans dual radiator) the watercooling beats air by 10K but is little bit noisier since the fans sit at the top of the case. At 7V it's less noisier than the Infinity and still about 5K cooler.
Please test a real 200+$ watercooling setup before drawing such conclusions. The test clearly shows that cheapw atercooling isn't worth it, but starting at about 200$ watercooling will beat air cooling if you choose good components.
Here's a link to jstu about the ebst setup for 250$:
http://www.petrastechshop.com/pecoel.html">http://www.petrastechshop.com/pecoel.html
The waterblock is one of the ebst available, the Swiftech radiators are great for the price and with a modded top the Laing pupm is very quiet and has a excellent performance.
I'd very much like to see Anandtech finally review some proper water cooling!
PS: The review is otherwise very nice, finally a good review that compares low end watercooling with top-end air cooling.
poohbear - Monday, September 17, 2007 - link
dude, that link shows it's $250!!! i can get the thermalright 120 extreme for $65... the choice seems like an absolute no brainer to most.
retrospooty - Monday, September 17, 2007 - link
"'d very much like to see Anandtech finally review some proper water cooling!PS: The review is otherwise very nice, finally a good review that compares low end watercooling with top-end air cooling."
Agreed. It would be great to see a full review, including a few high end kits, cooling graphics cards as well, since that IS how they are used.
This is a high end "best of the best" air cooler against 2 low end "mediocre" water kits.
Wesley Fink - Monday, September 17, 2007 - link
We have also tested two kits closer to $300 in price from top water cooler manufacturers and they did not beat our top air cooler results. The Infinity was not a top performer in our test results unless it was driving a dual push-pull fan configuration. Stock it was slighly worse than the two water coolers we tested in this review.Also, Intel, Swiftech, Thermalright and others have now found that a convex base improves cooling performance mounted to current Intel CPU caps which are manufactured not flat to improve cooling performance. Lapping your Infinity prbably did no harm but lapping a thermalright would likely decrease performance. Swiftech in the past was a strong advocate of flat mirro-finish bases, but they now use the intentionally bowed plate on their top water blocks to improve cooling and overclocking.
Nickel020 - Monday, September 17, 2007 - link
Well the problem with watercoolig is that no big manufacturer offers a good kit, you absolutely need to mix and match parts from different manufacturers.Go to the forums here or at xtremesystems.org and everybody will confirm that a *well chosen* 300$ watercooling will beat any air cooling. You just need the right components, like in the ones in that kit.
And I know about the lapping/bowing, I lapped my CPU as well and got a 13K lower temperature with both lapped than before. A bowed cooller usually has the advantage since almost all heatspreaders are concave, therefore a convex cooler is needed to make a good contact. But if you lap both CPU and cooler you're usually better off if you do it right.
I would love to see you review a watercooling setup with good components, there almost no reviews on the net comparing good watercooling to top-end aircooling.
yyrkoon - Monday, September 17, 2007 - link
I think the real questions are . . . is it really worth the Hassle/danger/cost.
Even a $300usd water cooling system is not a good water cooling system, and one that uses less than 1/2 tubing/waterbloccks etc, is not a good water cooling setup.
Anyhow, I am not an advocate of water cooling, and I have been saying air is better than water for a long time now (couple of years), not because of cooling performance alone, but because of the three things mentioned above . . .Hassle/danger(or risk if you like)/costs. Building a top notch cooling system would set you back about $400 a year ago, now, probably more like $500-$600, but I wouldnt know for a fact, beause water cooling for PCs is like 4x4's with a 128 inch lift kit, its made to compensate for something, perhaps a small . . . CPU( or more likely something else) ?
poohbear - Monday, September 17, 2007 - link
well i'll be damed, i never considered watercooling cause it was too exotic and expensive, but it seems there's no point considering it to begin w! the best aircoolers are quieter AND run cooler than watercooling. Thanks for showing this fantabulous change of events anandtech.