Maximum PC

A really quick watercooling question: I'm interested in watercooling but have noticed in many MPC issues and mod-logs that the cases also have fans! Dream Machine 2003 even added a blowhole to increase airflow! Although I thought good airflow wasn't necessary for a watercooled rig. So, since I know you fellas use watercooling often, I figured I'd ask.

Do I need good airflow in a watercooled case?

thanks

I use alot of fans, but I use fan controllers to keep them spinning slow. I use alot of fans so that every critical area has some flow of fresh air. You still need some air for other components unless your going to do water on all heat producing hardware (including PSU). Also if you radiaotr is internal you need to somehow keep cool air running across it. If using an external setup then this isn't a problem.

You don't need to go over board with the fans but there still needs to be flow. Like I said I just prefer to use many large fans spinning slow. I don't get noticeable noise, but still pull air across everything not watercooled.

Alright, here's a followup question... very simple, just need a yes or no. Is watercooling easy to manage (worth the performance boost) or should I keep to old, reliable air cooling? I'ce been thinking of goint water for my next system... but I'm worried about a world of leaks, maintenance, etc.

Is watercooling worth it at the moment?

the easy answer, is that when you water cool, you dont cool everything.

you need the good airflow for hard disks, cd, dvd, memory, power supply the mb itself produces heat at various places, and any add in cards you might have in place. they all produce heat, that needs to be removed. fans.

In addition to what the other guys have said, water cooling doesn't require all that much attention and maintanence these days. Just make sure you do a good leak test before installing it and change the water every six months or so.

Hope this helps

Actually, that's two questions IS watercooling easy to manage? Relatively...yes, it is. It's obviously not plug-and-play and needs looked at once in a while, but it's not intensive with the hardware available now days. Just using a Res helps as T-line designs may need a little more watching after. But it's no longer homemade parts like it used to be. After you sweat out the initial leak test of fire-up of it installed, you can really set back and relax after that period of time.

Is it worth it? Not for Joe Schmoe. $300 is a lot of cash if you really don't have the reasoning to go this route. That's 150 beers you could buy for 150 different women on Friday and Saturday nights...

I just wrote you an essay on my opinion on this in a PM. That's just my take, and really should be weighed on your own desires. I like it now, but some would hate it. And if it really isn't needed in the first place, it's a waste.

Some things you didn't address were what kind of system you have and what your goals are. if it is extreme overclocking, then W/C the CPU and GPU are great, and depending on the case you have and the kit or parts you choose are very easy to manage. If you are just running at stock speeds or into gaming, then a good air cooled solution will be fine and water can be overkill. if you are wanting to crank up your system to the limits, then getting an external kit, or building your own is recommended. I have reviewed both Danger Den and PolarFLO waterblocks and they are both easy to install and perform wonderfully. If you want an easy to set up external kit, the Corsair is a very nice cooling solution