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Antec Kuhler 920 Installed


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Finally got my Antec Kuhler 920 installed today after being too busy the past couple of weeks.

 

First impressions: totally happy with the purchase. Its a well built product, and having a Corsair H60 side by side to compare it to, I really prefer Antec's design of the flexible tubes (both aesthetically and functionally). The fan control software needs some polish, and unfortunately it does not monitor CPU temps, but liquid temps. Which, needless to say, is not as helpful. On low/silent speeds, I can't hear the fans at all over my normal fans (which are all pretty quiet anyways). On 'Extreme', it sounds about the same as my 5870 at 100% fan speed... like a mini-vac inside my case. But they move some serious air, and do a pretty dang good job keeping temps under control.

 

I started overclocking my tough little 2500K tonight... got to about 4.8 GHz, 10 rounds of LinX stable + 1 hr of OCCT and Prime 95. Temps got up to 87*C during the LinX testing. Stayed below 80 in everything else. Not exactly frosty, but for a closed water loop and a 2500K I am very happy. I had to up the voltage to 1.39 to get it through without any errors though. I could possibly shoot for 4.9/5.0... but I don't want to see temps hit 90, and I'm sure it will take 1.40/1.41 volts to stay stable- which I believe will probably push me over my temp limits.

 

Anyways, I'm keeping it at a nice speedy 4.5 GHz with a 1.29 Vcore and my RAM at its XMP settings, fully stable and idling in the 30's (100% load goes to about 70, which I can totally live with). According to Cyberpower, thats an 'Extreme 30% OC!'... for less than an hour of tweaking (which was really just fiddling with voltages until it passed a stress test... almost too easy).

 

PS- My Windows Experience Index went from a 7.5 CPU rating to a 7.6! I am uber now. :evilgrin:

Edited by LuckyDeath

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Well the Kuhler 920 has adjustable noise levels, doesn't require me to fit a heatsink in around my RAM, and it was also pretty much free since I used a gift card... so, I don't really care? Wasn't really asking your opinion on how I spend my money... was just sharing my experience with the product for others. Thanks for the input though.

Edited by LuckyDeath

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I have to agree with you. you have more capacity with a liquid cooled solution than with air cooling.

 

 

I like the rubber tubes on the Antec offering much better than the tubing used on Corsairs offerings. I do however have concerns about evaporation long term with the rubber vs FEP tubing. The Kuhler 620 was great so I would expect the 920 to expand on that performance.

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Well the Kuhler 920 has adjustable noise levels, doesn't require me to fit a heatsink in around my RAM, and it was also pretty much free since I used a gift card... so, I don't really care? Wasn't really asking your opinion on how I spend my money... was just sharing my experience with the product for others. Thanks for the input though.

Not tryin to be a jerk, just thought the almighty 920 I heard about woulda done better.

 

Everyone is always gettin hard talking about it, I thought it was earthshattering. I forgot to try the 212+ at max fan so I can't comment on the noise levels. But I'd have a feeling that the 920 would be better in this regard.

 

And I always run low profile memory so cooler choice is wide open (though I suppose you're always able to access yours with the cooler installed :P )

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No biggie. At silent, its very silent... at top speeds, its a beast. I don't know if the fans are proprietary or if they can be switched for some quieter models... Also, I am using the TIM it came pre-applied with. I have considered remounting it with my MX-2, just wanted to see what the stock would do (and sometimes the stock is decent stuff... see also: Shin Etsu on the Corsair H50 :whistling: )

 

@Coke, how would you monitor or detect evaporation? Just deteriorating performance?

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No biggie. At silent, its very silent... at top speeds, its a beast. I don't know if the fans are proprietary or if they can be switched for some quieter models... Also, I am using the TIM it came pre-applied with. I have considered remounting it with my MX-2, just wanted to see what the stock would do (and sometimes the stock is decent stuff... see also: Shin Etsu on the Corsair H50 :whistling: )

 

@Coke, how would you monitor or detect evaporation? Just deteriorating performance?

Your rig is looking mighty nice, Lucky. It doesn't help that Texas is freakin' hot.

Yeah I was going to say, now that you mention it I had built my friends for him late at night during the last few weeks of Winter so I take back some of my insults :teehee:

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I should add those temps are only with LinX. Everything else (OCCT, Prime 95) has temps at least 10-15 degrees cooler.

Oh well blow me down!! I take it all back (I was comparing it mentally with the results I experienced with P95 :teehee: )

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