H2O or Air Help me decide

[billy2004]

I am currently running my amd 955 phenom II BE at 3.8 on a stock cooler i have four case fans two front intake and two exhaust one is on the side the other is in the back. I would like to push my oc farther and i know the stock HS will not handle this and i have a decission do i get a zalman 9500 which i put on a rig i built for my brother and know the results are -8 or -9 degrees cooler or do i go for a water cooling kit... my issues with water cooling are that i have a top mount psu with no other place to put it and i have a budget for watercooling of about 250$....not to mention i have never done a watercooling kit before input is appreciated!

 

[95BlackGA]

I'd do air, but that's me. Water can be tedious, and very maintenance oriented. I just bought a Corsair A70 and it dropped my average temps about 7C compared to my old 92MM cooler. Plus, you can get it at Best Buy the same day for cheaper than the 9500 on Newegg. I got mine for $24.99 plus tax. Not bad for a 120MM tower cooler with a push-pull fan setup.

 

[aspire]

Stick with air, for good water cooling you need a case with the space to do it, or be content with radiators and tubing running all over the place.

 

[Jagged.Edge]

Air. The best aircoolers are around the same price as bad-quality watercoolers

This, by far, is the best air cooler out there.
Newegg.com - Noctua NH-D14 120mm & 140mm SSO CPU Cooler

 

[host08521]

Like jagged.edge said Noctua NH-D14 is the best it will work for what your doing and save you the time and money you would spend on water cooling.

 

[PositiveKaram]

This doesn't have very many reviews, but if you have the space available this is a great cooler for half the price of that noctua.

Newegg.com - ZEROtherm ZT-10D Smart 120mm MFDB CPU Cooler

I'm running it in my PC right now.

 

[Slaymate]

The Zerotherm isn't in the same class as the NH-D14.