The fewer apps, the smoother the PC runs overall.
True.
I've been using their Vengeance K95 keyboard since 2013, and it doesn't require iCUE for the basic functions, but their recent AIOs do? What is that crap?
I'm using Corsair Strafe RGB with Cherry MX Silent switches and my KB doesn't need iCUE either, to function comfortably. Heck, in the days past, when iCUE was known as just CUE (Corsair Utility Engine), there was (and still is) fan-made CEE (Corsair Effects Engine) that vastly expanded on the light show of what your Corsair KB can do. I ran that many months. Namely because it can display spectogram on KB, which CUE and iCUE are still incapable of doing.
This fancy thing:
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MK8QXgzF5vY
And i guess this is where i'll stop derailing the topic.
Time to go back with matter in hand.
but i thought AIO is better cooling than air cooling
Do you think so because in AIO, there is water circling around and due to that, it has to be better? Well, no.
Like i said before, both the air coolers and AIOs are, in the end, still cooled by ambient air.
For equal cooling performance between AIOs and air coolers, rad needs to be 240mm or 280mm. Smaller rads: 120mm and 140mm are almost always outperformed by mid-sized air coolers. Single slot rads are good in mini-ITX builds where you don't have enough CPU cooler clearance to install mid-sized CPU air cooler.
Here are the positive sides of both (air and AIO) CPU cooling methods;
Pros of air coolers:
less cost
less maintenance
less noise
far longer longevity
no leakage risks
doesn't take up case fan slots
additional cooling for the RAM
CPU cools down faster after heavy heat output
Pros of AIOs:
no RAM clearance issues*
no CPU clearance issues
CPU takes longer time to heat up during heavy heat output (about 30 mins)
* on some cases, top mounted rad can give RAM clearance issues
While how the CPU cooler looks inside the PC depends on a person. Some people prefer to see small AIO pump in the middle of their MoBo with tubing going to the rad while others prefer to see big heatsink with fans in the middle of their MoBo.
Main difference between AIO and air cooler is that with AIO, you'll get more noise at a higher cost while cooling performance remains the same.
Here's also one good article for you to read where king of air coolers (Noctua NH-D15) was put against 5x high-end AIOs, including king of AIOs** (NZXT x61 Kraken),
link:
http://www.relaxedtech.com/reviews/noctua/nh-d15-versus-closed-loop-liquid-coolers/1
(** - At the time when that article was written, X61 was the best AIO in the market.)
Personally, i'd go with air coolers every day of the week. With same cooling performance, the pros of air coolers outweigh the pros of AIOs considerably. While, for me, the 3 main pros would be:
1. Less noise.
Since i like my PC to be quiet, i can't stand the loud noise AIO makes. Also, when air gets trapped inside the AIO (some AIOs are more prone to this than others), there's additional noise coming from inside the pump.
2. Longevity.
Cheaper AIOs usually last 2-3 years and high-end ones 4-5 years before you need to replace it. While with air coolers, their life expectancy is basically unlimited. Only thing that can go bad on an air cooler is the fan on it. If the fan dies, your CPU still has cooling in form of a big heatsink. Also, new 120mm or 140mm fan doesn't cost much and it's easy to replace one. While with AIOs, the main thing that usually goes bad is the pump itself. And when that happens, your CPU has no cooling whatsoever. Since you can't replace pump on an AIO, you need to buy whole new AIO to replace the old one out.
3. No leakage risks.
Since there's liquid circling inside the AIO, there is always a risk that your AIO can leak. While it's rare, it has happened. It's well known fact that liquids and electronics don't mix.