[SOLVED] AIO or Heatsink

[neilllll]

Pros and Con of Aio and Heatsink?

 

[richiestang_78]

The higher end (and more expensive 240mm and larger) can offer really good cooling as well compact form factors. And some cases like the NZXT H1 will only work with a 120mm AIO although compact air coolers are getting quiet good.

A traditional air cooler offers a much lower cost to cooling ratio, with quality coolers from Noctua, Phanteks and bequiet usually beating the cheaper AIOs on the market in cooling performance. Air coolers also dont leak which is rare but still happen nor do they lose performance with age like many AIOs (the fluid can gunk up, bacteria can grow etc, basically AIOs have about a 5 year life span)

 

[neilllll]

The higher end (and more expensive 240mm and larger) can offer really good cooling as well compact form factors. And some cases like the NZXT H1 will only work with a 120mm AIO although compact air coolers are getting quiet good.

A traditional air cooler offers a much lower cost to cooling ratio, with quality coolers from Noctua, Phanteks and bequiet usually beating the cheaper AIOs on the market in cooling performance. Air coolers also dont leak which is rare but still happen nor do they lose performance with age like many AIOs (the fluid can gunk up, bacteria can grow etc, basically AIOs have about a 5 year life span)

Agreed! But my Pc case is Close type case that is hard to take intake air to the inside of the case. Does the Air Cooler will do a good performance due to my case?

 

[MeanMachine41]

Pros and Con of Aio and Heatsink?

Choosing between AIR and Water AIOs is dependent on budget and a need to Overclock the CPU.

Pros of an AIO
Eliminates stress on the Motherboard
Eliminates the need for low profile DIMMs
Looks Cool
Provides superior cooling for Overclocking with the correct AIO
Usually a better fit into the case

Con's
Not for the budget minded

 

[alceryes]

There is a TON of info on the subject here - https://forums.tomshardware.com/threads/overclocking-cooling-water-cooling-sticky-index.3599603/

Remember, regardless of whether you use air or water cooling - you're still using air!

If your case has a low/no air intake neither a Noctua NH-D15 nor a Corsair H80i V2 AiO will work well. An exception to this is if you are able to somehow mount the AiO radiator outside of the case so that it has unobstructed airflow. This isn't usually possible with AiOs. Regardless of what you go with you need good case airflow. Personally, I'm a fan of the better (not cheap) AiOs.

 

[geofelt]

What is the make/model of the case, and what is the cpu and gpu that might need cooling?

Air and aio are both air cooling. The difference is where the heat exchange takes place.

If you have limited air intake capabilities, neither type of cooler is going be be any good.

 

[MeanMachine41]

Regardless of whether you consider air or AIO to both be air cooling there is a huge difference.

Decent AIO's have much better cooling potential than most AIR coolers. Reason being, An AIO Water Cooler transfers heat more effectively than air does resulting in better cooling performance. Liquid cooling also makes your PC run quieter because you won't have fans constantly running at a high RPM.
Air thru-put within your case is also important.

 

[geofelt]

True, cpu to cooler fluid transmission is better with water.
And cooling air throughput is essential.

But, then the fluid needs to be cooled by passing through the aio radiator/s.
The efficiency of that process is similar to the efficiency of an air cooler transferring heat from the cooling fluid to the cooling fins of the air cooler.
A simple air cooler with a 120mm fan is going to be about as effective as a 120 aio.
Similarly modern dual tower air coolers like Noctua NH-D15s have about the same radiator capability as a 240 aio and will cool similarly.

One complication is in mounting a aio radiator.
If you mount it to take in cool outside air, the cpu will be cooled best. But the heated air will enter the case and motherboard and graphics card cooling will be impacted.
If you mount a radiator to exhaust air, the radiator will not be as good for cpu cooling because it has heated motherboard/gpu air to deal with.
It is a catch 22 situation.

With an air cooler, it is simple.
Fresh air comes in the front, flows through the cpu cooler, motherboard and graphics card. Then exits the case directly, taking component heat with it.

Also, aio coolers have a more limited lifetime.
The pumps are mechanical and in time, they will wear and lose efficiency.
The liquid can acquire contaminants blocking coolant flow.
Or coolant can leak. While rare, a aio leak can have disastrous results.

Did anybody mention that air coolers are usually cheaper?