[SOLVED] Aio vs tower cpu cooler.

[Deepwaterlife48]

https://postimg.cc/zLWBkmQW

Right now I have the top down tower cooler wraith prism rgb black that came with my ryzen 7 3700x.

I'm considering upgrading my cpu to the 7 5700x and I thought this might be a time to upgrade the cooler.

I'm looking at the:
msi mag core liquid 240r v2 white.
the Asus rog strix lc 240 rgb white.
the corsair icue h100i elite white.

All 3 are about 110-130 American. As far as I know all 3 are reputable brands. All 3 seem to have solid reviews, all 3 would fit once I removed my top 2 120mm fans amd lowered the rear one a bit. My thermals right now are fine, however I imagine the 7 5700x will run a bit hotter than the 7 3700x so I want to make sure it's cooled.

Is there anything I should be aware of?
As far as clearances, all would fit.
As far as color and design, ship vs mask vs dragon would all work in my build as I already have msi mobo, asus gpu and corsair ram.
As far as sound levels, I'm not too worried about it, the wraith prism isn't really louder than my case fans.

 

[geofelt]

I do not much like liquid cooling when a good air cooler will do.

Your case is a very good one for air cooling with 3 front 120mm intakes. It has sufficient height for a good twin tower cooler.
One of the best deals around is the thermalright peerless assassin which sells for $36. https://www.newegg.com/p/0VE-01P6-00006?quicklink=true
Here is a review:
https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/thermalright-peerless-assassin-120-se
Cooling capability is comparable to a 240 aio.


Do you know that a aio has a limited life?
In time air will intrude, and the unit must be replaced.
Pumps are mechanical and will wear out or collect debris.
While leaks are rare, they DO happen.

 

[Phaaze88]

Is there anything I should be aware of?

They're more expensive than they appear, and I recommend having a backup cooler - preferably air. The 5700X is not supplied with a box cooler, so it's safe to assume the the Wraith Prism is not adequate.
You're essentially buying two or more coolers. Fans fail, but no big deal, as they're cheap. The loop will clog and pumps will fail, it's just a matter of when, which the length of time varies between individuals, and you're expected* to replace the entire unit - save for the working fans.
[It's the cheap and maintenance-free(excluding dusting) version of custom loops.]
If you're obsessed over load load thermals, top exhaust cpu AIO/CLC may have it worse than a tower air cooler. They are on par with tower air when used as front intake. Well, that was my experience with them anyway.

On the plus side...
240mm and larger units give you 2-3 extra case fans; handy for cases that lack fans - though that's not the situation here. Does not apply to 120mm units - one of the reasons they're not great.
There are power loads that the strongest air coolers just can't hang with. That's not here with a 5700X.
So, 2 of the advantages of AIO/CLC are gone.


The main advantages of these coolers are:
-cases that come with no fans or a couple.
-compatibility with Small Form Factor motherboards and cases.
-cpus that use a lot of power under all core loads, and gpus.
[I didn't include ram compatibility here, because there are air coolers that don't obstruct it.]

If you want to go the AIO/CLC route because you just want to, that's all that matters, eh?

 

[Deepwaterlife48]

i can't decide if i want to say screw it. get the white argb thermalright peerless asssin 120 or one of these 3 aio's. i think any of the 4 choices will work fine. it almost makes me feel like, ocd, or something.

currently have 6 uphere argb case fans, msi rgb mobo, keyboard and mouse, thermaltake rgb psu, corsair ram, asus rgb rx 6700 xt. i guess i was partly hoping to simplify things so i dont have to have multiple software programs for the lights and fans.

ordered the 7 5700x today for $186 new. should be a decent improvement over the 7 3700x.