[SOLVED] Air cooler equal to 240mm AIO liq cooler?

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Aug 26, 2012
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Is there a air cooler that is as good at cooling as a 240mm AIO cooler (i.e. H110)? Preferably one that doesn't cost as much as the H110.
 
Solution
Noctua NH-D15/S, Cryorig R1 Universal/Ultimate, Thermalrite Silver Arrow IB-E Extreme, beQuiet Darkrock Pro 3 to name a few.

Expect them to be in the $90-$100 range.

Karadjgne

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Most 240mm AIO's are around the 250w+ range. That's the very top end of what's possible in an aircooler. That isn't to say that either will perform better or worse under 250w, that all depends on design and efficiency, but moving to a 280mm at over 250w will show up in the AIO'S favor since the 280mm are @ 350w+ in ability. Don't confuse ability with performance. The Noctua NH-D15 is the single best aircooler on the market and at under 250w beats almost all AIO's for performance and acoustics.
 

Karadjgne

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There's 2 versions. The NH-D15 is slightly older, but, is also the better of the 2. The NH-D15S only has the center 140mm fan, and has an offset base for better ram/gpu fitment. It, however, is only 3-4°C behind the original D15 at max ability, so mostly unless intense cpu loads are run, it'll be 1-2°C behind.

So depending on if your gpu has a backplate, or the pcie slot sits abnormally close to the socket and you have low profile ram, the D15 is better. If you may think you have issues with Ram or gpu, better to opt for the D15S.