Question Expensive Air Cooler vs Cheap Water Cooler?

[Deleted member 2841972]

Hi,

I could not find an answer for that question. First of all, yes, I have budget for a quality water cooler. I already have a Thermaltake Water 3.0 water cooling and that was the cheapest water cooler in the market when I bought it in 2017. I am still using the same cooler for more than 3 years. I am sure that its performance is equal to an air cooler right now. Doesn't matter if I apply thermal paste again or not, whenever I overclock my i5 7600k, the most problematic thing is the temperatures. While the others are not facing with the same problem, even if they are using an air cooler, I am really pissed to get high temperatures with a water cooler. I've never change its liquid before, and never check its pump. I afraid to do that because as I know, it is really risky to do that on your ready to use water cooler. I don't want to take risk and throw my other components to trash.

This is the actually thing I hate to do and think about it. When I buy a cooler, I don't want to deal with these kind of things like chancing its liquid, etc. That's why I want to continue with a quality air cooler. It is actually a better choice for me because I won't need to worry about changing liquid, checking its pump, etc. Change the thermal paste evbery year and done, nothing more.

So can you please tell me if I could get an expensive air cooler or a cheap/mid-quality water cooler? I really don't want to deal with those kind of things.

 

[Deleted member 14196]

I would never go with the liquid cooler myself I prefer Air coolers

 

[Deleted member 2841972]

I would never go with the liquid cooler myself I prefer Air coolers

What is your reason to go for air?

 

[Deleted member 14196]

The very same as yours long-term longevity and reliability. And of course easy maintenance

 

[Deleted member 2841972]

https://prnt.sc/yppy8o

 

[Rogue Leader]

https://prnt.sc/yppy8o

Per your report, that site does not allow hotlinking. So you can't post it as an image. use imgur if you want to post something as an image.

 

[geofelt]

All aio coolers start with at least a little air in their systems.
Over time, more comes in through the liquid tubes.
That is why aio coolers have a definite useful life.
This is not usually a big issue unless the pump is located at the highest point in the system and that is where air bubbles will migrate.

liquid cooling is really air cooling. The difference is where the radiator is located.
You will find that if the radiator sizes are comparable, so will be the cooling capacity.
For example, the noctua NH-D15s with twin towers will cool about as well as a 280 aio.

What is the make/model of your case?
A good air cooler will need 160mm height available.

Air is usually cheaper and more reliable with no moving parts.
Usually, air is quieter and air will never leak.

There are two scenarios where I would pick liquid over air.

1. In a space constricted case.
2. Where very hot overclocked processors need a 360 aio for cooling.

 

[Phaaze88]

I know exactly where you screenshotted that image from. That video should've taught you something about the pros and cons of both.

I'm sure you've heard of planned obsolescence? Most of those units aren't meant to be serviced by the user. It's the cheap and convenient alternative to custom liquid.

As someone who played around with air and hybrid on both cpus and gpus:

Spoiler

Air coolers
Pros
+superior performance per dollar/currency
+fans are generally the only point of failure
+user can keep using their PC if one or more fans were to suddenly fail; the chassis fans can still provide cooling over the heatsink
+fewer screws involved in mounting

Cons
-there is an upper ceiling where air starts to fall off, in regards to performance compared to hybrids, and that's 280mm
-there is also a lower ceiling where hybrids pull ahead(performance), and that's SFF; basically, chassis that can only support top-down air, but not tower air

Neutral
=shorter time to soak, meaning more temperature swings, but nothing a custom fan curve can't fix
=the size debate: I don't know how some people can say air coolers are bigger, 'cause they're not
=aesthetics(subjective)

Hybrid coolers
Pros
+superior performance over air coolers at 280mm and up
+superior performance over in SFF where air is limited to top down models
+longer time to soak, so fewer temperature swings
+radiator fans = chassis fans

Cons
-awful performance per currency
-extra points of failure: the pump, and some models have a VRM fan now
-inevitable pump failure: the entire unit is to be tossed out, save for the working fans, and the user best have a backup cooler on hand
-can leak: it's not as bad as it once was, but the possibility, although low, is still there - they're more likely to be cause by the user these days
-lots of screws involved in mounting, and it gets worse the larger the unit is(turned out to be a bigger pain in the butt than I though it would be)
-fluid loss over time, meaning eventual refill, but most of the units aren't meant to be refilled
-biocides in the fluid eventually expire, so sooner or later it's going to get clogged

Neutral
=the size debate
=aesthetics

All that said, it's nice to have options.
IMO, hybrids are far more worthwhile to use on the gpu.

 

[bikemanI7]

Local shop recommends AIO cooler for my Intel 10700 system, will be my first one once i get it installed, as most of the quality air coolers i looked at, are gonna be really close to the height limit in this case i have, hopefully all goes well, and AIO lasts me a few years, and think i'll be ok hopefully lol--guess will see once i have it installed

 

[punkncat]

I opted to go with an AIO on my 2700X because the fans were quieter and less rangy after performing "fan tuning". I would not go so far as to say that I had previously installed a premium air cooler, but it was sufficient, just loud.
I have intention on using an AIO with the 11th gen Intel (K) I just picked as well.

 

[geofelt]

Local shop recommends AIO cooler for my Intel 10700 system, will be my first one once i get it installed, as most of the quality air coolers i looked at, are gonna be really close to the height limit in this case i have, hopefully all goes well, and AIO lasts me a few years, and think i'll be ok hopefully lol--guess will see once i have it installed

Local shop wants to make money.
Both from the initial sale, and afterwards for replacing the unit.
Without heavy overclocking, there is little need for expensive cooling. and you can't overclock the 10700.
There is a reason why intel provides a stock cooler.
Past that, unless you will use a 360 aio, a good air cooler will cool equally well.
Air in a good case is quieter, more reliable,will not wear out, and it will not leak.
What is the make/model of your case?
Unless it is unusually compact 160mm will be plenty.

 

[bikemanI7]

Local shop wants to make money.
Both from the initial sale, and afterwards for replacing the unit.
Without heavy overclocking, there is little need for expensive cooling. and you can't overclock the 10700.
There is a reason why intel provides a stock cooler.
Past that, unless you will use a 360 aio, a good air cooler will cool equally well.
Air in a good case is quieter, more reliable,will not wear out, and it will not leak.
What is the make/model of your case?
Unless it is unusually compact 160mm will be plenty.

Case Model: Thermaltake V200 RGB TG Case

2020 Edition

160mm maximum cpu cooler height

 

[MeanMachine41]

Hi,

I could not find an answer for that question. First of all, yes, I have budget for a quality water cooler. I already have a Thermaltake Water 3.0 water cooling and that was the cheapest water cooler in the market when I bought it in 2017. I am still using the same cooler for more than 3 years. I am sure that its performance is equal to an air cooler right now. Doesn't matter if I apply thermal paste again or not, whenever I overclock my i5 7600k, the most problematic thing is the temperatures. While the others are not facing with the same problem, even if they are using an air cooler, I am really pissed to get high temperatures with a water cooler. I've never change its liquid before, and never check its pump. I afraid to do that because as I know, it is really risky to do that on your ready to use water cooler. I don't want to take risk and throw my other components to trash.

This is the actually thing I hate to do and think about it. When I buy a cooler, I don't want to deal with these kind of things like chancing its liquid, etc. That's why I want to continue with a quality air cooler. It is actually a better choice for me because I won't need to worry about changing liquid, checking its pump, etc. Change the thermal paste evbery year and done, nothing more.

So can you please tell me if I could get an expensive air cooler or a cheap/mid-quality water cooler? I really don't want to deal with those kind of things.

It depends on the thermaltake model you have. A single rad 120mm radiator is no better than a mediocre AIR cooler and certainly the Noctua d15 is better.

It also depends on what you want to do with your system? Do you wish to Overclock? If so then an AIO is best in all cases.
Much is subjective and opinions are rampant.

With an AIO you do not change the liquid as they are not serviceable. These days they are reliable and notions of liquid leaks are only used to disparage their use by opinionated AIR cooler supporters.

Water cooling v Air
Air cooling or water cooling? The answer depends on your particular usage needs.

The key to cooling is to get the heat away from the CPU core the faster the better (and not allow its return).

Pros for water cooling.

The advantages of water cooling over air cooling include water's higher specific heat capacity and thermal conductivity.

Water is better because it can absorb way more heat than air can, since it's denser. It's as simple as that really.

Water coolers can be set up in many different ways so the performance can be drastically different using the same hardware depending where the hardware is placed.

The cooler and faster the air flows over the radiator/heatsink fins, the better it will perform.

A well setup water cooler with an external radiator can far exceed the performance of an air cooler that fits within the confines of a PC case.

Water Cooling is quieter, much more efficient, and offers greater headroom for overclocking.

Less weight less strain on the MB. better looking and quieter during general purpose use.

 

[Rogue Leader]

Local shop recommends AIO cooler for my Intel 10700 system, will be my first one once i get it installed, as most of the quality air coolers i looked at, are gonna be really close to the height limit in this case i have, hopefully all goes well, and AIO lasts me a few years, and think i'll be ok hopefully lol--guess will see once i have it installed

Let's not hijack other people's threads. This is someone elses thread from 2 months ago. Closed.