[SOLVED] Gigabyte Aorus 360 AIO vs Corsair H115i RGB Platinum

alt3ri5

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Dec 11, 2011
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Hey Guys,

I'm currently running a i7 9700k (stock speeds) with an MSI RTX 2080 Gaming X Trio in a Coolermaster Q300L case using a Coolermaster ML120R AIO (Rear mount-due to space) and get temps of between 70°-80° on average when playing Warzone.

I'm migrating to a Fractal Design Meshify S2 Case and I'd like to upgrade my AIO. I'd like to find out which AIO would be better for thermals when gaming between the Gigabyte Aorus 360 AIO and the Corsair H115i RGB Platinum. I like the look of the Aorus 360 but I'm concerned of the performance, I know it has a bigger rad and 3x 120mm fans vs the smaller rad and 2x 140mm fans of the Corsair H115i RGB Platinum but the fan CFM is also much less.

Which AIO would you recommend (unfortunately South Africa has limited brands so NZXT and EVGA are not brought in)

Thanks.
 
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Solution
Theoretically, the Gigabyte 360 CLC should cool better, BUT-
A)If you're just going to run the 9700K at stock, either one is going to be a waste - they will cool about the same, and you'd likely be better served with an air cooler for longevity and cost.

B)Diminishing returns with 'overkill' cooling.
Even if you choose to overclock it, you're still not going to be pushing either very hard.
280mm coolers are designed for 300w of heat, and 360mm for 350w of heat, but the 9700K, even with a nice 5.0ghz OC under a Prime 95 stress test, still doesn't come close to the 300w tolerance of the 280mm cooler.
One cannot see what a cooler is truly capable of if they don't push it, so both coolers will yield similar thermals.

At this point...

Liudom

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Dec 9, 2012
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There isn't a huge difference in cooling potential between a 280 and a 360 rad tbh.
Ive never used a Gigabyte but I have had a 360 and 280 AIO's before and not really seen much change, just went for looks in the end.

In terms of brand, I went with the H115i Plat Corsair before my custom loop upgrade and it worked pretty glorious for me, the ML14 Pro's are pretty powerful.
I had this on my 3700x and never went above 50 (Ambient around 20) during load.
I even put a 280mm on my GPU and it never went above 50 too under heavy load.

This is just my opinion after testing both rad sizes in the past.
 

Phaaze88

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Theoretically, the Gigabyte 360 CLC should cool better, BUT-
A)If you're just going to run the 9700K at stock, either one is going to be a waste - they will cool about the same, and you'd likely be better served with an air cooler for longevity and cost.

B)Diminishing returns with 'overkill' cooling.
Even if you choose to overclock it, you're still not going to be pushing either very hard.
280mm coolers are designed for 300w of heat, and 360mm for 350w of heat, but the 9700K, even with a nice 5.0ghz OC under a Prime 95 stress test, still doesn't come close to the 300w tolerance of the 280mm cooler.
One cannot see what a cooler is truly capable of if they don't push it, so both coolers will yield similar thermals.

At this point, you're choosing based on looks.
 
Solution

Phaaze88

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Thanks Phaaze88 that makes sense. Would either AIO drop my gaming temps significantly from my current setup?
What's your idea of 'significant'?
The 9700K isn't temperature sensitive like Ryzen 3000 is, and 70-80C isn't fatal for the cpu by any means.
Your room ambient also plays a role - chassis ambient is always warmer - also where you plan to mount the cooler will too.
 

alt3ri5

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I would say between 50-60 degrees if possible?

Was planning on preferably front mounting it with the fans on the right hand side of the radiator with tubes at the bottom if it’ll reach, else top mount as an exhaust. Any suggestions there?
 

Phaaze88

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I would say between 50-60 degrees if possible?
That might be a bit of a stretch...

Was planning on preferably front mounting it with the fans on the right hand side of the radiator with tubes at the bottom if it’ll reach, else top mount as an exhaust. Any suggestions there?
Yeah... front mount with the tubes down isn't happening; tubing isn't long enough to reach that far down. It'll have to be tubing up.
That leaves top mounted, but it's a tad bit worse for thermals, since gpu exhaust will be passing through it.