How reliable is an AIO

[Account123]

I know that the chance of an AIO leaking is very little and that if it does, most companies (Corsair in mind) will replace damaged parts. That is not my worry. My worry is that the AIO will suddenly cut out and my CPU will fry. I don't know what I am looking for. An unknown statistic or advice? I am trying to decide between Noctua's NH-D15 or Corsair's H115i AIO. I heard stories of nearly fried CPUs when a pump just decides to kick the bucket without any notice. I also know that air cooling is much more reliable but really, the NH-D15 is just a eyesore. So, I have to choose between a slight difference in reliability or a slight difference in performance.
P.S.
Even a few decibels quieter and a few degrees cooler (3-∞) would matter to me...
P.P.S.
Thanks for the help!

 

[Darthutos]

well you don't need to buy the dh15 per se. but for example for my i7 5960x, a 1500 CAD (right now) CPU, no way I'm using an AIO or any liquid cooling which might leak or kill that chip.

 

[th3p00r]

I have a Cooler Master AIO MLZ-H92M, very good. You can check it out.
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103230

 

[Supahos]

Aio adds 3 points of failure that a air cooler doesn't have. Also a $50 air-cooler will out perform any sub $115 watercooler.

I refuse to put watercoolers in builds for clients without them signing a "I'm not fixing your stupid water cooler" form. Built 10-12 with them 3 of them now have air coolers due to pump issues.


By contrast the other 150ish builds I have floating around I've put in a total of 8 hard drives all on builds over 4 years old. Never serviced an air cooler. Oh yeah replaced one power supply as well

 

[shoe59]

A failing pump would not cause your CPU to fry, there are protections in place to shut your PC down upon overheating.

An air cooler may actually be quieter than an AIO (not sure on this, have read it quite a bit though)

My H100i has been working just dandy for a few years now, would use an AIO again. I agree that huge Air coolers are an eyesore if you have a side window

 

[photonboy]

1) CPU fry?
That's actually very UNLIKELY as modern CPU's have a thermal protection diode.

2) AIO reliability.
a) PUMP can fail
b) tubes become permeated (may be source of approx 5-year lifespan for some)
c) some AIO's are also too NOISY for what they need to be (pump and/or fan profile)

So...?

It depends on the CPU and how much you want to overclock, but unless you need an AIO I would go with a good air cooler.

My Noctua NH-D14 is about six-years old I think, and even if there was some failure it would be one of the FANS which I could easily replace.

(make sure to get a PWM, 4-pin fan. There are still 3-pin, voltage fans on some coolers like mine that could POSSIBLY be a problem if the motherboard dropped voltage control like my Z77 Sabertooth did. I got it working with a WORKAROUND though.)

3) Compatibility:
a) DDR3/4 memory clearance (height and whether all sticks fit)
b) top PCIe slot
c) other

Also make sure to download the motherboard fan software to optimize a profile.

4) Overclock:
Something like an i7-7700K runs at a high frequency already. You can do a little tweaking with minimal or no added voltage but you can increase the TEMPERATURE by far too much even with as little as a 300Hz overclock.

Pushing the OC to the limit also means much higher chance of instability (and of course the CPU will wear out prematurely). Personally, for something like an i7-7700K I'd run at stock for several weeks to ensure a hopefully clean install, then EXPERIMENT with a slight overclock within the thermal/reliability limits.

 

[Darthutos]

One time After I serviced my computer (spring cleaning) I somehow failed to connect my cpu fan 1 on dh14. My FX 9590 system froze, and I found the culprit. The CPU lives and I'm using it as a htpc right now. however, it burned the mobo so that my network ethernet port never work again. I had to buy an intel nic pcie card.

So basically I'm thinking that if an AIO or any liquid cooling system pump shuts off, it will be the equivalent of not connecting cpu fan 1 and burn your motherboard or cpu. or both.

 

[photonboy]

One time After I serviced my computer (spring cleaning) I somehow failed to connect my cpu fan 1 on dh14. My FX 9590 system froze, and I found the culprit. The CPU lives and I'm using it as a htpc right now. however, it burned the mobo so that my network ethernet port never work again. I had to buy an intel nic pcie card.

So basically I'm thinking that if an AIO or any liquid cooling system pump shuts off, it will be the equivalent of not connecting cpu fan 1 and burn your motherboard or cpu. or both.

Yes and No.
Yes that having no FAN working is similar to a PUMP fail (though most HSF's can work to BOOT and LIGHT USAGE with just the passive heatsink and no fan, but the PUMP is necessary for a liquid cooler).

No that there will necessarily be any damage. Lack of cooling does NOT directly translate to a short circuit frying part of a system.

There are different levels of protection in the CPU, motherboard, and power supply but all three provide protection. In the case of no CPU cooling the system would:
a) start booting up
b) likely trigger the CPU diode temperature detection limit, thus forcing
c) system shutdown

There's a good chance that everything is fine other than the already defective cooler and that replacing or fixing that will allow the system to boot up.

 

[MeanMachine41]

Hi Account123

If you have no intention to OC your processor then an AIO is not required.
The Noctua NH-D15 is relatively quiet of good quality and would suffice for most applications but yes they are ugly bulky units.

I have installed a number of Corsair 100 series AIO liquid coolers and as with any hardware you can encounter the occasional faulty unit. No matter the brand.
A failed or failing unit would not fry your CPU as the CPU and MB have sensors that would shut your system down should the CPU overheat. It is consistent overheating without reaching the thermal threshold that diminishes the CPU over time and that is monitored by you.

AIO liquid coolers with twin or triple fans are not quiet and meant for extreme system builds however you can reduce noise with better fans such as the ML series. My H115i has a slight hum which can be annoying to some however i'm attuned to it and I like it that way knowing it's functioning. All my case fans are PWM which I can control for the quiet moments.

List your system spec and what your intentions are with the system for better advice.

 

[Supahos]

How many faulty air coolers have you run into? (Shipping damage excluded?) Had 2 of the first 5 water coolers I installed go down in less than 12 months. I just don't want to be going back to businesses/homes constantly servicing them so I all but refuse to warranty my work on them. Basically I'm gonna order you a new air cooler and charge the client $100 to install it as a "see I told you so" tax

12 years of building never serviced a CPU cooler even once. Several of my 11-12 year old builds are actually still up and running

 

[Account123]

well you don't need to buy the dh15 per se. but for example for my i7 5960x, a 1500 CAD (right now) CPU, no way I'm using an AIO or any liquid cooling which might leak or kill that chip.

Well, I am also looking for a HUGE overclock, so ... what do YOU use?

 

[Supahos]

A good air cooler

 

[Darthutos]

dh15. I'm not using the led and transparent case fad. Even if my case were transparent, I could care less about a big cube thing, even if it's brown.
I mean who gives a r*p as long as it does its job? No AIO will be able to beat Dh15.
You need a liquid nitrogen for a HUGE overclock. It's all silicon lottery.

 

[Supahos]

https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Noctua/NH-D15/6.html

He's not entirely accurate but you won't get more headroom from a watercooler. (Ignore idle temp tests as minimum fan speeds have more to do with them than anything else)

 

[Account123]

Hi Account123

If you have no intention to OC your processor then an AIO is not required.
The Noctua NH-D15 is relatively quiet of good quality and would suffice for most applications but yes they are ugly bulky units.

I have installed a number of Corsair 100 series AIO liquid coolers and as with any hardware you can encounter the occasional faulty unit. No matter the brand.
A failed or failing unit would not fry your CPU as the CPU and MB have sensors that would shut your system down should the CPU overheat. It is consistent overheating without reaching the thermal threshold that diminishes the CPU over time and that is monitored by you.

AIO liquid coolers with twin or triple fans are not quiet and meant for extreme system builds however you can reduce noise with better fans such as the ML series. My H115i has a slight hum which can be annoying to some however i'm attuned to it and I like it that way knowing it's functioning. All my case fans are PWM which I can control for the quiet moments.

List your system spec and what your intentions are with the system for better advice.

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/Rx6BYr
That is my part list. It will be used for gaming. Any additional help will be appreciated.

 

[Darthutos]

If you already bought the led corsair vengeance ram, there is no other choice but to buy an aio or custom liquid cooling. That is one monster ram in term of height.

edit: LPX or low profile is what we are looking for when buying huge air coolers.

 

[Account123]

If you already bought the led corsair vengeance ram, there is no other choice but to buy an aio or custom liquid cooling. That is one monster ram in term of height.

edit: LPX or low profile is what we are looking for when buying huge air coolers.

I have not bought anything yet. Thanks!

 

[MeanMachine41]

Hi Account123

If you have no intention to OC your processor then an AIO is not required.
The Noctua NH-D15 is relatively quiet of good quality and would suffice for most applications but yes they are ugly bulky units.

I have installed a number of Corsair 100 series AIO liquid coolers and as with any hardware you can encounter the occasional faulty unit. No matter the brand.
A failed or failing unit would not fry your CPU as the CPU and MB have sensors that would shut your system down should the CPU overheat. It is consistent overheating without reaching the thermal threshold that diminishes the CPU over time and that is monitored by you.

AIO liquid coolers with twin or triple fans are not quiet and meant for extreme system builds however you can reduce noise with better fans such as the ML series. My H115i has a slight hum which can be annoying to some however i'm attuned to it and I like it that way knowing it's functioning. All my case fans are PWM which I can control for the quiet moments.

List your system spec and what your intentions are with the system for better advice.

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/Rx6BYr
That is my part list. It will be used for gaming. Any additional help will be appreciated.

You have decent performance potential for OCing your CPU however with the height of your chosen RAM and heat spreader you have in your parts list, I recommend the AIO and a Corsair H115i will serve the purpose better than a large Air Cooler where you may have restricted access to your RAM modules (that's bad news)or the height may interfere.
You would not be able to reach your full OC potential on AIR and don't let any one tell you differently.

Your part list has Corsair Vengeance LED 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 listed. Your chosen CPU officially supports up to DDR4-2133/2400MHz so anything above is considered an OC. Although the CPU scales well it may not recognize your XMP profile so I hope you have some experience with Bios DRAM Timing Control. I can explain more if you wish.

 

[Darthutos]

It's not a debate on whether aio or air or custom cooling will give you better overclock. Liquid nitrogen wins every time on that front.
It's just the peace of mind, aio, custom cooling or air?

 

[MeanMachine41]

It's not a debate on whether aio or air or custom cooling will give you better overclock. Liquid nitrogen wins every time on that front.
It's just the peace of mind, aio, custom cooling or air?

Well thankfully you are not the one who decides where the debate will go and Account123 has asked for additional information on his listed build.
This is relevant information and LN2 OCing is totally irrelevant.

 

[Darthutos]

Meanmachine said:
"Well thankfully you are not the one who decides where the debate will go"

Reply: Nor You.

Meanmachine said: "LN2 OCing is totally irrelevant."
Reply: How is it not relevant? OP did ask for HUGE overclock....

 

[Account123]

Hi Account123

If you have no intention to OC your processor then an AIO is not required.
The Noctua NH-D15 is relatively quiet of good quality and would suffice for most applications but yes they are ugly bulky units.

I have installed a number of Corsair 100 series AIO liquid coolers and as with any hardware you can encounter the occasional faulty unit. No matter the brand.
A failed or failing unit would not fry your CPU as the CPU and MB have sensors that would shut your system down should the CPU overheat. It is consistent overheating without reaching the thermal threshold that diminishes the CPU over time and that is monitored by you.

AIO liquid coolers with twin or triple fans are not quiet and meant for extreme system builds however you can reduce noise with better fans such as the ML series. My H115i has a slight hum which can be annoying to some however i'm attuned to it and I like it that way knowing it's functioning. All my case fans are PWM which I can control for the quiet moments.

List your system spec and what your intentions are with the system for better advice.

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/Rx6BYr
That is my part list. It will be used for gaming. Any additional help will be appreciated.

You have decent performance potential for OCing your CPU however with the height of your chosen RAM and heat spreader you have in your parts list, I recommend the AIO and a Corsair H115i will serve the purpose better than a large Air Cooler where you may have restricted access to your RAM modules (that's bad news)or the height may interfere.
You would not be able to reach your full OC potential on AIR and don't let any one tell you differently.

Your part list has Corsair Vengeance LED 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 listed. Your chosen CPU officially supports up to DDR4-2133/2400MHz so anything above is considered an OC. Although the CPU scales well it may not recognize your XMP profile so I hope you have some experience with Bios DRAM Timing Control. I can explain more if you wish.

I actually accedently forgot to change that. If I use Corsair's H115i, I will use the LED RAM. If I decide to go with the NH-D15, I will go with vengeance low profile RAM. I want to know how long a AIO normally lasts before it dies, if it dies immediately or starts making wierd noises first(so I know to replace it), the chance of it leaking ( please don't just say small), and if an AIO is truly reliable. Remember, this is my first build but I still want maximum overclock. I getting desperate. Thanks for any help you can give!

 

[MeanMachine41]

Hi Account123

If you have no intention to OC your processor then an AIO is not required.
The Noctua NH-D15 is relatively quiet of good quality and would suffice for most applications but yes they are ugly bulky units.

I have installed a number of Corsair 100 series AIO liquid coolers and as with any hardware you can encounter the occasional faulty unit. No matter the brand.
A failed or failing unit would not fry your CPU as the CPU and MB have sensors that would shut your system down should the CPU overheat. It is consistent overheating without reaching the thermal threshold that diminishes the CPU over time and that is monitored by you.

AIO liquid coolers with twin or triple fans are not quiet and meant for extreme system builds however you can reduce noise with better fans such as the ML series. My H115i has a slight hum which can be annoying to some however i'm attuned to it and I like it that way knowing it's functioning. All my case fans are PWM which I can control for the quiet moments.

List your system spec and what your intentions are with the system for better advice.

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/Rx6BYr
That is my part list. It will be used for gaming. Any additional help will be appreciated.

You have decent performance potential for OCing your CPU however with the height of your chosen RAM and heat spreader you have in your parts list, I recommend the AIO and a Corsair H115i will serve the purpose better than a large Air Cooler where you may have restricted access to your RAM modules (that's bad news)or the height may interfere.
You would not be able to reach your full OC potential on AIR and don't let any one tell you differently.

Your part list has Corsair Vengeance LED 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 listed. Your chosen CPU officially supports up to DDR4-2133/2400MHz so anything above is considered an OC. Although the CPU scales well it may not recognize your XMP profile so I hope you have some experience with Bios DRAM Timing Control. I can explain more if you wish.

I actually accedently forgot to change that. If I use Corsair's H115i, I will use the LED RAM. If I decide to go with the NH-D15, I will go with vengeance low profile RAM. I want to know how long a AIO normally lasts before it dies, if it dies immediately or starts making wierd noises first(so I know to replace it), the chance of it leaking ( please don't just say small), and if an AIO is truly reliable. Remember, this is my first build but I still want maximum overclock. I getting desperate. Thanks for any help you can give!

There have been reports of leaking from AIO coolers but very rare. Most leakages come from Open loop builds when not done correctly. Off-course this will never happen with an AIR cooler so if it concerns you that much then stick with AIR cooling.

I have installed numerous AIO Coolers for clients and use Corsair myself. They have a 5 year Warranty and would cover any damage to your system should the unit leak. I personally have never had one leak. I started with a H105 and have had that cooler running approx 14hrs per day for 4years and no problems whatsoever and no comebacks from clients either. As I said earlier, I have had one pump failure that caused no damage and covered under Warranty.
If you want a max OC for your build then an AIO H115i is the way to go.
I take it your not chasing records for OCing so LN2 is out of the equation.?

Please take into consideration all that has been said in your thread as I doubt further reassurance from me will help.