Question how tedious and costly is the maintenance of liquid cpu cooler?

eziowar

Distinguished
Jun 11, 2015
416
14
18,795
[Moderator edit: Edited a single continuous paragraph of questions into individual sentences/lines.)

Hi, for liquid cpu cooler ,

do i need to change the liquid/tube periodically ( like 5 to 6 years or more) and this is inevitable ?

also pumps can stop working right?

also if these types of failures (need to replace the tube/liquid/pump) happen after warranty period , do i need to take the cooler to company's service center and pay for the fix or can i replace those myself at home?

is it possible that tube/liquid/pump would not be availabe anywhere when i would need to replace them?

or can i just use tube/liquid/pump of other companies/model apart from my coolers manufacturer and model like we can replace a broken fan with any fan in cpu air cooler?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Solution
[Moderator edit: Edited a single continuous paragraph of questions into individual sentences/lines.)

Hi, for liquid cpu cooler ,

do i need to change the liquid/tube periodically ( like 5 to 6 years or more) and this is inevitable ? Typically, no. Most are not user serviceable.

also pumps can stop working right? Yes. Pumps can fail. That usually means replacing the entire AIO.

also if these types of failures (need to replace the tube/liquid/pump) happen after warranty period , do i need to take the cooler to company's service center and pay for the fix or can i replace those myself at home? If they fail under the device's warranty period, you would return/exchange the entire AIO, with all of its parts.

is...

COLGeek

Cybernaut
Moderator
[Moderator edit: Edited a single continuous paragraph of questions into individual sentences/lines.)

Hi, for liquid cpu cooler ,

do i need to change the liquid/tube periodically ( like 5 to 6 years or more) and this is inevitable ? Typically, no. Most are not user serviceable.

also pumps can stop working right? Yes. Pumps can fail. That usually means replacing the entire AIO.

also if these types of failures (need to replace the tube/liquid/pump) happen after warranty period , do i need to take the cooler to company's service center and pay for the fix or can i replace those myself at home? If they fail under the device's warranty period, you would return/exchange the entire AIO, with all of its parts.

is it possible that tube/liquid/pump would not be availabe anywhere when i would need to replace them? Consumer AIOs are not designed, typically, to be user serviceable.

or can i just use tube/liquid/pump of other companies/model apart from my coolers manufacturer and model like we can replace a broken fan with any fan in cpu air cooler? Once you make a Franken-AIO, warranties won't exist. It may or may not work as intended. Swapping fans typically would not be an issue. Swapping tubing/hoses/fluid could be tricky since most are not designed to be services by the end user.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Crosslhs82x2
Solution
Are you talking a custom liquid cooler, or an aio(all in one) cooler?

With an aio, fluid never needs t, or can be replaced.
More likely, air will intrude through the tubes and the unit must be replaced.
Pumps, being mechanical devices will eventually fail or get clogged.
Think of about a 5 year time to replace.

On custom builds, parts can be replaced and fluid refilled.
Custom costs much more to begin with.

All, in all, unless your cooling needs exceed what a 280 sized aio cooler can provide, you are better off with air.