Question Is liquid cooling worth it?

[RandomGamer1235]

I'm planning on a building a gaming pc, which will probably include an i7 9700K. so is it worth getting liquid cooling?

 

[jay32267]

I think it's worth it IF you need it.
For instance.....I don't overclock so I just use air coolers and I'm running cool.
Liquid cooling would do nothing extra for me.

 

[rubix_1011]

Liquid cooling and good air cooling often perform relatively similar, assuming the liquid cooling solutions are AIOs or closed loop coolers (Corsair, NZXT, Cooler Master, etc)

Being 'worth it' is something is really only a value that can be defined by you, not by someone else. The question is rhetorical in nature because you wouldn't need to ask if it you already had and trusted your own opinion - the question attempts to validate what someone else believes, usually because you might not have enough information. This is why knowing what you need/want to accomplish is important so that you can determine what you get in response and see how that compares to your own opinion.

In short - asking someone if 'it's worth it' is only a good litmus test if you already have good understanding, yourself.

 

[Zizo007]

I'm planning on a building a gaming pc, which will probably include an i7 9700K. so is it worth getting liquid cooling?

Water cooling is needed when you have high ambient temps like living in a hot place without AC.
Also if you are extremely overclocking you might have about 5% better results on average with better cooling from my experience.

I switched back to air cooling long time ago as it provided no benefit for me, I am in Canada and its cold here, I have AC in the short summer. With water cooling you have the hassle of maintaining it and there is a chance of leakage which can damage components.

 

[rubix_1011]

Water cooling is needed when you have high ambient temps like living in a hot place without AC.

Incorrect. Explain how this is true? Both air and liquid cooling both have to dissipate the same thermal wattage in any ambient temperature range. Liquid cooling is just more efficient in removing the heat load from the component producing it. It still requires ambient air to exchange into the ambient atmosphere, just like air cooling.

Also if you are extremely overclocking you might have about 5% better results on average with better cooling from my experience.

This varies widely depending on BIOS setup, hardware chosen, quality or binning of hardware, but could allow for a higher stable overclock in some instances, assuming the liquid cooling solution has adequate efficiency headroom over air cooling.

I switched back to air cooling long time ago as it provided no benefit for me, I am in Canada and its cold here, I have AC in the short summer. With water cooling you have the hassle of maintaining it and there is a chance of leakage which can damage components.

1) There isn't any indication whether the OP of the thread meant custom watercooling or AIO cooling. 'Liquid cooling' is mentioned, which makes me think it is meant to be AIO, which does not require coolant maintenance...only dust/debris maintenance of the fans and radiator.

2) If someone feels that flushing a watercooling system is a hassle or too much work, then it is likely that custom watercooling really isn't for them.

3) We should identify the differences of AIO/custom watercooling and determine what the thread is wishing to pursue (if any). This prevents misunderstandings.