[SOLVED] Liquid cooler for i7 9700k

Gypooo

Reputable
Jul 26, 2016
45
0
4,540
Hello there,
Am building a new PC setup and i ran into a confusing part and as the title says its regarding CPU cooler, u see i am from egypt and choices are kinda limited for me for the brands that are available to me with the retailers so i squeezed it as much i could to a couple of ones am confused between and wanted to see ur opinions here , Cooler Master ML360R/Corsair H115I PRO 280mm/Antec Mercury 360MM.
I am mainly confused with the first two ones as for antec its just a better priced cheaper one yet i cant find any solid reviews regarding that brand so i just decided to add it here incase am lucky with some1 who got that and can give me feedback, i basicly want to know the best AIO of those for a i7 9700k and even in case i decide to Overclock it to 5ghz in the future so i wanna have the best thing out there .

My PC Specs are :
Case: Cooler Master H500M
MOBO:Gigabyte Aorus Ultra Z390
CPU: I7 9700k
PSU: Aorus P850W 80+ GOLD
 
Solution
9700K is as good as it gets for gaming. 9900K is better only if you have a need for many threads for high levels of multitasking.
With a Z390 motherboard and a good cooler you can likely oc to 5.0 on all cores.
Look at the intel performance maximizer app.
https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/intel-cpu-auto-overclock-performance-maximizer,6179.html

Your case is an excellent one for air cooling.
Using a noctua NH-D15 or NH-D15s is going to cool a 9700K as well as you need to.

My canned rant on liquid cooling:
------------------------start of rant-------------------
You buy a liquid cooler to be able to extract an extra multiplier or two out of your OC.
How much do you really need?
I do not much like all in one liquid coolers...

rubix_1011

Contributing Writer
Moderator
The 9700k will clock boost to 5ghz without changing anything, so there is little reason to attempt overclocking it. Most people find there is minimal headroom.

Any of those coolers are fine. Most AIOs are made by the same few OEMs anyway, they are just re-branded with your favorite company logo. Even if they aren't the exact same OEM parts, they are still relatively similar in performance. This is coming from the guy that does cooling reviews for Tom's Hardware....there are few differences between the majority of all AIOs out there. Software (if available) and fans used are the only real variables to provide control or additional airflow.
 

Gypooo

Reputable
Jul 26, 2016
45
0
4,540
wow thats totally new info to me and its so valuable ..... thx so much for ur reply but to get it straightforward from u , from ur words if i buy Antec mercury 360mm since its the cheapest out there i will have similar to no diff performance like a corsair h150i 360mm even if i change my cpu to 9900k for example.......and if its a yes there wont be quality based differences or leak failure to worry about ?
PS: i was originally planning to go CoolerMaster ML360R and i still am leaning towards it a little but ur words changed alot for me to think about

Sry if i am making this long
 
Last edited:

rubix_1011

Contributing Writer
Moderator
I'm just wondering why you would buy the i7 9700k and then buy an i7 9900k? Why wouldn't you just spend the money and get only one processor and make it the 9900k from the start?

There will be very little difference between the 3 coolers, either with the 9700k or the 9900k; the results with any of them would be similar with either CPU since they are each similar in volume in radiator size; the 280 is slightly smaller than a 360.

None of them are likely to leak any more than the others...as I mentioned, most AIOs are very similar in design and manufacture.
 

Karadjgne

Titan
Ambassador
Yes, the rads will be equitable, even the pumps are equitable, so as far as the base goes, they are all roughly the same 350w ish capacity (360mm) and the 280mm is right behind it. Either will handle a i9 9900k or a l7 9700k.

Software can make a difference. I personally have always preferred the NZXT Cam over the Corsair Link, which I found to be pretty buggy, but haven't used the new iCue software yet.

The biggest difference will be made by the fans. The CM ML360R has the others beat by a country mile there. Unless you can get an original, non rgb version of the H115i Pro. The newer version with the RGB fans is lackluster, and the fans on the Antec aren't much better. I prefer my aios silent with decent temps, and will gladly sacrifice a few °C to get silent operation. The difference in gaming at 55°C silently or at 52°C noisily is chump change to a cpu, not even worth measuring, but the fan volume can be an issue.

Don't apologize for questions. Ask as many as you need to. The more you know about your purchase, the more you'll be happier having made the right decision. It's ppl who don't ask, and assume they know what the real deal is that end up buying the wrong thing and being totally unhappy later at the expense. Apart from looking foolish.
 
I would stay away from the Antec Mercury. I had that one and it had a terrible mounting mechanism especially the backplate. The Cooler Master 360mm is great and you cannot go wrong with the Corsair one either. I have the Corsair H150i Pro now and it is just stellar at cooling my CPU...
 

Gypooo

Reputable
Jul 26, 2016
45
0
4,540
I went ahead today to the vendors and saw the available stuff...........and unfortunatly the corsair coolers are all out of stock (which kinda implies to me its best in market and ppl seek that piece alot :D), the vendor then recommended me some sorty of a cooler i never heard of litteraly Cougar Helor 360 i decided to check reviews for that and i couldnt find it on any renowned tech channel or a reddit forum or even on PCpartpicker reviews which raised me suspicious as if this sales man is trying to get rid of bad product yet he was even telling me this cooler is even much better than a corsair h150i and highly rated, i checked its official site tho and i dont understand whats this small fan on the pump supposed to do rly and it feels like it will collect alot of dust.

so i wanted to know what u think of that thing, or my only bet right now is either to wait for new stock for corsair and this might take time or i grab the cooler master ML360R before it runs out
 
Last edited:

Karadjgne

Titan
Ambassador
Cryorig started the fan on pump. Normally with an aircooler, there's either downdraft (like stock) or the fans are big enough that they push a breeze not only under the heatsink, but there's bleed out the sides too. This breeze wafts over the VRM's and other voltage regulatory heatsinks that surround the socket. That's a good thing. Always nice to have any air movement over a heatsink. With AIO's, you have a pump instead. No air movement across that area of the mobo. No breeze.

It's usually advisable, especially for OC, that you strap, ziptie, velcro or even screw a 120mm fan to the back of the hdd tray/optical bays across from the socket. This takes the place of the normal aircooler bleed and helps regulate VRM temps. With the fan on pump design, it's offset slightly to help provide the same thought, breeze across the socket. It's honestly not a bad idea at all, but can interfere with some pump branding rgb.

Don't feel bad, the Cougar hasn't been on the market all that long and I've not seen a review yet either.
 

Karadjgne

Titan
Ambassador
Hah. Found a review. Sorta.
https://www.mmorpg.com/mobile/features.cfm?read=13339&game=0&ismb=1

It's not a fan. It's a flow meter. Which is a nice touch. If that fan is moving, the pump is working, and you have flow. The 240mm went head to head with the Corsair H100i V2, so that's pretty good, the fans are decent and have a goodly amount of mm/h²0, which is good, and the noise at max is decent for a 2 fan setup.

Dunno a verdict on the pump though, it's not your typical Asetek (that's the round ones Corsair likes) , although it could possibly be a modified Coolit (that's the square ones Corsair likes) but looks to be the size that CoolerMaster used (Eisberg) or maybe an AlphaCool design (Eisbaer). Hard to say or even tell from the pics, especially with all that rgb. If it's inhouse, I'd be leary of it, or maybe is just so highly customized it could suffer similar to the issues Deepcool had with its proprietary designs. Seriously in the dark here. Lol.

I dunno, that's a tuff decision. I like the original H150i Pro, non-rgb version, and I like the ML360R, but the Cougar is an unknown. I do own a Cougar keyboard and mouse, and they've been great so far though.
 

Gypooo

Reputable
Jul 26, 2016
45
0
4,540
hmmmm i see :)......i think i will get whats known and can find then and prolly will be the CM ML360R and if am lucky with a corsair h115i 280mm / h150i 360 mm i will grab instead...........now smthing partially offtopic but still part of the "Cooling" category of the thread :)

Regarding the case am planning to get H500M i basicly chose that coz of the cooling capabilities it offers and the main thing that sold me is the front 200MM intake fans but the only bad thing about this case is the not so cool price , so i checked an alternative and had in mind to support 360mm rad on top and found the NZXT H700 and its so much cheaper but i still feel the H500M beats it by miles in regard of overall cooling and airflow so what u think , are they both the same or if i can afford i would best go H500M better ?
 

rubix_1011

Contributing Writer
Moderator
The pump on the Cougar Helor coolers is nearly identical to that used by Enermax...including the pinwheel flow meter on the pump housing, although Enermax's is more circular and Cougar uses a more cubic approach.

I'm reviewing the Cougar 240 and 360 right now.
 
hmmmm i see :)......i think i will get whats known and can find then and prolly will be the CM ML360R and if am lucky with a corsair h115i 280mm / h150i 360 mm i will grab instead...........now smthing partially offtopic but still part of the "Cooling" category of the thread :)

Regarding the case am planning to get H500M i basicly chose that coz of the cooling capabilities it offers and the main thing that sold me is the front 200MM intake fans but the only bad thing about this case is the not so cool price , so i checked an alternative and had in mind to support 360mm rad on top and found the NZXT H700 and its so much cheaper but i still feel the H500M beats it by miles in regard of overall cooling and airflow so what u think , are they both the same or if i can afford i would best go H500M better ?

As to the case, I have the Cooler Master H500P Mesh which is a notch below the M which is the top tier in the range. The case is great with plenty of space. I have my AIO in the top though I have removed the top Perspex piece (the clear acrylic plastic window on the top and replaced with a piece of mesh) to allow a for push pull setup on the H150i Pro. This has made the airflow even better but overall the airflow is great and it runs cool as well.

View: https://imgur.com/Q4RyPE3

View: https://imgur.com/kIU0fL3
 
9700K is as good as it gets for gaming. 9900K is better only if you have a need for many threads for high levels of multitasking.
With a Z390 motherboard and a good cooler you can likely oc to 5.0 on all cores.
Look at the intel performance maximizer app.
https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/intel-cpu-auto-overclock-performance-maximizer,6179.html

Your case is an excellent one for air cooling.
Using a noctua NH-D15 or NH-D15s is going to cool a 9700K as well as you need to.

My canned rant on liquid cooling:
------------------------start of rant-------------------
You buy a liquid cooler to be able to extract an extra multiplier or two out of your OC.
How much do you really need?
I do not much like all in one liquid coolers when a good air cooler like a Noctua or phanteks can do the job just as well.
A liquid cooler will be expensive, noisy, less reliable, and will not cool any better
in a well ventilated case.
Liquid cooling is really air cooling, it just puts the heat exchange in a different place.
The orientation of the radiator will cause a problem.
If you orient it to take in cool air from the outside, you will cool the cpu better, but the hot air then circulates inside the case heating up the graphics card and motherboard.
If you orient it to exhaust(which I think is better) , then your cpu cooling will be less effective because it uses pre heated case air.
Past that, A AIO radiator complicates creating a positive pressure filtered cooling setup which can keep your parts clean.
And... I have read too many tales of woe when a liquid cooler leaks.
Google for AIO leaks to see what can happen.
While unlikely, leaks do happen.

I would support an AIO cooler primarily in a space restricted case.
If one puts looks over function, that is a personal thing; not for me though.
-----------------------end of rant--------------------------

Your pc will be quieter, more reliable, and will be cooled equally well with a decent air cooler
like the Noctua NH-U12s or NH-NH-D15s.
 
Solution

Gypooo

Reputable
Jul 26, 2016
45
0
4,540
The pump on the Cougar Helor coolers is nearly identical to that used by Enermax...including the pinwheel flow meter on the pump housing, although Enermax's is more circular and Cougar uses a more cubic approach.

I'm reviewing the Cougar 240 and 360 right now.

good to know u are reviewing it ... pls tell me ur final thoughts for it and thx for the effort

As to the case, I have the Cooler Master H500P Mesh which is a notch below the M which is the top tier in the range. The case is great with plenty of space. I have my AIO in the top though I have removed the top Perspex piece (the clear acrylic plastic window on the top and replaced with a piece of mesh) to allow a for push pull setup on the H150i Pro. This has made the airflow even better but overall the airflow is great and it runs cool as well.

if just the H500P mesh was available to me but sadly only the h500p non mesh and i read bad shit about that case so i only either go h500M and i will prolly do or if nzxt performs similary h700 i would go for that and save money
 

Gypooo

Reputable
Jul 26, 2016
45
0
4,540
9700K is as good as it gets for gaming. 9900K is better only if you have a need for many threads for high levels of multitasking.
With a Z390 motherboard and a good cooler you can likely oc to 5.0 on all cores.
Look at the intel performance maximizer app.
https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/intel-cpu-auto-overclock-performance-maximizer,6179.html

Your case is an excellent one for air cooling.
Using a noctua NH-D15 or NH-D15s is going to cool a 9700K as well as you need to.

My canned rant on liquid cooling:
------------------------start of rant-------------------
You buy a liquid cooler to be able to extract an extra multiplier or two out of your OC.
How much do you really need?
I do not much like all in one liquid coolers when a good air cooler like a Noctua or phanteks can do the job just as well.
A liquid cooler will be expensive, noisy, less reliable, and will not cool any better
in a well ventilated case.
Liquid cooling is really air cooling, it just puts the heat exchange in a different place.
The orientation of the radiator will cause a problem.
If you orient it to take in cool air from the outside, you will cool the cpu better, but the hot air then circulates inside the case heating up the graphics card and motherboard.
If you orient it to exhaust(which I think is better) , then your cpu cooling will be less effective because it uses pre heated case air.
Past that, A AIO radiator complicates creating a positive pressure filtered cooling setup which can keep your parts clean.
And... I have read too many tales of woe when a liquid cooler leaks.
Google for AIO leaks to see what can happen.
While unlikely, leaks do happen.

I would support an AIO cooler primarily in a space restricted case.
If one puts looks over function, that is a personal thing; not for me though.
-----------------------end of rant--------------------------

Your pc will be quieter, more reliable, and will be cooled equally well with a decent air cooler
like the Noctua NH-U12s or NH-NH-D15s.

DAMN :D thats alot of rant hahaha......i checked the diffs tho between AIOs and Air cooling and i see air cooling is more quiter and can somehow perform better but 2 problems made me stay away from them.............1st is the fact that the Noctua NH-U12s or NH-NH-D15s(which are the way to go air coolers and the best ) arent available for me with the retailers only noctua air cooler for TR4 sockets but there is Cooler Master MA620P and Gigabyte ATC700 .......2nd i kinda feel any air cooler even the Noctua ones or the Be quite or any air cooler out there is basicly a pro dust collector and will be so annoying and hard to clean coz i will prolly need to remove it disassemble it clean it then put it back and from the sizes of these tower air coolers it is not easy for me at all

but ty for ur info and the effort :D
 

Karadjgne

Titan
Ambassador
Sorta. You are looking at a general statement on a specific thing. Aios don't make noise. Fans do. Yes a Noctua aircooler is quieter than an old Corsair H100i. Noctua fans on a Corsair radiator are far quieter than Corsair fans on a Noctua heatsink.

AIO's and aircooling volume is totally dependent on the fans. The Cryorig R1 Ultimate is rated at 2db louder than the Noctua NH-D15. It's also rated at 1°C less efficient. And yet my new Cryorig R1 Ultimate is far louder on my i7-3770K at 4.6GHz to get 55°C gaming than my 6year old NZXT Kraken X61 was at 4.9GHz to get 55°C gaming.

Specific aios were loud, Corsair in general, because they used higher static pressure fans at 2400-2800rpm and not even Noctua can make its industrial 2000/3000rpm fans quiet. Unless they run at lower rpm.

Noise is a matter of fans, not whether it's aio or aircooling. Some aios are louder than others, some aircoolers are louder than others.

Do liquid coolers leak? Yep. It can happen. 98% of the time it's due to users and installation putting too much pressure on the fittings. 1% of the time it's due to manufacturing process. Both happen within hours of ownership. Only 1% of all leaks happen down the road somewhere. And it's only @ 1% of aios that actually leak, but it only takes 1 video to go viral and everybody now believes most aios leak.

I've had a Phanteks aircooler with a warped baseplate. I've had a Noctua aircooler with a leaking heatpipe. I've replaced mobo's busted by heavy heatsinks. But when a cat knocks over the pc and the heatsink breaks the mobo, or when some idiot drops the heatsink onto the mobo during install and tears it up, you'll not see any viral videos on that. A leak in an aio? Better believe that video will happen.

Geofelt is entitled to his opinion, and I can even respect both the person and the opinion, even if I disagree with the extreme bias. It's very lopsided in favor of Noctua heatsinks vrs anything else, and paints aios in the worst possible light while glossing over the fact that aircoolers have serious disadvantages too.
 

Gypooo

Reputable
Jul 26, 2016
45
0
4,540
Sorta. You are looking at a general statement on a specific thing. Aios don't make noise. Fans do. Yes a Noctua aircooler is quieter than an old Corsair H100i. Noctua fans on a Corsair radiator are far quieter than Corsair fans on a Noctua heatsink.

AIO's and aircooling volume is totally dependent on the fans. The Cryorig R1 Ultimate is rated at 2db louder than the Noctua NH-D15. It's also rated at 1°C less efficient. And yet my new Cryorig R1 Ultimate is far louder on my i7-3770K at 4.6GHz to get 55°C gaming than my 6year old NZXT Kraken X61 was at 4.9GHz to get 55°C gaming.

Specific aios were loud, Corsair in general, because they used higher static pressure fans at 2400-2800rpm and not even Noctua can make its industrial 2000/3000rpm fans quiet. Unless they run at lower rpm.

Noise is a matter of fans, not whether it's aio or aircooling. Some aios are louder than others, some aircoolers are louder than others.

Do liquid coolers leak? Yep. It can happen. 98% of the time it's due to users and installation putting too much pressure on the fittings. 1% of the time it's due to manufacturing process. Both happen within hours of ownership. Only 1% of all leaks happen down the road somewhere. And it's only @ 1% of aios that actually leak, but it only takes 1 video to go viral and everybody now believes most aios leak.

I've had a Phanteks aircooler with a warped baseplate. I've had a Noctua aircooler with a leaking heatpipe. I've replaced mobo's busted by heavy heatsinks. But when a cat knocks over the pc and the heatsink breaks the mobo, or when some idiot drops the heatsink onto the mobo during install and tears it up, you'll not see any viral videos on that. A leak in an aio? Better believe that video will happen.

Geofelt is entitled to his opinion, and I can even respect both the person and the opinion, even if I disagree with the extreme bias. It's very lopsided in favor of Noctua heatsinks vrs anything else, and paints aios in the worst possible light while glossing over the fact that aircoolers have serious disadvantages too.


Tbh after this topic popped i went ahead googled and found some cases of AIO leak failures like Cooler Master ML240R & ML240L.
also found some cases with Corsair H100I.

This basicly put the shivers in my heart imagining if that scenario ever occurs to me and i actually never in my life owned a liquid cooler so if i buy 1 now it will be my first , but after reading these stuff am honestly considering staying air cooling tho the prob i face is the retarded retailers here mostly selling high end AIOs and am so limited in top tier air coolers all i can find is Gigabyte ATC700 CM MA620P FSP Windale 6 and Cryorig H7 and H5 ultimate so dunno if any of that would be enough for 9700k or 9900k to keep it safely cooled ?
 
Of course AIO's do fail but let's be honest if they failed that much there would be no market for AIO's. Today the latest gen AIO's are absolutely great. I have been using AIO's pretty much soince day one and have never had a failure...though I am more than sure it has happened to many. Today's AIO, especially from the major players like Corsair, Cooler Master, Deep Cool etc. are very, very good and if you are going to overclock the 9700K then you will need very good cooling so Dark Rock Pro4, Noctua NH-D15 on the air or a 280mm or 360mm AIO...
 

Gypooo

Reputable
Jul 26, 2016
45
0
4,540
After alot of search these couple of days i squeezed all vendors and the only dual tower air cooler i found was the Cryorig R1 Ultimate , NH-D15 will come in stock in like 1,5 mnth :/ so i wanted to know if the Cryorig R1 Ultimate would be effecient enought for 9700k or 9900k as i know ofc NH-D15 is the boss in air cooling solutions but i simply got no choice at this point
 
Last edited:

rubix_1011

Contributing Writer
Moderator
If your argument is that 'AIOs leak' (which is possible), you should also know that heatpipe air coolers can also fail - the heatpipes that contain small traces of distilled water can be punctured or not well sealed and when the water evaporates, they don't cool well at all. They don't 'leak' coolant in the sense that AIOs might, but they still become much less effective.

Trust me, I've tested plenty that had this happen.
 

Gypooo

Reputable
Jul 26, 2016
45
0
4,540
hmmmmm , i would not argue tbh in that with u for sure coz am 100% positive u know more at his part than me but the thing is:
1)AIOs dont leak more often for sure but there exists this chance of failure no matter how low is it 1%,0.5% but it still exists so i never know if am the unlucky person who will get RNG proc for me when i buy and also any leak is always coz of the consumer fault most of the times and since am 1st time getting an AIO i might fk up with a big chance, so basicly getting an AIO to me is like me becoming a surgery and every time for example i open the case up to clean i have to go surgery mode 1 mistake might be the burn of my entire money :(

2)I am positively an OCD person a bit not in the extreme way as i went to psychatrist when i young in my early ages and got it addressed but part of me still remains this so when i basicly saw a couple of vids of the AIOs i mentioned of leaks and how it look it got me frozen in place and went horrified so i have a psycho effect maybe of having a phobia.

3)I also realize Corsair or Cooler Master will cover up the damages in case of this horror incident occurs but am in egypt and from my knowledge there aint an agent for them here operating so if i became the unlucky person of this happening to me i basicly need to ship my case abroad for them to see since ofc i am under international warranty and this wont be cool coz of the shipping fees i will spend.



4) Regarding what u pointed out about heatpipes might cause a prob too and thats new info to me :)....but i think if that occurs all i will get is bad cooling which i will eventually realize early and just replace the cooler but an AIO leak incident will fk my entire PC , thats my personal thought tho:)

Lastly and sry for making this post that long , recaping all what i just pointed to u if u manage to assure me and or if i just relax a little bit about AIOs i will get the most expensive high quality one to be in the safe side and that will be Corsair H150I else i think am going the Cryorig R1 Ultimate
 

rubix_1011

Contributing Writer
Moderator
A bit difficult to follow, but I'll make my best attempt:

1) Yes, leaks are possible. They are possible with anything that contains water or liquid, from CPU coolers, coffee cups and bath tubs. The possibility of leaks depends on QA testing and quality of parts. A single AIO cooler (pump, block, radiator, tubing, fittings, fans, etc) can cost as much as a single custom watercooling pump, a single custom watercooling radiator or a single custom watercooling block. This should give you some indication as to the level of quality by comparison between custom watercooling and AIO liquid cooling...both are technically 'liquid cooling solutions', much in the same way a Honda and a Mercedes are also both automobiles.

2) OCD has nothing to do with it, but if it is how you are validating your decision-making process, that is internally for you to process. I am clinically diagnosed as ADHD, but I don't factor that into how I shop for parts. Also, OCD is not the same as having a phobia due to fear or lack of knowledge, there is a distinct difference.

3) There is likely an international claims policy that you would utilize and which likely would not require you to ship your entire PC to someone. If you have more questions on these details, my recommendation would be to contact them and seek exact wording for this type of coverage to your location.

4) Heatpipe coolers can fail. Fans on coolers can fail. Coolers can leak. Factory installed Intel push-pin heatsinks can pop loose.

Anything that can happen has the ability to happen. If you are going to live in a constant state of fear, then you are choosing to live in a state of being uninformed. The information on what happens when a cooler fails is readily available on the internet. CPUs do not burst into flames or melt down. Motherboards and CPUs have thermal fail-safes that if they reach certain temperatures, they just 'shut themselves off'.

So, the fears you are creating are your own misconceptions of what you should be afraid of. My recommendation would be to begin to Google the theories you have on 'what happens if....' and make a point to understand how the modern computer copes with different types of malfunction and failure, rather than just assuming every possible incident results in a catastrophic ending.

No one here is in any position to reassure you of anything - that is for you to do for yourself. Be an informed consumer; be an educated PC engineer to the best of your ability. You have this power for yourself - choosing to use it is your decision.