[SOLVED] Liquid or Air cooling for my PC?

[brotherwhoneedshelp]

Noticed the Corsair Cooling Hydro H115i PRO RGB on sale for 99€ because of Black Friday, but can't decide whether I should pick it or the Noctua NH-D15 for 109€.

Whats the best choice for my system? And if liquid cooling whats the best config to run?

What are the cons and pros for both?

How about some good alternatives like Noctua NH-U12S chromax.black?



System:
Lian Li pc o-11 dynamic with three Noctua NF-F12 PWM chromax.black.swap mounted on the side
Asus Rog Strix x470-F Gaming
Asus Rog Strix 2080 super
Ryzen 7 3700X with stock cooler (this thing is pretty loud and annoying during temp spikes)
G.skill Trident Z Neo 3600MHz CL16
PSU EVGA SuperNOVA G3 750 W


Thanks everyone in advance

 

[richiestang_78]

Air and liquid AIOs are more about personal choice then anything. Theres several videos and forums about the subject but the consensus is that a high quality air cooler will typically outperform most of the popular AIOs by a few degrees.

Personally I'm not a fan of AIOs. They all eventually get gummed up and need replacing and the risk of a leak while low is still powsible.

If your case can support the D15 get it, its big but it quiet but does a fantastic job cooling

 

[brotherwhoneedshelp]

Air and liquid AIOs are more about personal choice then anything. Theres several videos and forums about the subject but the consensus is that a high quality air cooler will typically outperform most of the popular AIOs by a few degrees.

Personally I'm not a fan of AIOs. They all eventually get gummed up and need replacing and the risk of a leak while low is still powsible.

If your case can support the D15 get it, its big but it quiet but does a fantastic job cooling

I'm afraid the D15 will cover my pretty ram sticks too much . How about the Noctua NH-U12? Will it be quiet and cool enough for the 3700x?

 

[TJ Hooker]

Could also look at the NH-D15S. Basically a D15 without the 2nd fan, so it doesn't obstruct the RAM slots as much.

 

[brotherwhoneedshelp]

Could also look at the NH-D15S. Basically a D15 without the 2nd fan, so it doesn't obstruct the RAM slots as much.

Color and availability...

 

[vMax]

Just to give another point of view on AIO's. I have used AIO's pretty much from the beginning with the first Corsair AIO. In all that time I have never had an AIO fail though I am sure this has happened to a few. AIO's have gotten much, much better especially by the majors in Corsair, NZXT, Cooler Master, DeepCool etc. and they all have fairly decent warranties and have now been reviewed to death over the years with very positive results across the board.

As to why I went AIO? Well I wanted to get away from a huge chunk of metal hanging of my CPU as I tend to overclock and wanted maximum performance. AIO's keep the CPU area clear and keeping the fans and radiator clean is a very simple quarterly exercise in just keeping it clear of dust. As importantly with a decent set of fans you get maximum cooling at very decent sound levels with mine running always in quiet mode and the only time you will hear the fans are when I bench test using Prime95 or Aida65, for gaming and my light workloads like editing, they are fairly quiet.

On to performance, a good 280mm or 360mm will tame even a 9900K and that runs hot and will still allow for overclocks to 5GHz.

Air cooling is great with very low maintenance other than a occasional dusting and keeping the fans clean and they provides great performance especially something like the mighty Noctua NH-D15 but I would not just discount an AIO as gumming and leaks are far and few between in fact only the Enermax AIO suffered 'gumming and blocking' not the Corsair or any other manufactures for that matter. Yes they do have a use by date but they should last a good 5 years before needing to be replaced and that is Corsairs 5 years warranty....

 

[TJ Hooker]

only the Enermax AIO suffered 'gumming and blocking' not the Corsair or any other manufactures for that matter.

Just an FYI, Corsair and most other brands don't actually make their own AIOs. They just slap their label on products made by one of only a handful of AIO OEMs. It does look like Enermax uses a different OEM than Corsair though.
https://www.gamersnexus.net/guides/2122-who-actually-makes-liquid-coolers-oems

 

[vMax]

Just an FYI, Corsair and most other brands don't actually make their own AIOs. They just slap their label on products made by one of only a handful of AIO OEMs. It does look like Enermax uses a different OEM than Corsair though.
https://www.gamersnexus.net/guides/2122-who-actually-makes-liquid-coolers-oems

Yep most are Asetek pumps and the newest are Gen 6 pumps which are more than okay...the warranty is still all Corsair.

 

[brotherwhoneedshelp]

Yep most are Asetek pumps and the newest are Gen 6 pumps which are more than okay...the warranty is still all Corsair.

Just an FYI, Corsair and most other brands don't actually make their own AIOs. They just slap their label on products made by one of only a handful of AIO OEMs. It does look like Enermax uses a different OEM than Corsair though.
https://www.gamersnexus.net/guides/2122-who-actually-makes-liquid-coolers-oems

Air and liquid AIOs are more about personal choice then anything. Theres several videos and forums about the subject but the consensus is that a high quality air cooler will typically outperform most of the popular AIOs by a few degrees.

Personally I'm not a fan of AIOs. They all eventually get gummed up and need replacing and the risk of a leak while low is still powsible.

If your case can support the D15 get it, its big but it quiet but does a fantastic job cooling

What about Be quiet! products like the dark rock 4

 

[vMax]

What about Be quiet! products like the dark rock 4

The Be Quiet Dark Rock series including the Pro are excellent coolers.

 

[geofelt]

Unfortunately, the specs for your lian li PC-O11 case say 155mm limit for an air cooler.
That leaves out the noctua coolers.

I might suggest the cryorig H7 plus at 145mm.
https://www.newegg.com/cryorig-air-...7&cm_re=cryorig_h7-_-9SIA85VAED2351-_-Product

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