Need a liquid AIO cooler for CPU

[ilikeberrypie]

Been searching for a liquid AIO cooler for several hours now and each one I look at has its ups and downs and I honestly have no idea what to get. I've looker at Kraken x61, Kraken x62, Corsair H100i V2, H105, H110, H110i, H115I and several others that I forgot the name of. I'm honestly lost right now and have no idea what would work best for me. Every time I look at the reviews people are complaining that the pump fails and such, and I don't know if that is a problem with the cooler or the user. All I know is that I want a radiator with 2 fans and so that it fits into the S340 Elite case (front) and $350 for a custom loop is WAY out of my budget (budget is currently $150 max). Could someone help me out please?

Don't know if this is needed but just in case here are my specs: i5-6600k @ 4.0 | GTX 970 | Z170-A Mobo | S340 Elite case.

 

[photonboy]

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-cpu-coolers,4181-2.html

https://www.picochip.com/best-cpu-cooler/ (closer to bottom)

The Kraken 61 is a great choice.

Pumps fail, and the AIO due to liquid permeation of the tubes likely won't last more than five years.

Reliability is probably higher than it appears since it's hard to judge by the comments alone. Looking at an AVERAGE on Newegg is one option.

Otherwise, you should simply get a good air cooler like the Cryorig H5 Ultimate.
https://pcpartpicker.com/product/Ztp323/cryorig-cpu-cooler-h5ultimate

With an air cooler you should use the motherboard fan software from its support site. Sometimes that's ideal for a liquid cooler as well if you can plug the fans into the CPU_FAN header (+ Optional or use 4-pin fan splitter to control two fans via the CPU_FAN header plus mobo fan software).

 

[n0ns3ns3]

although it solved, here are few things that will help you to understand AiOs. most of them are the same crap made by asetek:
http://www.asetek.com/desktop/do-it-yourself/ the only real difference between them beside look is fans.
other crap is made by cooler master, coolIT and some other niche makers like deepcool.
the only AiO that is somewhat worth the money is Swiftech H220 X2.
beside the swiftech (which is basically pre assembled custom loop) all other AiOs are meant to serve for 3-5 years. by then one of the following happens:
1. pump fails
2. liquid evaporates
3. it gets clogged
So unless you have some space restrictions (and with this case you don't - 161mm CPU cooler clearance) you'd be better with a good air cooler. it will do the same or better job as AiO at LOWER noise. it will be also much cheaper and indefinitely more reliable.
If you insist going liquid for ~150$ the swiftech H220 x2 or EK fluid gaming kit would be probably the best choice.
Though for about 200$ you can have pretty decent custom loop.