Question Struggling with cpu cooling decision

[Beitzel15]

I want an AIO, but almost all of them have iffy reviews. They’re more prone to failure compared to air cooling but dang they look so much better! If I was doing a cheaper build, I wouldn’t mind but since I’m looking at dropping close to $2000, I don’t want a massive cooler covering everything up.

Looking to get a 9700k when they drop the price. What’s the best/most reliable aio out there?

 

[BeauJet]

Kraken, Corsair, Cooler-master. Good brands, using a H110i Pro v2 right now.

Had it for about 3 years now. Still hadn't any problems with cooling yet. i7 8700k. at high 20C idle and 70c in stress mode.

 

[The prime mediocre]

Most manufacturers stick to licensing designs from Asetek or CoolIT. Problems are fairly rare. CLCs are more complex than HSFs, so they're always going to be less reliable.

Water cooling is ideal for PCs that will move a lot (even room-to-room), because the radiator(s) is (are) fixed directly to the case. If you foresee moving your system around (or shipping it a couple of times) I'd recommend an AIO.

If I had to identify the most consistently recommended model, it'd be the NZXT X62.

 

[Gmoney06ss]

Like said above, most aio use the same pump design. They will all mostly cool the same within a margin of error. The only real differences will be fan design and rgb implementation. I ran a corsair h100i v2 for almost 4 years with zero issue, and only swapped it out as I went custom loop. It served me very well. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it.

Also, based on Intel's trend I do not see the 9700 dropping in price anytime soon. I would just buy when ready, instead of holding your breath for a price reduction which may never come.

 

[Beitzel15]

Went with a cooler master 360. Going in a lian li dynamic