Water cooling question

[megaballzdeep]

Ive never used an aio liquid cooler before just a couple questions.

1. how long do they last usually.
2. What maintenance do i do if any.
3.I will be doing a red and black build and i found a deepcool gamerstorm 240ex on sale matches the build is the right size for my case and seems to have good reviews any thoughts

 

[n0ns3ns3]

there are two types of AiO.
sealed - like corsair/nzxt/deep cool. they supposed to last 3-5 years and they are not maintainable. Deepcool is on the lower end
Open AiO like alphacool, fractal design, EK Predator, Swiftech - those have longer lifespan, customizable and can be maintained if needed. they are basically pre-assembled and prefilled custom loops.

 

[megaballzdeep]

I picked it because i dont really want to pay more than $80 also my build will be in a micro atx case so wanted to save room. If there is an air option that will be better and is mid sized so doesnt take much room would like that also. I think my case can have up to 160 but like i said id prefer a mid sized cooler if there is one that would perform better

 

[n0ns3ns3]

I'm not really into air coolers. the good ones are noctua. it really depends on what you are going to cool and how good is the airflow in your case.
this one was on sale for 95$ http://www.swiftech.com/H220-X.aspx
the H220-X2 is also happens to be on sale for ~110$
there is no air cooler that can beat them.
they also come with few colors dye - so you can customize them. did i mentioned they come with led ?
in addition they are the smallest AiO in the class - i mean the surface so no problem to mount.

 

[SinxarKnights]

Aww man wish I would have seen the H220-X2 on sale a few weeks ago. I got the h115i instead as I was on a very tight budget. Oh well, the h115i works fine as a sealed AIO with a hefty OC.

If you want good air cooling, i hear good things about the Dark Rock Pro and the Noctua NH-D15. From my bit of research it seems you need a good AIO to beat air cooling, then it is only slightly. Most small rad products seem to fare far worse than good air coolers in reviews.

 

[n0ns3ns3]

^ Actually any decent AiO will beat the a AiR in temperatures (Arctic Liquid Freezers are very affordable and very good performers).
it takes a good AiO to beat the air coolers in BOTH temperature and noise.
And there is nothing you can do to beat the air coolers in reliability
P.S.
H115i is a good AiO for what it is - sealed AiO. If i were into shopping for one, it would be right after:
1. Fractal Design Kelvin 24
2. Alphacool eisbaer
3. Arctic Liquid Freezer 240
Well ... actually only Arctic is sealed