Question What is the best AIO cooler for an I7-10700k?

[souptime_mp4]

Hi all! First I want to say thank you for taking the time out of your day to read this! This is actually my first post around here. Now I know everyone here probably gets asked this a lot, but what is the best AIO cooler to be paired with an I7-10700k? I currently am running an boost-clocked i7 @ 4.7gHz and I've been trying to find the best cooling method. With my current air cooler (Cooler Master Hyper 212 BE with Arctic MX-4 as thermal paste.) I'm averaging about 77 C with highs of 86 C under gaming loads, about 44 C while on chrome, and 35-40ish C idle. I'm trying to lower that as much as possible without doing actual liquid cooling. I'm fine with closed loop AIO cooling, but I'm not trying to full on liquid cool my pc if you get what I'm saying If you can or want to, please help me out! Thank you so much Have an amazing day!

 

[JohnBonhamsGhost]

what is the best AIO cooler to be paired with an I7-10700k?

that all depends on your current setup.
what case are you using and what radiator mounting points does it have?
what additional intake & exhaust fans do you have?
where is the system; desk, floor, cabinet, etc...

i currently have a 360mm AIO on my 11700K @ 5.2GHz and always remain at good temperatures;
idle: low 30s°C
browsing with many tabs and video along with basic desktop tasks: high 30s - low 40s
modern AAA gaming: high 50s - low 60s
benchmarking & stressing: high 60s - high 70s.
but i keep my fan curves low, maxing ~75% @ 70°C, to also keep noise down.

the CM 212 is a rather low quality cooler these days, even though it used to be quite a beast.
there are much better air coolers to choose from if you did decide to stay with air cooling.

 

[souptime_mp4]

that all depends on your current setup.
what case are you using and what radiator mounting points does it have?
what additional intake & exhaust fans do you have?
where is the system; desk, floor, cabinet, etc...

i currently have a 360mm AIO on my 11700K @ 5.2GHz and always remain at good temperatures;
idle: low 30s°C
browsing / basic desktop tasks: high 30s - low 40s
modern AAA gaming: high 50s - low 60s
benchmarking % stressing: high 60s - high 70s.
but i keep my fan curves low, maxing ~75% @ 70°C, to also keep noise down.

I get dissed for using it, but I have a small case- A Masterbox Q300L-Micro-Atx case. I have a really small build going on in there. It says online I can fit a 240mm radiator on the front of the case. It looks like at most, I can only fit a 240mm AIO strictly to the front of the case. I currently have two fans (both 120mm) on the front, a 120 mm fan on the top of the case, another 120mm fan on the back of the case, and then one more 120mm fan on the Hyper 212 BE. My system is stored desk level but not on my desk, with both fan intake and output being available for fresh air.

So I guess that would limit AIO choices strictly to the best 240mm one.

 

[JohnBonhamsGhost]

Masterbox Q300L...
currently have two fans (both 120mm) on the front, a 120 mm fan on the top of the case, another 120mm fan on the back of the case, and then one more 120mm fan on the Hyper 212 BE

before upgrading the entire cooling system i would first try some simple changes.

get a couple high airflow / high air pressure fans for the CM 212 BE.
have one blowing into it towards the rear
and one pulling out of it also blowing towards the rear.

if the current intakes & exhausts are lower quality fans you may also want to replace them with something with more airflow.
the front should house 2x 140mm.

my go to fans are;
for radiators & tower coolers: Noctua iPPC NF-F12
for chassis intake & exhaust: be quiet! Silent Wings 3

 

[Zerk2012]

I get dissed for using it, but I have a small case- A Masterbox Q300L-Micro-Atx case. I have a really small build going on in there. It says online I can fit a 240mm radiator on the front of the case. It looks like at most, I can only fit a 240mm AIO strictly to the front of the case. I currently have two fans (both 120mm) on the front, a 120 mm fan on the top of the case, another 120mm fan on the back of the case, and then one more 120mm fan on the Hyper 212 BE. My system is stored desk level but not on my desk, with both fan intake and output being available for fresh air.

So I guess that would limit AIO choices strictly to the best 240mm one.

https://pcpartpicker.com/products/compare/8GBrxr,YsHRsY/

For air cooling much better than the hyper 212.

 

[JohnBonhamsGhost]

I guess that would limit AIO choices strictly to the best 240mm one.

the specs for the case state compatibility for 2x 140mm fans for the front,
so you may be able to fit a 280mm radiator in there.

just compare the dimensions with any AIO you are looking at with the space you actually have available.
may need to measure from top to bottom inside the front to be sure.

 

[souptime_mp4]

before upgrading the entire cooling system i would first try some simple changes.

get a couple high airflow / high air pressure fans for the CM 212 BE.
have one blowing into it towards the rear
and one pulling out of it also blowing towards the rear.

if the current intakes & exhausts are lower quality fans you may also want to replace them with something with more airflow.
the front should house 2x 140mm.

my go to fans are;
for radiators & tower coolers: Noctua iPPC NF-F12
for chassis intake & exhaust: be quiet! Silent Wings 3

From everything I'm reading, the 212 is a great cooler, but I'm looking to upgrade to something that'll keep it under 80 C. Whether that be AIO or air cooler is completely fine. I'm just looking to really decrease temps so I can continue to run Halo at >144 fps with 4.7gHz. I cleaned up my room a bit and moved my PC to a different spot so there's more air flow, and it made no difference at all; in fact, it almost made it worse. I ran Core Temp while playing Halo for around 2ish hours and it said the highest I hit was now 94 C with an average of around 84 C. Should I upgrade my cooler? You also listed two different kinds of fans to buy. So buy 5 of the Noctua iPPCs for the cases fans and then 2 of the be quiet! ones for my CPU Intake/Exhaust? Or just the 5 for the case and then a new cpu cooler?

 

[JohnBonhamsGhost]

From everything I'm reading, the 212 is a great cooler

and it was in it's hayday quite a few years ago.
but it cannot handle modern high-end processors.

using it with much better fans in a push/pull configuration with dual fans can significantly lower temps though.

listed two different kinds of fans

the Noctuas are great for high pressure scenarios like radiators and tower air coolers.

but the Silent Wings sacrifice a bit of pressure for silence when needed so they are better for case intake/exhaust because they still offer high airflow at lower speeds.

I'm just looking to really decrease temps

and before spending money on a whole new CPU cooler you can try just upgrading fans all around as i suggested.

even if you end up switching to a new cooler you will still have these higher performing fans to use and lower temps even moreso.

 

[souptime_mp4]

and it was in it's hayday quite a few years ago.
but it cannot handle modern high-end processors.

using it with much better fans in a push/pull configuration with dual fans can significantly lower temps though.

the Noctuas are great for high pressure scenarios like radiators and tower air coolers.

but the Silent Wings sacrifice a bit of pressure for silence when needed so they are better for case intake/exhaust because they still offer high airflow at lower speeds.

and before spending money on a whole new CPU cooler you can try just upgrading fans all around as i suggested.

even if you end up switching to a new cooler you will still have these higher performing fans to use and lower temps even moreso.

So I ended up picking up 3 120mm 3000 RPM fans for the case along with a EVGA CLC 240mm AIO liquid cooler. I've been researching temps with AIO coolers all day, and this one ended up being the most cost efficient + performance balance. The video I watched on it stated that out of 35ish other coolers, this one came in 6th place with an average of 35 degrees C. Not only was it $120 to begin with, but it was 42% off so I was able to get it for $69.99. My plan is to mount the radiator and included fans to the front of this case, and the other 3 120mm Noctua 3000RPM fans to the back of the case and to the top. I might end up just replacing the included fans with the AIO with two more Noctua ones for better cooling. Yes, I am aware these fans are loud, but I don't really mind it haha. I ended up spending around $180 for everthing in total.

In the end thank you for the help with the fans! I appreciate it. I'll reply to this thread in awhile with a link to a picture of the final build with everything installed!

 

[JohnBonhamsGhost]

I am aware these fans are loud, but I don't really mind it haha

the included EVGA fans are loud themselves so replacing them with higher air pressure Noctuas should be a good improvement.
i have the EVGA CLC 280 on an older 8th gen build and replacing it's fans with Cryorig QF140 Performance lowered noise and temps quite a bit.
the iPPC NF-F12 should also drop temps by a good margin on the 240mm.

plan is to mount the radiator and included fans to the front of this case, and the other 3 120mm Noctua 3000RPM fans to the back of the case and to the top.

you want to ensure you have a slight positive pressure inside the case to keep the maximum amount of heated air exhausting and dust from intruding at the same time.

the top allows 2x 120mm fans to be mounted so it's possible that you can also mount this 240mm radiator and it's fans there.
put your 2 new Noctuas on the radiator exhausting out of the top of the case through the radiator and your 3rd Noctua in the rear as exhaust.

then add 2x 140mms to the front as intake.
with a slightly higher RPM and the extra 20mm size you should end up with perfectly balanced airflow and better temps than your current planned setup.

 

[souptime_mp4]

the included EVGA fans are loud themselves so replacing them with higher air pressure Noctuas should be a good improvement.
i have the EVGA CLC 280 on an older 8th gen build and replacing it's fans with Cryorig QF140 Performance lowered noise and temps quite a bit.
the iPPC NF-F12 should also drop temps by a good margin on the 240mm.

you want to ensure you have a slight positive pressure inside the case to keep the maximum amount of heated air exhausting and dust from intruding at the same time.

the top allows 2x 120mm fans to be mounted so it's possible that you can also mount this 240mm radiator and it's fans there.
put your 2 new Noctuas on the radiator exhausting out of the top of the case through the radiator and your 3rd Noctua in the rear as exhaust.

then add 2x 140mms to the front as intake.
with a slightly higher RPM and the extra 20mm size you should end up with perfectly balanced airflow and better temps than your current planned setup.

So it looks like I actually got scammed for the first time on Ebay LMAO! It's all good though, I got my money back.

Instead of ordering the 3000 RPM ones (they're really hard to find in stock without paying large sums of money) I think i'm landing on 3 Noctua NF-A12x25 PWM fans and 2 Noctua NF-A14 iPPC fans. Both of them are 2000 RPM and from everything I've heard, they move air really good without being super loud. The 3 fans are 120mm and the 2 are 140mm. That way, I'll take your advice and mount the 240mm radiator on the top of the case with 2 noctua replacement fans, the 2 140mm ones for intake on the front, and then the spare 120mm on the back for exhaust.

I guess the only question I have left is, if I have the radiator on the top with the two noctua fans, do I have them as exhaust or intake?

Let me know! Thank you!!

 

[Phaaze88]

You do top exhaust.

The IPPCs aren't any better than the regular ones, except if the user can tolerate the higher rpms, or the PC's in a separate room.

 

[souptime_mp4]

the included EVGA fans are loud themselves so replacing them with higher air pressure Noctuas should be a good improvement.
i have the EVGA CLC 280 on an older 8th gen build and replacing it's fans with Cryorig QF140 Performance lowered noise and temps quite a bit.
the iPPC NF-F12 should also drop temps by a good margin on the 240mm.

you want to ensure you have a slight positive pressure inside the case to keep the maximum amount of heated air exhausting and dust from intruding at the same time.

the top allows 2x 120mm fans to be mounted so it's possible that you can also mount this 240mm radiator and it's fans there.
put your 2 new Noctuas on the radiator exhausting out of the top of the case through the radiator and your 3rd Noctua in the rear as exhaust.

then add 2x 140mms to the front as intake.
with a slightly higher RPM and the extra 20mm size you should end up with perfectly balanced airflow and better temps than your current planned setup.

Due to complications with my case being so small and not very efficient with airflow - I made some adjustments in order to make everything fit properly.

Both 140mm fans did not fit with a 240mm radiator on the top, or even when the radiator was mounted in the front, so I just returned them. Now I have 3 120mm 2000rpm noctua fans (1 rear for intake, 2 for exhaust on the top) and I have the 240mm radiator acting as exhaust on the front. In order to make everything fit properly and look nice, I had to mount the radiator in the front as exhaust rather than intake (only reason I did this is because I wanted the fans to be on the inside rather than the outside.

Either way, an EVGA CLC 240mm paired with Kryonaut thermal paste brought my overclocked i7-10700k from highs of 93 C down to highs of 67 C.

I guess my big question would be, is it worth moving the radiator fans in the front/inside of the case to the outside of the case to act as intake rather than exhaust? I'd also have to reverse my rear 120mm fan to act as exhaust instead. Would it make that much of a difference on the thermals?

Also, another question. I read/watched online for a front mounted radiator, you want the tubes down rather than up- which I did. However, because the tubes twisted, it did not reach my CPU. In order to make it reach, I had to flip the CPU part of the radiator upside down to fit, meaning the EVGA logo is now upside down rather than right side up. Does that really matter for thermals or performance? Thank you!

 

[JohnBonhamsGhost]

as long as temperatures are good the only downside is that you now have a high negative air pressure in the case.
this will lead to dust and debree being sucked in through every available crevice in the case.

 

[souptime_mp4]

as long as temperatures are good the only downside is that you now have a high negative air pressure in the case.
this will lead to dust and debree being sucked in through every available crevice in the case.

I read last night about what you said with negative airflow. I'm still a newbie with all that airflow stuff, so last night I did a bit of research. As you said, it was a negative airflow system.

I spent a little extra time and realized what I had to do to make it positive airflow.

So this morning I got up, moved my front mounted radiator fans to the other side of the radiator (so It's on the opposite side of the radiator but its now pulling in air rather than pushing it out) and I flipped my rear mounted 120mm fan the other way. Now I have a front mounted radiator with two 120mm fans pulling in air, two top mounted 120mm fans pushing warm air out of the system, and one rear 120mm fan pushing air out as well.

I played some games and ran a benchmark; and it actually dropped around 3-5ish more celsius!

Now it averages out at around 45-55 C with highs in temp of around 63ish. I will take it!

Thank you guys for all of your help! It means a lot.