Discussion What is your preference for cooling your CPU ?

[JasonovichClone]

I was since I started this hobby, a person who attached air fan onto the CPU, water and electricity is asking for trouble, yes?

I must admit I was swayed by aesthetics of AIO water cooling more so than the advantages, this is appropriate with dual chamber PC cases not so much, if you have a non-display enclosure.

My main gripe with air cooling, particularly those for heavy duty applications, big unwieldy cooper pipe tube towers sometimes depending on your motherboard format, may impede access to other components, particularly the dram slots and adjacent header pins, and also worth noting; if you have mATX or an ITX MB, its not always possible to vertically mount your GPU if you decide to go with air CPU fan cooling . With each successive generation of CPU's getting hotter and hotter and drawing more power, this negates the validity of air cooling. Some may argue the 14900KS needs something more than a standard AIO, like a long tube attached to an iceberg.

There's always pro's and cons with both. It's unusual for AIO's to leak but I would recommend replacing your AIO after 5 years, you may wish to hold on until the pump fails. I guess my paranoia tells me, don't wait for your CPU to cook, get rid of it before it starts going wrong.
Air cooling also have their fair share of problems, like the horrid grinding noise when the fan ball bearings start to wear out.
Mind you, when an AIO pump is on it's way out, it will sound like your cat scratching the blackboard. I thought I had this problem with my old AIO, which forced me to replace it and became obvious the rattling sound was being emitted from my PSU.

I'm not sure it would be worth my effort to convert my AIO to Custom Loop Cooling, I don't doubt my DIY plumbing skill it just, there's too much maintenance and costs attached to it and no standard framework which allows confidence for those who are tempted to give Custom Loop a try.

Would be nice to share your thoughts on this, are you die hard AIO enthusiast or would you rather stick to conventional air CPU cooling?

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfgzSkDJYaA

 

[Roland Of Gilead]

I was since I started this hobby, a person who attached air fan onto the CPU, water and electricity is asking for trouble, yes?

I must admit I was swayed by aesthetics of AIO water cooling more so than the advantages, this is appropriate with dual chamber PC cases not so much, if you have a non-display enclosure.

My main gripe with air cooling, particularly those for heavy duty applications, big unwieldy cooper pipe tube towers sometimes depending on your motherboard format, may impede access to other components, particularly the dram slots and adjacent header pins, and also worth noting; if you have mATX or an ITX MB, its not always possible to vertically mount your GPU if you decide to go with air CPU fan cooling . With each successive generation of CPU's getting hotter and hotter and drawing more power, this negates the validity of air cooling. Some may argue the 14900KS needs something more than a standard AIO, like a long tube attached to an iceberg.

There's always pro's and cons with both. It's unusual for AIO's to leak but I would recommend replacing your AIO after 5 years, you may wish to hold on until the pump fails. I guess my paranoia tells me, don't wait for your CPU to cook, get rid of it before it starts going wrong.
Air cooling also have their fair share of problems, like the horrid grinding noise when the fan ball bearings start to wear out.
Mind you, when an AIO pump is on it's way out, it will sound like your cat scratching the blackboard. I thought I had this problem with my old AIO, which forced me to replace it and became obvious the rattling sound was being emitted from my PSU.

I'm not sure it would be worth my effort to convert my AIO to Custom Loop Cooling, I don't doubt my DIY plumbing skill it just, there's too much maintenance and costs attached to it and no standard framework which allows confidence for those who are tempted to give Custom Loop a try.

Would be nice to share your thoughts on this, are you die hard AIO enthusiast or would you rather stick to conventional air CPU cooling?

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfgzSkDJYaA

Hey there,

Very well written post. In fact, if i was going to post a thread on the matter, this would be exactly it. Very sane and clear opinion. I agree on all the upsides and the downsides of both air and AIO coolers.

I've had air coolers in all my PC's bar my current one. Some air coolers are pretty cool for many reasons. However, I went with a 240l AIO (which is bog standard BTW) which allows me a moderate OC of the CPU and keeps every things bar loading the CPU at or below 65c. I love the aesthetic. For me, it's a cleaner build inside.I don't like clutter. This was also my first RGB build, so I have it like I want it the AIO cooler has nice RGB effects.. For future cooler purchases, I will indeed be going with an AIO. Depending on said build, prob a beefier AIO at that.

 

[Eximo]

Custom water cooling can be a long term investment. High start up cost, but relatively minimal upgrade costs if you re-use components.

I've been using the same CPU block for about ten years (4 CPUs), only retired one pump so far. Used only two sets of fittings (the first set were inexpensive barb fittings, and I still use them for maintenance)

I have replaced my radiators, out of convenience rather than need. But those are relatively cheap.

I would say the only downside to custom loop cooling is the increasing expense in GPU blocks.

 

[CountMike]

As I'm mostly running mid high end CPU which usually require good cooling, air coolers became enormously large and liquid coolers much better. AIO coolers are now reliable and relatively cheap. Radiators can be tucked away and their fans are part of case cooling eliminating need for some of case fans. Custom liquid cooling, although they may cool somewhat better are also a pain for installation and maintenance with extra parts taking more space. They have to be maintained with regular flashing and liquid change, also unduly expensive, looks are their main asset.

 

[drivinfast247]

I custom loop because I enjoy it. My PC is as quiet at idle as it is under load for hours. Not to mention low CPU and GPU temperatures.

My last loop lasted over 2 years without the need for a coolant change. I changed it only because I upgraded some parts.

The BIGGEST con to a custom loop is if you need to pull a part for troubleshooting.

 

[JohnBonhamsGhost]

i first tried an AIO(Corsair 240mm) with an i5-3570K ~10 years ago and was very surprised.
the ease of installation,
the fact that it was much quieter than my old CM 212 dual fan setup,
and lower temperatures along with that quiet aspect.

i was able to get quite a bit more overclock out of that old Intel and after upgrading the included fans to some Noctuas it was even cooler & quieter.

ever since i've used an AIO for my own personal builds.
of course there's much better air tower coolers available these days and with better fan technology you can get a rather quiet setup still with great temperatures with those too.

i've still had quite a few people tell me they're scared to death of liquid coolers and just couldn't sleep at night knowing there was one in their system.
so there will always be a market for both options i imagine.

 

[Crosslhs82x2]

Hi Guy's
I started using Corsair Aio's in the Amd Fx days, and NEVER had 1 leak in any of the 3 different systems they started in or moved to another as I done upgrades.
Those coolers range from a H60 used, H80i,
H100iv2 Rma'd, with H100i, 2x H110i's and the Last H150i Elite Capellix.

During Covid I bought a used Evga Rtx 2080 Ti Ftw3 with a Ek Vector Wblk.
The air cooler was on when tested before purchase and was ran for a year or so then the Bug hit me.

I decided to go water on the gpu but before the installion was finally finished it had morfed to a full cpu-gpu custom loop.
My son's H110i was over 5 yrs and knowing it could last longer, but if I was going to replace it money better spent to me was get a cpu wb and move the H150i to his.

Yes the Cost was way more then most people would want to pay for instant gratification most want these days.
Higher Clocks Cpu & GPU with Way less Noise IMOA was Worth it for me.

I AM D O N E with Aio's!!!!!!!!!!

My son's is now also a cpu custom loop only becuase none of the wb manufacturers are producing or have plans to for the straight Rtx 4070.

So from that situation I will have to do the homework on investigating which cards have wblks available when I upgrade my 2080 ti.
Hoping for it to last till Later rtx 5000 to 6000 series.

LATER GUY'S

 

[CountMike]

Coolant leaks don't mean instant disaster specially with AIOs. Liquid is mostly distilled water which excellent insulator when no minerals present. Other additives are also insulators.
People built a PC in fish tank full of coolant.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyKIZPuepl8