Question What kind of cooling do you recommend?

[Neduz]

Hi y'all!
I'm interested in building my own computer, which will be the first I've built since I was 17 (back in like 2005) and since then I've mostly had laptops. Now I want to build my own desktop again for once and am looking for the best way to keep it cool. My current laptop gets as high as 92 °C when I game and the turbo cooler lowers it by a maximum of 10 °C. So since I haven't been in the loop since back then, what should I think about?
- Should I use a singular cooling system? What kind of system should that be? Water? Fans?
- Should I have several systems installed for better effect, like a pletheora of fans?
- Is it better to use hybrid systems that cooperate well?
- How much cooling can I put in my PC and what impact might it make?

Feel free to make this a discussion, as I'd love to have multiple perspectives on this one. That's why I put this up as a discussion instead of making it a question.
Thanks in advance!
Cheers, Nick

 

[Dj0gany]

Do you have a certain system in mind?
Generally an Air cooler is enough to cool even the most demanding cpu's.
2 or 3 case fans on the front for intake and one rear exhaust fan is perfect for air circulation. Of course you can add more fans at the top if necessary.
Gpus now run pretty cool with their own 2/3 fan designs.

 

[SkyNetRising]

- Should I use a singular cooling system? What kind of system should that be? Water? Fans?
- Should I have several systems installed for better effect, like a pletheora of fans?
- Is it better to use hybrid systems that cooperate well?
- How much cooling can I put in my PC and what impact might it make?

Cooling requirements depend on hardware, that is being cooled.

Decide on your hardware first.
Only then you can match appropriate cooling solution to it.

 

[Neduz]

Do you have a certain system in mind?
Generally an Air cooler is enough to cool even the most demanding cpu's.
2 or 3 case fans on the front for intake and one rear exhaust fan is perfect for air circulation. Of course you can add more fans at the top if necessary.
Gpus now run pretty cool with their own 2/3 fan designs.

I'm thinking of building a high-end PC, so quite the demanding one, and this time I don't want to underestimate the importance of cooling. So enough well-placed fans will be enough to cool it? What temperature can I expect with that kind of fan system during intense gaming sessions?

 

[Dj0gany]

I'm thinking of building a high-end PC, so quite the demanding one, and this time I don't want to underestimate the importance of cooling. So enough well-placed fans will be enough to cool it? What temperature can I expect with that kind of fan system during intense gaming sessions?

As the poster above me said ^
You need to build a system first, then you can decide on cooling.
Whats ur budget for this build?
Is gaming going to be the main usage?
Monitor resolution?

 

[Neduz]

Cooling requirements depend on hardware, that is being cooled.

Decide on your hardware first.
Only then you can match appropriate cooling solution to it.

As the poster above me said ^
You need to build a system first, then you can decide on cooling.
Whats ur budget for this build?
Is gaming going to be the main usage?
Monitor resolution?

I'm thinking the budget somewhere between $2000-$3000 and gaming, image editing, video editing and music production will be the main purpose of the setup. I'm thinking RTX.

 

[Dj0gany]

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D 4.2 GHz 16-Core Processor ($659.00 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D15 chromax.black 82.52 CFM CPU Cooler ($119.95 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte X670 AORUS ELITE AX (rev. 1.0) ATX AM5 Motherboard ($260.55 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance RGB 64 GB (2 x 32 GB) DDR5-6000 CL40 Memory ($209.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 980 Pro 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($129.99 @ Adorama)
Video Card: Gigabyte GAMING OC GeForce RTX 4080 16 GB Video Card ($1159.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Lian Li LANCOOL 216 ATX Mid Tower Case ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair RM850x (2021) 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($147.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $2787.45
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-08-29 06:10 EDT-0400

Something like this would be optimal.
Optionally you could go for an AIO, but this air cooler is enough.
2TB should be enough for now, you can always add more storage.

 

[Lafong]

Hi y'all!
I'm interested in building my own computer, which will be the first I've built since I was 17 (back in like 2005) and since then I've mostly had laptops. Now I want to build my own desktop again for once and am looking for the best way to keep it cool. My current laptop gets as high as 92 °C when I game and the turbo cooler lowers it by a maximum of 10 °C. So since I haven't been in the loop since back then, what should I think about?
- Should I use a singular cooling system? What kind of system should that be? Water? Fans?
- Should I have several systems installed for better effect, like a pletheora of fans?
- Is it better to use hybrid systems that cooperate well?
- How much cooling can I put in my PC and what impact might it make?

Feel free to make this a discussion, as I'd love to have multiple perspectives on this one. That's why I put this up as a discussion instead of making it a question.
Thanks in advance!
Cheers, Nick

I'd certainly decide on the CPU and case before getting bogged down in finer details of cooling. Pay attention to case design as it affects airflow.

Not sure what a "singular cooling system" is.

5 case fans aren't necessarily better than 3 or 4. You can experiment a bit after it is built and adjust accordingly. Standard default first attempt might be 2 intakes if case permits, and a single exhaust at the back.

Some cases have fan mounts at the top or bottom. You'd have to experiment to judge how useful they are.

Some cases have NO front intake fan mounts; I'd be wary of that. Most cases have at least 3 fan mounts and that could be enough.

I'd try to ensure that all case fan mounts can accept 120 mm or larger fans. That's normally easy to find.

Your case will likely include fans of some types. May as well go with the stock setup and evaluate it. Modify later if unhappy. Or splurge on fan upgrades without even evaluating supplied case fans. Personal choice depending on your budget.

The better air coolers are circa 160 mm tall. Your case needs to be wide enough to accept your chosen cooler. Check the case specifications to determine maximum acceptable cooler height.

You may be totally indifferent to case fan noise. Or not. That might be a factor in your eventual fan choice. Fans get noisier as they creep above 1500 rpm. Might not bother you at all.

Recent generation CPUs tend to lead to higher temps than prior generations. You might find that tough to take and think acceptable temps are "too high". Temperature anxiety that can be difficult to treat.

Suppose your temps are X with a set of components. How much time, trouble, and expense are you willing to spend to drive temps down another 5 degrees. At what point would you say "that's good enough"? Personal decision.

 

[geofelt]

Your budget buys you a i5-13600K to i9-13900K class processor.
Cooling of such processors does not require as much cooling as you might think.
Read this on cooling a 13900K with less than top cooling:

Core i9-13900K Cooling Guide: Testing Intel's Flagship With Budget Air and Big AIOs

The Core i9-13900K can push even the most capable liquid coolers to their limits, but you don’t lose that much performance if you go with budget-priced air cooling.

www.tomshardware.com

In video form:

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


You do not invest in an air cooler.
You rent one.
They do not last forever and when they fail you need to replace it.
Plan on 5 years