Which Liquid Cooler Would Be The Most Suitable Option?

thomas360mobi

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Jan 4, 2018
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Hi, I was just wondering what would be a better buy.
I am planning on having a Ryzen 5 1600x, and overclocking it.
I also decided I want all-in-one liquid cooling.
My motherboard is an Asus ROG Strix B350-F.

The coolers I were considering were:

1. Cooler Master MasterLiquid ML240L RGB
2. Corsair H60
3. Corsair H100x

I liked the Cooler Master because of the Aura Sync compatibility, but I'd much rather have a better cooler over looks.

Also, please suggest other great options!

 
Solution
I would figure out which case. As that will determin max radiator size.

If it can fit, H100i v2 is in your budget. Other than that if you are dead set on AIO the H80 I personally wouldn't get anything else.

However, I think a decent air cooler would be better than an H80. With that budget you can afford any of the top-end air coolers.
Other information is required.

1. What is your case, as that is the only determining factor in what you can and can't use.
2. What is your budget.

I think that the NZXT Kraken line exceeds all of those in both performance and looks. However there are better coolers. The EVGA CLC 280 and Corsair Hydro H115i are both slightly better (or at least are on par with) the Kraken X62, and I believe cheaper (at least in the US), even though they are pretty basic looking. I personally prefer Corsair AIO's to anything else, but half my build is Corsair so I may be a bit biased.

My H115i (not the Pro) keeps my stock 8700k under 70C even during Prime 95 small FFT's in quiet mode. (pump running 50%) My fans are Corsair ML140's and they only go up to about 1400rpm (on a custom curve) For gaming they don't go over 50% speed (roughly 900-1000 rpm) and are able to keep the 8700k under 60C at gaming loads. So it's a pretty beastly cooler all around and my closed rig is dead silent while gaming.
The same cooler kept my 6700k, 4.7GHz, 1.4v, under 60C gaming, and under 90C torture loads. (It heated up significantly more under torture loads than the 8700k for some reason.)
Just my 2 cents.

 
I would figure out which case. As that will determin max radiator size.

If it can fit, H100i v2 is in your budget. Other than that if you are dead set on AIO the H80 I personally wouldn't get anything else.

However, I think a decent air cooler would be better than an H80. With that budget you can afford any of the top-end air coolers.
 
Solution


I have the H80i v2 and it's essentially a 240mm regualr cooler as it is double thick.
 


Of course it will outperformed it's only equivalent to a 240mm. And radiator size is the most important thing regarding performance assuming everything else is adequate. It's where the heat is removed from the system.
 


Completely does not work like that. While it does give more surface area than a normal 120mm radiator, the thickness makes it harder to push air through, and two fans working in a push/pull are not the same as 2 fans pushing (or pulling) through 2 separate surface areas.
 


That's why it beats larger coolers then?

https://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/7272/corsair-hydro-h80i-gt-high-performance-liquid-cpu-cooler-review/index7.html
 


Yes it does. With the fans on "F-16", but also in some cases with some 240's that aren't as good. Theres also plenty of air coolers that beat it (ie Noctua NH-D15) without the fans on takeoff mode.
 
Cooler size IS NOT everything not even a big part honestly lol. H115i Pro (280mm) gets outperformed by the H110i v2 (240mm) because the 3rd gen Corsair coolers are trash lol. Heck, even the H150i Pro (360mm) can't beat the H100i v2.

The EVGA CLC 280 and Corsair H115i are probably the two best AIO coolers you can buy regardless of size. And that might even be because the stock fans on the H115i suck, I feel it is underrated heavily. Like I said mine (with ML140 Pros) keeps my 8700k well under 70C even at torture loads on quiet mode. The Tom's review and their Alphacool Eisbaer 420 didn't even do that. Maybe silicon lottery but still. Never had a single issue with my H115i.
 
I7 3770k @4.9GHz 1.32v p95 26.6 small fft. Kraken x61. Silent mode 74°C. Performance mode 69°C. 5°C not worth the noise.

And that's the issue. Corsair in particular with older gen coolers slapped them with upto 2800rpm fans, extremely loud under heavy loads, even idle is @1800rpm at best. Yes, they perform quite well at that need, but if you don't need the 350w of cooling potential, like your OC or stock cpu is only pushing 200w at best, then a larger air cooler works just as well, and in the case of Noctua, beQuiet and Scythe and a few others, much quieter. And this coming from an aio preference. One of the single best AIO's was the Corsair H105, even with stock fans, it out performed the h100i v2 in every way.

Fans make all the difference with AIO's. There's huge differences in fan design that are not seen by the cfm or sp numbers. Many case fans with huge cfm, only do so with an extremely broad cone, great for massive air introduction, lousy for rads, and others like the NF-F12 from Noctua, with relatively small cfm are straight cone, so all that air is condensed directly in front, going straight through a radiator, not causing massive turbulence and little actual airflow.

There's also differences in radiator fin spacing, tight packed fins do better with higher sp fans, loose packed do better with higher cfm fans.

There's also differences in ability. As good as the NH-D15 or h100i v2 are at lower wattage output, neither one can handle the high wattage levels from extreme OC or uber high/heavy thread usage.

So it's all a matter of degree, need, ability etc. The h80i comes in at almost identical performance to the h100i v2, until the wattage is close to the h80i max, the h100i v2 has a higher ability and dusts it handily. Same as a H105 is equitable to a h100i v2, until max.

And all that can change with case airflow, airflow restrictions, placement of the radiator, gpu heat, push or pull etc.
 


Air coolers that are bulky, don't fit in a lot of cases, are difficult to mount and are bordering the expense line of good quality water coolers which negates all the advantages of an air cooler which are the price, size and fitting in most cases.

The NH D15 for example couldn't fit in popular cases such as the S340 and the Masterbox lite 5.
 


Correct, they aren't for everyone, thats a 120mm AIO's best asset, its fitment for airflow and to move the heat exchange away from the center of the board especially in certain cases.

Still, you completely ignore the fact that good air coolers (I only used one example theres many others) can outperform the H80 and any other 120 AIO, without sounding like a UFO landing.
 


The H80i isn't a standard 120mm cooler though and is around level with the bulky air coolers.

All good air coolers are obnoxiously tall. There isn't much that outperforms noctuas or be quiets efforts.
 


Ok we got it, it is a good cooler but we are getting off topic here. The point was you said it was equivalent to a 240 due to its depth, its not unless you have the fans on so loud that your across the street neighbor can hear them.