Unless you are overclocking, modern parts have been improved to run cool enough under load that liquid cooling isnt necessary. Cookies help us deliver our Services. No. Press J to jump to the feed. If you're in a situation that you need more cooling than that, some of the more rare 360mm AIOs, or a custom loop is basically your only options. Regardless of a specific build though, what's everyone's thoughts on liquid vs air for an enthusiast? Best CPU Coolers For You. AIOs has more component that can potentially fail, whether it's the pump or the connection leaking or the radiator fins breaking. If you are going high end (7700k, 1070, etc), I recommend going ahead and getting a liquid cooler just to show off your premium build. If the fans die. A Hyper 212 Evo will keep your CPU cool and even let you do minor overclocks for $30. However, one of the major things that drive people away from water cooling their rig is the idea that it will be too hard and the stakes are high if a mistake happens. many going for around 40 bucks and supposedly performing better than a lot of the 60+ air coolers. I do love the look of AIO liquid cooling, but when dropping ~$3k on a PC I'd rather mitigate risk if there aren't clear performance benefits to justify that risk. However, liquid cooling a … An AIO (all-in-one) liquid cooler, like you're talking about, doesn't require maintenance. Why would you need to repaste it? To add to this, the reason liquid cooling is considered better is due to radiator size. Pretty sure that's one of the benefits of an AIO is that you dont' need to remove it from the CPU, like, ever. Before we even get into the pros and cons of both liquid CPU coolers and air CPU coolers, first we need to discuss some factors you’ll need to consider before you can determine which style cooler is right for you. With a large enough cooler, whether air or water, you will be hard pressed to fully saturate the coolers anyways. Anyone made the leap recently from air --> liquid or vice-versa? Radiators – essential part of every liquid cooling solution. (I live in AZ and my computer heating a room up + the 120 degree temps outside has always been an issue). Game and Non-Game Tests Included! But in terms of raw cooling performance, especially between a store-bought liquid cooler vs air cooler, the air cooler will come out on top. AIO cooling is a form of liquid cooling where it contains pressurized coolant inside of the loop. Anyone is welcome to seek the input of our helpful community as they piece together their desktop. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. ​Assuming you are talking about AIOs, they perform the same but the AIO will be more expensive. Liquid cooling has always been an overclocking thing. Or the pump failing. This is the place to ask! Is it worth replacing the stock cooler on the Ryzen 5 2600X with a 240mm Liquid Cooler? While air-cooled data centers have served the industry well for decades, they are arguably the most complex when compared to alternatives such as liquid-to-chip, rear-door heat exchangers (RDHx) and, especially, single-phase immersion cooling. With a price tag that sits comfortably under $100, even very modest build budgets can find room for this AIO cooler. Small water coolers will be more effective than similarly sized heatsinks. The statement that any AiO is better than an air cooler is simply wrong. I am getting more expensive performance parts (1080/7700k) but the computer isn't really a showcase thing, more of a performance build. Just replace them with new ones.You just need to dust the heatsink every now and then. ... Like you mentioned though, AIO does looks way nicer and it can be a lot less bulky than a high performance air cooling solution. Watercoolers are loud because the … I've always gone with air, because the difference is pretty mild when you factor in the time it takes to make a water loop, and the low level component danger involved, and the negligible difference in sound, and the fact that you could use the money and time it would take to get a water cooled rig, and just get better components in a cheap, functional case. This isn't really true. This method transfers heat away from the CPU via the coolant, and the coolant returns back to … But liquid cooling will be more expensive, in most cases. A broken fin does not affect the engine much. The trickier bit is making the decision to use one or the other. If you’re unsure whether you want air cooling or a liquid-cooled AIO, there are a few things to consider. How much noise do these usually make? Put on some big-boi pants and do a custom water cooling … But unless you have a heat load the necessitates larger than typical rads, air can equal or beat water. The liquid itself doesn't do any cooling, it's merely a vessel to take heat from the source and transfer it to the radiator (which it's good at due to it's relatively high specific heat). Finally, there are subsets of liquid cooling and air cooling that should be considered as part of an overall assessment of cooling alternatives. And there are absolutely reasons to go with air cooling: a good entry-level air cooler is typically about $20 less expensive than an entry-level liquid cooler, and has the potential to be quieter to boot. Anyone is welcome to seek the input of our helpful community as they piece together their desktop. closed loop liquid coolers are fine. Although these engines are considerably lighter and adapt easily to military applications, because air is a gas it does not dissipate heat as rapidly as fluid. It's the same as an air cooler, only your moving the heatsink elsewhere, which can give you the distinct advantage of more surface area, but it's not necessary on most CPU's. Since heat transfer coefficient of water is about 350 times that of air, water cooling can be used for high specific output engines. [...] Do you need to replace the liquid or maintian it in some way? It literally just moves the fans to a different location in the case (though they may run at lower speeds depending on your setup). I think Ill just go with air then. Like you mentioned though, AIO does looks way nicer and it can be a lot less bulky than a high performance air cooling solution. But liquid cooling will be more expensive, in most cases. So thats something else to think about. Water cooling system requires more maintenance. They can still power a good deal of a house during a power outage, so they make ideal backup systems. In the past, when custom water cooling was the only option, this may have been true. I'm finding that liquid cooling is surprisingly cheap these days, with many going for around 40 bucks and supposedly performing better than a lot of the 60+ air coolers. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. One of the biggest enemies of all desktop computers is heat. Don't know why you're downvoted came here & if someone didn't cover what your response pretty much said I was gonna say the same thing. You can of course make something much cheeper that will barely ever go above ambient, but that involves getting a huge heater core & submerging your pump. Going air vs liquid doesn't change the amount of heat your components generate. ... help Reddit App Reddit coins Reddit premium Reddit gifts. It just changes how the heat leaves the case. Looks like you're using new Reddit on an old browser. There are several reasons for this growing trend: I prefer Air Coolers due to the concerns that AIOs or all types of liquid coolers could leak. The engine cylinder is surrounded by fins on the outside as you can see in the picture below. buy quality. How much of a pain is liquid cooling though? I've looked at quite a few liquid cooling solutions and they appear much more aesthetic, but I'm looking for pure performance and durability (ie temps during full load, longevity, failure rates, etc). As the name implies, air-cooled engines are cooled by air movement through the engine, rather than liquid. Yea, even dudes like Jay (from JayzTwoCents), who make custom loops all the time, run into leaks and issues with corrosion. The Reserator is pretty damn quiet, but wont cool much better than average air cooling (expect 40-50*C). liquid vs air for an enthusiast? While air coolers dissipate heat by using direct contact between heat pipes and processor, All-In-One (AIO) coolers use a coolant to transfer the heat from a processor to radiator. Historically, I've always used one of those bulky, aftermarket fan+heatsinks. I'm looking to build a top-of-the-line PC soon and plan to OC as well (debating between a 9700k and 9900k depending on benchmarks). In case of water cooling vs air cooling vs aio cooler I personally think AIO Cooler is technically the best of both Water Cooling and Air Cooling worlds. The failing rate is low, but it's there. But I'd like to add my own personal opinion:The words 'liquid', 'cheap', and 'computer' shouldn't be used together when considering purchasing a product. I have an AIO cooler and it works good but its a hassle to unscrew and clean the fans and repaste. i havent had issues and i have been building PCs since 91 level 2 Liquid Cooling vs. Air Cooling: Five Things to Consider Before You Choose. Watercoolers can get you better performance (especially when overclocking), but depending on the cooling situation and even the CPU you have, the differences between a good watercooler and a really good air cooler may be slight. Air Coolers vs AIO Liquid Coolers for CPUs and Processors. How much of a pain is liquid cooling though? I think that solidifies my decision to go air. You will still be "limited" by the temperature of the air inside and outside the case. The only real maintenance is that you need to clean the dust out of the radiator / radiator fans once in a while. Many AiO coolers actually perform similarly to air coolers when it comes to both the temperatures of … At the same price point, air will typically outperform liquid. This is the place to ask! There is a cost to liquid cooling beside what you pay for it. /r/buildapc is a community-driven subreddit dedicated to custom PC assembly. I probably won't be overclocking much, but I'd like the option later on. They are typically no more difficult to install than an aftermarket air cooler. level 2. The site may not work properly if you don't, If you do not update your browser, we suggest you visit, Press J to jump to the feed. Air cooled engine can take up some degree of damage. Recently we compared 10 of the best CPU air coolers and we've since wondered how these would fare against a water cooling … Water coolers CAN be as quiet or quieter than air coolers , but you have to fiddle with fan curves and possibly pump speed curves (unless your pump is designed to run at full speed so you're at the mercy of the pump). to each his own, but that's what I always think. /r/buildapc is a community-driven subreddit dedicated to custom PC assembly. Another thing to think about is what happens if it does fail, AIO does have liquid so that can spill all over your other component, which is a major clean-up and might short circuit something. A slight leakage of radiator may result in engine breakdown. The water simply carries the heat from the CPU to the radiator, where it is dissipated. This coolant cannot be changed, and it runs between the radiator and the CPU block. Technically, any heatsink with liquid coolant flowing through it can be called “liquid cooling”. I have an EVO cooler on my 8320 and get good temps. Fortunately, the Arctic Liquid Freezer II 120 is an affordable option for the most budget-conscious customers. Planning on building a computer but need some advice? Is there a good, cheap, quiet cooler I should look into? On the most fundamental level, air-cooled engines come with engines that use fans to force air across the engine in order to cool it. The name AIO Cooler means all in one Cooler. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast. AIO water cooling is considered the best for cooling efficiency short of a custom loop, but is it really? Liquid cooling also makes your PC run quieter because you won’t have fans constantly running at a high RPM. 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