Destop AIO CPU Cooler HELP

• 

  Caped Baldy on 21/12/2020 - 14:17

  +6

  Is noise a concern?

  Personally, my preference is air cooling. AIO is better in some cases but not much - 99% users are better off with air cooling. With an AIO it does take long to reach thermal max since the liquid needs to heat up in the system. They can also be quite loud with the radiator fans and pump going.

  Probably best to get a noctua cooler which will probably be quieter, cheaper, and just as effective as an AIO.
  Newegg is the best place to get it for Aussies. https://www.newegg.com/global/au-en/p/pl?d=noctua

  • 

    netjock on 21/12/2020 - 15:24

    +1

    This. Spend your money on a decent cooler with a quiet fan.

• 

  scrimshaw on 21/12/2020 - 14:25

  +5

  AIO liquid coolers are more trouble than they're worth and unless you're spending big money on them, they don't necessarily perform better than air (both in cooling capacity and noise). They also add an extra point of failure - the water pump. But probably also other considerations as well such as liquid permeation, pump noise, gurgling noises, leakage etc that makes air cooler much simpler and less hassle to use

  And I'm also just parroting what Steve at gamer's nexus said on this video

  That said if you enjoy tinkering with your computer and making the internals look good, AIO coolers are (objectively speaking) prettier to look at than most air coolers.

• 

  mizx on 21/12/2020 - 14:40

  Dark Rock Pro 4.

• 

  Cartman2530 on 21/12/2020 - 16:52

  A good cheap one is a Gammaxx 400 (its an air cooler though). I've used that successfully on my 2600k for years and its sitting on 4.8GHz since 2012.

  I'd start with that before moving to water cooling.

• 

  the Unforgiven on 23/12/2020 - 01:58

  Forget about the AIO liquid coolers, get a Noctua D15;
  it is heavier, but it will cool better than those AIO coolers :p
  I have one in my computer - https://i.imgur.com/hE3hUtU.jpg

• 

  KeplersLaws on 23/12/2020 - 12:55

  If you get air-cooled, make sure you check for clearance issues — for example the fan favourite D15 is absolutely chonktastic

  If you get an AIO, pleeeeaaase make sure it has the ability to synchronise radiator fan speeds with LIQUID, rather than direct cpu temperatures (or at least has third party software that is able to do so). For example, the NZXT Kraken X63 (a highly reputable AIO brand) does not contain native support to do so - you have to use third party software such as Argus Monitor.

  Many people who have initial complaints with AIO cooler noise don't realise that the fans constantly ramping up and down (because CPU temperature spikes all the time e.g. opening simply Chrome) won't have any immediate effect and is audially annoying. Once they configure for liquid temps rather than CPU, both idle and regular usage noise reduction is quite immense (even in comparison to air-cooled solutions, because the liquid acts as a nice 'dampener' or 'buffer' against CPU spikes).

  That, or they didn't follow this