AIO cooling vs Air Cooling actual benefits?

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Tinkmaster Overspark

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Hey,

So i've been comparing cooling solutions for CPUs, and i feel like there's something i'm not understanding. (in my country) the NH-D15 fan costs about 100 dollars, and the very high end AIO coolers cost 160-180, yet in benchmarking, only beat the NH-D15 by 1-2 degrees maximum, while also offering the possibility of leaking fluid through your computer if something goes horribly wrong.

So i wanted to ask you guys who are much more informed than i am, where does this extra 60-80 dollars actually go? what are the benefits to it because the air cooling just seems extremely superior, so it makes me feel like there's something i'm not understanding because of how popular some of these AIO systems seem to be.

Or is it simply cooler (no pun intended) for some people to say "my computer has a liquid cooling system h100i" kind of thing lol

 
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4Ryan6
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nikoli707

nikoli707

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aio coolers can be quieter and offer space advantages. if your planning on moving your rig/case around a lot, having a huge heavy air cooler is not a good idea as it can snap off the motherboard mounts which is very bad. otherwise unless your getting an aio cooling unit for a good price, air coolers like the phanteks ph14 or noctua nd14 offer more than enough cooling power for an overclock. after that i personally dont see much point unless you already have an intel i7 extreme cpu or your trying to compete in an overclocking tournament or bragging rights.
 
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gamerxavier

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The AIO can be quieter. But, only if you replace the stock fans (which you can also do to air!) it comes with or reducing their speed. I've had several of the H100 and H80i series and similar. All of them are very noisey. At times I've noticed even the pump is a tad noisey. So, this defeats the purpose of liquid cooling for a lot of people. So, you'd want to pick up some of the corsair SP120 quiet edition fans (I have on my h100i atm)
The NH-D15 is definitely something i'd go for myself. But, then that comes down to aesthetics for many people.

Comparing air to AIO is like intel vs amd. On a performance level air is always more cost effective. However, there are other smaller variables that you can take into account that may make you choose the AIO. Which are obvious, smaller and less pressure to your board, better looking usually, etc.

With air another great thing to consider is air coolers fail better. if your fans die it will still cool your cpu. However, with aio if it dies you are screwed until you replace it.

So, to me it comes down to looks and space advantage as noted above. I cannot really vote towards them being quieter with my experience.

So, if you can get over how big that air cooler is and the appearance doesn't bother you then you are definitely better off going for it.
 
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jaimelmiel

jaimelmiel

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For the average user and or those on a limited budget money comes into play. Even though leaks are not likely they are possible. So many are not willing to take the chance of serious computer damage. Air coolers snaping off are rare also.
If you are cooling extremely as well as other components, Vrm's, Video cards. A custom loop or loops is the way to go.

 
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Colin Lee

Colin Lee

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I have to disagree on AIO coolers being quieter (especially when the OP has mentioned the NH-D15). No AIO cooler will beat the NH-D15 for noise and it'll take one of the double 120mm cooler to maybe beat it on temps (and only just if at all).
There's no space advantage either since you need room for a 240mm radiator (you can't put a 120mm against the NH-D15 and expect to come out on top). Admittedly it's a lot simpler to access the MB with AIO rather than the NH-D15 ;)
However the weight is a very good point and one not normally alluded to. The NH-D15 weighs around 3lb with the fans and that is an awful lot of weight to hang vertically of your MB. Personally I would only use a horizontal layout with the really big air cooler.
I've just ordered parts for a new build but am going for the CM hyper 212 EVO for that very reason. Not in the same bracket as the NH-D15 for cooling but at least it shouldn't rip the MB in half ;) (and a lot cheaper).
 
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nikoli707

nikoli707

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custom loops should be saved for intel extreme i7 6 cores. its about $500 for a 4690k+240mm setup... you might as well just buy the $550 intel unlocked 6 core since even if the 4c4t i5 is at 5.1ghz, its not going to beat the 6c12t at 4.2hz. and if you need single or dual core speed, just get a g3258 and put a noc or phanteks on it and clock it to 5.0ghz for really cheap. otherwise its just bragging rights and fun to push chips to their limits at the risk of killing them.

the hyper 212 is really the sweet spot, and any other capable air cooler in its same performance/price range.
 
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bmacsys

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I use both. If I only had to choose one I would go air over AIO. Simplicity and reliability. You also have Galvanic corrosion to think about with mixed metal AIO coolers.
 
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4Ryan6

4Ryan6

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I suggest you take the time and check this link out, it will answer questions you haven't even asked.

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-2196038/air-cooling-water-cooling-things.html

AIO coolers are thoroughly factory tested and the possibility of a leak is a very rare occurrence, however it has happened, so it is not an unvalidated fear.

The extra 60-80 dollars you ask about cover the pump/water block, radiator, and cooling fans, as in most cases the fans are more aggressive because they are forcing air through finer fins on the radiator than a heat pipe air cooler uses.

The AIO and the large high quality air coolers are popular because the CPUs today are getting hotter and hotter even not overclocked, and many just want their systems running much cooler!

That is totally their choice, however, if CPU overclocking is involved it increases heat and that has to be taken care of.

If you read over the link you'll have a much better understanding of all the cooling possibilities and there's much more information in the links at the bottom of the post.

******************************************

I would like to address some statements lower in this thread regarding the large high end heat pipe air coolers breaking your motherboard, that's total garbage, all the high end coolers come with reinforcing motherboard back plates to protect the motherboard from just that kind of thing.

Unless you purposely drop your computer on concrete from about 6 feet height, you're Not!, going to hurt the motherboard, but your case won't look too good!, and you may very well damage a mechanical HDD!

Just moving the machine around or transporting it with care will not damage the motherboard, I've done it regularly as my DJ computer is cooled by a Noctua NH-D14, and it is moved all the time, and the motherboard is just fine.

 
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4Ryan6

4Ryan6

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That's a good point, the high end heat pipe coolers are actually passive air coolers, and can still cool enough to keep from loosing your CPU even if both cooling fans fail, and you replace the fan and you're back in business.

When an AIO dies, you had better of kept your stock cooler, because you are dead in the water and will have to RMA it, if it is still under warranty.

 
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bmacsys

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Snap the cooler off the motherboard mounts? Give me a break. Short of trying to tear a cooler off the board this is impossible. The coolers are not heavy. That and most of the weight is at the base of the heatsink itself. And even if you did move your rig around a lot which 99.9% of people don't do, you would have to basically throw the rig out of a two story window to build up enough force to possibly make the tower heatsink budge.
 
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nikoli707

nikoli707

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newer motherboard are definitely structurally reinforced for this reason, the noc nd14 weighs over 2.5lbs, and most of its weight is nowhere close to its base. its a receipe for disaster and even noctua/phanteks recommends removing the cooler for transportation.

your right, its not common and most people dont transport their atx rigs anymore with gaming laptops being affordable and now that overclocking is so common mobo manufactures have caught on and reinforced, but it is worth mentioning.
 
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Colin Lee

Colin Lee

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Correct, if I was building a LAN box there is no way I'd install a big Noctua (and I love their products). Even a noisier and hotter (relatively) 120mm AIO would be preferable if only for piece of mind.
 
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