Air vs AIO vs Custom

Massive cooling enthusiast. Uses budget case.
Anyway, AIO cooler is by far the best solution for cooling IMO. Custom loop is too expensive, $170 won't be enough to create one. You need a big dual tower Air Cooler to have the same performance as an AIO cooler, amd by being big means blocking RAM slots.

The best AIO that the OP's case will fit is 120mm which is low end for AIO. Technically that case will support the Noctua NH-D15 which is one of the best air coolers out there and will easily out-perform all 120mm AIO coolers.
https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Noctua/NH-D15/6.html
As you can see the only AIO cooler that is slightly better is the H105 and its only by 2C.

Case: http://www.deepcool.com/product/case/2014-05/9_840.shtml
Cooler: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608045&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-PCPartPicker,%20LLC-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

The only AIO I would suggest is the Cryorig A80 but its way to big (280mm) for that case but what makes it unique is the fact it has a fan over the heatsink/pump that actually helps cool the MB as well as the CPU.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA4UF3GA3246

I cool a I5-6600K@4.8 very adequately using a noctua NH-U12s.

My canned rant on liquid cooling:
------------------------start of rant-------------------
You buy a liquid cooler to be able to extract an extra multiplier or two out of your OC.
How much do you really need?
I do not much like all in one liquid coolers when a good air cooler like a Noctua or phanteks can do the job just as well.
A liquid cooler will be expensive, noisy, less reliable, and will not cool any better
in a well ventilated case.
Liquid cooling is really air cooling, it just puts the heat exchange in a different place.
The orientation of the radiator will cause a problem.
If you orient it to take in cool air from the outside, you will cool the cpu better, but the hot air then circulates inside the case heating up the graphics card and motherboard.
If you orient it to exhaust(which I think is better) , then your cpu cooling will be less effective because it uses pre heated case air.
And... I have read too many tales of woe when a liquid cooler leaks.
google "H100 leak"
-----------------------end of rant--------------------------

Your pc will be quieter, more reliable, and will be cooled equally well with a decent air cooler.

You really need to fix that canned rant geo, I mean it applies very well to most of the Corsair line, their fans are miserable, but the nzxt x61 is, at the same level, actually quieter than the D15 which is considerably louder than its little brother the D14. So the Crack about being noisier is misleading at best.

Your Noctua D15 is currently cheapest at $88, I bought my x61 when it was $90. Corsair H80i GT a 120mm aio that'll perform at the same level as a older h100i 240mm aio is only $70, $1 Cheaper than the Noctua D14. Your rant is so full of holes it's almost bs. Fix it.

@wildcard.
Your looking at big air and big liquid at an OC of 4.2GHz? That's such a waste of either. As shown, even the budget hyper 212 can handle that easily. Find me tests that are running OC to actually challenge the abilities of big air and big liquid, try closer to 4.8+GHz and you'll find the D14 is out and the D15 is struggling with the temps and noise, while the big 280mm aios like the h105 are laughing. That tests a joke.

Always willing to change. How would you fix it?

The s variants from Noctua fix clearance issues with big air.
They are offset so there is no impact with graphics cards in the first pcie slot.
And they addressed ram clearance for high heat spreaders.

If there is a problem I have with cooler tests it is that they are done on an open testbed, not in a case.
Here is one of the better comparisons from spcr which address the balance of cooling vs. noise.
http://www.silentpcreview.com/Recommended_Heatsinks
Yes, the NZXT is a nice liquid cooler. It has a temperature rise of 34c. at a spl of 19-20.
By comparison, the noctua NH-U12s is not so different; 33c. at spl 19.

Just to throw this in there. I have a low end aio. Keeps my 3570k at 55c under gaming. It ALSO dropped my case temps by 5c and gpu temps by 6c average. I had a 212 before, which held the cpu around 50c

Now, obvs with a 390 I'm dealing with a fair bit of heat...however aio coolers do have the benefit of taking the cpu heat and dumping outside the case. Still air cooled, just in different place.

I realise a noctua or even 212 would give me lower cpu temps. But in a normal overclocked rig it can be about more than pure cpu temp.

Just my 2 cents.

Heh, well of course the 's' variants fixed ram clearance issues. It's a D14 with only the center 140mm fan, the fan that sits in front isn't there to be a ram issue.

Yes, much better test. I personally like the tests run by frostytech, they run a Hotspot, not an actual cpu, dial it in to 87 and 150w for the 115x and 200w for 2011 OC simulation, with a result above ambient. Lot more realistic and applies to more than just ppl at 22°.

How to fix. That's not easy because some points are very valid. Most ppl are only familiar with coolers like the h100i series, which has abysmal fans, the h110 gtx probably the worst culprit with fans that range from @1300-2700 rpm. Monster cooling ability, over the top price tag and ungodly loud.

I personally prefer AIO's, I much prefer the aesthetics of not having a huge twin tower monopolizing the window. I prefer that all that cpu heat is shunted directly out of the case and the fans actually work as exhaust, not just fans in the middle of the case helping circulate air. Costs aside, I find AIO's imminently more practical, easier to clean. But thats me. If you are building a pc and can afford what it takes to push a 4.6 or better OC, you can afford big cooling and an extra $20 won't be an issue. I've also got an h55, same ability as a hyper 212. So much easier to mount, I hate the 212 mounting system. Has a nf-f12 fan on it and it's dead quiet. Sure it cost more, but it was worth it not to have to deal with the 212.

There's pros and cons to both. Air coolers do do the same job as an AIO, generally the prices are mismatched and if you get a corsair, yes they are louder. Wonder what the performance of a D15 would be with Corsair fans, and the volume, because I know what the performance of an AIO is with both a Noctua and a Phanteks fan.

I did try out big air for this 3770k build of mine, namely the Raijintek Nemesis. Supposedly on par with a D14 or slightly better. Had minimal clearance on the gpu, ram, case etc, so just an inconvenience in mounting. Just 1 problem. The heatpipes on the back side actually come into contact with my VRM heatsinks. Turned the cooler 180°. Same issue. No way to get a solid mount without a 90° turn, facing the fan up for top exhaust to clear the gpu. Now the issue was I couldn't reach the far side screws nor the lower fan mounts without pulling the ram and gpu out and squeezing a screwdriver in on a 45° angle for the screws. Not exactly ideal and more trouble than the $55 price tag was worth. Went with the NZXT and couldn't be happier.

^ have to say, after seeing the same load temps, with less noise and lower case temps with the much neater looking h55, I do wonder what all the 212 fuss is about.

However, I'm not trying to push 4.5ghz+. So everyone's requirement is different.

The 212 is a budget cooler. One of the best. Not overly big, fits a 120mm Fan, can be added to for push/pull, works well for lower-mid OC at a price half that of the h55. So when looking for the most performance out of a pc, with a severely curtailed budget, the 212 is hard to beat. Works very well for stock i7's under rendering loads without drowning the user in Stock cooler rpm noise or temps.

My h55 sits on a 3570k at 4.3GHz and it's inaudible unless stress tested, and even then it's quiet, due totally to its Noctua fan. Haven't seen it top 53° in forever, even with the programs my wife runs simultaneously.

Fair enough. And cool, we have the same setup!

I run mine with a corsair SP in push. Leave it at 800rpm and never seen more than 55 under gaming. Very quiet.

Mines run through Asus fanXpert 2, runs 400-800. Really should try the Phanteks PH-F120MP on that. Better temps, lower speeds, and easier to hear a church mouse it's that silent. $12. Or so. Outperforms the Noctua fans and is infinitely less ugly lol.

I'd agree, air cooling would be less expensive and more than sufficient for overclocking. No risk of leaking vs low risk of leaking (means SOME risk) and no pump to fail which is somewhat typical. You can't expect too much from an aio cooler, they include the tubing, pump/waterblock combo and radiator for just a little more than a single quality pump costs for a custom loop. Corners have to be cut somewhere.

In terms of larger air coolers blocking ram slots, it may be a problem if you're constantly removing and installing ram. Even an upgrade typically only happens once during the lifetime of a system, maybe twice in what, 4, 5yrs? Or in terms of ram with ridiculously large heatsinks that do squat except get in the way of coolers. About as effective as spinning rims on a car making the wheels go faster, it's all about the looks.

Currently the nh-d14 is $70 and the kraken x61 is $115. The nh-d15 is still about $16 less. The equally capable tc14pe from phanteks is $75. A large air cooler should be more than sufficient. The h100i v2 is going for $97 and the h110 gtx is going for $120. Much like my air cooler, it was a great deal when I got it for $55 on sale. Normally it retails for between $80-90.

My dark rock pro 3 is similar to the other large dual fan coolers in terms of performance, maybe a degree or two less efficient than the nh-d15. With ambient room temps of around 30c and gaming on an i5 4690k at 4.6ghz it stayed whisper quiet and kept temps at 70-75c. The 6600k shouldn't be any hotter when heavily oc'd, the need for water cooling just isn't there. That's pretty much as bad of a scenario as many people will see.

If it were an i7 6800k or higher than sure, an aio makes more sense. Otherwise it's more for visual appeal than cooling necessity. With i5's it's far more likely to run out of overclocking headroom with vcore than it is to run out of thermal headroom using a decent air cooler.

That there pretty much sums it up. Need vrs aesthetics. Most will never have the need for the higher-end ability an AIO offers over that of air coolers. For the most part it's Aesthetics. I've never had an AIO leak, I've seen one that has (corsair h100i) and Corsair replaced everything at no charge, even paying for labor of the rebuild. So at anything less than a system pushing OC, the performance will be equitable. It's just a matter of preference and the willingness to pay extra for what you want or pay less to settle for what you need.

I'd stress again the ability for aio to Dump the heat outside the case, essentially. Makes a big difference not having 100w of cpu heat blown around right above the gpu!

Whatever cooler you will use, you will need a source of fresh air to give the cooler.

The Deepcool Tesseract SW is a nice looking case, but has room for only one 120mm intake in front.
Possibly, the 120mm sides could be used.

I really think you could more effectively use the $170 cooling budget for a better cooling case.

And yet others could stress the AIO's inability to cool the voltage regulatory circuitry surrounding the cpu which an aircooler will do satisfactorily due to bleed from the heatsink. The bonus that the Cryorig A80 addresses. Each system, aio, air, loop has its pros and cons. The only real question is what weight do you put to each.