Air Cooling vs. AIO on a PC Running 24/7

chemmajorp53 · Sep 8, 2016

I'm going to be building a PC soon that's gonna be doing some serious number crunching pretty much 24/7. It'll have an overclocked 6900k and some other components that don't really matter. My question is this: for this type of build where the cooler will be running basically 24/7 on a chip outputting a lot of heat, will an AIO like an H100 or H110 be reliable enough to not worry about a systemic failure that bricks my entire system? I've heard some horror stories about AIOs and feel like I don't have enough experience to make an educated decision, plus you never really see server hardware with liquid cooling and that worries me. I'm leaning more towards the Noctua NH-D15 right now.

TechyInAZ · Sep 8, 2016

AIOs have gotten really reliable. I've never had one fail and I've built several with AIOs over the past 7 years.

However, if your aiming for quiet operation while running max load, then air coolers are your best option.

Dark Lord of Tech · Sep 8, 2016

Big air would be great , my 24/7 machine runs a Cryorig R1 Ultimate.

chemmajorp53 · Sep 8, 2016

TechyInAZ :

Sound isn't a huge deal, I'm just worried about the liquid leaking while I'm not there and bricking everything.

Dark Lord of Tech · Sep 8, 2016

I posted above I use a Cryorig on mine.

TechyInAZ · Sep 8, 2016

While like I said, AIOs are super reliable today. Air coolers are always going to be more reliable than AIOs. Simply because of how they operate and are built.

I still vote air cooling.

chemmajorp53 · Sep 8, 2016

TechyInAZ :

Alright cool, I'll probably buy an air cooler then and get an h100 for my personal rig just to test it out for a while. Thanks.

chemmajorp53 · Sep 8, 2016

If you had to pick between that cooler and the noctua which would you go for?

Ecky · Sep 8, 2016

Pumps do eventually fail, but usually last several years at least, and the processors are unharmed when they do - they just throttle until you notice. Leaks are rare but not non-existent.

You want a high-end Noctua or Cryorig air cooler. They're cheaper and perform similarly to high-end AiO coolers, with less noise.

TechyInAZ · Sep 8, 2016

chemmajorp53 :

Cryorig is a bit newer than noctua, and the cryorig looks ten times better. But both perform equally. And the noctua fans are slightly higher quality.

Dark Lord of Tech · Sep 8, 2016

I like the Cryorig R1 Universal or Ultimate

If you have tall ram modules get the Universal.

Ecky · Sep 8, 2016

Noctua's fans are among the best you can get. They're long-lasting and have virtually no bearing noise. They also include some of the best thermal paste on the market too.

Dark Lord of Tech · Sep 8, 2016

So does Cryorig , and the thermal is also top notch.

TechyInAZ · Sep 8, 2016

You know, you both are making it hard for the OP to decide.

Cryorig:

Newer
Looks far better
Performs equally to that of Noctua

Noctua:
Older design, but still perfectly adequate for newer computers.
Fans are slightly better and possibly a tad quieter.

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Air Cooling vs. AIO on a PC Running 24/7

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chemmajorp53

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Ecky

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TechyInAZ

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