AIO vs Air vs Custom loop

Zachariah Engelbrecht · Nov 3, 2016

so I have a tight budget of around 250US to get the best cooling for my CPU.

if I get a custom loop for my CPU (looking at the EKWB L360 kit) I can add a GPU block later on.

If I get an AIO I would ultimately spend a lot less and might be able to put the extra money into something more useful (like what? lmao)

if I get air cooling there would be less maintenence.

Not sure where to start though, my build would be an i5 6600k and a 1060.
case would be a Corsair 780T (all the more reason for a custom loop)

thanks for any help

weberdarren97 · Nov 3, 2016

I've done plenty of custom loops and I'd like to tell you that the maintenance is a real b*tch. Even mixing the wrong metals in the loop will result in the loop clogging thanks to contaminants building up in the coolant. AiO manufacturers prevent this from happening by manufacturing to strict standards.

In my opinion, air cooling is the way to go for the CPU unless you're looking to do some serious overclocking. I don't usually recommend more than a 500MHz overclock because you'll stress the VRMs on the motherboard when you start drawing more voltage.

Also, the money you save with AiO or air cooling could be used to get a graphics card that has a better cooler on it.

weberdarren97 · Nov 3, 2016

May I ask what's your budget for the entire system and how much have you already bought?

Zachariah Engelbrecht · Nov 3, 2016

weberdarren97 :

well I havent spent all too much as all this is going to be an upgrade I do over the course of next year. but my total budget would be around 800 dollars. that's not including the GPU or the peripherals. final build is gonna be:
Corsair 780T
GTX 1060
i5 6600k (or possibly 7th gen/Zen)
Chipset of mobo to match
then the rest is probably gonna go into a cooler.

S1eeet · Nov 3, 2016

Can i ask why you want to spend so much on cooling? you can get a good quality AIO or a really top air cooler for WAY less than what you want to spend for a relatively low end custom loop?

Zachariah Engelbrecht · Nov 3, 2016

S1eeet :

Yea, I'll probably get a nice air cooler and rather get a SSD with the spare money

weberdarren97 · Nov 3, 2016

I agree, a 360mm radiator is overkill for a 6600K. You will either hit the limits of the power supply or the limits of the VRMs on the motherboard before you need that large of a radiator.

My recommendations for air coolers: https://pcpartpicker.com/products/compare/9bFPxr,KzfmP6,4vzv6h/

Zachariah Engelbrecht · Nov 3, 2016

weberdarren97 :

you've been a huge help man, but I can only get coolers available in south africa. from rebeltech.co.za, evetech.co.za and from pricecheck.co.za. if you could take a look there it would be going the extra mile. if not, then I understand fully. Thanks for the help so far!

weberdarren97 · Nov 3, 2016

Please allow me a few moments to browse your suggested sites. I'll reply with some good candidates for CPU coolers.

Zachariah Engelbrecht · Nov 3, 2016

weberdarren97 :

how is the coolermaster V8?

weberdarren97 · Nov 3, 2016

Looks like the Hyper 212X is the best I can find on rebeltech.

Didn't find much useful on evetech.

looks like the Phanteks Ph-tc12dx is the best I can find on pricecheck.co.za.

Both of these coolers will work fine for you, at this point it's a matter of what aesthetic you're after in your CPU cooler.

weberdarren97 · Nov 3, 2016

Zachariah Engelbrecht :

It's a great cooler, when it fits. It has issues with RAM clearance on many newer boards.

Zachariah Engelbrecht · Nov 3, 2016

weberdarren97 :

geofelt · Nov 3, 2016

I run a I5-6600K @4.8 with a simple 120mm air cooler.
You hardly need more.
You will run out of safe vcore long before you run out of thermal limits.

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.

rubix_1011 · Nov 3, 2016

weberdarren97 :

I've watercooled for almost 15 years and have never had an issue with galvanic corrosion. Maintenance really isn't any different than building the loop the first time, honestly.

Using quality products (that don't include aluminum) as well as not using all those marketed coolants. Stick to distilled water and an antimicrobial and these steps will take care of many of those issues.

TsvetanVR · Jan 17, 2017

geofelt :

If you orient it to exhaust by putting it on the top panel of the case, then you have another exhaust fan in the rear taking care of the warm gpu air and 1-2 intake fans on the front for fresh air.
10 years ago when there were no AIOs (except maybe Zalman's fanless external design) I was heavy into extreme overclocking and never had any problems with custom loops or even with my phase-change cpu cooler. Take your time, do your homework, pick the right stuff, take your time assembling it and all will be fine.
Yes, tower air coolers are great, but I want to have direct access to RAM and all the stuff inside the case/on the motherboard (headers, jumpers, battery) and not to look at this big brick

Vellinious · Jan 17, 2017

weberdarren97 :

Clogging.....IF you've ever built a custom loop, and IF it clogged, you did something terribly wrong. I've never seen galvanic corrosion in a loop, and have never even heard of one "clogging".

That said....an AIO or a good air cooler seems like the best option for this build.

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