Air Cooler VS AIO which should I purchase considering my case?

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
Regularjake55

Regularjake55

Reputable
Nov 8, 2014
70
0
4,630
I am looking to upgrade to Ryzen, most likely a 1600/1700. I am going to get a MasterBox Lite 5 case https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119322 (which apparently doesn't have the best airflow ever, but for the price it is what I want.) I also have an RX480 that has a regular 2 fan design, not a blower style. I just want to know which to pick because if I were to get an AIO I would go for the MasterLiquid 240/120 Lite and put the rad in the front of the case. I'm not sure what I would pick for an air cooler though. I am looking SOLELY AT COOLING PERFORMANCE I DO NOT CARE ABOUT SOUND, people always seem to bring up this point but don't most people wear headphones when at their computer these days? Thanks for any suggestions.
 
Solution
Karadjgne
On a whim, I moved my x61 from top exhaust to front intake. Cpu/gpu went from 34/35 to 33/36 at idle, and during same game/times over 1/2 hr temps went from 54/60 to 48/62. So yes, you are right that temps will be affected. The x61 was sole exhaust with 2x 140mm intakes to now sole intake with 2x 140mm exhausts. For all intents and purposes, temps didn't really change. Not enough to quibble about anyways as I'm not chasing benchmark numbers.

Having the 120mm aio as exhaust, when that's the only exhaust option in the MC lite will have worse results, all the heat from cpu is now affected by the heat from the gpu as well, it's all choked at 1 exhaust point. In that case it's better to have the 120mm as an intake, the rads exhaust is...
Sort by date Sort by votes
assasin32

assasin32

Distinguished
Apr 23, 2008
1,356
22
19,515
May I ask why you are getting that particular case the airflow looks quite bad as all the front intakes are obstructed with the glass. A case with proper ventilation with even cheap low RPM fans should give far better cooling performance and probably be quieter as the CPU/GPU fans won't have to throttle up anywhere near as much.

In fact I suspect a far cheaper CPU cooler in a proper case would outperform the Noctua or the Masterliquid in that case.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Regularjake55

Regularjake55

Reputable
Nov 8, 2014
70
0
4,630

Are you sure I won't have any problem with airflow? There is no top exhaust on the case I want
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Regularjake55

Regularjake55

Reputable
Nov 8, 2014
70
0
4,630


The reason I want that case is because I think it looks great, especially for the price, and I've heard the airflow isn't amazing but I figured I could work around that by front mounting the MasterLiquid and having the exhaust in the back and a 3rd fan up front.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
assasin32

assasin32

Distinguished
Apr 23, 2008
1,356
22
19,515
A bit of a late reply. Having the MasterLiquid mounted up front will exhaust the hot air into the case and you have very little intake from the front as it's mostly obstructed. You might actually be better served by having the 120mm mounted as an exhaust as strange as it sounds as you will now be pulling air from whatever the intake does bring in or pulling air from the rear openings that are supposed to be for exhaust, either way you will be getting less unobstructed airflow and the hot air will exit the case.

I would probably also get a GPU that vents the hot air out of the case this way you can try to keep as much of the hot air that is created in the case as short as possible as they will all vent out immediately. Just keep a can of compressed air to clean out the GPU every now and than, as well as the rest of the case.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Karadjgne

Karadjgne

Titan
Ambassador
Dec 26, 2012
30,741
4,559
142,790
Bunch of crud. There's only 2 real sources of heat in a pc, the cpu and gpu. With an aio at front mount, cpu temps are negligible, as there's a constant source of cool air through the rad, case temps raise according to exhaust ability. But case temps in no way affect cpu temp. That leaves the gpu, which will see slightly higher temps as its ambient rating is based on case temps.

Fans work by spinning blades that have particular curvature and pitch. The action of the spin creates a vacuum in front of the fan, the byproduct is air moved out the back. Not the other way around. As long as there is sufficient clearance for the vacuum, the fan will work the same behind the glass, or like my fractal design, behind a door that's got vents on the sides. Airflow isn't affected either way. What will affect airflow in any case is flow parameters. With 3x fans in front and only a single 120mm exhaust, heat is going to stay in the case longer than necessary. There's the bad airflow, not any supposed restriction on intakes, but lack of compensating exhaust.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Regularjake55

Regularjake55

Reputable
Nov 8, 2014
70
0
4,630


Ok, I think I understand a bit more now. I am going to choose the Thermalright TRUE Spirit 140 over the MasterLiquid, but I found a case I might get better airflow in, and it still looks good (Thermaltake View 31 https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133335)
would you get the View 31 over the Lite 5 or is that price increase not worth it? Considering the fact that the TRUE Spirit 140 doesn't even fit in the MasterBox... and if I were to get the MasterBox what CPU Cooler should I get?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
assasin32

assasin32

Distinguished
Apr 23, 2008
1,356
22
19,515


Fan will work but not at full efficiency, the suction it creates is from not having full unobstructed airflow. When you have a fan and put a sheet of glass in front of it you are now forcing air to come from a different direction instead of the where it would come from normally, there is a lose in effenciency and the amount of air it moves. How much this will affect performance I can't tell you as I do not have the case in front of me to run the numbers but I seriously doubt there is sufficient clearance to not see a decrease in performance.

My reasoning behind the single 120mm as exhaust for the AIO is so you can use that to help push all the heat out immediately. You can get cooler air with the front 240mm, but the question comes down to is that obstructed enough to cause the fans to work harder than they need to just to cool it down. And you are now increasing the ambient temps with the fans now shooting the hot air into the case which your GPU is now taking in causing higher temps in that. Plus the decrease airflow from now 2 of the 3 front intake fans having to work through the heatsinks on the AIO so it's no longer trying to push as much air out through all those big openings in the back of the case for exhaust. It's quite possible in this case that the 240mm may not provide as good results overall. If I had to guess maybe a couple celsius drop in CPU temp at a cost of increase case and GPU temp, but it also wouldn't surprise me if it was about the same or a little worse.

And there is positive and negative air flow, you don't need the same amount of have good air flow. What's more important is exhausting the heat and having sufficient air flow to do it. How you get there is of little consequnce.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Karadjgne

Karadjgne

Titan
Ambassador
Dec 26, 2012
30,741
4,559
142,790
On a whim, I moved my x61 from top exhaust to front intake. Cpu/gpu went from 34/35 to 33/36 at idle, and during same game/times over 1/2 hr temps went from 54/60 to 48/62. So yes, you are right that temps will be affected. The x61 was sole exhaust with 2x 140mm intakes to now sole intake with 2x 140mm exhausts. For all intents and purposes, temps didn't really change. Not enough to quibble about anyways as I'm not chasing benchmark numbers.

Having the 120mm aio as exhaust, when that's the only exhaust option in the MC lite will have worse results, all the heat from cpu is now affected by the heat from the gpu as well, it's all choked at 1 exhaust point. In that case it's better to have the 120mm as an intake, the rads exhaust is combined with other intake temps, and there's no choke on the exhaust point.

Loss of efficiency? Hmm might be right there too, but not really. A vacuum doesn't care where it gets its supply, or from what direction, as long as it does get its supply. So it's not so much the distance between fan and door/glass as much as it is the amount of restriction on the opening on the side or vents. You could have a fan exterior mounted pull on a huge box, but after a minute or so, with very little venting, you'll get nothing output, huge loss in efficiency, even with 2 feet of open space in front of the fan. Cut a big hole anywhere in that box, and bye bye loss of efficiency. You only need available supply to match actual usage.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Solution
Regularjake55

Regularjake55

Reputable
Nov 8, 2014
70
0
4,630


Ik I already picked the answer, but I'm just wondering; should I just change my case? I found the Thermaltake View 31 or Corsair Crystal 460X (on Amazon it's decent price) and they have fan mounts on the top and good reviews, and they also look pretty good; I'm just not sure if it's worth 2x the price of the MasterBox... not to mention the fact that if I was going to get the TRUE Spirit 140 by Thermalright, it wouldn't fit in the MasterBox but it would fit in either of those other choices. (EDIT: Never mind, apparently it wouldn't fit in the Corsair... so I would probably pick between the Thermaltake View 31 and the meanit 4PM/5PM)
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Karadjgne

Karadjgne

Titan
Ambassador
Dec 26, 2012
30,741
4,559
142,790
The View 31 looks great, and many have gone with the TT ring fans, they are a little expensive per fan, and you get 3 to start with. Really decent price for what's included, since a tempered glass panel custom made to fit by itself is well over $100. I was going to convert my R5, but after looking at glass prices, I'd be better off with a case like the View 31 to start with. Pretty solid choice in my book.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Regularjake55

Regularjake55

Reputable
Nov 8, 2014
70
0
4,630


Ok thanks for your input, sorry for late reply. :)
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom