an AIO liquid cooler for a i5 8400?

kevinligilbert · Oct 9, 2017

so I am planning on making my first ever build with a i5 8400 (ill make this in December) and im wondering if I should get a liquid AIO cooler with it, so the temps will stay down and because I want the pc to be quiet. (plus im going to upgrade this pc every so often so I might get an i7 8700k later on.

kevinligilbert · Oct 9, 2017

(sorry I forgot to mention this the i5 8400 comes with a stock Intel cooler but I don't know if that will be good enough to keep my pc cool)

geofelt · Oct 9, 2017

In my opinion, a bad choice.

First of all, a non overclocked cpu does not need any more than the stock cooler from a performance point of view.
If your case has adequate intake capability(two 120/140mm front intakes)
The stock cooler will keep your cpu around 10-15c. over ambient at idle, and around 75c. under load. Should the cpu get unusually hot, the cpu will slow down or shut off.
That temperature is around 100c.

The main reason for an aftermarket cooler with a I5-8400 would be to reduce fan noise under load. A simple tower type air cooler with a 120mm fan will do this.
A popular choice is the cm hyper212.
But, I like the scythe kotetsu better.
Here is a review:
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article1391-page1.html
About $35.

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"
I would support an AIO cooler only in a space restricted case.
-----------------------end of rant--------------------------

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

kevinligilbert · Oct 9, 2017

geofelt :

In my opinion, a bad choice.

First of all, a non overclocked cpu does not need any more than the stock cooler from a performance point of view.
If your case has adequate intake capability(two 120/140mm front intakes)
The stock cooler will keep your cpu around 10-15c. over ambient at idle, and around 75c. under load. Should the cpu get unusually hot, the cpu will slow down or shut off.
That temperature is around 100c.

The main reason for an aftermarket cooler with a I5-8400 would be to reduce fan noise under load. A simple tower type air cooler with a 120mm fan will do this.
A popular choice is the cm hyper212.
But, I like the scythe kotetsu better.
Here is a review:
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article1391-page1.html
About $35.

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"
I would support an AIO cooler only in a space restricted case.
-----------------------end of rant--------------------------

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

I agree but the air cooler I'm getting is only $40

chemmajorp53 · Oct 9, 2017

100% waste of money, a cheap air cooler will keep it plenty cool and quiet if the stock cooler is too loud for you. If you plan on getting an 8700k, then I'd suggest buying an 8700k from the start and saving up for an extra few weeks.

n0ns3ns3 · Oct 10, 2017

even for an overclocked i7-8700K, much cheaper than wannabe liquid coolers AiOs, high end air coolers will do same or better cooling at much lower noise.

geofelt · Oct 10, 2017

Scythe kotetsu is $33:
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=13C-0004-00005
Here is a review:
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article1391-page1.html
Check the last page, it competes even with the noctua NH-U14s

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