120mm aio or stick with air?

[blacklord09]

I've got a i7-6700K running at stock and I'm currently using a Cooler Master 212x duel fan. I'm seeing temps during gaming at around the mid to upper 60c's and I'm considering getting a 120mm aio either a CORSAIR Hydro Series H75 or a DEEPCOOL Gamer Storm CAPTAIN 120EX WHITE. What kind of temp difference would I see vs what I'm using now or should I consider getting a 240mm aio instead of a 120mm? I use my PC over long periods as well so I'm not sure if that would factor in or not.

[Hare+Guu!]

aio mostly top out around high 50s. It can't really go much lower than that since intel uses crappy paste specially with their 6 and 7 series chips. Unless you're planning on starting to do heavy video encoding, you don't really need a better cooler.

[[LTT] LinusFTW]

What's your case?

[Astro_80 (WASH YOUR HANDS!)]

Your temps are fine. Don't worry about it. You don't need a better cooler than what you already have.

[tacoshy]

120mm AIO are a huge waste imo. The radiatorsize is lower then that of a decent air cooler and such is the performance. A good aircoller espacially twin tower air coolers will stomp it easily. If you go AIO you should go at least 240mm better 280mm.

[Andrius227]

Yeah, AIO's are pretty bad, specially the 120mm ones. They are also much more expensive than most air coolers. Your temps are fine anyway, but if you do want to improve it, you can just buy a bigger and better air cooler.

I myself have a noctua NH-D15S, and it completely destroys my old Corsair H110i GTX (280mm) that i upgraded from... And its much quieter too.

[DeadPhoenix]

Първоначално публикувано от Andrius227:

Yeah, AIO's are pretty bad, specially the 120mm ones. They are also much more expensive than most air coolers. Your temps are fine anyway, but if you do want to improve it, you can just buy a bigger and better air cooler.

I myself have a noctua NH-D15S, and it completely destroys my old Corsair H110i GTX (280mm) that i upgraded from... And its much quieter too.

Stock fans on the Corsair GTX H110i are loud and terrible. I have the new revision which is the H115i, since the pump header died on my older GTX H110i. And Corsair was friendly enough to send me a newer model.

my temps under gaming is 48c on the i7 8700K.
But a Air coolers does exactly the same job. But i prefer the cleaner look of AIO's.
Air coolers also drop more hot air in the case, while AIO's dumps all the hot air outside the case.

[blacklord09]

Първоначално публикувано от LTT LinusFTW:

What's your case?

DIYPC Silence-BK window

[[LTT] LinusFTW]

Първоначално публикувано от blacklord09:

Първоначално публикувано от LTT LinusFTW:

What's your case?

DIYPC Silence-BK window

I've looked at the specs of this case and it says you can fit a 240mm at the top, so in that...case :) I'd go with a Corsair H100i V2.

[Revelene]

Първоначално публикувано от Hare+Guu!:

aio mostly top out around high 50s. It can't really go much lower than that since intel uses crappy paste specially with their 6 and 7 series chips. Unless you're planning on starting to do heavy video encoding, you don't really need a better cooler.

The paste used on the IHS results in a different kind of temperature problem, rather than total die temperature issues.

I agree that another cooler isn't necessary, especially a tiny 120mm. But not for the same reason. If the OP's clocks only push temps to upper 60s at full tilt, then all is well. It would handle that just fine, all day long, regardless of the work load type.

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The biggest issue with most AIO is the thickness of the radiator. It is all about heat dissipation. Spread the heat across a larger surface area, then it is easier to cool. A decent pump is needed as well. Which is why it is good to stay away from cheap AIO, and just go for air cooling.

In my opinion, AIO coolers get decent around the $100 USD mark. Marginally better than air. As you put more money into liquid cooling, it gets better. Worth comes down to the individual.

Първоначално публикувано от Andrius227:

Yeah, AIO's are pretty bad, specially the 120mm ones. They are also much more expensive than most air coolers. Your temps are fine anyway, but if you do want to improve it, you can just buy a bigger and better air cooler.

I myself have a noctua NH-D15S, and it completely destroys my old Corsair H110i GTX (280mm) that i upgraded from... And its much quieter too.

AIOs are not all bad. More expensive, yes, but can be better. Like I said above, it is all about surface area and cooling said surface area.

Personally, I've got quite a few air and liquid coolers, ranging from stock air to large expensive custom water loops. Nothing air can hold a candle to anything with a decent pump, a radiator with decent surface space, and decent fans. But honestly, if not going for an AIO at least 240mm around $100+, it probably isn't worth it. Plenty of $50 or less air coolers that can do a fine job of keeping temps under control, even some keeping up with liquid cooling on the lower tiers.

One thing many people forget is that liquid cooling moves the heat dissipation away from the components. This can help in many situations, especially for smaller builds with less airflow pathing.

Air cooling can be quieter, I'll give you that. However, when you decide to put noise to the side, allow the pump to actually perform, and put on some decent fans, you can get quite the performance.

Don't have an H110i GTX on hand, but I've got a H100i GTX with some Noctua iPPC fans that I happen to use daily on my main gaming PC, and it cools like no one's business. Funny reason why I use this, rather than a custom loop, is because of a friend's comment. He stated that Corsair AIO coolers were terrible and that they couldn't be salvaged. I took it as a challenge. Cranked the pump speed to max, put on some Noctua server fans, and put it to the test. Devil's Canyon i7 clocked 4.9ghz all cores @1.42v, managed temps low 70s. Quite impressive. So, cut to today, it has been running 4.6ghz @1.25v with adjusted fan speeds and it stays around 50c, even after nearly 3 years.

If anything, the fans on many of these AIO are junk, but that can be easily resolved.

But yeah, wow I've wrote a book, TL;DR simple heat dissipation. More surface area, the better. Air or liquid, doesn't matter.

[Bad 💀 Motha]

no 120mm AIO is worth it. It will not cool any better than a 120/140mm air cooler.
If you're going to go AIO for a CPU, go around 240mm, minimum