Recommended Liquid AIO Coolers for an Intel I7 6700k, anything up to 240mm?

[scott]

Hey guys, corsair H100I GTX isn't working properly, and i'm getting a new cooler. I didn't do much research picking this cooler when I did, but now i'm a lot more educated (not smart at all, but more educated) in the pc building scene, and I need help deciding on a new AIO cooler that will mount properly unlike this corsair, that is within $130 but still quality. Any help would be great, and please don't leave useless comments like telling me to build my own loop, because that isn't going to happen.


Thanks!

[Air]

Well, I'm personally using an H100i V2 with the same CPU at 4.6GHz and I've experienced no issues myself(aside from fan noise from the included fans, which are easily replaceable).

[Beardface31]

Are you done with Corsair completely? They do make some of the best closed loop coolers. The H105 would be worth reading into. 5/5 on Newegg with around 300 reviews.

[Revelene]

If the H100i GTX is not performing to standard, get an RMA.

How exactly is it not working properly?

[scott]

Opprinnelig skrevet av Beardface:

Are you done with Corsair completely? They do make some of the best closed loop coolers. The H105 would be worth reading into. 5/5 on Newegg with around 300 reviews.

Yes, i'm done with corsair. Spent nearly all of my freetime in the past 3 weeks trying to figure out what is going on with this thing. The temps started absurd, got better, then got absurd again.

[scott]

Opprinnelig skrevet av Bill S. Preston, Esquire:

If the H100i GTX is not performing to standard, get an RMA.

How exactly is it not working properly?

Not going to RMA it, but I will tell you what's wrong with it.

-Doesn't fit properly, regardless of using correct standoffs and positioning it correctly during installation, the heatsink doesn't firmly press against the CPU, I found this out when I took it apart last time getting 80c readings on Arma 3 with my fans going ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ crazy and saw that most of the thermal paste was still on the CPU.

[Arya]

My recommendations are EK Waterblock and Swiftech. I just hope they're within your budget.

They're a little different to normal AIOs. You can take them apart and maintain them, which cures most of the usual AIOs problems with Algae and coagulating coolant. The only downside is the cost, they're both around 25% more expensive than say, an NZXT Kraken.

I wanted water cooling for my current PC, but all of the mainstream models I looked at had some kind of horrible design flaw. The Hydro series had ill-fitting waterblocks that caused problems with Skylake CPUs. The Deepcool Captain didn't offer enough cooling to justify the price. The NZXT Kraken is apparently a ticking time-bomb waiting to leak, and has terrible software as well.

[Revelene]

Opprinnelig skrevet av Terry:

Opprinnelig skrevet av Bill S. Preston, Esquire:

If the H100i GTX is not performing to standard, get an RMA.

How exactly is it not working properly?

Not going to RMA it, but I will tell you what's wrong with it.

-Doesn't fit properly, regardless of using correct standoffs and positioning it correctly during installation, the heatsink doesn't firmly press against the CPU, I found this out when I took it apart last time getting 80c readings on Arma 3 with my fans going ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ crazy and saw that most of the thermal paste was still on the CPU.

What do you mean by "most of the thermal paste was still on the CPU"? That is exactly where thermal paste goes and should stay. Are you trying to bolt it down so hard that all the paste comes off?

Are you sure you are even installing it correctly? Describe your installation process, in detail. If you are having that much issue, I have the feeling that this is user error.. rather than a faulty cooler.

[Bad 💀 Motha]

Opprinnelig skrevet av Bill S. Preston, Esquire:

Are you sure you are even installing it correctly?

We already went over this with the OP in previous threads. I fear he has stripped the included backplate. Yes they are cheap crap. They can be a bit fragile.

People don't read directions either; even a good video, they tell you DO NOT keep screwing the bolts down, or over-tighten. The bolts just stop when flush with motherboard, you keep turning > you strip the backplate. Leas that is how ones like H100/H110 are.

Check out these Coolers:

NZXT Kraken X61 (280): https://www.nzxt.com/products/kraken-x61
EK XLC Predator (240 or 360): https://www.ekwb.com/solutions/all-in-one

EK also offer full kits too with separate liquid reservoir; good for beginners when it comes to a complete solution. Can be better than an All In One type > https://www.ekwb.com/solutions/kits

https://www.ekwb.com/guides

[Revelene]

Opprinnelig skrevet av Bad-Motha:

Opprinnelig skrevet av Bill S. Preston, Esquire:

Are you sure you are even installing it correctly?

We already went over this with the OP in previous threads. I fear he has stripped the included backplate. Yes they are cheap crap. They can be a bit fragile.

People don't read directions either; even a good video, they tell you DO NOT keep screwing the bolts down, or over-tighten. The bolts just stop when flush with motherboard, you keep turning > you strip the backplate. Leas that is how ones like H100/H110 are.

Yes look at these Coolers:

NZXT Kraken X61: https://www.nzxt.com/products/kraken-x61
EK XLC Predator 240: https://www.ekwb.com/solutions/all-in-one

EK off full kits too with separate liquid reservoir; good for beginners, better than an All In One type.

Ah, okay. He stripped the bolts and blames Corsair. So, as I guessed, user error.

Thanks for the confirmation.

OP, they probably won't RMA since you damaged the product. Be advised that you will have to be careful with any cooler installation, be it AIO or air.

[Bad 💀 Motha]

Only OP can account for what happened with the hardware; but according to what was all stated previous threads; seems the Pump is not very tight on the CPU; this tells me the backplate is stripped.

But again, it doesn't have to be that... it could just be failing pump, and thus is reason for the higher then expecting CPU Temps.

[shiel]

Why does it have to be an aio cooler OP? You can get very good air coolers with a much lower chance of failure (and a lower cost) for similar performance.

[Bad 💀 Motha]

Yea I mean an Air Cooler can last the life of many builds; if the Fan on it fails, you replace it.
Hyper212 for example, the fans clip on, you can keep changing fans. It's not a proprietary fan. Or you can ditch the included fan and use a better one, like Corsair, Noctua, etc...

If your AIO Pump fails, they whole kit is now junk.

[Arya]

Opprinnelig skrevet av Bad-Motha:

Yea I mean an Air Cooler can last the life of many builds; if the Fan on it fails, you replace it.
Hyper212 for example, the fans clip on, you can keep changing fans. It's not a proprietary fan. Or you can ditch the included fan and use a better one, like Corsair, Noctua, etc...

If your AIO Pump fails, they whole kit is now junk.

Exactly. I just scrapped my old gaming build, one part I did keep was the 212 EVO. All it needed after 3 years of work was a new fan, a blast of Canned Air and a bit of a cleanup. It'll be good for another few builds yet.

[scott]

Opprinnelig skrevet av Bill S. Preston, Esquire:

Opprinnelig skrevet av Bad-Motha:

We already went over this with the OP in previous threads. I fear he has stripped the included backplate. Yes they are cheap crap. They can be a bit fragile.

People don't read directions either; even a good video, they tell you DO NOT keep screwing the bolts down, or over-tighten. The bolts just stop when flush with motherboard, you keep turning > you strip the backplate. Leas that is how ones like H100/H110 are.

Yes look at these Coolers:

NZXT Kraken X61: https://www.nzxt.com/products/kraken-x61
EK XLC Predator 240: https://www.ekwb.com/solutions/all-in-one

EK off full kits too with separate liquid reservoir; good for beginners, better than an All In One type.

Ah, okay. He stripped the bolts and blames Corsair. So, as I guessed, user error.

Thanks for the confirmation.

OP, they probably won't RMA since you damaged the product. Be advised that you will have to be careful with any cooler installation, be it AIO or air.

you're cute
I didn't strip anything. I was very gentle installing everything, and if something happens to be stripped, it was sent that way.

[scott]

Opprinnelig skrevet av Bill S. Preston, Esquire:

Opprinnelig skrevet av Terry:

Not going to RMA it, but I will tell you what's wrong with it.

-Doesn't fit properly, regardless of using correct standoffs and positioning it correctly during installation, the heatsink doesn't firmly press against the CPU, I found this out when I took it apart last time getting 80c readings on Arma 3 with my fans going ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ crazy and saw that most of the thermal paste was still on the CPU.

What do you mean by "most of the thermal paste was still on the CPU"? That is exactly where thermal paste goes and should stay. Are you trying to bolt it down so hard that all the paste comes off?

Are you sure you are even installing it correctly? Describe your installation process, in detail. If you are having that much issue, I have the feeling that this is user error.. rather than a faulty cooler.

It was on the CPU but not spread out at all or little on the heatsink (which there should be) meaning that it was making poor contact.