Has anyone else given up on AIO's

I've literally never used one.

I don't have an issue have a huge block of metal being in my case.

I probably won't upgrade for years, seems nothing is really much better than a 12700k at 4k gaming

must have been running this cpu for about 4 years now? could run it for another 1-2 at this rate if not more.

That's a long time to expect an AIO to last, a heatsink gives peace of mind.


are people scared by the size of big heatsinks? and don't like installing them or something?
 
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arknor said:
I've literally never used one.

I don't have an issue have a huge block of metal being in my case.

I probably won't upgrade for years, seems nothing is really much better than a 12700k at 4k gaming

must have been running this cpu for about 4 years now? could run it for another 1-2 at this rate if not more.

That's a long time to expect an AIO to last, a heatsink gives peace of mind.


are people scared by the size of big heatsinks? and don't like installing them or something?
Click to expand...

You've never used an AIO because of personal fears and question if people are the opposite and scared of air coolers? You can overcome what you worry about by giving it a go.

Anything that works can stop working, but about the lifespan, 4 years is not special for AIOs.

If we grab the cheaper than everyone else, Thermalright AIOs and look at 360 coolers:

£50 gets you 3 years warranty
£60 gets you 5 years warranty

And at some point they get to a 6 year warranty with parts of the range that ocuk don't stock. I think it's about £100+ and they start stuffing LCD screens on the pump.

Corsair who's been partnering with Asetek since the dawn of time launched the original H50 with a 2 year warranty in 2009. Mine is still running in 2025, sneaking closer to 20 years. Well the loop is anyway, original fan (1) is long gone.

Corsair still partners with Asetek but these years they offer 5 and 6 year warranties.

There's optimistic or cynical ways to look at a warranty but it's something. You'd hope that paying much more for the same rad size AIO would get a much better warranty but no, £100 or 400, still 6 years max that I see.

In my opinion it's the fans that limit the warranty. The pump, the tubes, the loop and block materials, lots more freedom to spec to last forever and not a unique problem so plenty to copy from other products with loops of liquid, metal and rubbery tube.
 
Had a Corsair H110i, pump leaked after a few years and destroyed one of my 1080TI's. Went back to air and currently using a Peerless Assassin 120 on my 7800X3D.
 
arknor said:
I've literally never used one.

I don't have an issue have a huge block of metal being in my case.

I probably won't upgrade for years, seems nothing is really much better than a 12700k at 4k gaming

must have been running this cpu for about 4 years now? could run it for another 1-2 at this rate if not more.

That's a long time to expect an AIO to last, a heatsink gives peace of mind.


are people scared by the size of big heatsinks? and don't like installing them or something?
Click to expand...
I was previously using a noctua air cooler and it worked brilliantly, but boy was it ugly :p

AIO's look far better and perform at least as well.
 
I'd been using AIO's for years up until my latest build, where I opted to go for a Phantom Spirit cooler because it was £30 and I wanted to see how it would do.
Aesthetically an AIO will probably look better most of the time but I have been impressed with the performance of a cheaper alternative.
 
Hotwired said:
You've never used an AIO because of personal fears and question if people are the opposite and scared of air coolers? You can overcome what you worry about by giving it a go.
Click to expand...
one works without possible of failing.
the other can fail at any notice in multiple ways.

why would I want to risk it on a long term build where I probably won't upgrade the cpu/mobo for 5-6years

worst that can happen to a heatsink is I need to take a fan from somewhere else in the case.

could use the same d15 since 2014 even which is when they first came out.
in that time you'd probably go through 2-3aios

chatgpt reckons I could keep using the same d15 for another 10+ years, assuming cpu don't go crazy with there TPD

Lifespan expectations:​

  • Heatsink body (baseplate + fins + mounting hardware):
    Should last decades (10+ to 20+ years) without any meaningful loss in cooling performance. Copper and aluminum won’t degrade significantly in typical indoor environments.
 
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arknor said:
one works without possible of failing.
the other can fail at any notice in multiple ways.

why would I want to risk it on a long term build where I probably won't upgrade the cpu/mobo for 5-6years

worst that can happen to a heatsink is I need to take a fan from somewhere else in the case.

could use the same d15 since 2014 even which is when they first came out.
in that time you'd probably go through 2-3aios
Click to expand...

I'm dealing with someone who think a second hand HSF goes "bad":rolleyes:
 
hornetstinger said:
I'm dealing with someone who think a second hand HSF goes "bad":rolleyes:
Click to expand...
where did I say HSF goes bad? apart from the fan?

I'm talking about the negatives of AIO... not being worth it... I never said a chunk of metal can stop working. I said the opposite...

Could use the same heatsink across multiple builds, with an AIO you'd likely wanna replace it after 3-5 years if not sooner, especially if you were doing a whole new build.

waste of money, to much can fail and I bet most of the people using them have a heatsink as backup, unless they live near a PC hw retailer.

how often you AIO guys checking cpu/gpu temps?
 
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arknor said:
one works without possible of failing.
the other can fail at any notice in multiple ways.

why would I want to risk it on a long term build where I probably won't upgrade the cpu/mobo for 5-6years

worst that can happen to a heatsink is I need to take a fan from somewhere else in the case.

could use the same d15 since 2014 even which is when they first came out.
in that time you'd probably go through 2-3aios

chatgpt reckons I could keep using the same d15 for another 10+ years, assuming cpu don't go crazy with there TPD

Lifespan expectations:​

  • Heatsink body (baseplate + fins + mounting hardware):
    Should last decades (10+ to 20+ years) without any meaningful loss in cooling performance. Copper and aluminum won’t degrade significantly in typical indoor environments.
Click to expand...

If you read what I said then you'd know I'm using an AIO older than a d15 because that AIO came out in 2009. I also have air coolers for when the build suited it.

As long as the cpu doesn't throttle it doesn't care what preference you have or what aesthetics you like or practical reasons you're using it.

What did get my attention is the bit where you shared a thought that people were scared of using an air cooler... while you're obviously scared of using an AIO and are determined to remain that way. Why throw stones in a glass house...

Also getting my attention that you ask chatgpt then post what chatgpt tells you. I don't agree or disagree with what it has given you, it's worth a discussion how long an air cooler will last but if I said whats the true source, could you get it?
 
arknor said:
I've literally never used one.

I don't have an issue have a huge block of metal being in my case.

I probably won't upgrade for years, seems nothing is really much better than a 12700k at 4k gaming

must have been running this cpu for about 4 years now? could run it for another 1-2 at this rate if not more.

That's a long time to expect an AIO to last, a heatsink gives peace of mind.


are people scared by the size of big heatsinks? and don't like installing them or something?
Click to expand...


It's really not, my current one has been in six years, my last one was working fine after ten years, and was only replaced when I built a new system.

AIO all the way for me.

PS - Are you scared of installing an AIO? - If anyone has already been installing AIO's why would they fear installing a heatsink? - It's more straightforward...

:cry:
 
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arknor said:
where did I say HSF goes bad? apart from the fan?

I'm talking about the negatives of AIO... not being worth it... I never said a chunk of metal can stop working. I said the opposite...

Could use the same heatsink across multiple builds, with an AIO you'd likely wanna replace it after 3-5 years if not sooner, especially if you were doing a whole new build.

waste of money, to much can fail and I bet most of the people using them have a heatsink as backup, unless they live near a PC hw retailer.

how often you AIO guys checking cpu/gpu temps?
Click to expand...

Some uninformed nonsense in here methinks. :D

You can use the same AIO over multiple builds, 3-5 years? where are you getting this from?

How are they a waste of money? I bought a refurb'd Corsair AIO from here for £40 that was still working a decade later, my current AIO has so far cost me about £15 P/A.

How often are heatsink guys checking cpu/gpu temps?
 
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Other than the fact I find it easier to work in a case with an AIO installed than a big heatsink I don't have anything against heatsink coolers. In the old days they could be a little trickier to install, not sure if they've improved that with the newer ones.

It does worry me a little having a heatsink that's too big and heavy hanging off a motherboard secured by 4 tiny little screws. And if you you move it lots I think having the bulk of the weight firmly screwed to the case is a plus.

As for replacing it, yeah you might need to replace it more often, but I also replace (some of the following) my CPU, graphics card, motherboard, RAM, storage, PSU and case in that sort of timeframe. Given the price of some of those bits a new AIO isn't a huge part of the budget and I also like getting new things.
 
GoogalyMoogaly said:
Other than the fact I find it easier to work in a case with an AIO installed than a big heatsink I don't have anything against heatsink coolers. In the old days they could be a little trickier to install, not sure if they've improved that with the newer ones.

It does worry me a little having a heatsink that's too big and heavy hanging off a motherboard secured by 4 tiny little screws. And if you you move it lots I think having the bulk of the weight firmly screwed to the case is a plus.

As for replacing it, yeah you might need to replace it more often, but I also replace (some of the following) my CPU, graphics card, motherboard, RAM, storage, PSU and case in that sort of timeframe. Given the price of some of those bits a new AIO isn't a huge part of the budget and I also like getting new things.
Click to expand...

Those tiny little screw attach to the backplate which spread the load over a wider area.
 
I switched to an AIO last year from a Noctua air cooler. Systems currently running with a Ryzen 5 7600x. Appreciate it's not a power hungry beast, but temps did drop appreciably. Part of the reason though for the swap, was that the fans on the air cooler were interfering with the ram slots, and causing issues. With the AIO pump/contact plate being a lot smaller, there is no longer any issues getting to the ram slots.
 
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