AIO or Air again

Rem700

Rem700

Rem700

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Joined
13 Oct 2017
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9
Just feel like a change and was wondering for the price will I get any better cooling
with a FrostFlow 120-R watercooling over the cooler master hyper 212 evo.
I have never used water system and would like to change from air.

MB MSI Tomahawk
CPU AMD AM4 1600 @ 3.9ghz
my case has a clear window and th hyper 212 stops me from putting memory in slot 4
so I need to change cooler before adding more Mem is the FrostFlow 120-R watercooling
one to go for,

cheers
 
oldbanana said:
Air ofcourse, AIO/CLC are pretty much pointless.
Click to expand...

OP has already demonstrated a benefit of fitting an AIO as he can utilise all RAM slots. Similar in my case with the large Noctua air cooler I can't fit one of the case fans.

Having said that I've recently tested my large Noctua air (£65.00), Corsair H45 (£39.95 discounted) & Kraken X62 (£145.00) and to be honest they all performed fairly similarly at the CPU end as the IHS on my i7 5820K with an OC can only get so much heat out of the CPU.

The system was cooler with the AIOs and the X62 had a lower liquid temp and very quiet fans (2 x 140mm) so should out last the H45. The H45 was better than I expected but the fan has to work harder (so the pump probably is too) and is louder as a result plus it's also got an annoying fan motor whine if you're near the system not the pump which I was expecting from previous budget AIO reviews.

So the budget AIO these days are actually very good but don't have all the bells and whistles of my X62 for example if you want RGB and full control on pump & fan speeds.
 
No they are not, plenty of air coolers with great ram clearance around for example I have a 50€ mugen 5 doesnt even cover the ram slots and handles 8700 @ 5ghz perfectly fine.
But if you like paying double or triple for extra noise, and hassle by all means do it.
 
I do not like the bulk of a decent air cooler but I do rest easy knowing that there is zero risk of any liquid leaks.
I am still wary of using an AIO for that reason. Warranty replacement of damaged parts can be a bit of a grey area.
 
oldbanana said:
No they are not, plenty of air coolers with great ram clearance around for example I have a 50€ mugen 5 doesnt even cover the ram slots and handles 8700 @ 5ghz perfectly fine.
But if you like paying double or triple for extra noise, and hassle by all means do it.
Click to expand...

I'm not arguing as they both have their place and you can pay the same and get similar performance or pay extra for more features. I have three types in use and the bits n pieces of several years of custom water cooling. For me the modern AIO coolers have caught up with the custom loops and I would only fit a custom loop now as a project or if I was after that nth degree of cooling.
 
are they still risky when it comes to leaking I thought that the technology behind AIO would have solved any issue with leaks
When I want to put more ram in I will have to change the cooling coz stolt 4 is covered.
as I said I don't want to spend a lot of money and if the FrostFlow 120-R watercooling £40 is capable of the same cooling as cooler master hyper 212 evo
then that would do, the most I want to spend is £60

and thanks for all the replies, its much appreciated
 
There is always a risk of leaks, especially with mass produced stuff, but if you choose a good brand like Corsair then should the worst happen then you should be ok?

I personally would (and have done many times) use an AIO/CLC to cool my CPU, I've personally had better temps & no worries about 1.2KG+ hanging off your motherboard!

Both options have their place, and if having the RAM slots free is important / necessary then an AIO is your best bet IMO :)
 
There is always a risk of leaks and it does still happen.

Altho it has been a while when I last searched to try and find what the manufacturers policies were for dealing with leaks it seemed overall to be a grey area.

People offered opinions on how they will be dealt with and one particular company will deal with each case on an individual basis it seems, not much else regarding others. I do not know if that has changed.

You can search and find examples of people having leaks and some have favourable outcomes, but the process takes a long time, whilst others have been less than satisfactory.
Some of the offers for the damaged motherboard and GPU from coolent leaks have been very poor.

When you buy a AIO you accept that there is a risk of leaks, no matter how small that might be

In the end I settled for a very good air cooler, the worse that can reasonably happen is that the fan stops working. It is both quiet and very efficient probably more so than any AIO, based on lots of reading at the time for comparisons.

My concerns of RAM clearance worked out fine with my cooler and its moveable fans. Also I did have some LP memory.

Even some memory with larger heatsinks can often have those heatsinks removed. Those heatsinks can be ridiculous in size. .

My cooler is a Cryorig R1 Ultimate.
 
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I have picked up a GameMax IceBerg 240 for £58 from a company that is unfortunately being closed down due to there lack of a good business model
I think you know who I mean.
So I got the AIO if there is any issue it's all covered by my home insurance as well as the manufacture should it go pair shape.
it's only a few quid more than a good air cooler. I will do some heat stress testing over the next fer days and let you know how it gets on.
But I would like to thank you for your responses and help much appreciated.

Rem
 
it cant be anymore noisier than the evo 212 plus 4 120 case fans so I will still have 4 fans but no heat sink or fan.
well it's the first time I will be trying a AIO and if it a pain then it will go back or I will keep it for a build, I do have some options.
 
Rem700 said:
Just feel like a change and was wondering for the price will I get any better cooling
with a FrostFlow 120-R watercooling over the cooler master hyper 212 evo.
I have never used water system and would like to change from air.

MB MSI Tomahawk
CPU AMD AM4 1600 @ 3.9ghz
my case has a clear window and th hyper 212 stops me from putting memory in slot 4
so I need to change cooler before adding more Mem is the FrostFlow 120-R watercooling
one to go for,

cheers
Click to expand...

what are you using the system for and how hot do the VRM's get. with no air blowing over the heatsink, the VRM's on the tomahawk will get quite hot. I use an extra fan to cool them when video rendering. I wouldn't bother with a 120 AIO either.


oldbanana said:
Enjoy the noise.
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I can't hear my fans on my AIO
 
Habakkuk said:
Go with an AIO over air if you can justify the cost - summer is coming.
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Heat pipe or water pipe makes no difference if there's no difference in area dissipating heat into air.
Meaning "water" coolers with small radiators don't have any automatic advantage.
And with lots of extra parts and more complex construction well built quality AIOs costs quite a lot more over good "air" coolers not charging from brand hype.
For example Scythe and Thermalright make very well priced high performance coolers.


Rem700 said:
I have picked up a GameMax IceBerg 240
Click to expand...
Seems to be at level of good air coolers basing to this:
https://www.kitguru.net/components/...ame-max-iceberg-240mm-liquid-cooler-review/5/
Though there's no noise measurements, just this.
Acoustically, the Iceberg is a mixed bag. Its fan are surprisingly quiet, even at their full speed of 1800 rpm, and that is certainly appreciated. However, as with many cheap AIOs, the downfall is the pump – it is just quite whiny and can be heard over the fans at all times.

And aluminium radiator and copper block isn't best combination for long term because of risk for galvanic corrosion between different metals if there's any kind electrical contact between them.
 
the cpu temp did not go over 37c under load with air it was going unto 57c so a 20c difference.
and it is so much quieter.
I can live with that
 
what a difference the gamemax 240 is very impressive' I have put the cpu under as high load as I can
and not only dose it keep the proc cool as in below 40c. So for anyone who might read this, I would recommend going with AIO
I cant believe how quiet it all is and a much better job of cooling the CPU.
 
Rem700 said:
what a difference the gamemax 240 is very impressive' I have put the cpu under as high load as I can
and not only dose it keep the proc cool as in below 40c. So for anyone who might read this, I would recommend going with AIO
I cant believe how quiet it all is and a much better job of cooling the CPU.
Click to expand...


That is an impressive result for you, well done.

I am not adverse to an AIO and will continue to look at them with interest.
I just wish that the manufacturers were less "grey" when it comes to dealing with leaks and the potential damage to other components caused if and when that should happen.

My Cryorig R1 Ultimate does an equally great job at cooling my i7 6700k which is overclocked at 4.7ghz. Even when pushing the CPU load at 100% for long periods the fans are just over 750rpm, iirc, and the PC is very quiet.

It is the thought of a leak and just how good air coolers can be that has kept me away from a AIO.
 
TBH we have got to the point where watercooling on CPUs is a bit pointless for every day use. The AIOs are no better than the high end air coolers either, so don't waste your money.

Save a lot of cash and leak risks by just making a small loop on the GPU.
 
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