AIO, worth it? Now with results

Devrij · 9 May 2017 at 14:29

I have some money burning a hole in my pocket (£140 to be precise) after my birthday, and given that I'm pretty much sorted in every other respect of my build, I was thinking of using it to replace my ancient Thermaltake Frio (which I must say does admirably and keeps my 3770k at 4.5ghz in mid 70s on a warm day). This is part aesthetic and part future proofing to an extent.

So are they worth it? Was looking at a cryorig a80 or a kraken. I think I'll be going to zen eventually so the ability to directly air cool vrms with the cryorig did seem valuable, but it does look a bit pants.

Currently using a phantom 630 tower so can fit 240, 280 and 360 rads.

Thoughts?

Glanza · 9 May 2017 at 14:33

If you've got the money and want to take the plunge you might get slightly lower temps but the AIO don't generally perform much better than a good tower cooler.

ttaskmaster · 9 May 2017 at 14:45

Having used all three of these options:

If you can find a very good one (ie, a top end Corsair one) at a bloody good price, then yes they are SO worth it.
If you can find a top end air cooler at even a reasonable price, then that will likely be better, especially in the long term.

The only way to go better than that is a custom water loop.

orbitalwalsh · 9 May 2017 at 14:46

@Devrij Currently got a Corsair AIO in an Aorus build , was OCUK H100 RGB kit which was on a deal and still is

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/cors...quid-cooler-oem-ocuk-exclusive-bu-02f-cs.html

but I normally use Alphacool's AIO kits are the have stronger pumps , full copper rads but still look cheap AIO kits so going to make up my own version using The alphacool CPU pump with thicker tubing and a high quality radiator, to the same cost as the Corsair RGB kit at full price and see how it does performance wise with Ryzen 5 chip i have.

Must admit the h100 is doing well but im guessing this is again down to the SP RGB fans

deFiniLoGy · 9 May 2017 at 15:37

AIO have idle pump noise, air cooling tower wont.

If you have the cash to go air tower like D15 then the temperature/noise ratio won't be far off between a decent 240 AIO & dual tower air cooler.

But if size is a constraint and you're not sensitive to humming noise then you'll be fine with an AIO.

If not, either go full-on custom or a decent air cooler.

Devrij · 9 May 2017 at 16:17

I like the idea of my case being easier to work in, which is a big part of me wanting to go water instead of having a big lump handing off my mobo. If I can drop 5C off my load temps and provide better airflow for my gpu (the only noisy part of my build) then I'll be happy.

Idle pump noise I hadn't considered. Are they quite loud?

Blackjack Davy · 9 May 2017 at 16:29

In my experience they perform no better than an air cooler. They still have fans so there is still the noise factor and there is always that niggling worry in the back of your mind as to whether they'll spring a leak or the pump failing. None ever did on mine but you can never quite shift that doubt.

The only thing that performs better are custom loops or pre-built loops.

ttaskmaster · 9 May 2017 at 17:16

Devrij said:
Idle pump noise I hadn't considered. Are they quite loud?

Some can be. I had the old H100 and you only noticed the pump/vibration noise if you knew what you were looking for and put your head within 9" of the case... and listened closely over the noise of the case fans.
I would advise considering the possibility replacing whatever fans come with the AIO... but definitely playing with and trying them out first. Mine weren't that bad, but swapping them out for better fans was better (on both the noise and cooling).

I wouldn't use one again, but it was good enough for me at the time. With the Noctua fans on it I shaved a good 25ºC off what I was getting with the tower cooler.

Devrij · 9 May 2017 at 18:28

You guys aren't helping me spend this money

It sounds like it's a bit pointless if it's going to be mo quieter, no cooler, and introduce a slight risk of leaks/pump failure. All for the value of it being a bit easier to reach the clip on my pci-e bracket or my RAM slots and looking a bit nicer.

deFiniLoGy · 9 May 2017 at 18:54

Devrij said:
I like the idea of my case being easier to work in, which is a big part of me wanting to go water instead of having a big lump handing off my mobo. If I can drop 5C off my load temps and provide better airflow for my gpu (the only noisy part of my build) then I'll be happy.

Idle pump noise I hadn't considered. Are they quite loud?

It's not loud, but if you can notice it, it's certainly annoying especially in idle when you aren't expecting noise.

IMO your best choice would be to upgrade the air cooler to something like the NH-D15.

Devrij · 9 May 2017 at 19:42

deFiniLoGy said:
It's not loud, but if you can notice it, it's certainly annoying especially in idle when you aren't expecting noise.

IMO your best choice would be to upgrade the air cooler to something like the NH-D15.

Nah, you are right in that if I wanted a decent improvement in temps it'd be a good choice, but I was also hoping to try something new and declutter my case a bit at the same time. If all I can get out of it is the decluttered case then I may have to consider something else to throw my money at (maybe the start of a Ryzen build)

deFiniLoGy · 9 May 2017 at 20:18

Devrij said:
Nah, you are right in that if I wanted a decent improvement in temps it'd be a good choice, but I was also hoping to try something new and declutter my case a bit at the same time. If all I can get out of it is the decluttered case then I may have to consider something else to throw my money at (maybe the start of a Ryzen build)

Well. Not exactly... a 240 AIO will keep your 3770k down to around 60-65C probably while keeping your case looking clean and nice (Kraken x52) but whether that 10C is worth risking for a slight hum in idle that's your choice.

(I wouldn't bother since 75C is a fair temp tbh).

Devrij · 9 May 2017 at 20:32

deFiniLoGy said:
Well. Not exactly... a 240 AIO will keep your 3770k down to around 60-65C probably while keeping your case looking clean and nice (Kraken x52) but whether that 10C is worth risking for a slight hum in idle that's your choice.

(I wouldn't bother since 75C is a fair temp tbh).

Ah, now 10C I would be happy with. Especially if it looked nice! Given that the spend is pure gift money, I don't mind too much if it's not a massive improvement over my current heatsink (which is as old as the i5 750). I just want to buy something more exciting than a hard drive to consolidate my other drives.

Safetytrousers · 9 May 2017 at 20:36

Before my H100i v2 (which was picked up today by a nice Scandinavian woman DHL driver) exploded I could not hear the pump at all from where I sit, and I sit about 3 feet from my PC. I could only hear the fans very slightly if I tried. Under load the fans were probably still quiet (levitating jobs), because my 1080 under load masked anything else.
If you are going for a pretty build a high performing air cooler is a going to be a big lump, and an AIO looks so much nicer in my opinion (certainly much nicer than my old D15), and the radiator if at the top is handy to stuff fan cables behind.

Devrij · 9 May 2017 at 20:43

Ah go on I'll get one then.

So what's the one to get (under 140 quid)? Kraken (280mm or 240mm?) or cryorig A80, or something else?

mattyg · 9 May 2017 at 20:53

You have to admit though they look better than AIR. And it keeps the case nice and tidy.

deFiniLoGy · 9 May 2017 at 21:57

IMO. Kraken X62.

GoRedwings19 · 10 May 2017 at 03:35

I have a dh 15 a kraken x62 and an ek predator 360. From my point of view the kraken x62 can cool better than a dh15 and look way better doing it but there is a downside to this. In my testing for personal observations it cooled only roughly 2/3 degrees better at the offset of being very very loud to to achieve this. You also have to use the NZXT cam software which is hit and miss depending on who you talk to. There is no doubt it looks great the performance is decent just don't expect it to beat the top aircoolers from various manufacturers by a huge margin.

THere is idle pump noise not obtrusively loud but certainly under idle condition you may notice your system more. Of course any top aircooler under idle you will just notice the fans/airflow.

THre is also the cost factor the Kraken when I got it was roughly about twice the price of the dh15. Only you can decide if this is worth it. If you are looking to make something that is pleasing to the eye and have decent performance then the Kraken may tick some of the boxes for you.

I have a 5930k at 4.4 ghz @1.26v when I was testing it for stability the kraken was overwhelmed. I don't consider my overclock an extreme one. If I ran it at stock then I would be comfortable using the kraken.

deFiniLoGy · 10 May 2017 at 09:41

One thing that might be worth doing is deluding ur CPU as well

Devrij · 10 May 2017 at 11:07

deFiniLoGy said:
One thing that might be worth doing is deluding ur CPU as well

I have, it's got liquid metal between the die and the spreader.