difference between aio and watercooling

[marco.da.man]

hi guys

was it the main difference and benefits off water cooling to an aio cooler ?
at current i'm running a coolermaster master liquid 240 lite. but i see plenty off builds with water cooling and was wandering what are the benefits if any ?

are they difficult to set up ?
if you change your rig do that dry out if lefty taken apart after a period off time ?
what makes this work so well and do you need a different type off fan for them ?

 

[Methos]

AIO's are ok as a bridge gap really

They're as easy to fit as air coolers... but with the added use of a radiator... making them ideal solutions for people that want the extra cooling benefits of liquid cooling, but not the extra hardship of a full loop.

A custom loop has quite a few benefits

- can loop CPU and GPU together or separately
- can use as many radiators as you can fit in your case
- can expand as needed without buying the entire thing again
- if one part breaks down / leaks, can just replace that, not the entire thing
- customisation with colour / fluid / style for a unique look

You can get separate AIO's for CPU and then another for your GPU... but together they take up quite a bit of room and can complicate things... but building them together in a single custom loop is surprisingly easy once you get going and plan everything out.

But to answer your questions in order

AIO's are very easy to setup, and most come with reasonable fans, but will be better replaced with some static pressure PWM fans.

Custom take more planning and research, but as long as you're diligent in your planning they can go pretty smoothly.

I've not personally heard of any AIO's drying out over time... with custom loops, draining them and cleaning them out, then refilling them is part of the maintenance expected that comes with them to make sure they're running efficiently.

They work best because the heat is spread out over the radiator, or radiators in custom loops... giving you the ability to cool more heat down, or spread the cooling over multiple radiators to keep the fans at a lower RPM for quieter running.