What coolers are best for generic game use and not OC’in

robwigan · 2 Oct 2022 at 12:00

I really really like the look of AIO coolers especially over air coolers. (Rgb wast a thing when I last built so I’m wanting to get some in this)

There is an obvious price difference, with AIOs being quite a bit more expensive and I have my concerns over a cheaper product when it is full of water in a Pc. Can any one recommend a cheap AIO that’s been ok for them ? Or failing that, an air cooler that doesn’t look too bad ?

Sorry should add I’m looking at a current gen i5 maybe the new ryzens depends on these now mobo prices.

Minibiker · 2 Oct 2022 at 12:04

Hiya bud

I have been running a Deepcool Gammax L240 and L120 in my builds over the last few years, never had any issues with leakes or temperatures... I'd happily buy another one

Haz123 · 2 Oct 2022 at 14:04

I cannot remember ever reading a thread about a leaking AIO. It is so rare that I would say it is not worth worrying about.

Arctic Liquid Freezer II High Performance CPU Water Cooler - 240mm

Order Arctic Liquid Freezer II High Performance CPU Water Cooler - 240mm now online and benefit from fast delivery.

www.overclockers.co.uk

I have the RGB 360 version of that cooler in a second pc. You get good warranty and support with Artic and I would use them again. Yes AIOs are more expensive but they can make your PC look a lot neater and you can get the above cooler with RGB fans if you prefer.

The thing you should be thinking about is that some AIOs from Corsair/Phanteks will come with their own propriety rgb system and often come with a seperate little box that you plug into the mobo and control RGB by a seperate piece of software. I dislike the corsair software with a passion and would avoid it if I could. The artic cooler I linked will use your motherboards generic RGB software such as Mystic light or Aura sync etc and I think thats the better route to go.

lsg1r · 2 Oct 2022 at 14:47

Haz123 said:
I cannot remember ever reading a thread about a leaking AIO. It is so rare that I would say it is not worth worrying about.

I'm on my 5th AIO between all my builds, I've had to replace two 240mm rads due to 'evaporation' of the fluids inside but I've never had one leak, although this was with 'older' AIO's.

@robwigan Currently I'm running an EK Basic 360mm AIO (£110 inc 3x fans) with noctua chromax fans (no rgb) but you could easily run your choice of rgb fans instead or pick up their rgb version for £20 more.

I originally had lian li al120's on mine but sent them back so I would not recommend them, although I'm sure others will. They have a breakout box which was ok (I had placement issues in my o11evo though) but in my experience (and others still are based on reddit) the software stopped my cpu clocking down to save power etc which is a far bigger issue imo.

My older rig is running a bequiet 360mm AIO (this has a refill port - it didn't leak even after a top up of the fluids), this is with bequiet fans and while I've got non rgb fans, they do some rgb ones now too.... they should be pretty quiet.

V F · 3 Oct 2022 at 21:10

lsg1r said:
I'm on my 5th AIO between all my builds, I've had to replace two 240mm rads due to 'evaporation' of the fluids inside but I've never had one leak, although this was with 'older' AIO's.

Interesting. How quick did it evaporate and which brand? and when did you start discovering it? Was it vertical or horizontal on the roof?

lsg1r · 3 Oct 2022 at 21:45

V F said:
Interesting. How quick did it evaporate and which brand? and when did you start discovering it? Was it vertical or horizontal on the roof?

IIRC a silverstone and a coolermaster 240mm, neither of them exactly expensive but it was a time when 90% of the AIO's were just rebranded asetek anyway...
How long, I think it was around 2 years of use but I was using them pretty heavily with rendering etc. You could tell pretty easily once it was out of the case and you started shaking it.

In the roof of the case and basically I started hearing more gurgling/bubbling and higher fan rpm due to temps going up by a noticeable margin. If you know how your pc sounds/feels etc, and most of us on here will, you'll notice the change imo.

Mr Jack · 6 Oct 2022 at 17:51

robwigan said:
Sorry should add I’m looking at a current gen i5 maybe the new ryzens depends on these now mobo prices.

If you're rocking that kind of level processor, and not going for OC, then I'd say you're better with air. Obviously if you want AIO for aesthetics, that's fair enough, but air will provide plenty enough cooling at a lower price and run nice and quiet too. Something like the be Quiet! Pure Rock 2, or the Cooler Master Hyper 212 will provide plenty of cooling for £35-£40. If you want RGB the Arctic Freezer i35 RGB will do the job just fine.

robwigan · 6 Oct 2022 at 20:41

Mr Jack said:
If you're rocking that kind of level processor, and not going for OC, then I'd say you're better with air. Obviously if you want AIO for aesthetics, that's fair enough, but air will provide plenty enough cooling at a lower price and run nice and quiet too. Something like the be Quiet! Pure Rock 2, or the Cooler Master Hyper 212 will provide plenty of cooling for £35-£40. If you want RGB the Arctic Freezer i35 RGB will do the job just fine.

Silly I know but when I first built a pc 10 years ago I built to a budget and had to buy parts for performance and nothing else. Because of that I couldn’t get things I really wanted, nice case, AIO, nice good level mobo.

This time around I’m wanting to spend that but more, a decent AIO seems to be possible for around 80/90.

It may also be I haven’t seen a nice looking air example though.

lsg1r · 6 Oct 2022 at 21:04

robwigan said:
Silly I know but when I first built a pc 10 years ago I built to a budget and had to buy parts for performance and nothing else. Because of that I couldn’t get things I really wanted, nice case, AIO, nice good level mobo.

This time around I’m wanting to spend that but more, a decent AIO seems to be possible for around 80/90.

It may also be I haven’t seen a nice looking air example though.

Be careful on the cooler you pick for Ryzen 7000 series (and likely intel)....the hyper 212 is only rated for 150w tdp which is lower than the 170w of the top 2 amd 7000 series.

This might be useful, AMD has their own suggested coolers to cope with the tdp's

https://www.amd.com/en/processors/ryzen-thermal-solutions

Tired9 · 7 Oct 2022 at 01:43

Had one break on me, busted and leaked everywhere after 4 years. ECO ALC from CoolIt, failure of this kind was well noted and it destroyed my old MSI 790FX-GD70 motherboard.

I have since had a Corsair H100 and now an EK-AIO 360 and this is a non issue.

I would though go air, you can't go wrong especially with no OC.

Budget but top performing air coolers.
Scythe Fuma 2.
Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE. ---- I Recommend this!

Value for money air coolers.
Coolermaster Hyper 212.
Vetroo V5.

robwigan · 7 Oct 2022 at 23:08

Tired9 said:
Had one break on me, busted and leaked everywhere after 4 years. ECO ALC from CoolIt, failure of this kind was well noted and it destroyed my old MSI 790FX-GD70 motherboard.

I have since had a Corsair H100 and now an EK-AIO 360 and this is a non issue.

I would though go air, you can't go wrong especially with no OC.

Budget but top performing air coolers.
Scythe Fuma 2.
Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE. ---- I Recommend this!

Value for money air coolers.
Coolermaster Hyper 212.
Vetroo V5.

Why would you say go air though, the requirement for cooling is less as I’m not OC and I prefer much the aesthetics of AIOs

Tired9 · 8 Oct 2022 at 00:12

robwigan said:
Why would you say go air though, the requirement for cooling is less as I’m not OC and I prefer much the aesthetics of AIOs

Well get an AIO then.

Mr Jack · 8 Oct 2022 at 10:17

robwigan said:
Why would you say go air though, the requirement for cooling is less as I’m not OC and I prefer much the aesthetics of AIOs

It doesn't really seem like you need advice here, any AIO is going to be powerful enough for a non-OC build at the grade of CPU you're talking about. Pick one you like the looks of and fits your budget, and you'll be fine.

Saffy · 9 Oct 2022 at 18:12

An AIO would be overkill if you're not OC'in. Consider a dual tower cooler with RGB perhaps..

SpellowHouse · 10 Oct 2022 at 11:09

robwigan said:
I really really like the look of AIO coolers especially over air coolers. (Rgb wast a thing when I last built so I’m wanting to get some in this)

There is an obvious price difference, with AIOs being quite a bit more expensive and I have my concerns over a cheaper product when it is full of water in a Pc. Can any one recommend a cheap AIO that’s been ok for them ? Or failing that, an air cooler that doesn’t look too bad ?

Sorry should add I’m looking at a current gen i5 maybe the new ryzens depends on these now mobo prices.

I didn't read the other posts.

Don't go for an AIO. Unless you actually need one you are just buying yourself trouble. They are noisier and more likely to fail than a simple heatsink. Get a Noctua Chromax Black. It will easily out perform a cheaper AIO, be quieter and have a longer lifetime.

boabs · 13 Oct 2022 at 22:09

jonsbo make good fans for the money.