especially when good air cooling can be had for just $40
Even-Narwhal-6888
That’s true
trickflame
100% agree. And I have a dual loop system, but it was like 50% purely for the aesthetic, 50% just because it was something I hadn’t done before that I wanted to try. 😂
qu38mm
Well i don’t have anything that requires more than my ak400 zero dark, so yeah lol
Big-Soft7432
I don’t think anyone would seriously argue otherwise. Water cooling is an enthusiast choice generally based on a desire for certain aesthetics.
GazelleUnique4610
My iBuyPower PC came with liquid cooling. There must have been a leak because all the coolant evaporated. Regular fans with a heatsink seem a lot more reliable
worldrenownedballdr
yes… gains from oc are nearly nonexistent with modern yolo f*ck it parts approach to power consumption.. stuff is pretty close to maxed out, more gains from undervolting even maybe the case these days.
I have been around pc’s since the 80s and I have never had an AIO or Loop… because adding a huge if this goes wrong it will absolutely f*ck all of your gear liquid cooler in my pc just doesn’t do it for me..
I’ve got a 12700K and a Peerless Assassin 120 that cost $30~ it is more than up to the job.. and it likely quieter than the pump noise from an AIO anyway… But I couldn’t care less I do not need to deal with a failure of a water cooling set up leaking all over my computer.. no thanx.
it was my 1st reaction to this when I first saw it 25? years ago.. and I still feel the same way.. I’d rather just have an Air Cooler personally.
adminsrlying2u
Keyword is most. You go top of the line, you are going to need that water-cooling to avoid throttling.
Muddy_Offroader
I’m thinking about getting an aio for my 10700f. Just switched from an oem iBuypower case to the NZ H9 Flow, never realized how much I was choking out my cpu with that case. It has a CM 212 black edition now, maybe an AK400 air cooler? It can draw up to 225w when boost so…
OnlyTilt
You find a cooler that can properly tame a threadripper that’s not the ice giant which won’t fit in my case and I’ll agree with you
Nomenous_Quandary
This isn’t a controversial take I don’t think.
BlueGeni
I see no lies.
sparklepusss
This is considered controversial ?
mobo_dojo
I think my aio was cheaper than my air cooler
No_Interaction_4925
AIO’s or custom loops? Cuz I can personally tell you my pc’s never needed a custom loop but I did it anyways.
terminallancedumbass
What about AIOs? My PC is quieter than the air purifier on low across the room. Using T-30s to push air through it at SUPER low RPMs and getting better noise performance than the corsair maglev fans that came with it.
I would more call it an overpriced luxury than a gimmick.
ogar78
$89 for my water cooler and it keeps my 7800x3d under 50 when idle and rarely even gets close to 80 under load. My prior air cooler likely would have done this or been close but was huge and louder. The $40 difference in price was worth the size decrease and slightly better noise.
Zealousideal_Mix5043
One thing to say it, another thing to use a $17 air cooler, which I do because that’s what the forefathers intended.
Zetra3
Wasent for me, well that’s not entirely true. I’m sure a bigger uglier fan would have solved my over heating issue.
A premade water block however was sleeker, and smaller
Boltman35
I just had my pc built 2 weeks ago at microcenter and I wasn’t feeling AIO. I went with the DeepCool AK620 Zero Dark. Loving it so far.
MustacheBRofc
I Mean… If you have a budget Pc with a Ryzen 5 or i5 there’s close to no reasons to pay more for a watercooler instead of a good Air cooler
E997
This picture from like 2010 or something? Water coolers are sometimes cheaper than air coolers these days
Amir3292
I would say custom water cooling is unnecessary for 99% of gamers. But a good value AIO is fine.
Doctor-Rabias
Happy with My 5800X3D and Deepcool AK620
TheSkelf
Pin this for all the new builders posting in pc build subs with their 65w ryzen 5600s with 250 bucks 360mm AIO
Mediocre_Ad_2422
I have a fucking oled screen on my pump, what do you have ? fucking fins brah
doomenguin
Yeah, an NH-D15 is enough.
Patient_Primary_4444
I agree, but it does make for a very clean looking inside… if done well
Evogleam
For most, maybe. I’m on my first liquid CPU cooler and I like it because it has a screen and it’s much smaller than the huge air cooler I had in other rigs
My 13900k likes it
It opens up the case nicely
ArtificialDuo
I’ve honestly been thinking about removing my water cooling and get a good air cooling for my cpu. And then add more fans into my case to better overall airflow.
Ok_Understanding6130
My current PC, is the only PC I have ever had or built with water cooling. I went with the Lian Li Galahad 240 AIO (for an 11600k) strictly for aesthetics. I love the fans, and the way it looks and I have never used water cooling before. (I haven’t OC’d a CPU since my Cyrix M-II 300mhz way back in the late 1990’s. I used a voltage jumper to run it at 333mhz stable.) I only did it because I got the AIO for such an amazing deal for Black Friday two Christmases ago. But I’ve never needed water cooling. I just thought it would be cool this one time. Plus once the AIO needs to be replaced, that’s when I build my next rig)
SorbP
For most applications a Noctua NH-D15 Will outperform any of the AIOS on the market, this is due to stupid patents that make the only viable AIO at that price point just worse, period.
Air has the advantage of cooling with close to zero maintenance, the fans will wear out eventually.
However if you are trying to cool something above 220W like the Intel ships, you need to go custom water cooling, and we are talking about kit in the 300-400 USD range for it to even be worth considering.
So yeah for most gamers and applications you don’t need anything more than an air-cooler. But for anything above that, water is the way.
FYI the real reason you go water is for noise reasons essentially i just paid about 400 dollars to make my computer more or less silent. To some it’s worth it for others it’s not.
synbios128
I agree. I’ll never get it. Everyone I know has had major leaking problems. Eff that noise.
chemicalrex
AIO do a good job at reducing noise at gaming temps
BigSmackisBack
The costs have made it silly expensive, back in the early days of high performance PC gaming blocks were £30-£50, pumps 20, tubing 10 you could cool cpu and gpu for less than just what a single block costs now.
So while ive done it before it no longer reflects the OC benefits for the cost, it just doesnt make sense unless you have unlimited money to cool the top dog stuff because if you dont use the best cpu/gpu combo then that water cooling money could just buy better air cooled parts.
Now if you dont have AC and live in a hot country, then it can make much more sense!
sigma941
I’ve done a custom loop, and the performance gains were negligible. (I did my homework on case shopping, fans, fan orientation, etc.) moved to a sff pc with the same components(minus water blocks/rads/etc.) and it performs beautifully without a huge rise in temps.
zebradYT
Went with a custom loop in my NR200P as it is nearly silent & has significantly better thermals compared to when it was on air. My CPU maxes out at 61c and my GPU maxes out at 52c while gaming.
Would not have the same performance and silence on air. The entire loop was just under $900 as well.
theivan8or
Define water cooling? Conventional, closed loop single phase water cooling can be very practical because the heat exchanger can be placed in an optimal place (say on the balcony where it is cold) and noise can be avoided in this manner, which is much more difficult to implement with air cooling. Phase change water cooling on the other hand is essential for allmost all PC users as this is how heatpipes work. Then, the next big step up is multi loop immersion cooling, which makes a lot of sense for ultra high performance systems as it allows for a much larger contact area and hence lower total thermal resistance as well as a larger thermal capacitance allowing to take huge spikes. Granted, this stops being true water cooling but becomes liquid cooling as usually flourinert or oil is used here. Another benefit is these can be run at cryogenic temperatures, while not quite as cold as liquid nitrogen these might actually result in a lower dye temperature due to a huge contact area. Finally, for high performance systems, a two loop water cooler can also make a lot of sense. Lastly, an honorable mention would be thermosyphon coolers as these tend to be silent and passive.
Red_Plato
My room gets hot in the summer. I have a 13700k. Yeah I could have gotten an air cooler but I just felt for my environment for those months it works out
Reasonable-Class3728
Maybe that’s why most people don’t use it.
Juiceworld
I actually use mine to heat my computer room in the winter.
I have a really old farm house(1880). Its a bastard to heat during the winter. So my wife and I close off the rooms we dont really use, and just heat the ones we do use with baseboard heaters. We have a forced air Oil furnace, but have you seen the price of oil? Well my computer room(12×12) has no heater, aside from my PC. So I turn on a game when I leave for work, so when I get home my room is nice and toasty. I turn it off at night. In the summer I put the rad in one of the two windows, blowing out, and open the other window. Pumps all the heat outside, and makes a nice crossbreeze through my room.
crasagam
I’m team air-cooled forever. Seen my fair share of liquid cooled disasters to give it a miss.
AlmoranasAngLubot69
I’m the opposite. I prefer air coolers not just for its reliability but oddly I also like it for aesthetics, especially the beefier air coolers. It’s like I have a supercar engine look lol
WonderWendyTheWeirdo
But eventually, I’ll want to overclock my machine (once I learn how) so I can play the Sims in 4k at 150 fps!
NecroHandAttack
So are 10 rgb fans
burneecheesecake
So what you are telling me is that you wouldn’t take a toaster into a bathtub but you would put water into a computer tub.
46 Comments
especially when good air cooling can be had for just $40
That’s true
100% agree. And I have a dual loop system, but it was like 50% purely for the aesthetic, 50% just because it was something I hadn’t done before that I wanted to try. 😂
Well i don’t have anything that requires more than my ak400 zero dark, so yeah lol
I don’t think anyone would seriously argue otherwise. Water cooling is an enthusiast choice generally based on a desire for certain aesthetics.
My iBuyPower PC came with liquid cooling. There must have been a leak because all the coolant evaporated. Regular fans with a heatsink seem a lot more reliable
yes… gains from oc are nearly nonexistent with modern yolo f*ck it parts approach to power consumption.. stuff is pretty close to maxed out, more gains from undervolting even maybe the case these days.
I have been around pc’s since the 80s and I have never had an AIO or Loop… because adding a huge if this goes wrong it will absolutely f*ck all of your gear liquid cooler in my pc just doesn’t do it for me..
I’ve got a 12700K and a Peerless Assassin 120 that cost $30~ it is more than up to the job.. and it likely quieter than the pump noise from an AIO anyway… But I couldn’t care less I do not need to deal with a failure of a water cooling set up leaking all over my computer.. no thanx.
it was my 1st reaction to this when I first saw it 25? years ago.. and I still feel the same way.. I’d rather just have an Air Cooler personally.
Keyword is most. You go top of the line, you are going to need that water-cooling to avoid throttling.
I’m thinking about getting an aio for my 10700f. Just switched from an oem iBuypower case to the NZ H9 Flow, never realized how much I was choking out my cpu with that case. It has a CM 212 black edition now, maybe an AK400 air cooler? It can draw up to 225w when boost so…
You find a cooler that can properly tame a threadripper that’s not the ice giant which won’t fit in my case and I’ll agree with you
This isn’t a controversial take I don’t think.
I see no lies.
This is considered controversial ?
I think my aio was cheaper than my air cooler
AIO’s or custom loops? Cuz I can personally tell you my pc’s never needed a custom loop but I did it anyways.
What about AIOs? My PC is quieter than the air purifier on low across the room. Using T-30s to push air through it at SUPER low RPMs and getting better noise performance than the corsair maglev fans that came with it.
I would more call it an overpriced luxury than a gimmick.
$89 for my water cooler and it keeps my 7800x3d under 50 when idle and rarely even gets close to 80 under load. My prior air cooler likely would have done this or been close but was huge and louder. The $40 difference in price was worth the size decrease and slightly better noise.
One thing to say it, another thing to use a $17 air cooler, which I do because that’s what the forefathers intended.
Wasent for me, well that’s not entirely true. I’m sure a bigger uglier fan would have solved my over heating issue.
A premade water block however was sleeker, and smaller
I just had my pc built 2 weeks ago at microcenter and I wasn’t feeling AIO. I went with the DeepCool AK620 Zero Dark. Loving it so far.
I Mean… If you have a budget Pc with a Ryzen 5 or i5 there’s close to no reasons to pay more for a watercooler instead of a good Air cooler
This picture from like 2010 or something? Water coolers are sometimes cheaper than air coolers these days
I would say custom water cooling is unnecessary for 99% of gamers. But a good value AIO is fine.
Happy with My 5800X3D and Deepcool AK620
Pin this for all the new builders posting in pc build subs with their 65w ryzen 5600s with 250 bucks 360mm AIO
I have a fucking oled screen on my pump, what do you have ? fucking fins brah
Yeah, an NH-D15 is enough.
I agree, but it does make for a very clean looking inside… if done well
For most, maybe. I’m on my first liquid CPU cooler and I like it because it has a screen and it’s much smaller than the huge air cooler I had in other rigs
My 13900k likes it
It opens up the case nicely
I’ve honestly been thinking about removing my water cooling and get a good air cooling for my cpu. And then add more fans into my case to better overall airflow.
My current PC, is the only PC I have ever had or built with water cooling. I went with the Lian Li Galahad 240 AIO (for an 11600k) strictly for aesthetics. I love the fans, and the way it looks and I have never used water cooling before. (I haven’t OC’d a CPU since my Cyrix M-II 300mhz way back in the late 1990’s. I used a voltage jumper to run it at 333mhz stable.) I only did it because I got the AIO for such an amazing deal for Black Friday two Christmases ago. But I’ve never needed water cooling. I just thought it would be cool this one time. Plus once the AIO needs to be replaced, that’s when I build my next rig)
For most applications a Noctua NH-D15 Will outperform any of the AIOS on the market, this is due to stupid patents that make the only viable AIO at that price point just worse, period.
Air has the advantage of cooling with close to zero maintenance, the fans will wear out eventually.
However if you are trying to cool something above 220W like the Intel ships, you need to go custom water cooling, and we are talking about kit in the 300-400 USD range for it to even be worth considering.
So yeah for most gamers and applications you don’t need anything more than an air-cooler. But for anything above that, water is the way.
FYI the real reason you go water is for noise reasons essentially i just paid about 400 dollars to make my computer more or less silent. To some it’s worth it for others it’s not.
I agree. I’ll never get it. Everyone I know has had major leaking problems. Eff that noise.
AIO do a good job at reducing noise at gaming temps
The costs have made it silly expensive, back in the early days of high performance PC gaming blocks were £30-£50, pumps 20, tubing 10 you could cool cpu and gpu for less than just what a single block costs now.
So while ive done it before it no longer reflects the OC benefits for the cost, it just doesnt make sense unless you have unlimited money to cool the top dog stuff because if you dont use the best cpu/gpu combo then that water cooling money could just buy better air cooled parts.
Now if you dont have AC and live in a hot country, then it can make much more sense!
I’ve done a custom loop, and the performance gains were negligible. (I did my homework on case shopping, fans, fan orientation, etc.) moved to a sff pc with the same components(minus water blocks/rads/etc.) and it performs beautifully without a huge rise in temps.
Went with a custom loop in my NR200P as it is nearly silent & has significantly better thermals compared to when it was on air. My CPU maxes out at 61c and my GPU maxes out at 52c while gaming.
Would not have the same performance and silence on air. The entire loop was just under $900 as well.
Define water cooling? Conventional, closed loop single phase water cooling can be very practical because the heat exchanger can be placed in an optimal place (say on the balcony where it is cold) and noise can be avoided in this manner, which is much more difficult to implement with air cooling. Phase change water cooling on the other hand is essential for allmost all PC users as this is how heatpipes work. Then, the next big step up is multi loop immersion cooling, which makes a lot of sense for ultra high performance systems as it allows for a much larger contact area and hence lower total thermal resistance as well as a larger thermal capacitance allowing to take huge spikes. Granted, this stops being true water cooling but becomes liquid cooling as usually flourinert or oil is used here. Another benefit is these can be run at cryogenic temperatures, while not quite as cold as liquid nitrogen these might actually result in a lower dye temperature due to a huge contact area. Finally, for high performance systems, a two loop water cooler can also make a lot of sense. Lastly, an honorable mention would be thermosyphon coolers as these tend to be silent and passive.
My room gets hot in the summer. I have a 13700k. Yeah I could have gotten an air cooler but I just felt for my environment for those months it works out
Maybe that’s why most people don’t use it.
I actually use mine to heat my computer room in the winter.
I have a really old farm house(1880). Its a bastard to heat during the winter. So my wife and I close off the rooms we dont really use, and just heat the ones we do use with baseboard heaters. We have a forced air Oil furnace, but have you seen the price of oil? Well my computer room(12×12) has no heater, aside from my PC. So I turn on a game when I leave for work, so when I get home my room is nice and toasty. I turn it off at night. In the summer I put the rad in one of the two windows, blowing out, and open the other window. Pumps all the heat outside, and makes a nice crossbreeze through my room.
I’m team air-cooled forever. Seen my fair share of liquid cooled disasters to give it a miss.
I’m the opposite. I prefer air coolers not just for its reliability but oddly I also like it for aesthetics, especially the beefier air coolers. It’s like I have a supercar engine look lol
But eventually, I’ll want to overclock my machine (once I learn how) so I can play the Sims in 4k at 150 fps!
So are 10 rgb fans
So what you are telling me is that you wouldn’t take a toaster into a bathtub but you would put water into a computer tub.