Pros and Cons of CPU Coolers, Explained

With so many CPU cooler types in the market now, which type is right for you?
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[@rizrizriz]

All of these are correct choices. The only wrong one is spending more than you could afford without responsibility.

[@Ewookie1gj]

Guilty. I've done that for the build I'm putting together right now. I got a bit of a windfall from an upgrade in my VA disability status, increasing my income (almost double) and a bit of extra cash for a few months back pay while they were doing the evaluations.

[@legendarycinematics3091]

Impossible these days 🤣

[@mehck-gk9yn]

Instructions unclear - I purchased all of them and don't know how to put them all in my pc at once.

[@fredericmanson441]

@@mehck-gk9yn 🤣

[@kllcrusdr]

Thats what credit card debt is for

[@Afro__Joe]

I swear, the only ad I'm happy to watch is the Ifixit one on this channel. Some may think it's cheesy but it makes me chuckle every time.

[@nickmhc]

Same it’s a GOATed tech channel ad

[@jmal]

I actually bought the Moray tool kit because of the ad. Good marketing.

[@tomhsia4354]

The explosive cheesiness is what makes it a perennial classic, imo.

[@myhnea92]

I absolutely love it. I see the full thing everytime it pops up😂❤

[@Nareimooncatt]

This is the only KZbin ad I don't skip.

[@Artista_Frustrado]

personally, i'm probably going to stick to Good ol' AirCoolers because i like that "it just works, no need to get fancy" HOWEVER i strongly admire the absolute bonkers silliness that Custom loops can achieve

[@yoyoyo416]

Can't go wrong! Fans are replaceable, liquid cooling is a pain in the ass and mostly becomes wasteful garbage.

[@eirikolafsen4156]

I agree aircoolers are more reliant and my 2 experiences with AIO is that they are generally louder unless you have aboslute crap fans on your aircooler

[@matohibiki]

With the money you save on air cooling, you can afford to waste on gobs of RGB! I should really clean my fans one of these days...

[@sup3rsikwidit]

Yup, it’s not worth the money or the maintenance. I used to have a full custom loop, but became burdensome when having to open up my case to clean it semi regularly. I went and bought the best airflow case I could find, and best fans that I could find and haven’t looked back since.

[@MauriceNoland]

I've been doing custom loops for 10 years and am finally going back to air colling. Tired of the constant maintenance... it looks awesome, but I'm tired of ot.

[@o0Dan0o]

Heat pipes don't wick heat. They use phase change to absorb heat at the source (turning a liquid into a vapor), vapor pressure distributes this hot vapor evenly through the pipe, and then the heat is transfered to the fin stacks vis the vapor condensing back into a liquid. The "wick" is used to ensure that the liquid makes it back to the heat source regardless of the cooler orientation. Most modern heatpipe based coolers used a sintered metal layer for this, which is technically a capillary action, vs wicking, but same net effect.

[@deazth]

Was about to ask this, on whether gravity / orientation affects the performance

[@robertg.tibelljohansson7869]

@@deazth Some coolers are affected so lock it up before buying.

[@my2cents930]

That sounds a LOT like freon in any cooling system. The freon is pumped out of the compressor as a high pressure hot gas into a condenser coil that is air cooled, then into a much smaller tube making it go low pressure and turning it into a cold liquid into an evaporator with a fan to blow that cold air where it needs to go. For instance, a refrigerator will have an output from the compressor of roughly 150 psi. Once it goes through the condenser and into the capillary tube, that pressure is reduced to 3-5 psi changing the freon from a very hot gas to a very cold liquid. Air conditioners will range from 350ish out to 50-70 on the low side. This is all depending on the exact freon that is in that said cooling system, because that can vary.

[@Acceleronics]

I built a CPU water loop not because my pc needed it, but because I like building things.

[@MakeSh00t]

water cooling is waist of money better to buy best gpu and best monitor with best keyboard and mouse and headphones and good aio.

[@aRealAndHumanManThing]

​@@MakeSh00t go cry about it * proceeds to blow budget on white OwO desktop and plays happily on 1080p ever after *

[@davidhines7592]

why do watercooling? because its THERE

[@taylorhughes120]

@@MakeSh00t Depends on what you use your computer for, can't tell someone water cooling is useless without knowing what they do.

[@Stealthkilla096]

​@MakeSh00t yet its their money to waste, so if they want they can. Ive done custom cooling simply because i could. I didnt need it, an AIO would have done fine, or even an air cooler. I just like playing with my computer.

[@FaeronarrMaccuswell]

I went for a 360mm AIO simply so I could run it quieter without ramping up fan speeds and without having a massive heatsink dragging on the motherboard

[@tobalaz]

Same.

[@rvdeddrift]

Same x2!

[@bodasactra]

A beefy twin tower 280W TDP air cooler, with some attention to aesthetics, has a certain Spartan look of raw power without fear of catastrophic overheat/water leak failures. I put three fans on a Thermalright PS SE with the rear exhaust fan right up on it. The chunky beast looks almost like a mega 4 fan turbine extending from above the RAM across to the back, its stunningly huge. The 105W TDP 5600X3D it cools idles at 26c, games at 50-68c, and stress/bench test up to 76c extended ambient of 21c. Its quiet as a mouse, the fins alone are far OP for the 5600X3D, the fans are hardly turning even under load. It would look like a hairless cat to me if I went back to AIO.

[@samcorona8752]

Same x3

[@indrahaseo]

Same x4 and plus air conditioner will cooling PC down more if you position the computer on air conditioner or electric fans, bro

[@larryhandzlik4281]

First youtube comment ever; Thanks Jay for getting me to type. Anyways, I have been an electronics tech for many years and I simply want to add something I frequently drill into new techs when training: "Heat and power are the silent killers". A lot of "degradation" over time is caused by the expansion and contraction of the components. "Back in the old days" it was not unheard of for a board or component to flex so much the components would literally pop off the boards. Whatever solution you choose, over spec a bit to help longevity. It really does matter! Personally, I run a 280 AIO plus many case fans. I accepted the limitations of an AIO's lifespan when I installed it. Happy computing youtube!

[@JathraDH]

Yes this is not well known, especially not by the younger generation. Heat cycling is the real killer of electronics. It's why I always leave my systems on. Going from hot to warm is much better than going from hot to cold.

[@mcb187]

Got a Noctua NH-D15 because they were out of the cooler I actually wanted at microcenter. Well worth it. No worries about liquids or pumps, no big thick pipes to route, just paste the thing and put it on the socket. I’m running a R7 7700X, and it is PLENTY of cooling for my needs. Fans are whisper quiet most of the time, and the CPU temp hasn’t come even close to topping out.

[@zlanath]

My Noctua NH-D14 is 12 years old & still going strong. Just bought a Noctua NH-U12S for my new AM5 build. You get what you pay for.

[@-._.-._.-Sully-._.-._.-]

I have a noctua NH-D15 on my overclocked 7950X3D and only time I’ve reached my thermal limit of 89C was after doing like 10 cinebench runs in a row with my AC set 3 degrees Fahrenheit higher than what I normally keep it at in a very poorly ventilated room. Also it only seemed to happen with CB r23 but not r24. Normally I don’t get higher than 82C maybe 85C running back to back to back benchmarks. Gaming though I don’t think it even breaks 60C.

[@kronix1341]

"typically the pumps last 5 years" then theres me chilling with the same aio for a decade

[@n0ex]

Yeah same here still having my H115i(first gen) in my old build just got a new one for my new build so to match the size of the new case and didn't want to use a old cooler for my new 7800x3d

[@WayStedYou]

my h100i Pro still going from 2017

[@VNAV_PTH]

H110 is still going since 2013.

[@kolev456]

Almost 8 years TT water 3.0 120mm with kraken g12

[@TheTekknician]

And you can refill Be Quiet's AIO's.

[@firstname565]

Thermalright peerless assassin.... under 40 bucks. Exceptional cooling. Dont waste money unless thats actually what you're intending to do.

[@bogdanstamate4827]

Turned back to air cooling and I don't regret anything, AIO is just for the looks +lots of headaches

[@themanwhospins]

Don't forget thermal rights extremely cheap aios

[@blackraven8841]

Noctua DH15 all black 😁

[@Rafael-wb8my]

dropped my temps playing hell let loose from 70 degrees celsius to around 49 degrees celsius

[@theWheezle]

Peerless assassin is the best performance per dollar cooler out there. I put the Burst assassin, single tower, on my 5600x and it's honestly overkill for that chip, only $23. Thermalright has a whole line up of assassin coolers, from like $16 to $35.

[@Mournblade7]

I've built with all 3, personally. For most people I recommend an air cooler as, most of the time, it's more than enough if you're not over clocking and the lack of maintenance needed. My custom loops were cool, but needing to drain the loop to make changes to the system was always a pain. AIOs are fine, and often a good looking solution, but if they fail it can be hard to tell, unlike with an air cooler, so overall air coolers are, imo, the best bet for most people

[@AthenaLiao-ho7zy]

For a 4070s with 7 7800x3d what do you recommend? Im seeing a lot of people using aio and im trying to find a validation to use air coolers 😅

[@Mournblade7]

@@AthenaLiao-ho7zy Any dual tower CPU cooler should work well for your application. The Thermalright Peerless Assassin is inexpensive and super efficient. I'm also a fan of the Be Quiet Dark Rock Pro 5, but it's about twice the price of the Thermalright

[@AthenaLiao-ho7zy]

@@Mournblade7 unfortunately both are not available here. Any more recommendation?

[@Mournblade7]

@@AthenaLiao-ho7zy Cooler Master Masterair MA824 or Hyper 622, Thermaltake Toughair 710, Scythe Fuma 3 should all be good as well

[@AthenaLiao-ho7zy]

@@Mournblade7 thank you very much!

[@CrimFerret]

I went with air cooling. My system was definitely designed to be function over form. I wanted it to be effective, long term reliability, and easy maintenance. Yes, it looks like a Borg cube landed on my CPU. On the other hand any fan in the system could fail and not cause me to have to shut down. It did mean picking a case with excellent airflow as well, but that didn't bother me. It's certainly not going to win any awards for the way it looks, but it's been rock solid for 4 years now.

[@Cinnnaban]

I've been building my computers with custom loops and AIOs until the pumps died and after having to replace so many pumps for my family computers, it made me realize their games don't need the highest performance cooling - I've been using air coolers ever since for their computers and I'm on the fence with maintaining my own computer with custom loops. Ran a 12700k with a NH-D15 and was able to keep it stable at 5.0ghz - ran with liquid metal / cooling decision-making is so dependent on "Do I want to maintain this, replace this, or do I just want this thing to run properly for a really really long time"

[@drewnewby]

Keep the D15, ditch the liquid metal, the pump out is real. Watch those temps if you don't reapply.

[@IsleyNumber1]

I've never heard of liquid metal having pump out. Any examples on that?

[@drewnewby]

@IsleyNumber1 Can't post links, google it, laptops, PS5, prebuilts, not hard to find at all.

[@EdGwhaddafook]

Great video! I am an air cooler guy. High air flow case and have no real need for high TPD CPU's. Been looking at new builds with a 7800x3d or lower draw CPU in a Meshify 2 Compact case with upgraded fans. Due to age-related physical limitations I have difficulty working on PC's so longevity matters to me. Currently running an AMD 5600x with stock Wraith cooler in a Meshify C case with upgraded fans. Live in sunny SoCal. My place has no A/C so higher ambient temps but I live a few miles from the ocean. No throttling at all. Love you content, Jay. Stay strong!

[@Sgt_SealCluber]

There are so many really great air coolers in the $40-60 range, performing just as good as the older NH-D15. The new "NH-D15 g2" only performs slightly better, but it's goal was to have long lasting fans and a more 'comfortable' noise profile (terrible if you don't care and/or looking for price to performance).

[@CakePrincessCelestia]

I had been using EKL Alpenföhn Groß'clockners multiple times before getting an NH-D15 in 2021, on a Phenom II X4 955 and a 3570k to be precise, the latter of which OC'ed from stock 3.4 - 3.8GHz (base - boost range) to straight 4.4GHz allcore. They were equally as good as contemporary 120mm Noctuas, but like 30-40 bucks less IIRC. Dunno if they were available internationally though. Didn't see a 150mm one of those when I got my 5800x so I decided to switch over to Noctua.

[@aperson7624]

The idea behind Noctua is you buy it once and you have an air cooler you're set with for 20+ years. I'm still using the same Noctua I bought in 2009.

[@SamiJuntunen1]

I have this Noctua NH-D15 for about ten years and its now on third computer! Changing to new MB is 7-8e or something. AIO setup yells like hell with modern cpus unless you set up fans to react with 2sec delay. Same with intel and amd. Noctua aircooler or aio etc.

[@n0ex]

​@@aperson7624that I can agree on, atm a friend of mine is using my old Nh-D14 but AFAIK it's still using the same fans when it was bought and still runs noiseless

[@terreos87]

@@aperson7624 Exactly. I've been using noctua for years. My wifes aio kicked the bucket after two years and we swapped her to a D15 and she loved it. She loves that it has no pump noise.

[@hananas2]

Can confirm air coolers don't go bad. Mine is a Scythe mugen 2 from 2009 so it's 15 years old, and I did replace the old fan with a new Be Quiet! fan to make it even quieter, but it's doing absolutely great!

[@cooleosis1]

you forgot the biggest pro of custom loops: clout and upvotes

[@sopcannon]

pc cleaner when you dont pressure test before filling.

[@ChowHound1337]

Redditors gonna try to dox you 😂

[@themanwhospins]

Nah people will always find a reason to shit on you. I could probably post a full clean build with a water cooled 4090 and 7800x3d and people would get mad that there was a bit of dust on the case

[@dezpotizmOFheaven]

"Don't make the wrong choice" - proceeds to show us Corsair RGB products 👀

[@DJBillionator]

Nobody testing the IceGiant too. Sad, they are all shills.

[@Guldfisken90]

Atleast it's not ekb or asus ;P

[@3_kids_one_shot726]

😂😂😂

[@colsaber]

My thoughts exactly

[@dezpotizmOFheaven]

@@Guldfisken90 Since Corsair customers service doesn't even answer at all, I don't know what it actually worse...

[@ruyteves5235]

I use air coolers for my 7900x. Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 black.What I like is price and no maintenance. It will last longer than the computer.

[@jimdoe9827]

I actually bought an Alphacool kit, heavily discounted, for 140 euros. Had a 240 rad, the cheap CPU block, the pump/reservoir combo and their assorted fittings, alongside some extras like a ball valve and such for an outport. Over the next 6 years I spend an additional 110 euros for some additional radiators (b-grade ~20 euro each) and extra fittings, and another 50 for a 970 gpu block, which I hacked with a Dremel so it can accommodate my 1060. Rads: 240/60, 280/30, 120/45, CPU/GPU Block, D5 pump/reservoir. Total cost for the full loop: 300 eur, with 60 of them just for shipping costs.

[@denpabacon8501]

You spent $300 on an open loop setup with a 1060 instead of upgrading your GPU?

[@erwaldox]

1060 🤣🤣🤣

[@d-man422]

I really like that you're making this kind of educational videos, informing about pros and cons. Besides some minor technicality errors really good video

[@NicsCarChannel]

I always pick AIO, can't go wrong with a simple already put together water cooled radiator setup. We still have ours from our build in 2015 intel 4th gen i7. Still works fine

[@wolf1438]

I use my Noctua cooler from times when Jay was beardless.

[@Heapfael]

If you liked LEGO as a kid, get a custom loop. If you like Bling, get a fancy AIO. If you value money, get a cheap air cooler, e.g. Thermalright Peerless assassin.

[@animalyze7120]

Nowhere near Lego, and far more useless and destructive for a little more performance you can never notice without addon software to tell you.

[@markrademaker8321]

@@animalyze7120 Destructive??

[@markrademaker8321]

I like the Lego analogy

[@professornuub]

+1 for the Thermalright PA. Shockingly low price for the cooling and quietness you get. However do be aware it’s a pretty big cooler, make sure you can fit it.

[@photonboy999]

Got the Thermalright Peerless Assassin SE this year to replace my old Noctua NH-D14. It's maybe a few degrees cooler at same noise level but it made a HUGE difference because my NH-D14 under heavy load pushed up against the 83degC limit I gave it and caused the fans to go over 1000RPM. I waited for the NH-D15 (G2) but decided on the Thermalright after watching reviews. It worked out great. In IDLE the CPU fans are usually around 350RPM! Under heavy load in warm room I can barely hear the fans. Yay! (My case fans and modded RTX4070 are Noctua and they never go above 600RPM. Case/GPU fans Idle around 300/350RPM. My "Be Quiet Pure Power 12M" fan always spin but is dead silent. I never, EVER hear my computer when gaming. Only really a little bit in a warm room when doing heavy video conversion)

[@CoreyPL]

If you want AIO with great price to performance ratio, without pricey bells and whistles, then check Arctic Liquid Freezer III. In Europe its sub 100 Euro for a 360 ARGB version. It also has great reviews and a 6 year warranty. It is even relatively easy to fill the missing fluid if needed.

[@erwaldox]

I just bought it for 130 Euros in Norway, same price as Noctua double tower air cooler here 👍🏻

[@CoreyPL]

@@erwaldox Really? That expensive? Even directly at Arctic online shop it's 90 Euro, and this shop isn't the cheapest. I know that LF II is more expensive, but LF III has good price.

[@maximilianrockefeller8854]

I built an open loop mostly by watching Jay and a few others for design ideas and basic knowledge. That loop will last through every subsequent build and my ROI will amoratize over the years. My case (O11D XL) will also last over the years, and has more than enough room for any build I may want as a Prosumer user. To me, it looked a little daunting but there's so much good info from Jay and others that once I dove in it wasn't nearly as difficult as I thought. And my system is *whisper* quiet because I over built it to run as quiet as possible. I love my decision, and have zero regrets.

[@cvl32432]

idk if 0:15 is set as requirement b the sponsor but this is how every ad should be... i know its like the 10th time i see it but it still amusing

[@allentrentham2740]

One of the pros to custom water-cooling is moving the heat out of your living space. It's one of the reasons why the monster radiators are becoming more popular. I have two Intel i9-14900 series running that are small furnaces. As you are talking about water-cooling this season, it would be great if you had an episode on custom loops with external radiators with a focus on moving the heat out of your living space. Whether you are overclockibg or not, comfort is a factor in quality of gaming experience.

[@Straymonsta]

Thats why im running 3 420s for an i9/4090. You could make a cabinate with piping to move the heat into another space that's prob the best option reasonably.

[@snowpaw360]

As far as i know, the wicking is not to take the heat away but to bring the water that condensed after cooling back to the heat source even if its sideways (like in most PC's) It's actually very easy to make a heat pipe but your limited in orientation since you have to use gravity to bring the water back to the heat source. Robert Murrey Smith did a video on a DIY one.

[@thefunkadelic9814]

Thermalright peerless assassin 120se had been perfect for my build. I'll keep using this air cooler forever. Thermals will get better on cpus as we go on and air coolers will withstand the test of time

[@leif-erichansens2635]

Many moons ago I watched you build a customer water cooled system ( 2016 maybe ? ), up to that point I was the always air cooler guy because if the ease of maintenance. I didn't dare to go custom loop yet and bought a 240 AiO from Corsair ( BTW, that same AiO is still running in my wife's computer since she "inherited" my 1800X system ). I liked the RGB and in 2019 I pulled the trigger on a custom loop, EK parts because I heard those are good ( Still in use but wont buy EK again after all this going down ). Main reason was that the fan sound of my 2080ti at that time drove me nuts, put a block on it and man was it a difference, it boosted higher by default and the loop is super quiet. Used the Corsair D5 res combo as the only non EK part because I like the look of it, added a CPU block to my 5900X. Now, 5 years later, I still got the same loop, upgraded my system and changed main components which made me have to adapt the loop, today 7800X3D and EVGA 3090 with EK block. Rad, pump, CPU block and fittings are all the original ( With EK AM5 adapter kit ). I use an industrial fluid additive that only need to be replaced every two years. After 5 years and 2 fluid changes I got no buildup nor discoloration. I'd say if you use the right stuff in an open loop it can last a very long time. My two cents ;)

[@edwardg117]

I'm looking to do a custom loop for my next build. You aren't lying about the price ceiling. Decided to see how much it would cost to populate the Corsair 9000D and it was 2k in just fans!

[@wolf16731]

Open loop all the way for me. Tinkering is half the fun for me.

[@JVcorreia91]

Thats the same for me yeh would be cheaper to go AIO and Aiir but fun fun you get from doing a custom loop and the achievment feeling you get from it is something else.

[@jacobhurst7275]

Why I shoved 3 360rads with everything except the mobo chipset and the M.2s in blocks, including the gpu sammich, into a O-10 dynamic clone.

[@nickmhc]

I was pretty set on AIO’s but Jay’s videos have given me a little more courage to maybe try doing a custom loop in my future workstation build

[@ISHOTGUNJENI]

I've always Air Cooled my PC. It's very easy to maintain, and I've never been keen on having any kind of liquid inside my PC. Plus, I'm not into overclocking or anything like that. As long as it works and keeps my CPU cool, I'm happy 😊

[@maverikshooter]

With 6 year warranty, Arctic Liquid Freezer III 420. Is the only choice for me.

[@harleye1235]

Arctic makes great stuff, I haven't ever heard anybody talk bad about them

[@TigerNationDE]

Tbh i don´t like the III. Still got a II and just bought a II with RGB for a friend of mine. Had one III when it came out and sent it back a week later. II still running well and for me it´s more silent. So yeah the III got a nice new RGB design especially on the pump. But for me it was a step back at pump quality. Maybe i just had a bad piece but tbat´s what i noticed :)

[@Valthalin]

And 1/2 the price of the example AIO. Also they are now into hiding wires like jay mentioned. Arctic III is my choice for an upcoming build I am planning.

[@ArdyneusTheGod]

Yeah, Arctic arguably makes the best AIOs.

[@RichWhiteUM]

@@Valthalin Hell, you can get the Arctic for less than half the price of the Corsair, if you shop around. My main desktop is running an Arctic II 240 that I bought right around the time the III came out. I spent about 80 bucks for it on Amazon. The III was only about 10 bucks more but I didn't want the RGB.

[@1996connor]

Save your money and buy a Thermalright cooler like the Phantom Spirit It competes with Noctua for more than half the price

[@UncleButterworth]

Less than half the price*

[@erwaldox]

Noctua is overpriced garbage, you can get good AIO’s for same prices nowadays

[@patricklee8552]

I've owned 3 AIO water coolers (corsair H100i) in the last 10 years and can tell you all my fans have died way before the pump, I never had a pump failure. If you have ever priced the RGB fans they will almost cost the same as a new AIO, so (so far until the price of RGB fans come down) I wind up just buying a new AIO for a few bucks more 9:00

[@patricklee8552]

P.S. the first one I didn't clean that often, now I clean my fans every two weeks. This why I keep asking why don't they put clips to hold the fans to the radiator for easy cleaning, so tired of having to remove the radiator from the chase then the fans form the radiator to clean in between them.

[@harrytarded7002]

how do the fans cost as much as an AIO cooler? i've always checked prices on PcPartPicker and no corsair fans cost more than 100 bucks, including the 3 fans bundle

[@Parzival1702]

I have used air cooling for years and years. Just a few months ago I decided that I wanted to try a AIO cooler (since they have come a long way and are easier to install and more reliable now). The main reasons for going with a AIO cooler was 1. I wanted a LCD screen to show my temperatures and 2. I liked the minimal look around the CPU area and I do not have to fight it to mess with my ram. These are the main reasons I took the plunge and now I have a LianLi Hydroshift 360 AIO and so far I am mostly happy with it. I would point out to anyone considering this (and I did not see this mentioned) is that the AIO system is a little noisier than my previous air coolers were. This makes sense when you consider I have 3 x 120mm fans as opposed to 2 x 120mm fans and the fans seem to have to run higher to move more air through the radiator than the air coolers have to. Just my personal observation. I plan to keep using this AIO into the future (and it does come with a 6 year warranty as well and by then I might have changed chips and have to change my set up anyway). Thanks for your video.

[@Blackrhyme7]

Not sure about other brands, but I have topped up quite few Corsair aio all you need is premixed custom loop coolant, big bowl, screwdriver to remove screws on the coldplate that gives you access where you can top it up. There are few videos how to do it.

[@sp00n]

I imagined this is how it could work, good that it actually does. But you should probably make sure it's the same fluid than what's already inside the AIO, which is information that might not be so easy to come by? Mixing different kind of fluids doesn't seem like such a great idea, although I don't really know if it actually is.

[@LordLucifer95]

​@sp00n if it's by corsair the coolant should be the same

[@Blackrhyme7]

@@LordLucifer95 most aio use propylene glycol with deionised water, ready premix won't do harm as it has growth and corrosion inhibitors. Beside you only add few milliliters of it. Unless your microfins are all gunked up then you clean them and should replace whole liquid, max in a 240/280 system about 200ml of liquid.

[@sp00n]

@@Blackrhyme7 I just browsed through Corsairs products, at least some (if not all) of their AIOs have aluminium radiators, and their XL5 and XL8 coolant liquids specify that they should only be used with copper and brass products. So galvanic corrosion might actually still happen if you use this coolant, even if it has anti corrosive inhibitors in them (and actually Corsair also has a dedicated blog post mentioning this). However I don't know if they actually use something different in their AIOs at all, or just use the same and accept that corrosion will eventually happen, but probably after the AIO is out of warranty. ;) I do remember however that not so long ago there were some really bad AIOs that died left and right, and that was due to corrosion as far as I can remember. I'll have to look it up again.

[@Blackrhyme7]

@@sp00n that was arctic cooling aio, corrosion might still happen, but im not doing it to new aio I did iteto one that was more than 5 years old and out of warranty where you could hear that there was more air in the system simply by shaking it around, there is always some air left to allow for liquid expansion as temperature increases so pressure wouldn't increase too much to make it easier on the pump. It won't explode Jay made some videos about it

[@workinprogress8978]

As long as you have the room for a larger case (and like the look of larger cases and the space they take up) then air coolers are the simplest option that will cool perfectly well enough without any need for maintenance other than periodic fan replacement and repasting. Other than aesthetics, water cooling is really only necessary for space constrained compact systems, extremely high heat (like extreme overclocking), or simply low airflow cases.

[@chettiarsirusraj9501]

You forgot to mention the Be-quiet AIO that can be refilled at the AIO CPU pump block at the motherboard socket the pump block has a water refill port under the Be-quiet face plate on the AIO pump block.

[@jeremyschmeda6342]

I have a EVGA CLC 360 that I installed in May of 2020 and it still runs as of today. Never had any problems with overheating

[@TR0N1X70]

custom loop for the win 1000%...why my r9 5900x stays @ 60 degrees while gaming and 6950xt sits at 40 degrees in custom 2x360 rads flow direction is pump/gpu/rad/cpu/rad/return have 3 setting, super quiet/normal/gaming. did it all myself first time doing custom. heatkiller for cpu and bykski water block for gpu. ONLY downside...expensive!!

[@flyinhawaiian9174]

@TRON1X70 How are you liking the Bykski block? Am thinking of getting one for my 6800XT, but I heard they leak..

[@slimeds]

Ive had them all, started with air cooling as most people would, going onto SFF and having space constraints left with with no choice but to use an AIO. Went on to build a custom loop for a second pc to mess about with and whatnot, which then turned into using those parts for my main rig. That then stopped working out of nowhere when I moved so I went back to the simplicity of AIO watercooling

[@Star_Sn1per]

I upgraded from a Noctua d15 to an Artic LF III 360 for my 14700k.. ABOSLUTELY NO DIFFERENCE IN TEMPS LOL

[@douglasmurphy3266]

Your power profile might just have more leeway to pump extra juice to the CPU now, arriving at the same temperatures and yielding a barely discernable performance increase while degrading it 100 times quicker.

[@Star_Sn1per]

@@douglasmurphy3266 I won't ever buy intel again.

[@EssaBee]

Upgrade or sidegrade???

[@Shus93]

100' C will be always 100' C.

[@zushikatetomotoshift1575]

You should join gamers nexus cause he is talking about all the issues with intel 13th and 14th gen dying due to many reasons. Intel Needs to Say Something: Oxidation Claims, New Microcode, & Benchmark Challenges

[@pauljoseph3081]

Budget & Practicality = Air Cooler Everything else = Water Cooling

[@DangerRanger_]

i'd say if you have limited Space in your case and have a quiet high TDP, an AIO is the better choice over an Air cooler.

[@dragosthule]

Thermalright aio for 45$ Try again.

[@TheGrumpyCheese]

Went with full custom watercooling, purely because I wanted to. I've used large AIOs previously, and they're great, but never had a custom loop before, and wanted to try it out. Surprisingly easy to bend acrylic tube and assemble the loop. It looks fantastic and performs great, but the expense is certainly not something to dismiss.

[@CaptainNamikaze]

I'm very happy with my be quiet! 360mm AIO. It's refillable and it works great with my Ryzen 9. The first PC I built has a Ryzen 7 and a be quiet! air cooler. It runs hotter than the Ryzen 9 with the AIO.

[@EssaBee]

Have been using a DH 14 air cooler for like 8+ years across 2 cpus. No one in the industry builds products to last like noctua. They will ship you different mounting hardware when you switch cpus... you can just replace the only wear item, the fans.... and everything else will effectively last forever. And at 200W tdp... the newer version (dh15) will cool pretty much any cpu unless you are an extreme overclocker. Add to the fact that it will never leak fluid into your insanely expensive computer and... there is just no contest that high end air cooling is the way to go in 2024 and beyond....

[@neiljackson2044]

I've gotten an AIO Cooler because I work 12 to 14 hours a day and I look at it as set it and forget it, plus I don't do much overclocking. Word.

[@ZackSNetwork]

These days undervolting and memory tuning is all that matters.

[@fruzeniusgames]

My first computer I built originally just had the box cooler with a Ryzen 1300. I upgraded to a 3600 and that wasn't doing well so I upgraded to a tower cooler (Hyper 212 Evo). Happily chugs along with no heat issues now. The computer I'm using now that I built, I went with a 5800x3D. I probably still could have gone with a tower cooler, but I wanted to open space look in the case, so I went with an AIO. Seems to work really well, and the RGB on the front looks cool, so that's a bonus. I'll probably never build an open loop. I'm not that type of handy so I don't see myself cutting all the tubing and having to maintenance it. But I've changed before!

[@yuriyui]

The only interruption I don't mind watching again😂

[@CakePrincessCelestia]

Interruptions with eXpLoSiOnS by iFiXiT! They never get old! ^^

[@MattKimura]

For my first PC build last year I went with an air cooler for my Intel 12700K CPU and it definitely keeps it cool. It idles at 23 C, low end tasks ranges from 24-28 C, and high-end gaming ranges from 40-44 C. I'm using the Thermalright Phantom Spirit which I got for $40 on Amazon. It's a twin tower design air cooler. I don't do any overclocking or undervolting. Yet I get great gaming performance. My non gaming laptop for reference idles at 40 C, and my steam deck OLED gets as low as 50 C. But those are way smaller enclosures. The CPU in my desktop is going to last decades at these temps.

[@aaronguerrette]

I made the right choice in watching this video.

[@xero256]

I have used AIO's. I have used the tower-style air coolers. I like both of them. There is a time and place for each. A custom loop has always been beyond my desire, budget-wise. That being said, I would love to sit down with someone and build an open loop system. What am I using now with my 14900k? Noctua Tower Air Cooler. It's not the big one either. I have a push-pull set of fans on it and it does the job without any fuss.

[@erickp4781]

Thanks Jay!

[@fabianbackes9039]

Two little additions: There is a modular aio. Alphacools Eisbaer system. And it is posible to build a full custome waterloop with new parts from reputable brands. You can look for b-ware radiators usw. Often they have just a little scratch or have been send back cause they werent needet. In this cases you can get a perfectly good 360mm radiator for 20€-30€. And that stacks up with the other parts. By carefully choosing and ordering my parts i have build a custom water loop for my gpu and cpu with a 280 and a 360 rad for around 300€. Still expansiv, but not thousands of euros.

[@jarno1thomander]

Allways Air... no service needed! im lasy 😏

[@samsowden]

i might do a custom water loop one day just for the fun of it, but otherwise air all the way.

[@13lackphoenix93]

i totally agree and for friends and family in only build air cooled systems, but for my self a i have custom loop with 3x360 radiators, because i need it to be as quiet as possible, i am even thinking about adding a Mo-ra or a supernova externally when i do my next upgrade. I just want as much cooling surface as possible to stay as quiet as possible.

[@Esa826]

HRRRRRR WHOOOOSH WHOOOS What did you say? Can't hear above the racket?

[@whiplashTM]

@@samsowden Why not an airducting loop? 😂

[@whiplashTM]

@@Esa826 Heard of FanControl? Even an AIO system can be loud AF.

[@Fletchersketche_]

Even though I know all of this, I still love watching Jay's content, great for new builders and general knowledge. If you are here and a new builder, hope your build goes well!

[@Ichiz98]

Another thing that is in all of these choices is sound. AIOs and Custom loops are generally much quieter than an air cooler for the same temperature in my experience

[@julio2rivera]

Custom loops do make it harder to trouble shoot or upgrade when removing/replacing components is required.

[@insertnamehere4419]

Nonsense. I literally ditched a 360 AiO for a Phantom Spirit 120 on my 7800X3D. No pump noise and it doesnt ever need to be loud, ever.

[@tomhsia4354]

​​​​​​​​​@@insertnamehere4419 Which AIO? Some AIOs have silent pumps, others absolutely do not. The >240mm ones with silent pumps tend to win in noise-normalized temps over air coolers. On the other hand, I've seen a Corsair H150i Capellix Elite whose pump could easily be heard 10 feet (3 metres) away when brand new and with the rad mounted to the top of the case. Any AIO with perceivable pump noise instantly loses to air coolers due to how annoying pumps sound. Phantom Spirit is a fine cooler, my Dark Rock Pro 4 is a joke compared to that thing.

[@tbthunderer]

I have a first gen EVGA CLC 280 from 2017. Still runs fine. Mainly got it because it came with a partial build with a Lian Li Lancool II, MSI B550 Tomahawk, EVGA 850 W gold PSU, and a 1TB SSD. Got it all for 150, snatched the AIO, then built a PC with the rest of the parts and sold to recoup cost. Upgraded from a deepcool air cooler

[@WickedFader]

Another consideration. Do you stress the PC for long or short sessions? Water cooling: will initially give you better cooling, but the water gradually gets warmer. It's better for short sessions and bench marking. Air cooling: will not cool as well initially, but over hours long sessions, while the water gradually gets higher, the air cooling will out perform it eventually.

[@hokayson6518]

Ah but if you add more rads you can get to a point where you can dissipate heat as fast as it's dumped into the loop. This does get a bit harder when it's like a kW of heat from a 14900k + 4090 combo though 😝

[@Pabloesc571]

Not true

[@harrytarded7002]

but can you get the general airflow around the liquid cooler, an AIO for example, to a point so that i can mitigate this? also, is it actually true? water is a better thermal conductor and cools down better than air, or i'm missing something

[@Igor369]

...but water getting warmer is the point?... also if you watched the video air coolers ALSO have fluid in their pipes...

[@Elkarlo77]

AiO: Be Quiet AiO's comes with a Refillport and 100ml of Fluid. And they are not realy pricy for the extra 5 years. This is about the time a normal heavily used AiO survive before it needs refill. AirCooler: The can go bad. I had now 3 AirCoolers which had a leaking Pipe after 3-5 years. My Notebook had one after 8 years and i got a replacement. When you have a bad Fan it can transfer the vibration into the Copper which leads to work hardening and then breaking of the heat pipe: Check and replace your Fans regularly.

[@ArdyneusTheGod]

It’s kinda funny how I went through all the possible cooling solutions. I started with a stock cooler in a pre-built. Then, I bought an Arctic Liquid Freezer II to replace that. A year later, I decided to build my own PC and used a Noctua air cooler. And recently, I did a full custom water loop in the Fractal Mood.

[@DandeDingus]

Open loop sounds so fun to do but lord the investment. Currently using a beefy be quiet dark rock 5 pro aircooler and i think it will keep whatever chip i decide to use for gaming and 3D rendering purposes cool for the foreseeable future. But...if i have the money and some days of research and tinkering to spare...i'll look into open loop systems for the next big upgrade

[@241sail6]

The thing that always worries me about water cooling is the prices skyrocketing in 5 yrs after the original wears out. I have never had an air cooler go out on me so it may only need replacing if I upgrade my PC. From what I've seen, air coolers are only getting better.

[@Immudzen]

Even if you upgrade your PC most of the higher end ones you can just get a new mounting kit for and it will keep working. Most of the expense is in the large chunk of metal and assuming you don't actually puncture the heat pipes it should last a very long time.

[@miikasuominen3845]

Trying to shorten this as much as possible... Never thought about getting to watercooling. But then, after the GPU-price hike, I found a good deal on Watercooled 6900XT (Gigabyte Aorus Extreme Watercooled). Then I was thinking, how to do it most sensibly. I bought B-Stock Alphacool Eisbaer Aurora 360 CPU - Digital RGB, took jet plate out of it to maximize the water flow and also bought Alphacool Eisbaer TPV Extension kit (tube and fittings) and it worked a treat! I had a Noctua NH-D15 on my CPU at that time. And wanted to extend the water cooling to CPU also. As we are talking about Alphacool, it's more like a "real" loop, because everything is repairable and one can replace every component on it. So I bought a B-Stock Alphacool Eisbaer Aurora 420 CPU - Digital RGB, added it into my loop and cooled my GPU- and CPU with them. Everything was fine and temps were excellent. I wanted to get rid of those two pump-/reservoir combos, though. And when I updated my system to X670E and 7800x3D, I bought: Alphacool Core 200 Aurora Reservoir Acetal/Acryl with Apex Pump Alphacool Core 1 Aurora Black block Alphacool Core AM5 Performance Kit Everything is working like a dream! Cheap for what it is, expandable and repairable. Minimum fuss, you don't have to make tubes or anything like that. I would maybe want to do hard tubing, but I really don't have the time for it. So, for someone wanting a good quiet water cooling system, with minimum of fuss and possibility to keep it running and expanding for years to come. This might be a way to check out.

[@maxzett]

I'd love a video about Budget RGB Case Fans. It's super easy to find these cheap fans with rgb, but they seem to be focused on high pressure for rads rather than good airflow for being used as a case fan most of the time. Seems to be impossible to find cheap (~10€ a piece) and good case Fans with RGB...

[@Bllfrnd]

Pricce to performance goes definitely to Aircooling. But I like watercooling my components, so I did. Clear tubes, clear blue liquid, Quick disconnects between components for ease of maintenance if needed.

[@Captainshrapnel]

I literally just bought the budget Thermalright Frozen Prism 240 Black CPU Water Cooler yesterday cost £44

[@luxuryshine8507]

Well I mostly relied on aircooling, but in my earlier days I did experiment with freoncooling etc. Then again, back then I used to work in a partsshop and components used to be alot cheaper then today. The reason why I would choose for watercooling now, is purely because of circumstances. Summertime can become pretty warm and I don't have airconditioning in this house. Going for aircooling in a roomtemp of 35°c/95°F isn't that great. So my choice would be around practicality over looks.

[@kh_trendy]

2:24 Anyone else hear "hawk tuah" instead of "Noctua"? 😂

[@flyfaen1]

I went for a partly home-made custom open loop, because I wanted very good cooling performance AND it being basicly dead silent at the same time. The PC hangs mounted to the underside of my desk to be less prown to dust (and cat hairs) and be descrete-looking, added bonus is IF there was to be a leak, nothing will hit the electronics, but just start dripping on the floor. I'm a car/mechanical nut, so the radiator is a (new) 450x560mm aluminium core from a Peugot 206 car which I have "glued" on aluminium end-tanks which I welded togeter myself (I can AC TIG-weld) It is mounted diagonally under the desk with "only" 4 ea. 140mm Noctua Redux fans, which is basicly sufficent at idle speed to keep the coolant at only a couple °C delta over room-temp, the D5 is only running about 30% speed (100% during POST, to initiate self-venting of the system, at the hot-side of the rad, which also is highest point in the system, there is a small vent-hose with a water-trap that gives out and let a small amount fluid and air bleed back into the reservoir at full pump speed). For coolant, I used a 10 % solution of automotive pink "long life" type ethylene-glycol + de-ionized water, as it is compatible to the materials, and very good with mixed metals, and no particles or other BS that could cause clogging or other problems down the line. The brown-ish-pink hue it gets from certain lighting conditions does not look exceedingly pretty, but it works.

[@smith42069]

If it aint Noctua, I don't talk tua

[@johnt.848]

I'm not firmly fixed in any camp, I've used stock air, aftermarket air, an AIO, and now since the last video about cheap loops I'm collecting parts to build one. My current Air cooler is massive and looks a bit silly dominating the build.

[@carguy2112]

For me it comes down to purpose. For a primary use workstation that I'm never going to game on, it's all lower performance, low power parts on air. For a dedicated gaming machine that could be down for a day for disassembly and maintenance, I would consider open loop but to date, I haven't pulled the trigger. I am considering it though.

[@SkyDrifters1]

I squeezed a Open loop both CPU and GPU cooled with a D5 pump and five 120mm fans with a copper rad, into a Fractal Nano case a few years back. Next case I water cool will be larger but I really did enjoy the build. It was difficult, but rewarding.

[@johnbacon2399]

Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE ARGB For my Ryzen 7 7700X and soon to be 7900X3D it's the Dual tower with two fans. works great for the 7700X keeps me at 38c at idle and in the 60's full tilt.

[@sysc0mp72]

Just switched from air to AIO for two reasons: Overall looks & room in the case Especially the second reason was most important to me. I hate it having to remove the heat sink on the CPU to do certain stuff.

[@myhnea92]

I've been rocking rocking a water loop for many many years now and I'm going to keep doing it. I just love the thrill of tinkering with my system and adding rads, modifying the tubes, the steam punk look of all the parts, etc... I know I know, but I signed up for it😂😂❤

[@Laconic-Spartan-GR]

I've got just a 5600X. I've got a simple air-cooler 50€ be quiet pure rock V2-something and does its job perfectly. 30-32C idle, 58-60C max when gaming, 73-75C top when using a benchmark which maxes out the CPU continuously. Worth mentioning the average depending on game stays well under the 50C. Why spend more? It's also relatively small. The cooler doesn't interfere with any other component. The cooler is supposedly for up to 150W TDP while my CPU is 65W TDP. I like all my components being cool, but as I mentioned, it does its job perfectly. My GPU has its fans stopped until the card reaches 54C. However, I placed vertically right in the middle on top of my GPU a strong 140mm fan and now the GPU stays at 37C when watching a video, down from 45-48C. The biggest plus? It keep cool my 2 SSDs as well, the 990Pro and the SN850X plus the Chipset itself! I love such smart moves. Both my SSDs are working at -10C at least and as I said, the GPU as if the fans are working. All 4 components with only one, good fan working at 1200RPM, silently. I could crank it up to get more, but again, no need. My PC is sitting vertically just to understand what I mean where I placed the fan. I could drag the fan a little, lose the cooling of one of my SSDs in order to get cooling on my Sound Blaster AE5 Plus, but I prefer my 990Pro to be cooled since it's my main drive.

[@BlackReaper9]

I'm absolutely loving the frequent videos from Jay. They just make my day better. Thank you, Jay, for the amazing content.

[@Mr_Spock512]

Only Air Coolers (NH-D15) for me ... the TDP on my Ryzen 5600X CPU is low (65W) and I don't overclock it a whole lot. I love that the cooler is maintenance and worry free ... and it keeps the temperatures at a reasonable level even under maximum load (ie. Cinebench).

[@Aleksandar6ix]

I just bought a DeepCool LT720 this week on sale and paired it with a 7800X3D. It sits at around 78 degrees with Cinebench 2024. The chip power doesn't seem to go above low 90s. This AIO looks nicer and was cheaper than some air coolers

[@Marc.Google]

I’ve ran quality air coolers my entire life for reliability and maintenance. I’m now considering taking the plunge into an open loop water cooled system for my current build. Consider this video as the first step of my planning phase and feeling really excited to see where it takes me.

[@Necromancer-Noxx]

I usually used an air cooler until I built myself a completely new system and thought about water cooling it. I decided to use an AIO for the simple fact that I'm unsure about what parts fit together in a custom water cooling build and the risk of messing it up when doing this for the first time ever with high end components simply didn't seem worth the potential trouble. Asthetics wise a custom water cooling build could look great plus it's the best solution in terms of dealing with heat in any system, but for now I'm fairly happy with my AIO since I don't have to worry about stuff too much while it still looks pretty neat. Thanks for your video, it kinda got me curious to try out a custom water cooling build in the future, so the next time that I'm upgrading my system I'll give it a try and see how things are going to turn out.

[@Tpazmachine]

This was a really good straightforward explanation of all without going too deep into the acronyms or physics, you have other videos for that. And by the way, I know it's only a video, but Jay is sounding and looking better? I do hope so.

[@raistrose7773]

You have literally the only addspots I watch... Love ya Jaz, Keep making the world better.

[@kenyoder3652]

I have been using an XSPC Dual bay reservoir/pump combo for about 16 years now along with the 240mm radiator. I have since changed a lot of components and for about 2 years it also pumped through 1 - 24ommx54mm and 2 - 120mmx54mm radiators before I decided to tear it apart and build a new machine in the TJ05 i have modified. the XSPC kit was around $130 at that time. If you break out the cost per year it would be about $8.13/year of ownership. I currently have 2 systems utilizing Alphacool D5 pumps housed in Bitspower heads that cost me twice what the XSPC kit did. I know that ill have those components for years to come and if there are any issues with them they can just be replaced easily. Passive components like radiators, fittings, reservoirs, and filters can usually be reused in a new loop or spare build. I personally feel its an investment in the system you have now and for all your future systems. it isn't too difficult to swap a CPU block or a radiator if needed. When a new CPU comes out and you have to change something everything else can remain unchanged.

[@phenomanII]

I didn't really want a custom loop. I just wanted the coil whine to not reach my ears anymore. After *7* PSUs I was considering just listening to loud music to make my hearing worse (as stupid as that would've been, I was desperate - but, didn't want to risk tinnitus). I ended up building something similar to the DIYPerks "folding desk PC" - I really do wish Matt titled it based on the much more unique fact that it is a *sealed* PC - no dust, no noise

[@3_kids_one_shot726]

I have that same Corsair 360aio. It’s fucking amazing! Worth every penny.

[@OmegaSimPilot]

Yep had the standard H150i from 2022 and the pump died after 11 months. Major PIA to take it out with all my cable management so it could be RMA'd. Fortunately I still had my Noctua U12S on hand to use til the replacement arrived...and they even upgraded me to the XT version! The replacement has been running now for about a year with no problems. So no complaints about Corsair's RMA process.

[@alfadrottning42]

I just finished my first PC build earlier this week and I went with a custom loop! I found Aquacomputer's parts (particularly the Leakshield), and that made me really confident with the setup since I know that it stops any minor leaks that could occur in my system. My two 420mm rads are from Alphacool, the water blocks for my GPU (TUF 4090) and CPU (AMD 7950x3D) are from Watercool, and the rest of the loop aside from fittings and tubing are from Aquacomputer. I will say that I'm taking a break from working rn, so building this PC was basically my summer project. It's taken about a month, and I would have been done with the build in a little over two weeks if it weren't for the water cooling. That being said, I'm glad I went for it!

[@JathraDH]

You picked some good brands. Alphacool rads are IMO top shelf, especially the full copper ones.

[@georgestweeter]

I just upgraded to a 5700x3d. I got a Peerless Assassin to cool it based on the recommendation of Gamers Nexus as its basically the best bang for your buck cooler RN. I think it was on sale for like $30, but normally they're like $35-40, so still super affordable.

[@ericnagel5859]

My first time I did anything to my computer I put an air cooler on it. I am no thinking about an AIO for my system. Channels like this and LTT have given me the confidence to be able to try to do things like this. I am great full for this channel and others.

[@zero131056]

Genuinely 25 well spent minutes with fantastic information. Thanks Jay

[@Helios504]

All for open loop if you can afford it, having a project and tinkering is rewarding. Would love to do it myself, but for me prices in Australia are pretty expensive for WC parts. Closed loop AIO is the compromise .

[@hirschkuh1982]

I had a Noctua NH-D15S for many years with two A12x25 ULN fans. Now i have an alphacool eisbaer 280 with two Arctic P14 chilling at 480-600 rpm all the time. Temps are identical but now i have zero noise even in gaming because my 4070ti has the two Noctua A12x25 ULN now.

[@GarlMemory]

I'm still rocking my Dark Rock Pro 4 after several years, and i'm more than happy with it. Quiet and damn efficient at its job.

[@jimidjoriginal9295]

I have been using a Coolermaster Nepton 280L since August 2014, which is cooling an i7 4790K. Its been almost 10 years now and that thing is still working almost perfectly. The temperature have rised a few degrees up most likely due to permeation, but the pump is still working fine. By the way i was hearing a "bubling" noise since the first day i bought that AIO and now its worse, especially when the pump runs at 100% which is quite rare. My computer runs everyday for at least 14 hours on average, the life of AIOs, so my point is their life may depend on several factors. In case someone is interested about the orientation i have the radiator mounted on the top of my case, which is the optimal scenario for max pump life.