Are AIOs inherently unreliable? I'm beginning to reconsider...

[danforz]

From what I'm seeing, a lot of AIO's fail. Or, to put it differently, more seem to be failing than I am currently comfortable with. The point of this post is to determine that comfort level. 

 

I am in the process of returning my Swiftech 240x, a company which I hear has a lot of customer support issues. I've also seen pump issues with Kraken and the Corsair H series. It would seem AIO failure, especially when it comes to the pump, is a fairly regular thing. Am I wrong? Are these AIOs more reliable than I realize?

 

I lieu of this, I'm beginning to notice that the benefits of water cooling are fairly marginal. No one seems to be overclocking CPUs with the extreme overclocks I reached in the past (i7 2.8ghz --> 4.2ghz, did that approximately 6 years ago on extreme air cooling). Today, it seems going from 4.0 --> 4.6 on a 4790k is a big deal. Ok. Is a AIO really necessary to break the .5hgz overclock barrier? 

[brokencross]

AIOs are the new snake oil. They just look better. If you really want to OC you either go for a good air cooler of for a full loop.

[Meawa]

From what I'm seeing, a lot of AIO's fail. Or, to put it differently, more seem to be failing than I am currently comfortable with. The point of this post is to determine that comfort level. 

 

I am in the process of returning my Swiftech 240x, a company which I hear has a lot of customer support issues. I've also seen pump issues with Kraken and the Corsair H series. It would seem AIO failure, especially when it comes to the pump, is a fairly regular thing. Am I wrong? Are these AIOs more reliable than I realize?

 

I lieu of this, I'm beginning to notice that the benefits of water cooling are fairly marginal. No one seems to be overclocking CPUs with the extreme overclocks I reached in the past (i7 2.8ghz --> 4.2ghz, did that approximately 6 years ago on extreme air cooling). Today, it seems going from 4.0 --> 4.6 on a 4790k is a big deal. Ok. Is a AIO really necessary to break the .5hgz overclock barrier? 

if your pump fails you're lucky. the worst thing possible is to have a AIO leak on you and kill you graphics card right below it.

[itachipirate]

From what I'm seeing, a lot of AIO's fail. Or, to put it differently, more seem to be failing than I am currently comfortable with. The point of this post is to determine that comfort level. 

 

I am in the process of returning my Swiftech 240x, a company which I hear has a lot of customer support issues. I've also seen pump issues with Kraken and the Corsair H series. It would seem AIO failure, especially when it comes to the pump, is a fairly regular thing. Am I wrong? Are these AIOs more reliable than I realize?

 

I lieu of this, I'm beginning to notice that the benefits of water cooling are fairly marginal. No one seems to be overclocking CPUs with the extreme overclocks I reached in the past (i7 2.8ghz --> 4.2ghz, did that approximately 6 years ago on extreme air cooling). Today, it seems going from 4.0 --> 4.6 on a 4790k is a big deal. Ok. Is a AIO really necessary to break the .5hgz overclock barrier? 

Personally I don't see why anyone goes for water cooling... It's really overrated

[brokencross]

Personally I don't see why anyone goes for water cooling... It's really overrated

Full loop != generic clc.

[danforz]

So why the hell is this so popular?

[brokencross]

So why the hell is this so popular?

Looks. Makes your rig look cleaner. Also ram clearance, etc.

[Enderman]

The swiftec coolers are really bad

You hear less issues about corsair and nzxt coolers which sell a magnitude more than the swiftec ones

 

What issues with the corsair or nzxt coolers are you talking about specifically?

[grayblizzard]

Personally I don't see why anyone goes for water cooling... It's really overrated

it looks cleaner like above

[brokencross]

The swiftec coolers are really bad

You hear less issues about corsair and nzxt coolers which sell a magnitude more than the swiftec ones

 

What issues with the corsair or nzxt coolers are you talking about specifically?

From my personal experience, early corsair clcs used to leak. And they still have pump issues.

Not sure about krakens tho.

[Enderman]

From my personal experience, early corsair clcs used to leak. And they still have pump issues.

Not sure about krakens tho.

Never heard of a corsair cooler leaking in all my time on this forum

The pump "issues" are people complaining about noise because they dont know how to bleed the air properly

And I have heard of 0 complaints about the kraken cooler except for one about the radiator not fitting in some case and a second about the pump being loud (which it was actually defective this time)

[Raudi_]

I have one of the most known CLC's that are known for pump failure and being noisy, its still working just fine and the pump is silent. Sometimes AIO's can be noisy but its all luck.

[GzeroD]

The swiftec coolers are really bad

You hear less issues about corsair and nzxt coolers which sell a magnitude more than the swiftec ones

 

What issues with the corsair or nzxt coolers are you talking about specifically?

You keep posting this Trash stuff; and never have any proof when someone calls you on it.

 

Swiftech has had some issue with their gen 1 H220's and H 320's their H220x's  and h240x's do not have the same issues.

[Lays]

AIOs are the new snake oil. They just look better. If you really want to OC you either go for a good air cooler of for a full loop.

 

 

>snakeoil

 

[AliveGhost13]

Personally, unless looking for aesthetics I would recommend an air cooler. They will likely be in 2-3c tolerances of the AIOs, cheaper and much more quiet comparatively

[GzeroD]

Personally, unless looking for aesthetics I would recommend an air cooler. They will likely be in 2-3c tolerances of the AIOs, cheaper and much more quiet comparatively

This only really hold's true for 120mm AIO's 240 and 280 AIO's have a much larger difference that can exceed 10C on overclocked systems.

[AliveGhost13]

This only really hold's true for 120mm AIO's 240 and 280 AIO's have a much larger difference that can exceed 10C on overclocked systems.

 

True, however these are tested at the highest fan speeds, and AIOs are ridiculously loud at max fan and pump speeds, whereas big coolers such as Cryorig, D15 etc are not nearly as loud at full tilt

[brokencross]

>snakeoil

 

Erm...

 

 

Also take into account how much a CLC will cost you and the average expected lifetime of such a thing.

[GzeroD]

True, however these are tested at the highest fan speeds, and AIOs are ridiculously loud at max fan and pump speeds, whereas big coolers such as Cryorig, D15 etc are not nearly as loud at full tilt

True but they have the headroom so you can slow them down to keep them quiet at the same temp as the standard cooler; and then max them out if your wanting to hit an high overclock for a benchmark run or for a really demanding program or game.

[FatPenguin]

if your pump fails you're lucky. the worst thing possible is to have a AIO leak on you and kill you graphics card right below it.

If you get a back-plate it can provide some protection

[Lays]

q

 

 

Due to the fact that the list I linked is from a more reputable site (OC3D), with a much larger sample size as well as more updated, I'll trust that more.

 

 

About the cost, many people like myself care about every degree, and are willing to spend a bit extra.  I don't care how long a cooler lasts, I will most likely replace it if someone better comes out, or go custom loop soon anyways.

 

My previous air cooler made my case much hotter, resulting in hotter temps all around, so even if it was to perform the same (which it didn't) I would rather a high end AIO.

 

(Cooler in example was a Cryorig R1 Ultimate)

[GzeroD]

Erm...

 

 

 

Also take into account how much a CLC will cost you and the average expected lifetime of such a thing.

You realize that the graph he listed had a higher tdp processor. They are probably both right; but if you want to push something really hard your going to max out the potential heat dissipation of even the NH-D15 before most 240mm AIO's.

[Enderman]

You keep posting this Trash stuff; and never have any proof when someone calls you on it.

 

Swiftech has had some issue with their gen 1 H220's and H 320's their H220x's  and h240x's do not have the same issues.

Yeah well I've seen two more H240Xs have cracked/leaking resevoirs as well as another noise complaint since last time you called me out on it

 

honestly their construction is crap, especially the part where you cant change the resevoir and the pump is permanently stuck to the radiator.

If you don't agree then you can buy yourself all the H240Xs you want, I don't care. I'm just telling people the experiences that others have had with this product so they dont make the same mistake.

[danforz]

You keep posting this Trash stuff; and never have any proof when someone calls you on it.

 

Swiftech has had some issue with their gen 1 H220's and H 320's their H220x's  and h240x's do not have the same issues.

 

To be fair, I am in the process of returning a H240x. When I posted about it, several people suggested that Swiftech has quality issues. 

[Deli]

To be fair, I am in the process of returning a H240x. When I posted about it, several people suggested that Swiftech has quality issues. 

I think a lot is down to luck. I had two Corsair/Asetek AIOs with noisy/dead pumps. While the H220 X is running perfectly now. You can google every company that makes AIO has issue with pumps. With AIO, there are two points of failure. Air cooler will be more reliable in nature. It is up to you to decide whether the risk is worth taking. 

 

In term of cooling, top air coolers are about as good as AIO. Just some people(like me) can't stand that huge heatsink thing sticking out like a......or some cases have problem to clear tall heatsink.