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Why you shouldn't water cool your PC

a i r c o o l i n g m a s t e r r a c e 

 

 

or custom loops

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Main PC 

CPU: i9 7980XE @4.5GHz/1.22v/-2 AVX offset 

Cooler: EKWB Supremacy Block - custom loop w/360mm +280mm rads 

Motherboard: EVGA X299 Dark 

RAM:4x8GB HyperX Predator DDR4 @3200Mhz CL16 

GPU: Nvidia FE 2060 Super/Corsair HydroX 2070 FE block 

Storage:  1TB MP34 + 1TB 970 Evo + 500GB Atom30 + 250GB 960 Evo 

Optical Drives: LG WH14NS40 

PSU: EVGA 1600W T2 

Case & Fans: Corsair 750D Airflow - 3x Noctua iPPC NF-F12 + 4x Noctua iPPC NF-A14 PWM 

OS: Windows 11

 

Display: LG 27UK650-W (4K 60Hz IPS panel)

Mouse: EVGA X17

Keyboard: Corsair K55 RGB

 

Mobile/Work Devices: 2020 M1 MacBook Air (work computer) - iPhone 13 Pro Max - Apple Watch S3

 

Other Misc Devices: iPod Video (Gen 5.5E, 128GB SD card swap, running Rockbox), Nintendo Switch

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13 minutes ago, AlexTheGreatish said:

 

Air Coolers > AIO Liquid Coolers

CPU: Intel Core i7-950 Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD3R CPU Cooler: NZXT HAVIK 140 RAM: Corsair Dominator DDR3-1600 (1x2GB), Crucial DDR3-1600 (2x4GB), Crucial Ballistix Sport DDR3-1600 (1x4GB) GPU: ASUS GeForce GTX 770 DirectCU II 2GB SSD: Samsung 860 EVO 2.5" 1TB HDDs: WD Green 3.5" 1TB, WD Blue 3.5" 1TB PSU: Corsair AX860i & CableMod ModFlex Cables Case: Fractal Design Meshify C TG (White) Fans: 2x Dynamic X2 GP-12 Monitors: LG 24GL600F, Samsung S24D390 Keyboard: Logitech G710+ Mouse: Logitech G502 Proteus Spectrum Mouse Pad: Steelseries QcK Audio: Bose SoundSport In-Ear Headphones

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17 minutes ago, Zando Bob said:

a i r c o o l i n g m a s t e r r a c 

Hyper 212 master race

I WILL find your ITX build thread, and I WILL recommend the SIlverstone Sugo SG13B

 

Primary PC:

i7 8086k - EVGA Z370 Classified K - G.Skill Trident Z RGB - WD SN750 - Jedi Order Titan Xp - Hyper 212 Black (with RGB Riing flair) - EVGA G3 650W - dual booting Windows 10 and Linux - Black and green theme, Razer brainwashed me.

Draws 400 watts under max load, for reference.

 

How many watts do I needATX 3.0 & PCIe 5.0 spec, PSU misconceptions, protections explainedgroup reg is bad

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2 minutes ago, ReggieGRS said:

I'm planning on water cooling in the future with a good AIO (mainly for aesthetics) but first i will get a riser cable so if the thing ever leaks it won't touch my expensive hof card and goes straight to the psu which will have its fan pointed downwards towards a dust filtered case opening.  Altho i don't have experience with AIO so idk how solid this plan is.

 

Until then my Noctua will hold the ground on my 9900K

AIO

Aesthetics

 

You gotta pick one. AIO's look terrible in comparison to a custom loop with a transparent waterblock.

CPU: Ryzen 5 2600 4ghz @ 1.35v  CPU Cooler: Mugen 5 Rev b  Motherboard: MSI B450 Gaming Pro Carbon  GPU: Zotac RTX 2060 +150/+1000 Memory: 16GB Viper 4 @ 3200 CL14 Samsung B-die  Storage: 1TB Patriot VPN100 NVMe; 500GB 860evo; 128gb 840pro CaseCooler Master Q500L  PSU: CX750M V2 Operating System: Windows 10 Pro Other: 6 Corsair LL Fans; 2 aRGB Strips

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My NH-D15 is dead quiet on the air cooling murderer that is the FX9590. Despite all the threats I've had on forums telling me 'Get water cooling or your house will burn down' the Noctua gets the job done and gets it done amazingly well. Been going nearly 2 years and not a single hiccup yet.

 

Since then, other than maybe ram compatibility (You can still move the second fan upwards or remove it altogether), I just don't see a reason to get a water cooler.

 

Join Team Noctua and don't look back!

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Thanks for the testing Alex.

 

Many new builders always want to go AIO because they're "just better". This video will surely help inform some about the advantages and drawbacks of each cooling solution.

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Uh oh, all the water cooling fanboys aren't going to like this....

 

Not only is JAY saying that water cooling isn't any better than air cooling, but now Linus too? Oh my goodness. 

 

Air cooling is BETTER and QUIETER. Looks like water cooling just lost the only thing it had going for it. 

 

And they didn't even use the de-facto air cooler that we all say is great (the D15). 

 

Also, what WASN'T mentioned in the video is that while the greater heat capacity of the water cooled system does in fact absorb spikes of heat slightly better, it ALSO means that it'll take longer to cool down, meaning the fans will be running at higher rpms for longer after you shut your game down. 

 

So, in summary. Water cooling is

 

  • Worse than air cooling
  • Louder than air cooling
  • More dangerous than air cooling (dirty water + electronics = not good)
  • Introduces more single points of failure than air cooling
  • Significantly more expensive than air cooling
  • Not as repairable/long lasting as air cooling
  • Requires more maintenance than air cooling

 

Can we delegate water cooling to the likes of RGB yet? 

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We have a DARKROCK PRO 4 250W beast in one of our units, its great.

 

Keeping 4 utilized cores @4.9GHZ cool.

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28 minutes ago, fasauceome said:

Hyper 212 master race

Arctic Freezer 33 Gods Race > filthy 212 peasants

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I was hoping that they would test the NH-D15.... Oh well....

In search of the future, new tech, and exploring the universe! All under the cover of anonymity!

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I've always figured that air cooling is the "serious user's choice" simply because it's more cost-efficient and it can't destroy your computer if it malfunctions.

 

I mean, hell, unless Noctua decides to be a dick and stop supporting older cooler models with new brackets and nobody else comes up with an alternative, I can totally see myself using my NH-U14S for the rest of my life. 

 

After this and Jayz's videos, however, I'm genuinely wondering if all that talk about the better cooling performance of water may be a marketing ploy. 

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We should ban 120mm AiO's from the market.

 

"Oh but SFF builds!" - Still rather use one of these two:

Spoiler

Best-Low-Profile-CPU-Cooler.jpg

There are far too many arguments why 120mm / 240mm AiO's are worse picks for common builds vs good air coolers: lower price, performance, acoustics, less points of failure, no chances to kill other hardware... the more big names like LTT can help spread this truth the better... I see it as a service to the PC community against marketing gimmicks.

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I don't recall it being mentioned in the video, but were multiple mounts done of each cooler to try and remove any variation due to the particular TIM application?

I'm quiet happy with my D15, but I thought it was just because I'm a grumble that remembers back when the copper TRUE was the best air cooler around...

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AIOs do not qualify as water-cooling IMO.

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1 hour ago, corrado33 said:

Uh oh, all the water cooling fanboys aren't going to like this....

 

Not only is JAY saying that water cooling isn't any better than air cooling, but now Linus too? Oh my goodness. 

 

Air cooling is BETTER and QUIETER. Looks like water cooling just lost the only thing it had going for it. 

 

And they didn't even use the de-facto air cooler that we all say is great (the D15). 

 

Also, what WASN'T mentioned in the video is that while the greater heat capacity of the water cooled system does in fact absorb spikes of heat slightly better, it ALSO means that it'll take longer to cool down, meaning the fans will be running at higher rpms for longer after you shut your game down. 

 

So, in summary. Water cooling is

 

  • Worse than air cooling
  • Louder than air cooling
  • More dangerous than air cooling (dirty water + electronics = not good)
  • Introduces more single points of failure than air cooling
  • Significantly more expensive than air cooling
  • Not as repairable/long lasting as air cooling
  • Requires more maintenance than air cooling

 

Can we delegate water cooling to the likes of RGB yet? 

Closed Loop Coolers, yes. Custom loops have a lot less of the disadvantages, and can outperform air in the performance and noise departments, depending on how you build them. They also add some disadvantages though, like having to actually put them together yourself. 

Intel HEDT and Server platform enthusiasts: Intel HEDT Xeon/i7 Megathread 

 

Main PC 

CPU: i9 7980XE @4.5GHz/1.22v/-2 AVX offset 

Cooler: EKWB Supremacy Block - custom loop w/360mm +280mm rads 

Motherboard: EVGA X299 Dark 

RAM:4x8GB HyperX Predator DDR4 @3200Mhz CL16 

GPU: Nvidia FE 2060 Super/Corsair HydroX 2070 FE block 

Storage:  1TB MP34 + 1TB 970 Evo + 500GB Atom30 + 250GB 960 Evo 

Optical Drives: LG WH14NS40 

PSU: EVGA 1600W T2 

Case & Fans: Corsair 750D Airflow - 3x Noctua iPPC NF-F12 + 4x Noctua iPPC NF-A14 PWM 

OS: Windows 11

 

Display: LG 27UK650-W (4K 60Hz IPS panel)

Mouse: EVGA X17

Keyboard: Corsair K55 RGB

 

Mobile/Work Devices: 2020 M1 MacBook Air (work computer) - iPhone 13 Pro Max - Apple Watch S3

 

Other Misc Devices: iPod Video (Gen 5.5E, 128GB SD card swap, running Rockbox), Nintendo Switch

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My concern with air cooling is with combined cpu and gpu loads. If you have something that runs hot like a vega VII, that's going to disproportionately impact an air cooler simply because it is going to be closer to the gpu exhaust.

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1 hour ago, corrado33 said:

Also, what WASN'T mentioned in the video is that while the greater heat capacity of the water cooled system does in fact absorb spikes of heat slightly better,

It was, near the end. Linus called it thermal mass instead of heat capacity.

 

1 hour ago, corrado33 said:

it ALSO means that it'll take longer to cool down, meaning the fans will be running at higher rpms for longer after you shut your game down. 

This is a good thing, because it means the fans don't ramp up and down constantly when you open or close applications rapidly.

In fact many fan controllers and motherboards implement hysteresis to do exactly that.

 

1 hour ago, corrado33 said:
  • Worse than air cooling
  • Louder than air cooling
  • More dangerous than air cooling (dirty water + electronics = not good)
  • Introduces more single points of failure than air cooling
  • Significantly more expensive than air cooling
  • Not as repairable/long lasting as air cooling
  • Requires more maintenance than air cooling

 

This only applies to AIOs.

With a custom loop you can expand it to have much larger surface area, which means better performance, lower noise, or both.

 

The main benefit of water cooling IMO is looks.

Air coolers just don't look special at all, just a big square in the middle of your PC like some sort of growth :P

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Why pay more when you can get Wraith Prism with R G B for free?

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2 hours ago, AlexTheGreatish said:

AIO water coolers seem to be all the rage, but we're here to tell you that big air coolers are where it's at.  Probably.

 

Buy a NH-U12A
On Amazon: https://geni.us/9xIfzT
On Newegg: https://geni.us/oF1ydNC

 

Ok so i agree with pritty much everything you said, however...

 

I have to point out that while you done your best to keep the playing field level so to speak, you missed out one thing. Fans

 

You tested an AIO vs a Air cooler, now granted you could say you tested 'out of the box' coolers, which is fine, but that means your also testing fans and that has to be noted in the results, which you didnt note.

 

If you want to test AIO vs Air, then imo you should have taken out as many variables as possible which includes the fans since they are most certainly something people often switch out.

 

If it were me, i would have used the Noctua fans on both the AIO's and the Air heatsinks. That way its down purely to the heatsink vs the Pump+rad unit.

 

Your results could not only be down to the whole AIO vs Air cooler thing, but also a comparison between the Corsair fans and the Noctua fans, Since your using Noise as a point of testing, the difference in performance could be down to the Corsair fans being louder and as such not able to spin up as fast and thus cool as well.  The point of the video (as far as im aware) however isnt a comparison of fans, but rather Air vs AIO.

 

 

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17 minutes ago, Enderman said:

This is a good thing, because it means the fans don't ramp up and down constantly when you open or close applications rapidly.

In fact many fan controllers and motherboards implement hysteresis to do exactly that.

Yes... by a matter of seconds. I sent mine to 5-10 seconds depending on the position of the fan. By contrast, a radiator capable of dissipating 400W of heat continuously will still need to dissipate 4.18 kJ/degree C (assuming 1L of coolant). That translates to roughly 1000 Ws, meaning your radiator will take 2.5 seconds to cool the coolant by 1 degree, assuming your fans are running on full blast. Considering my CPU drops from 75 to 40 in say... 10 seconds. I think it's going to be... much longer for a water cooled machine. To be exact, I'd say it'll take 87.5 seconds, ignoring the inefficiencies gained when the coolant temperature is close to the ambient temperature of course, and assuming your fans are running full blast constantly. 

 

17 minutes ago, Enderman said:

This only applies to AIOs.

With a custom loop you can expand it to have much larger surface area, which means better performance, lower noise, or both.

Says who? Is there a video somewhere that shows a custom loop with a 240 mm rad is better than an AIO with a 360 mm rad? And at what cost? Hundreds of dollars? A decent block ALONE is at least a hundred dollars. Not to mention the radiator(s), fans, fittings, piping, bending tools, time... For what.... looks? Eh, definitely relegated to the realm of RGB. 

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7 minutes ago, SolarNova said:

Ok so i agree with pritty much everything you said, however...

 

I have to point out that while you done your best to keep the playing field level so to speak, you missed out one thing. Fans

 

You tested an AIO vs a Air cooler, now granted you could say you tested 'out of the box' coolers, which is fine, but that means your also testing fans and that has to be noted in the results, which you didnt note.

 

If you want to test AIO vs Air, then imo you should have taken out as many variables as possible which includes the fans since they are most certainly something people often switch out.

 

If it were me, i would have used the Noctua fans on both the AIO's and the Air heatsinks. That way its down purely to the heatsink vs the Pump+rad unit.

 

Your results could not only be down to the whole AIO vs Air cooler thing, but also a comparison between the Corsair fans and the Noctua fans, which isnt the point of the video.

 

 

Absolutely not. The test was stock vs. stock, and that's only fair. If corsair wanted to include better fans, then they should have. Besides, the noctua fans on that air cooler were almost certainly not optimized for static pressure. What you're suggesting is that they should get to upgrade water cooler while leaving the air cooler stock. Are the price of the new fans included in the price/cooling ratio? 3 noctua fans are going to be what? 50ish bucks? So... probably about the price of the noctua cooler they had there? Seems a little unfair if you ask me. 

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