Should I go with an AIO over Air?

[Noob Slayer]

So I am going to be upgrading soon, and am deciding weather to go air or water cooling for my CPU. I want to go with water cooling because it looks a lot cleaner and gives more thermal headroom when overclocking. However, for the longest time I have been told that AIO's only last about 3 years before the pumps go out, and I want this system to last at least 4-5 years. I have been using an H110i for 4+ years now with no problems, so I am wandering if that rumer still holds true. I will be using a Ryzen 3700x/3800x (still haven't decided yet), and keep in mind that if I do end up going with water cooling then I will be going AIO and not a custom loop. 

[The Old Myron Siren]

8 minutes ago, Noob Slayer said:

So I am going to be upgrading soon, and am deciding weather to go air or water cooling for my CPU. I want to go with water cooling because it looks a lot cleaner and gives more thermal headroom when overclocking. However, for the longest time I have been told that AIO's only last about 3 years before the pumps go out, and I want this system to last at least 4-5 years. I have been using an H110i for 4+ years now with no problems, so I am wandering if that rumer still holds true. I will be using a Ryzen 3700x/3800x (still haven't decided yet), and keep in mind that if I do end up going with water cooling then I will be going AIO and not a custom loop. 

About a year or so ago I swapped out my Hyper 212 Evo for a Cooler Master 240MM AIO and while I enjoy the look and novelty of it, my temperatures really aren't all that better. Granted, I'm not overclocking my Ryzen 1700x all that much (about 3.9Ghz), but the worry of the pump dying, which it eventually will, haunts me. The way I see it, if you have the space for it, just got a real banging tower cooler and maybe get one of those fancy Noctua Covers to pop on top of it. If the fan ever dies out, you easily tell that it's not working and get a replacement fan.

[Sorenson]

A good 240mm AIO with the pump not on silent will work about as well as a high end air cooler - better if your case has poor ventilation. I like AIO’s because they won’t interfere with your RAM, run quiet, and don’t put any weight in your mother board. It’s really a personal choice. You can save a bit of money going with a similar air cooler, but they won’t have the sic RGB to have all the performance gainz.

[goto10]

aio are good under certain conditions but the pump can die, even faster than those 3 years you mention

 

also there have been cases where the water leaks out thanks to parts not sealing well or breaking for low quality or tension you might need to use to install them

 

a air cooler usually works and keeps working for many years, then the fan dies, you change it and keep using it, perhaps wont last forever, but will last you alot longer and will give you less problems to install them

[Quadriplegic]

Eh, AIOs are not worth it unless you go with 360mm ones.

[Dedayog]

6 hours ago, Quadriplegic said:

Eh, AIOs are not worth it unless you go with 360mm ones.

This.  If air, got Dark Rock Pro or Noctua.  For AIO, unless you're just in it for aesthetics, go with a 360mm.

 

The AMD chips aren't super overclockers, so don't bank on grabbing a high end cooler to reach those sweet sweet GHz.  More than likely the stock cooler will be more than adequate for anything you do.

 

[hello_there_123]

I would just use the stock cooler because of Ryzen's crazy steep voltage curve. Which will cause performance gained by thermal headroom for example in a Noctua NH-D15 become almost 0 vs the stock cooler.

[SolarNova]

If you do NOT have room to fit a large dual tower heatsink air cooler, like the NH-D15 and DRP4, then yes a 280mm+ AIO is a good choice.

If however ur using a normal average tower case which does have room for one, there is no reason not to use a top end Air Cooler unless you really hate the aesthetics of them. At which point if aesthetics mean that much one shouldnt be asking about if its 'worth it' or not.

 

In terms of cooling performance the route for upgrades should be.

 

Stock

120,140mm AIOs for SFF builds.

Mid Range Air (240mm AIO for SSF/height restricted builds)

Top end Air (280mm, 360mm AIO for SSF / height restricted builds)

Beginner custom loop (Aluminium)

Veteran custom loop (Copper)

Enthusiast custom loop (overkill & aesthetics)