Air Coolers VS AIOs/Water Coolers

[Mopy]

In Linus's video he attempts to show that Air Coolers are normally better for performance however The linus media group office is not like most places people put PC's; this is due to the fact that there office is clearly well ventilated also in the test they used cases with very high airflow which allows the internal cpu fans to gain more cooler air for better cooling, AIO's are different due to the fact that they can pull colder air from outside the case.

 

Im not shure on if the tests they committed were a fair representation of most PCs and environments,. what do you think?

 

[jaslion]

4 minutes ago, Mopy said:

In Linus's video he attempts to show that Air Coolers are normally better for performance however The linus media group office is not like most places people put PC's; this is due to the fact that there office is clearly well ventilated also in the test they used cases with very high airflow which allows the internal cpu fans to gain more cooler air for better cooling, AIO's are different due to the fact that they can pull colder air from outside the case.

 

Im not shure on if the tests they committed were a fair representation of most PCs and environments,. what do you think?

 

However a lot of people also mount their radiators in the top and then the air used to cool them is air from the case.

 

Also in general you have fresh air coming in front the front and the only difference is that a front panel aio heats it up before it enters the case compared to a air cooler heating it up inside the case or a top or rear mounted aio expelling the caseair which can be heated a bit by the gpu.

[Tristerin]

While I wont watch the video, based on your description, I think that if you own a microwave box for a computer case and refuse to clean or have what I personally would call decent ambient temps in the room your PC is in - that you do not represent the norm.  And if you do represent the norm (having all those bad things) you then don't fit under, what I would call, a PC enthusiast so either way it doesn't matter for you with air or AIO or water.

 

While you didn't ask - I do believe there is a case for air, AIO, and water cooling a PC depending on...well, the everything you have to look at when deciding how you are going to cool your computer.

[nick name]

If you want a new video about air vs AIO then check out GamersNexus recent deep-dive.

 

As far as environment -- I believe that the LMG offices are always on the colder side of ambient temps hence the hoodies (LTTstore.com).  

[Acid Panda]

i just like the look of AIO's. Plus they tend now to have better RGB options. performance wise they are similar ish, depending on what cooler you get 

[RAS_3885]

The recent GamersNexus look at this is really worth a watch, but I don't understand why it matters which one is better. Each will have it's own advantages and disadvantages based on use case. Use what matches the performance/looks/price/size you want and be done with it.

 

There doesn't have to be a winner and a loser.

[LogicalDrm]

-> Moved to Air Cooling

***

 

All things considered. Most cooler reviews are done in AC controlled office space. The testing is done between cooler, not to determine which cooler fits which situation best. But to see which performs best and give best bang for buck when all possible variables are either removed or minimized. This is how cooler testing has been done for ages. Its also why you can go to many major review sites and see huge lists of cooler comparisons.

 

Does your case and ambient temperature matter? Yes, somewhat. Actually case doesn't that much, and if it does, air coolers will win the battle as their performance doesn't depend on how cooler is oriented or where the air comes from to it. They also aren't effected by GPU or visa-versa. Ok, if you have the smallest ITX where cooler height is limited, then we have a discussion. While there are good low-profile air coolers, in that situation AIOs become again more viable than air coolers.

 

So room temp. AIOs become more viable option when your room temps are over 35C or you live in very humid area. That would be only situation where environment has any real effect.

[Demonic Donut]

7 hours ago, LogicalDrm said:

-> Moved to Air Cooling

***

 

All things considered. Most cooler reviews are done in AC controlled office space. The testing is done between cooler, not to determine which cooler fits which situation best. But to see which performs best and give best bang for buck when all possible variables are either removed or minimized. This is how cooler testing has been done for ages. Its also why you can go to many major review sites and see huge lists of cooler comparisons.

 

Does your case and ambient temperature matter? Yes, somewhat. Actually case doesn't that much, and if it does, air coolers will win the battle as their performance doesn't depend on how cooler is oriented or where the air comes from to it. They also aren't effected by GPU or visa-versa. Ok, if you have the smallest ITX where cooler height is limited, then we have a discussion. While there are good low-profile air coolers, in that situation AIOs become again more viable than air coolers.

 

So room temp. AIOs become more viable option when your room temps are over 35C or you live in very humid area. That would be only situation where environment has any real effect.

Why would humidity affect air coolers more than water?

[Corsair Nick]

Let's set the premise for some thermodynamics: cold air is more dense (more molecules) than hot air (less molecules).

 

Humidity makes the air less dense and creates for less friction.  For an air cooler, this is a bad scenario because there are fewer air molecules to create friction (transfer) the heat away from the fins.  Since Air Coolers are typically more reactive compared to water cooling by design, the reduced air molecule count will inhibit it's capacity.  AIO's and custom loops on the other hand can have a much larger capacity depending on radiator size. Larger radiators allow more time for the same water molecule traveling through the loop to cool, which in part allows for it to interact with more air molecules and transfer the heat before it hits the block again.

 

If you've ever had the pleasure of owning and driving an air cooled vehicle on a hot summer day, you'll understand this concept all too well.

[LogicalDrm]

10 hours ago, Corsair Nick said:

Let's set the premise for some thermodynamics: cold air is more dense (more molecules) than hot air (less molecules).

Thanks for explanation. I know for reading thermal results posted that things are different, but physics of it is out of my expertise.

[Corsair Nick]

No worries.  This was a subject that really interested me when I started to build/modify forced induction (ie. turbo/supercharged) cars for racing 20 years ago.  All the same principles apply, so I wanted to share.