Will I really get any benefit going with a AIO over Air on a Ryzen 3800X

[Midnitewolf]

I am kind of conflicted and can't find enough specific information to make a decision.  Right now I am torn between using a Arctic Freezer 34 Core Duo or a Arctic Liquid Freezer II 240 AIO.  I know there are better air coolers out there but for various reasons, I have decided if I go Air, that the Arctic Freezer 34 Core Duo fits my build best.  What I can't decide is if I am going to get any real benefit out of going with the 240mm AIO.  I know from various reviews that I should see probably a 6-8 degree difference in performance between the two but am I going to see any significant improvements in performance out of those 6-8 degrees?  

 

Basically I am debating the extra $50 in cost plus having to deal with possible leaks and unreliable pumps vs the ease and reliability of a simple air cooler.  Does it make any sense at all to use the AIO?

[Princess Luna]

 

[Sorenson]

It depends on a number of factors: the quality of the AIO, how hot your room gets, and how good the airflow in your case is. 

[porina]

I went from a Cooler Master Liquid something 240mm AIO to a Noctua D15. The D15 was slightly worse, but a couple of degrees or so when running Prime95. Not a lot in that. I can't find the exact air cooler listed though, but if it is anything like the esports duo, that's only a middling air cooler, not even close to a D15, so it will probably be much worse than a 240mm AIO.

[Kalm_Traveler]

The main benefit of a large AIO (240mm / 280mm / 360mm) is less noise with good cooling. The best air coolers on the market are in the same ballpark as far as cooling potential as most decent AIOs, but in general the AIOs will make less noise for a given amount of heat dissipation.

 

I haven't personally had any of the mainstream name brand AIOs fail on me at all in a reasonable amount of time (max time I've used one was ~ 5 years, but I have a very old 'new old stock' Cooler Master 120mm lga775 AIO now on a retro rig and it works fine), but if you're really worried about it there's nothing wrong with a slightly louder air cooler.

[Midnitewolf]

Actually I was thinking more along the lines of how the max boost clocks on the Ryzen 3800x respond to lower temps.  I am pretty sure I will see about a 6-8 degree increase from the air cooler because it is not quite as good as Noctua D15 but how much performance loss will those extra 6-8 degrees cost me.

 

As far as airflow, I don't think that will be a problem.  I am going to be using a Lancool II case which reviews have indicated has good airflow and if I go with the air cooling option, I will be mounting 3 x 120mm front as intake with 2 x 120mm top and 1 x 120mm back as exhaust  The Arctic Freezer 34 Esports Duo also mounts two fans in push/pull configuration but has a semi-small single tower design.   I will have it located under a desk so I am sure that will increase my temps a bit which begs another question.  Since I will have the case under a desk with only about 6 inches to the back and a foot to the top open, would liquid cooling all around be a better option or would it really matter?  

 

I guess one thing else to note is for the AIO set up, I would be mounting the rad in the front of the case, pulling air in (which I know will heat up the interior a bit) with the same 2 top, 1 rear exhaust configuration.  I will also have 3 extra 120mm fans I could mount in a couple of areas.  I could mount 2 on the rad to help pull air through with 1 extra at the front just pulling in fresh air or mount two on top the PSU shroud pointed up toward the GPU pulling air from the bottom and side of the case (the Lancool II has side vents for this purpose).

 

Note: The reasons for the rad in front are twofold. One, I want to mount ARGB fans in the back and top positions to illuminate the case and two, everything I have read or seen indicates rad in front is actually significantly cooler than rad up top when using an open air shroud GPU that exhausts into the case, something about the rad having to deal with much hotter air from inside the case, reducing the cooling capability as the very hot air gets pulled through the rad and exhausted.  

 

Opinions?