Who's the actual winner? AIO vs Air Cooling

[SyedHamed]

AIO uses water inside the loop that can harness much more heat than air before changing temps. If this thermal conductivity is considered, aio should dissipate much more heat than Air coolers with a single degree of temperature change.

Correct me please if i'm wrong, AIOs are gonna run much more hotter than air coolers, but gonna take out much more heat out of the cpu.

[Tristerin]

So many variables you aren't including...like what air cooler?  What AIO?  They are all different, manufactured differently, pumps/liquid used, radiator space (is it copper?  Is it aluminum - most AIOs use aluminum rads for example), fans, etc etc etc

 

The correct answer - either depending on the use case situation.  

[Kilrah]

LTT made several comparison videos and the conclusion was always that a good beefy air cooler was typically cooler and quieter than an aio.

[Dedayog]

You don't get an AIO for just cooling performance.  RAM clearance, aesthetics, case size, for example.

[Fasauceome]

huge AIOs have more surface area, just can't be beat. as for thermal absorbance:

15 minutes ago, SyedHamed said:

AIO uses water inside the loop that can harness much more heat than air before changing temps

yeah it takes longer to reach steady state but if we're talking after that point the discussion does change.

[Quickstrike]

10 minutes ago, SyedHamed said:

Correct me please if i'm wrong, AIOs are gonna run much more hotter than air coolers, but gonna take out much more heat out of the cpu.

Not really hotter. It's about the peak when the heat created by the CPU and the heat dissipated by the cooler reach a balance.
Water can absorb more heat and that's why it takes longer to reach peak heat. 
Under similar load from one cooler to another, the the peak is more a function of ambient temp and air flow over surface. So for the same AIO pump under the same load and ambient, a 120 mm will be hotter than a 360 mm because the 360 had more surface and will reach equilibrium faster.

[SyedHamed]

1 minute ago, Fasauceome said:

huge AIOs have more surface area, just can't be beat. as for thermal absorbance:

yeah it takes longer to reach steady state but if we're talking after that point the discussion does change.

In the highest stage, air coolers will beat an aio right?
If you compare nh-d15 and h100i platinum

[Fasauceome]

1 minute ago, SyedHamed said:

In the highest stage, air coolers will beat an aio right?
If you compare nh-d15 and h100i platinum

air coolers beat AIOs, for the price. But something like an EVGA CLC 360 doesn't have an air cooling competitor, it's just too massive.

[SyedHamed]

2 minutes ago, Quickstrike said:

Not really hotter. It's about the peak when the heat created by the CPU and the heat dissipated by the cooler reach a balance.
Water can absorb more heat and that's why it takes longer to reach peak heat. 
Under similar load from one cooler to another, the the peak is more a function of ambient temp and air flow over surface. So for the same AIO pump under the same load and ambient, a 120 mm will be hotter than a 360 mm because the 360 had more surface and will reach equilibrium faster.

From a performance perspective, if I want to squeeze every bit off my cpu, I have to get a beefy air cooler?

[DailyProcrastinator]

Both are better in certain applications, both have their reasons for why they may or may not make more sense, in general I have seen high airflow cases affect my CPU temps WAY more than going from air to AIO. So really just getting a good adequate cooler for the specific CPU and a good arilfow case is best in my opinion, this makes the biggest difference. A large air cooler and a good 240/280 AIO are going to be close enough with regards to thermal performance in most cases, so it does not matter much.

[Fasauceome]

1 minute ago, SyedHamed said:

From a performance perspective, if I want to squeeze every bit off my cpu, I have to get a beefy air cooler?

You have to do custom water cooling with some serious radiator surface area. But since that's not a very economical option, very large radiators are what you'd want to consider.

[SyedHamed]

Just now, TheDailyProcrastinator said:

Both are better in certain applications, both have their reasons for why they may or may not make more sense, in general I have seen high airflow cases affect my CPU temps WAY more than going from air to AIO. So really just getting a good adequate cooler for the specific CPU and a good arilfow case is best in my opinion, this makes the biggest difference. A large air cooler and a good 240/280 AIO are going to be close enough with regards to thermal performance in most cases, so it does not matter much.

So with an even playground, it's a neck and neck between them.
And if cost is a thing, air coolers are always better.

[SyedHamed]

Just now, Fasauceome said:

You have to do custom water cooling with some serious radiator surface area. But since that's not a very economical option, very large radiators are what you'd want to consider.

 

Just now, SyedHamed said:

So with an even playground, it's a neck and neck between them.
And if cost is a thing, air coolers are always better.

Is it right?

[VioDuskar]

what do you mean "run hotter" with an AIO? the CPU will be hotter? the room will be hotter? 

 

heat is going to come off of the block faster, and get to the fins faster, until the liquid reaches it's heat capacity. at that point it becomes more of a surface area game. liquid cooling has really always been a heat capacity (on startup) and surface area game. liquid setups generally keep your CPU cooler because they can even out your heat dissipation over a larger area. 

 

that being said, new solid coolers are getting really good at dissipation, because they reach heat capacity so fast, and because really good ones are able to crap a lot of surface area into a small-ish package. 

[VioDuskar]

Just now, SyedHamed said:

 

Is it right?

if it comes down to cost vs performance, then yes. 

 

a custom loop will always outperform air, but it will be way too expensive.

[Fasauceome]

1 minute ago, SyedHamed said:

 

Is it right?

An NH-D15, as good a cooler as it is, won't beat 560mm worth of radiator space, not even close.

 

Is price a factor in your question or not?

[Dedayog]

3 minutes ago, SyedHamed said:

So with an even playground, it's a neck and neck between them.
And if cost is a thing, air coolers are always better.

No, stop using the word "Better".  If cost is a thing, air coolers are CHEAPER usually.  

 

They each do a job, and they each have a purpose.  Just anything, you weigh how well they do a thing vs their price vs other things you deem important.

 

You wouldn't say a Hyundai is better than a Ferrari, would you?  No, it's just cheaper.

[SyedHamed]

Just now, Fasauceome said:

An NH-D15, as good a cooler as it is, won't beat 560mm worth of radiator space, not even close.

 

Is price a factor in your question or not?

Economically and also with the same spec catagory like dual tower 240mm air cooler vs 240 mm aio

[Quickstrike]

1 minute ago, SyedHamed said:

From a performance perspective, if I want to squeeze every bit off my cpu, I have to get a beefy air cooler?

Is noise a concern?
If not then a big AIO or custome water cooling cranked to the max in a case that support it (more surface = more heat dispersal) will give you better performance. 
A beeffy cooler  will only have two fan pushing air the same way and gulp the air already in your case. An AIO can take air strait from the outside. The noise will be ungodly because of static air pressure.

[Fasauceome]

Just now, SyedHamed said:

Economically and also with the same spec catagory like dual tower 240mm air cooler vs 240 mm aio

A quality air cooler will outperform many 240mm AIOs. There are quality 240mm AIOs that will punch above high tier air cooler class performance, but they get expensive, so if we're talking cooler for your dollar, they do lose the battle.

[Statik]

5 minutes ago, Fasauceome said:

A quality air cooler will outperform many 240mm AIOs. There are quality 240mm AIOs that will punch above high tier air cooler class performance, but they get expensive, so if we're talking cooler for your dollar, they do lose the battle.

A high quality air cooler rival high quality AIOs. For example an ND-D15 will perform quieter, and basically the same as an H115i. And the temperature difference between a 240mm AIO like the H115i, and a 360mm AIO is slim to none.

 

EDIT: This is coming from someone who prefers AIOs and water cooling.

[Sorenson]

26 minutes ago, Kilrah said:

LTT made several comparison videos and the conclusion was always that a good beefy air cooler was typically cooler and quieter than an aio.

These test comparisons are generally done in test benches not actual cases. When you take into account case airflow (especially in smaller cases) I would bet AIOs generally outperform the beefy air coolers. That’s is unless the air cooler is in a well ventilated case. This sadly is becoming rarer as companies try to throw tempered glass on every side of the computer.

[Aniallation]

This topic has been brought up repeatedly for like a decade lol, at the end of the day it always boils down to so many variables such as your case layout and most of all your own preference. 

 

Personally, I just dislike the look of AIOs and prefer an air cooler.

[SyedHamed]

2 minutes ago, Statik said:

A high quality air cooler rival high quality AIOs. For example an ND-D15 will perform quieter, and basically the same as an H115i. And the temperature difference between a 240mm AIO like the H115i, and a 360mm AIO is slim to none.

 

EDIT: This is coming from someone who prefers AIOs and water cooling.

 

1 minute ago, Sorenson said:

These test comparisons are generally done in test benches not actual cases. When you take into account case airflow (especially in smaller cases) I would bet AIOs generally outperform the beefy air coolers. That’s is unless the air cooler is in a well ventilated case. This sadly is becoming rarer as companies try to throw tempered glass on every side of the computer.

I'm about to build myself a 3700x/3900x workstation slash gaming rig. It's gonna on full load most of the time and also I'm gonna oc it.
Money isn't a fact, my question is how much higher does a good aio run compared to a good air cooler at the highest load scenario?
If a good aio is costly but can beat a good air cooler,i'm going for it and vice versa

[Kilrah]

7 minutes ago, Sorenson said:

When you take into account case airflow (especially in smaller cases) I would bet AIOs generally outperform the beefy air coolers. That’s is unless the air cooler is in a well ventilated case

An AIO needs a well ventilated case just as much as an air cooler. All the air that goes through the rad goes through the case as well (setting aside unconventional cases/builds obviously).