I need help choosing a cooler!

Malerax · July 7, 2020

Hi,

I am a first time PC builder, but I have done a LOT of research, and I have nearly finalised my build. The only thing left, is to decide on my CPU cooler... I will be running the 3700x on the ASUS ROG STRIX x570-e motherboard, and I am caught up between Air and AIO cooling. My main concerns are, of course reliability and how long they last, as well as aesthetics (Fair amount of RGB in my build, Lancool II, Z-Neo RAM, NZXT AER2 case fans, ASUS RGB 2080 Super GPU)...

For liquid cooling, I had selected the Corsair iCUE H150i RGB PRO XT 360mm AIO, as I have yet to see a review of failure for this cooler. I am sure this would be plenty of cooling capacity for my 3700x. On the other side, I don't want to have to worry about potential damages to my other components due to malfunction in the AIO, so air cooling was also in mind. I also previously planned on getting the NZXT Kraken x73, but was put off by the abundance of people saying their pump failed, leaked, and otherwise broke within months or installing, and NZXT helpline was useless in fixing these problems.

For air cooling, I had in mind the Noctua NH U12-S Chromax Black. Purely as once this is installed, I "Shouldn't" have to worry about any damages upon it malfunctioning (in rare case). I was planning on attaching a second Noctua 120mm fan to this to maximise it's performance. Between these 2 that I have in mind, what are your opinions, good, bad, and inbetween on my selections, and do you have any other suggestions?

Thanks.

Stahlmann · July 7, 2020

The NH-U12S will be your best choice in terms of reliability. Also it will easily handle your 3700X while staying silent. Speaking out of experience here. For looks you can always slap an RGB fan onto it and move the included NF-F12 behind for push/pull

AIOs don't make a lot of sense imo because with ryzen you'll not really OC and thus don't need the extra cooling. A nice air cooler will get you where you want.

deepsurfer · July 7, 2020

There are a few things to take into account here that you have addressed, such as personal aesthetic preferences and cooling potential.

A Corsair 360mm AIO will handle any processor at stock great, and will be able to cool the CPU quietly. You do also acknowledge that reliability is a factor to take into account with liquid coolers, as there is more danger of damaging components if anything were to fail or break.

On the other hand, large tower coolers can plenty cool a high end CPU such as the 3700x you speak of; Some coolers to consider are the NH U12-S that you speak of and also the NH D-15 (perhaps if you plan on overclocking, or just even more quiet).

It really depends on your use case, and from experience i would reccomend sticking with noctua coolers for performance and acoustics, and its also nice that there are cromax black options now.

That being said, it still comes down to personal preference.

marmour · July 7, 2020

If you want reliability get $50-100 air cooler from the likes of noctua or bequiet.

I would only go for an AIO if you prefer the aesthetics. A 360mm is definitely a bit overkill, although you could probably keep noise levels pretty low

Malerax · July 7, 2020

So you guys think that the Noctua NH-U12S with 2 120mm fans on it will be enough to keep my 3700x in tune? I was considering the NH-U14S, but it isn't available in Chromax, and aesthetics are important to me so that's a no-go. and the NH D-15 won't fit over my Ram.

Also, will the Air cooler tower block things such as the 2 top mounted exhaust RGB fans or RAM RGB from being visible?