AIO - ASUS ROG STRIX LC II 280 ARGB - Opinions / Leak chances of AIO's

[FaelanMaelan]

Hello guys , i just build my first kinda " high-end" gaming  PC but i don't know why decided to read about the parts after ordering them and so i got an AIO instead of basic air cooler  ( e.g Arctic Freezer 34 Espors Duo , Noctua , beQuiet etc ) 

 

So my choice was the ASUS ROG STRIX LC II 280  and day after ordering the parts i started reading about AIO's and the leak chances , pump failures so i got paranoid as i also got RTX 3070 TUF GAMING again ASUS .... 

https://rog.asus.com/cooling/cpu-liquid-coolers/rog-strix-lc/rog-strix-lc-ii-280-argb-model/  - the AIO 

My question is is this AIO a good choice as ROG STRIX LC 360 is in the A Tier list here in the forum so i presume LC II 280 also should be an A Tier AIO. its like 189 dollars in Amazon,Newegg which is equivalent of 400 leva here in Bulgaria which is a lot  

 

My 2nd question is are the leak chances real of the AIO's as i read that the newer AIO's or should i say the modern ones are now even better and the chances of leaks are pretty small close to zero ? 

Please be honest and help my paranoia haha 

Thanks in advance to anyone who gives his/her opinion ! 

 

[RONOTHAN##]

6 minutes ago, FaelanMaelan said:

My question is is this AIO a good choice as ROG STRIX LC 360 is in the A Tier list here in the forum so i presume LC II 280 also should be an A Tier AIO. its like 189 dollars in Amazon,Newegg which is equivalent of 400 leva here in Bulgaria which is a lot

In terms of quality it's a fine AIO, it's just that the price is way too high for me to consider it. Like, $200 is approaching low end custom loop territory, which will perform better and be a lot more versatile. I'd probably return it because of that and get something like the Arctic Liquid Freezer II, just as good an AIO that usually costs just over half the cost of that ROG one (granted, I don't know the Bulgarian market, so that might be even more expensive over there).

 

9 minutes ago, FaelanMaelan said:

My 2nd question is are the leak chances real of the AIO's as i read that the newer AIO's or should i say the modern ones are now even better and the chances of leaks are pretty small close to zero ? 

They can leak, though while I have heard of them leaking, it is still pretty low. That said, unless you have a system that you are transporting a lot or you've got a thermal nightmare like a 12900k, I'd still advise to go with a dual tower air cooler instead because it's likely half the cost, the performance will be close (again, unless you've got an inferno of a CPU), and the chances of anything going wrong without physical damage to the system are zero. AIOs are a lot more robust during transport since they've got way more mount points, but if you're gonna build it, set it on your desk, and only ever move it to blow out the dust, it really doesn't matter. 

 

Basically, if it already arrived, you like the look of it, and you're fine with the price, I wouldn't bother returning it and it will be fine (even if it does leak if your GPU has a backplate the odds of damage are still fairly low). That said, if it hasn't shipped yet, I'd probably cancel it and get something cheaper like a good air cooler.

[freeagent]

They don’t leak too often, at least not that I have seen on the forums. They do permeate though. Your system and it’s environment will dictate the rate of permeation. Overall they are ok. If they can approach the performance of a cheap loop I would buy another, but right now I will pass.

[Acid Panda]

I have the LC 360 the bigger one of these, its performs well, I chose it for the aesthetics as I also changed out the fans.

There are better performing cheaper options but if price is no issue for this purchase will be fine.

 

you would be shocking unlucky to ever get a leak