how tedious and costly is the maintenance of liquid cpu cooler?

[EzioWar]

Hi, for liquid cpu cooler(AIO like corsair h100 etc) , do i need to change the liquid/tube periodically ( like 5 to 6 years or more) and this is inevitable ? also pumps can stop working right? also if these types of failures (need to replace the tube/liquid/pump) happen after warranty period , do i need to take the cooler to company's service center and pay for the fix or can i replace those myself at home? is it possible that tube/liquid/pump would not be availabe anywhere when i would need to replace them? or can i just use tube/liquid/pump of other companies/model apart from my coolers manufacturer and model like we can replace a broken fan with any fan in cpu air cooler?

[Average Nerd]

The most likely maintenance will be topping off the water inside, all you need for that is distilled water and biocide (so you don't get any algae).

A lot of AIO coolers don't have fill ports though, so check if the one you want has one if maintenance is a concern.

[Godlygamer23]

Are we talking about custom loops, AIOs, or both?

[EzioWar]

2 minutes ago, Godlygamer23 said:

Are we talking about custom loops, AIOs, or both?

AIO like corsair h100 etc

[Tan3l6]

AIOs need no maintenance usually. Just shorter life span than air coolers mostly.

[MiszS]

6 minutes ago, EzioWar said:

AIO like corsair h100 etc

That's an AIO with a closed loop, it needs no maintenance, just clean the dust sometimes, like you would with the rest of your pc

[EzioWar]

6 minutes ago, Tan3l6 said:

AIOs need no maintenance usually. Just shorter life span than air coolers mostly.

whats the average lifespan of a 70$ AIO?

[Tan3l6]

2 minutes ago, MiszS said:

That's an AIO with a closed loop, it needs no maintenance, just clean the dust sometimes, like you would with the rest of your pc

Though some revisions of Arctic Liquid Freezer II needed a water block swap, as the old one gathered a lot of gunk from the gasket around it, but for me it was not a huge deal. still works 1,5 years later.

 

  

1 minute ago, EzioWar said:

whats the average lifespan of a 50$ AIO?

I hope 5 years at minimum? Hard to tell.

[EzioWar]

2 minutes ago, Tan3l6 said:

Though some revisions of Arctic Liquid Freezer II needed a water block swap, as the old one gathered a lot of gunk from the gasket around it, but for me it was not a huge deal. still works 1,5 years later.

 

  

I hope 5 years at minimum? Hard to tell.

w8 i mistyped, i meant 70$. specifically Cooler Master MasterLiquid 240L 

[Tan3l6]

2 minutes ago, EzioWar said:

w8 i mistyped, i meant 70$. specifically Cooler Master MasterLiquid 240L 

Hard to tell, they seem to vary a lot:

I doubt anyone has collected the statistics for time of failure...

[Alex Atkin UK]

19 minutes ago, EzioWar said:

w8 i mistyped, i meant 70$. specifically Cooler Master MasterLiquid 240L 

I'd always assume its only going to last the warranty, unlike air coolers which so long as you get ones compatible with normal fans can practically last forever with just a fan swap.

[GuiltySpark_]

37 minutes ago, EzioWar said:

whats the average lifespan of a 70$ AIO?

No way to tell. You can have one that dies in two months or in 5+ years. Its the gamble you take. Or, you buy an air cooler (of which there are a number of them that perform as well or better than a 240mm AIO) and they last forever. Easier to setup for new users, too. (In my experience most new users have a limited understanding of fan curves let alone managing the fans and pump curves. 

[Kilrah]

1 hour ago, EzioWar said:

is it possible that tube/liquid/pump would not be availabe anywhere when i would need to replace them?

AIOs are a sealed thing, not designed to be serviced. You won't find parts for it. Expect it to live 3-5 years and then replace. 

 

Of course the fans are separate from the loop, you can replace them with whatever you want. 

[MiszS]

1 hour ago, EzioWar said:

w8 i mistyped, i meant 70$. specifically Cooler Master MasterLiquid 240L 

the arctic liquid freezer 2/3 are some of the best AIOs in terms of lifespan, but also don't cost a lot, they have 6 years warranty, which is pretty a lot for AIOs