240mm AIO vs 360mm AIO

[Bowjangls]

I have some questions that I can't seem to find the answers to. I'm planning on upgrading to a Ryzen 7 7800x3d or waiting for a Ryzen 7 9800x3d(?) and I'm thinking of going with an AIO this time around. I have seen that a 240mm AIO will cool about as much as a 360mm AIO for CPUs. What I am wondering is if one pump is generally louder that the other or if the 240 will make more fan noise than the 360, will one last longer than the other, does one require more maintenance. I don't know what maintenance an AIO will need if any either. I'm not necessarily dead set on getting an AIO or water-cooling but I wanted to know in case I didn't go with an air cooler this time.

[RONOTHAN##]

1 hour ago, Bowjangls said:

I have seen that a 240mm AIO will cool about as much as a 360mm AIO for CPUs

360mm AIOs are very much better at cooling CPUs than 240mm AIOs, it's just that for a CPU that doesn't draw any power like the 7800X3D, you're not likely to notice a difference. 

 

1 hour ago, Bowjangls said:

What I am wondering is if one pump is generally louder that the other

No, they use the same pumps. 

 

1 hour ago, Bowjangls said:

if the 240 will make more fan noise than the 360

That will depend on the specific AIO. More fans generally means more noise, though since the better cooling capability will mean that the fans won't need to spin as fast on the 360, it'll come down to the noise profile of the specific fans you'll be using. 

 

1 hour ago, Bowjangls said:

will one last longer than the other, does one require more maintenance

It's the pumps that tend to die first, and since they're the same pump, they'll live for the same amount of time on average. As for maintenance, you can't really maintain an AIO, so it's not really relevant either. 

 

1 hour ago, Bowjangls said:

I'm not necessarily dead set on getting an AIO or water-cooling but I wanted to know in case I didn't go with an air cooler this time.

If you don't care too much about it, just stick to air cooling. The 7800X3D really doesn't need a high end cooler, so getting an AIO wouldn't really be a benefit here and you'd just be sacrificing the reliability of air cooling. 

[Paul17]

Wouldn't a 280 vs 360 be a more accurate comparison?   I think there's a neverending debate whether a 280 delivers sufficient performance to a 360?

[NorKris]

2 hours ago, Paul17 said:

Wouldn't a 280 vs 360 be a more accurate comparison?   I think there's a neverending debate whether a 280 delivers sufficient performance to a 360?

looking at GNs testing, its pretty clear that a 360 smacks a 280  

[RevGAM]

12 hours ago, Paul17 said:

Wouldn't a 280 vs 360 be a more accurate comparison?   I think there's a neverending debate whether a 280 delivers sufficient performance to a 360?

Depends on who you ask. Some state that you're better off getting a 280 as long as the price is lower than a 360, which makes sense. Others say to get a cheaper 240. It really depends on the AIOs specs and quality.

20 hours ago, Bowjangls said:

I have some questions that I can't seem to find the answers to. I'm planning on upgrading to a Ryzen 7 7800x3d or waiting for a Ryzen 7 9800x3d(?) and I'm thinking of going with an AIO this time around. I have seen that a 240mm AIO will cool about as much as a 360mm AIO for CPUs. What I am wondering is if one pump is generally louder that the other or if the 240 will make more fan noise than the 360, will one last longer than the other, does one require more maintenance. I don't know what maintenance an AIO will need if any either. I'm not necessarily dead set on getting an AIO or water-cooling but I wanted to know in case I didn't go with an air cooler this time.

I think Ronothan did answer most of this, so I'll just add:

If an AIO doesn't have a way for you to maintain it, it's not worth buying it unless you're flush with cash and don't care about polluting the planet with e-waste. Some AIOs offer maintenance ports but many don't. Thermalright and most others have seemed to forego that option. Lian Li, DeepCool and a few others have them; DC has a bleed valve in some of their newer models (e.g. LS/LT).

 

Your best bet is, if you don't go with an air cooler, is to find one that has a maintenance port AND has a pump that's rated to last a really long time (say 100,000 hours). It doesn't much matter what the fans are rated for - they're a lot cheaper and easier to replace than a built-in pump but, if you can afford it, go for strong fans and pumps that are rated to last a long time. I suggest fan pressure of over 3 mmAq with decent airflow (>75 CFM, I guess), and the RPMs will tie into that, so if you see a max of 1,000 RPMs, you can guess that it'll not have a lot of pressure. A lot of makers don't list the waterflow and lift/head, but look for 5000+RPM. My TR Frozen Notte has 15000 mL/min and 1.5M lift, and that's pretty darned good as far as I'm concerned.

 

If you use these tips, you'll probably pay more but get more bang for your buck.

 

Oh, if you go for a long-lasting pump that isn't strong, you can compensate some by putting really strong fans on the radiator.

 

Another point is to consider where the pump is located.  In the block is the worst point for multiple reasons, but as long as you have the tubes coming out its top, you're relatively safe (aside from heat-death). If the pump is in the rad, then that limits where you can mount it (not on top, not with the tubes up on the front/side) because air will eventually get into the pump area and if there's too much air it'll start overheating the pump. If the pump is on the tubing that's probably the best option as it makes fewer problems. No matter which location, though, the block should be mounted with tubes up or, if that's not possible, out the side. Never from the bottom - I don't care what those stupid photos with Jayz2Cents show. You have to have a strong pump to keep the block clear of significant amounts of air when the tubes are down.

 

Don't forget the fill port on the rad.

[RevGAM]

10 hours ago, NorKris said:

looking at GNs testing, its pretty clear that a 360 smacks a 280  

 

Also, SilverStone just said (to me) that their testing also proves that it's usually better to get a 280.

Quote

Their [Hawrdware Canucks] conclusion mirrors closely to what we see in our internal testing, that the 280mm’s performance is about on par with 360mm. So for noise to performance ratio, plus cost and size, the 280mm is overall the best choice (if the case fits).

 

[NorKris]

4 hours ago, RevGAM said:

 

Also, SilverStone just said (to me) that their testing also proves that it's usually better to get a 280.

 

i will take a look at it, every time i see corsair AIOs and their new fans im just thinking:  
sir u wanna say goodbaay too all ur money and get no performance in return?  

[NorKris]

would be fun to see how this is with other manufactures 

keep in mind that this is the current "corsair lvl" of cooling 

 

[RevGAM]

4 hours ago, NorKris said:

i will take a look at it, every time i see corsair AIOs and their new fans im just thinking:  
sir u wanna say goodbaay too all ur money and get no performance in return?  

Pretty amusing joke! Some Corsairs (like the H series) do well. The H150i is much better than the H100i. Still, they are - as you said - overpriced.