AIO or Air?

[Grady_Smith]

Should I get an ARCTIC liquid freezer 3 pro or a thermalright phantom spirit for my i7 14700k? I am using it for CAD like solid works and fusion 360 as well as blender and 3d rendering. I am leaning towards the air cooler for simplicity and lifespan. 

Here is my part list: 

PCPartPicker Part List: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/MGJzdb

CPU: Intel Core i7-14700K 3.4 GHz 20-Core Processor  ($326.08 @ Amazon) 
CPU Cooler: ARCTIC Liquid Freezer III Pro A-RGB 360 77 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($93.99 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: Asus Z790 GAMING WIFI7 ATX LGA1700 Motherboard  ($179.99 @ Newegg) 
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws S5 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory  ($104.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Crucial P3 Plus 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  ($113.99 @ Amazon) 
Video Card: PNY OC GeForce RTX 5070 12 GB Video Card  ($549.99 @ Best Buy) 
Case: Montech AIR 903 MAX ATX Mid Tower Case  ($89.99 @ Amazon) 
Power Supply: MSI MAG A750GL PCIE5 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  ($99.99 @ Amazon) 
Speakers: Logitech Z150 Speakers  ($29.70 @ Amazon) 
Total: $1588.71
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2025-06-28 13:37 EDT-0400

 

Here is the air cooler: https://www.amazon.com/Thermalright-PS120SE-Cooler-Heat-Pipes/dp/B0CC4RCDL9

[Dedayog]

6 minutes ago, Grady_Smith said:

Should I get an ARCTIC liquid freezer 3 pro or a thermalright phantom spirit for my i7 14700k? I am using it for CAD like solid works and fusion 360 as well as blender and 3d rendering. I am leaning towards the air cooler for simplicity and lifespan. 

Here is my part list: 

PCPartPicker Part List: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/MGJzdb

CPU: Intel Core i7-14700K 3.4 GHz 20-Core Processor  ($326.08 @ Amazon) 
CPU Cooler: ARCTIC Liquid Freezer III Pro A-RGB 360 77 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($93.99 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: Asus Z790 GAMING WIFI7 ATX LGA1700 Motherboard  ($179.99 @ Newegg) 
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws S5 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory  ($104.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Crucial P3 Plus 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  ($113.99 @ Amazon) 
Video Card: PNY OC GeForce RTX 5070 12 GB Video Card  ($549.99 @ Best Buy) 
Case: Montech AIR 903 MAX ATX Mid Tower Case  ($89.99 @ Amazon) 
Power Supply: MSI MAG A750GL PCIE5 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  ($99.99 @ Amazon) 
Speakers: Logitech Z150 Speakers  ($29.70 @ Amazon) 
Total: $1588.71
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2025-06-28 13:37 EDT-0400

 

Here is the air cooler: https://www.amazon.com/Thermalright-PS120SE-Cooler-Heat-Pipes/dp/B0CC4RCDL9

Arctic LF 3 Pro for that CPU.  It'll run hot.

[Grady_Smith]

Air also is better for my budget.

[Dedayog]

Just now, Grady_Smith said:

Air also is better for my budget.

Well yeah, they're cheaper.

 

Basically air up to the 360mm AIO is my general rule.

 

That air cooler is a good one though, can't go wrong.  Just that the Arctic is better.

[podkall]

44 minutes ago, Grady_Smith said:

Should I get an ARCTIC liquid freezer 3 pro or a thermalright phantom spirit for my i7 14700k? I am using it for CAD like solid works and fusion 360 as well as blender and 3d rendering. I am leaning towards the air cooler for simplicity and lifespan. 

Both can work, 360mm AIO is bit stronger.

 

The Air Cooling might need bit of tuning and whatnot to make perfect. In terms of thermals/noise, if noise is concern, or if the default curve is too slow for thermals.

 

+1 for good airflow case (+1 if your area or room isn't too warm to begin with)

 

And for the most part, the Air Cooler will only show it's weakness at long sustained CPU loads on all cores. But it's still enough to not make the CPU worry, or perhaps even enough to not make it throttle even at all core load.

[Grady_Smith]

3 things.

1. Do I need to buy a couple more car fans if I go with air? 

2. I am not going to be overclocking the CPU, but I would like to not undervolt it. 

3. I looked at the wattage on the CPU, and it is lower than the wattage the air cooler is rated for, because of that, will it work for the workloads I mentioned above?

[leclod]

A contact frame would be helpful too, you can get them cheap.

[Grady_Smith]

The aio comes with one, but I will definitely get one of I go with air 

[BeastHotDogGUY]

22 minutes ago, Grady_Smith said:

3 things.

1. Do I need to buy a couple more car fans if I go with air? 

2. I am not going to be overclocking the CPU, but I would like to not undervolt it. 

3. I looked at the wattage on the CPU, and it is lower than the wattage the air cooler is rated for, because of that, will it work for the workloads I mentioned above?

1. the case comes with 4 pre-installed 140mm fans, 3 in the front 1 in the back. imo you could be fine as is, but if you wanted to add maybe another fan or two to the top as exhaust that wouldn't hurt.

2. leaving the cpu at factory default shouldn't cause any problems heating wise, especially since your not over clocking it.

3. i don't know much about 3d rendering, cad, or any of the other programs mentioned above so i'm no help there.

[leclod]

6 minutes ago, BeastHotDogGUY said:

but if you wanted to add maybe another fan or two to the top as exhaust that wouldn't hurt.

Lately I've seen a few discussions about top exhaust fans being rather negative.

For example, here with an air cooler, top fans could steal fresh air for no reason.

4 140mm fans is a very good start.

Edited June 28, 2025 by leclod

[Dedayog]

11 minutes ago, leclod said:

Lately I've seen a few discussions about top exhaust fans being rather negative.

For example, here with an air cooler, top fans could steal fresh air for no reason.

4 140mm fans is a very good start.

I can get behind that.

 

Existing case fans are plenty 

[BeastHotDogGUY]

2 hours ago, leclod said:

Lately I've seen a few discussions about top exhaust fans being rather negative.

For example, here with an air cooler, top fans could steal fresh air for no reason.

4 140mm fans is a very good start.

i totally agree that 4 fans is perfectly fine, i definitely have more i can learn since i have 2 120mm exhaust fans myself that i might have to switch around now.

[Grady_Smith]

Sounds good, I will go with air.

[freeagent]

Thermalright makes a good AIO at a fair price. All 3 360s that I have from them easily outperform their air coolers. My 9900X can do close to 270w. I run my fans in a push/pull config.

[leclod]

2 hours ago, freeagent said:

All 3 360s that I have from them easily outperform their air coolers. 

But in 5-10 years an air cooler will still run like day one, an AIO won't (not talking about fans here).

Edited June 29, 2025 by leclod

[freeagent]

5 hours ago, leclod said:

But in 5-10 years an air cooler will still run like day one, an AIO won't (not talking about fans here).

Good thing they are cheap. The one I am using now has a 5 year warranty. As for their air coolers.. I have 7 or 8 of them, all of them are good.

[Dedayog]

7 hours ago, leclod said:

But in 5-10 years an air cooler will still run like day one, an AIO won't (not talking about fans here).

I think aio are performing better.

 

My thermal take 360 is going strong still at 7 years plus.

 

Also, most likely a new build will occur with a new cooler.  Maybe.

 

I wouldn't necessarily factor in a guaranteed failure.

 

 

[freeagent]

AIO get heavy use server side, lots of experience has been gained since say.. the original H100 that I still have, and it is extremely light, and judging by its shit performance, it is empty. Even just the last 2 years since I have been buying them, quality is still improving. My current unit is nicer than the last two that I used, and performs better while being quieter on the pump side. My next unit will be a 420.

[Grady_Smith]

So which one should I get?

[freeagent]

Well.. a heatsink will last you 50 years for sure. Just have to replace the fan every so often. I don't know how long an AIO will last. I have 3x Thermalright 360s, I abused the piss out of 3 of them, and they are still pretty good actually lol.. I just bought the one I am using now because it was cheap, and it has a little screen haha.

 

I have a first gen H100 that is mighty light.. cooled a heavily tuned X5690 ES for about 4 years before I retired it.

[KidKid]

On 6/28/2025 at 1:41 PM, Grady_Smith said:

Should I get an ARCTIC liquid freezer 3 pro or a thermalright phantom spirit for my i7 14700k? I am using it for CAD like solid works and fusion 360 as well as blender and 3d rendering. I am leaning towards the air cooler for simplicity and lifespan. 

Here is my part list: 

PCPartPicker Part List: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/MGJzdb

CPU: Intel Core i7-14700K 3.4 GHz 20-Core Processor  ($326.08 @ Amazon) 
CPU Cooler: ARCTIC Liquid Freezer III Pro A-RGB 360 77 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($93.99 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: Asus Z790 GAMING WIFI7 ATX LGA1700 Motherboard  ($179.99 @ Newegg) 
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws S5 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory  ($104.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Crucial P3 Plus 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  ($113.99 @ Amazon) 
Video Card: PNY OC GeForce RTX 5070 12 GB Video Card  ($549.99 @ Best Buy) 
Case: Montech AIR 903 MAX ATX Mid Tower Case  ($89.99 @ Amazon) 
Power Supply: MSI MAG A750GL PCIE5 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  ($99.99 @ Amazon) 
Speakers: Logitech Z150 Speakers  ($29.70 @ Amazon) 
Total: $1588.71
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2025-06-28 13:37 EDT-0400

 

Here is the air cooler: https://www.amazon.com/Thermalright-PS120SE-Cooler-Heat-Pipes/dp/B0CC4RCDL9

For a CPU that runs so hot, a water cooler will be a good investment.

[Lurking]

How mission critical is the PC and do you have a backup cooler in case you need to RMA or re-buy the AIO? 

 

A large air cooler still will be good enough as a passive cooler "to get into windows and to order a new Fan" when the fan failed. An AIO has zero cooling capacity if the pump or fluid disappeared. Keep the stock cooler around for the time you need it. it also is more likely to have a spare 120mm fan laying around. 

 

Unless you have access to other PCs. 

 

In theory the heat pipes in an air cooler also could leak and greatly reduce heat transfer. But this is extremely unlikely, and even less likely to happen to all 6+ pipes. You probably experience PSU/MB failure way before an air cooler ever fails. 

 

Performance-wise, an AIO really only makes sense if you go 360. Once you go through the trouble, you may as well make it worthwhile. 

 

Speculation: I bet most people with glass-cases buy an AIO more for aesthetic than actual performance reasons. Or in an ITX case where a tower cooler can't fit. 

[freeagent]

5 minutes ago, Lurking said:

Speculation: I bet most people with glass-cases buy an AIO more for aesthetic than actual performance reasons. Or in an ITX case where a tower cooler can't fit. 

I am a massive Thermalright fanboy.

 

I have in no particular order:

 

Ultra 120 Extreme (2007) Ultra 120 Extreme Black Rev. 4, Le Grand Macho RT, True Spirit 140 Power, Frost Commander 140 Grey, FC140 White, Phantom Spirit 120 SE ARGB, Phantom Spirit 120 EVO, gave away my Peerless Assassin 120 SE ARGB, Aqua Elite 360 v3, Frozen Edge 360 v3, FW PRO 360 Black, 3 of their NVME sinks, a GPU sink from my old 285, I think I even have my old 939 cooler kicking around. 

 

Long time user haha..