aio vs custom liquid cooling

[Geno Boost]

I am try to save for dual gtx 980 ftw and trying to decide to have dual corsair/nzxt brackets with thermaltake 360mm ultimate/nzxt x61 krakens or have custom 420mm radiators and a 120mm radiator and costom cpu and gpu blocks in my case. just how much better is the custom vs aio in temps but the aio requires no maintenance so is it worth it to go full custom. 

[airdeano]

for the CPU side, the temps can be 5-20° better depending on build config.

 

for the GPU from 5-10° better over AIO cooling. custom h2o can range from

40-55° under loads and AIO 55-65° under loads (depending on config and

ambient temperatures).

 

cost-wise, the AIO (CPU 240 and 2x 120 for SLI GPU) is a lot less expensive.

custom can be better, but for the cost versus actual the AIO wins. it'll mainly

be a subjective need as to aesthetics and functionality.

 

 

[HmmR]

if u have the money water cooling

 

if u dont want to spend crap load of money to reduce 5 - 10 degrees and get that 200+mhz clock get aio anyday

[BulkyZaNka]

I'd say go for custom. You are trying to cool 3 diffrent things and if you want nice looks and any flexibility then custom!

EDIT: if 3 years then better off custom because you don't need to get everything new, you can reuse the parts.

[Faceman]

I am try to save for dual gtx 980 ftw and trying to decide to have dual corsair/nzxt brackets with thermaltake 360mm ultimate/nzxt x61 krakens or have custom 420mm radiators and a 120mm radiator and costom cpu and gpu blocks in my case. just how much better is the custom vs aio in temps but the aio requires no maintenance so is it worth it to go full custom.

Check out my guide on dual AIO water cooling.

http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/233847-how-to-watercool-a-cpu-single-gpu-for-under-200-in-the-us/

The performance difference between AIOs and custom is minimal, and the price difference is two to three times what it costs. I have an i5-4670k + GTX 780, both OC'd and my temps don't even hit 50C on either. I have a 240mm AIO for my CPU, and a 120mm AIO + G10 for my GPU. Look at my link for more info into the all-AIO water cooling world.

Also, someone said custom can be reused, while the is true for most of the components, you will still need new water blocks anytime you upgrade your GPU. The G10 is a much more universal design and can be reused on almost all GPUs now and likely in the future. So AIOs can be reused as well, and come with nice 5 year warranties.