AIO or DIY? Best DIY kit?

[Xaptik]

Hello my name is Xaptik. I have a couple of questions for you all. I am new to liquid cooling and I'm making the jump for all of the obvious reasons. Better cooling, quieter cooling, better looking, ect. However, I am not sure if an all-in-one is better for me, a first time user, or a DIY kit. I figure a DIY kit would be a good experience and it would look cooler, but I'm afraid of leaks, cracks, ect. Which do you think I should start with?

 

Another question. Do AIO coolers come with liquid in them or do I need to purchase it myself? I know Thermaltake has some I can use if they don't supply it with the AIO.

 

And lastly, if I were to get a DIY kit, I have been looking at a Thermaltake Pacific kit with a 120mm fan. It's a lot more expensive but with some LEDs making it glow it would look pretty sick. Have any of you used it? Is it good quality? I haven't found any reviews on it anywhere.

 

Sorry, if this is jumbled or if these questions are answered elsewhere. I'm not an avid forum user and this is my first time on this forum. Feel free to link e to posts already answering questions like these.

[failblox]

Welcome to the LTT forums!

 

I think it depends on how comfortable you feel working with computer hardware. If you feel like you've had sufficient experience in working with computers and you know what's going on, then you could go with a DIY kit and be fine. Yes it's a bit more work and leaks and cracks are more likely to occur, but it'll look way better than any AIO.

 

AIO coolers will come prefilled with liquid in them. I don't know any AIO cooler that doesn't do this. It's in the name - All In One.

 

Personally I've never done DIY liquid cooling, so I couldn't give any personal recommendations as to where to look, but from what I've heard, EK and Swiftech have really good reputations for watercooling.

[W-L]

21 minutes ago, Xaptik said:

-SNIP-

Welcome to the Forums 

 

For AIO's as said they come prefilled even the expandable ones, but if you want to do custom cooling I would not recommend any of the thermaltake kits since they are a mixed metal loop with an aluminium rad, it's best to avoid those if possible but they require a mixed metal compatible fluid. 

 

For kits I would recommend the from from EKWB or something like the expandable AIO units like the swiftech X2 or EK Predator.

 

[Xaptik]

3 minutes ago, W-L said:

Welcome to the Forums 

 

For AIO's as said they come prefilled even the expandable ones, but if you want to do custom cooling I would not recommend any of the thermaltake kits since they are a mixed metal loop with an aluminium rad, it's best to avoid those if possible but they require a mixed metal compatible fluid. 

 

For kits I would recommend the from from EKWB or something like the expandable AIO units like the swiftech X2 or EK Predator.

 

 

The Swiftech X2 looks pretty good. Not too expensive, it's all-in-one, and it still looks pretty cool with the clear tubing and colored liquid.

[TonyStark]

Liquid cooling is a "hobby" as I could say. It is very efficient, yes, especially when you want to overclock and at high clocks as well, but it needs careful planning and implementation when it comes to DIY. If you simply want an efficient liquid-cooled system with no, or the least possible worries, then you could go with an AIO solution. There are AIO solutions for CPUs and GPUs as well.

[Deli]

To address two of your points.

 

Quieter, only when you can have more than 240mm radiator, when you can run slower fan speed while still have sufficient cooling. High end air coolers, such as Noctua NH-D15, are actually quieter than most AIOs.

 

Better cooling, high end air coolers are as good as most 240mm AIOs. So unless you plan to use 280, 360 AIOs or custom loop with multiple radiators. The most common 240 AIOs don't provide better cooling.

[xHadrian]

I would say if you are more of a "mechanical guy" and like the look of DIY custom loops, then go for it. However, stay away thermaltake's products in water-cooling loops, as I have heard of them being cheap and have no overall good quality.

 

You don't need to purchase liquid for AIO's.

 

Some leaks MAY in custom-loops, however, if you tightened everything together and made sure the pump/reservoir isn't straight on top for the GPU or something like that, you would be good to go.

 

A benefit of DIY loops is that you could cool the GPU, CPU, and ram, all within one loop.

 

Welcome to the LTT forums.