AIO CPU cooler vs air cooler

[Alesek]

Hi, I am wondering what is better in terms of cooling performance and noise levels AIO liquid cooler or air cooler? I think I'd eventually like to upgrade my cpu cooler but I am not sure if I should go for AIO liquid cooler or high end air cooler. I'd like it to be almost inaudible and have the best cooling performance possible. My case is Define S so I can fit any AIO radiator size in there

[Antony Leung]

AIO cooler for sure. It give you lowest temps vs air coolers. also is less noisy.

[racer243l]

Don´t get a 120mm AiO, they are usually loud, inefficient and expensive. I don´t know about 240mm and 280mm ones, but in my opinion a good air cooler is the best option.

[Aytex]

9 minutes ago, Alesek said:

Hi, I am wondering what is better in terms of cooling performance and noise levels AIO liquid cooler or air cooler? I think I'd eventually like to upgrade my cpu cooler but I am not sure if I should go for AIO liquid cooler or high end air cooler. I'd like it to be almost inaudible and have the best cooling performance possible. My case is Define S so I can fit any AIO radiator size in there

I would say its a bit debatable, AiO's certainly look cooler but in terms of cooling they really compete the same

Noise wise something like the NH-D15 is a Great air tower, though something like a x61 with noctua's will do great as well

[Alesek]

13 minutes ago, Aytex said:

I would say its a bit debatable, AiO's certainly look cooler but in terms of cooling they really compete the same

Noise wise something like the NH-D15 is a Great air tower, though something like a x61 with noctua's will do great as well

I just found this http://www.relaxedtech.com/reviews/noctua/nh-d15-versus-closed-loop-liquid-coolers/2 and I guess noctua wins by a lot. Almost same performance and way quieter.

 

But I just realized that AMD will release Zen FX in Q4 which will be AM4 and in case its actually good, I might upgrade to that or Kaby Lake from Intel . So I guess I am just gonna wait with the cooler until I am sure about my socket and stick with the one I have till then. Thanks

[HKZeroFive]

Air coolers have less points of failure, meaning they're less likely to not work after prolonged use. Additionally, they're usually quieter (due to less moving parts). But at the high end, no air cooler will top an AIO in terms of cooling performance.

 

As for AIOs, they can be noisier (fan + pump), as well as having more points of failure. But they do cool better than the top air coolers.

[TheRandomness]

37 minutes ago, Antony Leung said:

AIO cooler for sure. It give you lowest temps vs air coolers. also is less noisy.

Other way around. AiOs are beaten by air coolers in terms of noise levels and price. Also, the NH-D15 has beaten even 240mm radiator AiOs. 

[rm -rf]

1 hour ago, Alesek said:

Hi, I am wondering what is better in terms of cooling performance and noise levels AIO liquid cooler or air cooler? I think I'd eventually like to upgrade my cpu cooler but I am not sure if I should go for AIO liquid cooler or high end air cooler. I'd like it to be almost inaudible and have the best cooling performance possible. My case is Define S so I can fit any AIO radiator size in there

The only thing AIOs are good for is awesomeness and quietness.

[Bcat00]

Just think like this:

 

air means silent builds with temp coming second fiddle 

 

AIO is more for looks and temps while noise can be quiet if pump is lowered. Remember the pump noise will always be there no matter what!

[Corsair Joseph]

16 hours ago, Alesek said:

Hi, I am wondering what is better in terms of cooling performance and noise levels AIO liquid cooler or air cooler? I think I'd eventually like to upgrade my cpu cooler but I am not sure if I should go for AIO liquid cooler or high end air cooler. I'd like it to be almost inaudible and have the best cooling performance possible. My case is Define S so I can fit any AIO radiator size in there

Just to give you a point of reference

 

http://www.overclock3d.net/reviews/cases_cooling/corsair_h110i_gt_review/8

[iiNNeX]

16 hours ago, racer243l said:

Don´t get a 120mm AiO, they are usually loud, inefficient and expensive. I don´t know about 240mm and 280mm ones, but in my opinion a good air cooler is the best option.

If air cooling was the best option, AIOs and custom loops wouldn't exist. That said, a good air cooler like the Noctua NH-D14 or D15 is just as good as a decent AIO like the H100i. But, if you go large rad on the AIO, to let's say the H115i and add 2 more fans for push pull, it ll give it a good lead over the noctua.

 

It all depends on the case and requirements of the user.

[racer243l]

7 hours ago, iiNNeX said:

If air cooling was the best option, AIOs and custom loops wouldn't exist. That said, a good air cooler like the Noctua NH-D14 or D15 is just as good as a decent AIO like the H100i. But, if you go large rad on the AIO, to let's say the H115i and add 2 more fans for push pull, it ll give it a good lead over the noctua.

 

It all depends on the case and requirements of the user.

True, but like I said, 120mm aren´t worth their money. Custom loops are another story. I´m not saying air is the ultimate solution, just a better option if you are in a certain budget. And I personally don´t see the point of spending a huge amount of money on something, that performs the same to something that´s less then half in price. I understand that specific sceneraios, like super small cases with restricted airflow benifit from AiO´s or even full loops with GPU water blocks.

[dwang040]

So, i was wondering the same thing as you, aio vs liquid. Well, here's what i've been thinking about this. AIO will definetly cool better, but if you compare them to air coolers of the same price, the choice becomes up to you. I mean, the price range I had in mind was around 100, so that gives you coolers like corsair h100i gtx, cooler master nepton 240m, nzxt kraken x61, and air coolers such as cryorig r1 ultimate/ universal, noctua nh-d15 (however, after staring at a picture of the cooler, i quickly discarded that from my list....) Anyways, here's a list of some water coolers and 1 air cooler that i made in excel to determine which cooler to pick. 

Note about chart if you do read it:

1. I based them off of the final score, so the one with the lowest score one

2. the corsair gtx h100i, was based off of quiet mode and using quiet fans, not performance so i could keep the noise down. 

3. final thoughts is based off of tweaktown scores

4. this is a bit random, but air coolers MAY add a bit more pricing to your rig. Since a AIO comes with 1/2 fans depending on rad size, that's 1 or 2 less fans to get for your case if you like fans pulling/ pushing on the top. So yeah, for the cryorig, this extra cost is not included.

 

PS: in terms of 120 vs 240, I think 240 is the better way to go since bigger fan means quieter, after all, in order to push the same amount of air, assuming they have similar designs, the 120mm fan will have to spin a lot faster to get the same amount of air through. 

coolers.xlsx