AIO Ratings

[kb5zue]

Presently looking for an AIO for my system.  I am running an AMD FX 8370 on an ASUS TUF Sabertooth FX990 3.0 mobo in a CoolerMaster MasterCase Maker 5t case.  Although I have two intake fans in the front of the case (factory preinstalled) and two exhaust fans on the top of the case, I am still experiencing some occasional total system shutdowns due to excessive heat.

 

I have decided to go with an AIO to help solve the problem but I am having problems deciding which one.  I have read all the reviews, watched all the YouTube videos and read all the comments concerning pro's and con's of as many AIO's that I could find considering what I am looking for.

 

I'm looking for a 280 radiator since the case will handle that and overall cost wise there is not a lot of difference between the 240's and the 280's and since putting this machine together in the last couple of months, it is going to have to last a pretty good time so might as well do what I can to make it last for as long as possible.

 

So, my question is:  Has anyone come up with a way to rate the All-In-One coolers like there is a tier list for power supplies.  If they have, then I just haven't found it yet.  Any help would be greatly appreciated.  My budget is $150 USD.  I'm not worried about RGB fans, just want something that works really good and is going to last.  I would prefer a radiator with copper fins, but I know that isn't possible with that budget.  Thanks for taking the time to read this.

[Guest]

You compare AIO by load temps and noise and that's it? 

[kb5zue]

As for load temps, of course, want to keep them down as much as possible.  As for noise, don't really care.  I am more concerned about dropping the temps than I am the noise or the fancy RGB stuff.

[hammer3339]

Just curious why you bought such an old CPU if you only just assembled this PC recently. would resell and use the money for the AIO to upgrade to a recent architecture with modern features

[Damascus]

I would get a ryzen 3/5 cpu and use the stock cooler but the Arctic freezer 240 is an awesome cooler.

[kb5zue]

The cpu (AMD FX 8370) may be "old" to you, but it is new to me considering the "old" cpu was an FX 6300.  So, the CPU is new, the case is new, the CPU is new, the SSD is new and the CPU Air cooling fan is new, just can't handle the job while under heavy load.  Since my family and I live on a fixed income (I'm retired/disabled with the Air Force) I had to make my purchases at different times.  So the mobo was an upgrade (old board was an Asus A5 97 something I don't remember) so this board is a big upgrade for me.

 

As for resell.  Forget it.  We live in a small town (pop. about 17-19k) and most people here are retired from the logging industry.  There is no market up here in northern California for used systems and parts.  (Humboldt County).  Biggest market up here is marijuana.

[hammer3339]

my point was more that if you were able to resell and upgrade to say, ryzen you'd be able to stick with the stock cpu cooler. if your situation is fairly dire then, fair enough.

[kb5zue]

??  Spend 800 bucks to save a hundred?  That doesn't make sense.  I was able to reuse my GPU, PSU and Ram.  To go the Ryzen route, would have to replace the CPU, Mobo and Ram.  I'm sure the cost of those items far exceed the cost of the CPU cooler.  I had planned on replacing the system over time because it was getting on a few years old, but that is part of the problem too because no matter what I do, it has to happen over time because I can't afford to just get online and order a thousand bucks worth of parts willy-nilly.

[For Science!]

2 hours ago, kb5zue said:

 

Most AIOs will use copper plates and aluminium radiators and a CPU mounted Asetek pump. So their performance is always even a couple of degrees to each other (very minor differences due to the copper plate fun design)

 

As far as I am aware there are no Full copper AIOs that are true closed loop coolers, I think some expandable units use full copper, but that is probably out of the budget.

 

Since by default AIOs tend to be mixed metals, they have a potentially limited lifetime (2-5 years). I would be interested if you could find an all aluminium AIO instead, actually 

 

So ultimately they will be similar and last a similar amount of time (same pump, same mixed metals). The coolant inside AIOs probably plays a larger factor but that is normally poorly documented.

[mmm273]

arctic liquid freezer 240