AIO Reliability and Recommendations

[megamawman]

Hey folks,

 

Recently, I've been looking to update my PC to an AIO water cooler for the Threadripper 16-core I will soon get. I will mainly be using this system for 3D rendering in Max and VRay along with UE4. As a result, these long sessions of 100% CPU usage (potentially 2+ hours) has pushed me to buy a cooler to fit my needs. After doing some research, I have found that AIO liquid coolers often have pump failures after 8-12 months and 1-2 weeks of down time could kill a contract for me if I have to get a cooler RMA'd. I found this was true on the H100i (gtx and v2) and the Kraken X62 and X52 which both appear to be popular coolers. Are these reviews just people getting unlucky with faulty pumps or is this is a serious issue I should be considering?

[Prokart2000]

12 minutes ago, megamawman said:

Hey folks,

Recently, I've been looking to update my PC to an AIO water cooler for the Threadripper 16-core I will soon get. I will mainly be using this system for 3D rendering in Max and VRay along with UE4. As a result, these long sessions of 100% CPU usage (potentially 2+ hours) has pushed me to buy a cooler to fit my needs. After doing some research, I have found that AIO liquid coolers often have pump failures after 8-12 months and 1-2 weeks of down time could kill a contract for me if I have to get a cooler RMA'd. I found this was true on the H100i (gtx and v2) and the Kraken X62 and X52 which both appear to be popular coolers. Are these reviews just people getting unlucky with faulty pumps or is this is a serious issue I should be considering?

I'd probably get a big air cooler, like a nh-d15 (if size isnt an issue) as there is less to go wrong and if the fans do fail the heatsink will still dissipate some heat.

[Nup]

I dont know about failure rates, but they're certainly prone to failure. Liquitech make an aio for tr4 sized chips. I have had an aio running for about 2-3 years without failure (yet hah)

Why not go for a high end air cooler, Noctua have coolers made for TR4.

[kerradeph]

3 minutes ago, Prokart2000 said:

I'd probably get a big air cooler, like a nh-d15 (if size isnt an issue) as there is less to go wrong and if the fans do fail the heatsink will still dissipate some heat.

Absolutely this. If it's a workstation that needs high availability, air cooling is the way to go. Aside from high level overclocking, the NH-D15 will handle it just fine. Just make sure to get the Thread Ripper specific one. It has a different mounting kit. 

[megamawman]

Just now, Nup said:

I dont know about failure rates, but they're certainly prone to failure. Liquitech make an aio for tr4 sized chips. I have had an aio running for about 2-3 years without failure (yet hah)

Why not go for a high end air cooler, Noctua have coolers made for TR4.

I must say that aesthetics are a huge plus for me and bulky air coolers aren't the best for that. However, if need be, I'll buy the nh-d15 mentioned above.

[Prokart2000]

11 minutes ago, megamawman said:

I must say that aesthetics are a huge plus for me and bulky air coolers aren't the best for that. However, if need be, I'll buy the nh-d15 mentioned above.

Not sure on the availability (I've been out of the loop of computers for a while), but these seem pretty good for the nh-d15)

[megamawman]

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I'll go with the Noctua cooler for reliability. Cheers.

[A Silver]

I have little experience with AIO's but I would avoid the NZXT Kraken coolers at all costs. For reliability I would just go for an air cooler as the only real thing that can make them run badly or fail is dust build up or a dead fan, both of which are easy fixes. Again I am no expert but the NH-D15 seems like the best option. 

[Prokart2000]

13 minutes ago, megamawman said:

It seems the H105 has an incredibly reliable pump considering only 8 of 360 reviews had cooling issues. This might be the one for me: https://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16835181060. Preferably, I would like to keep my aesthetic since this is sitting in a case with a beautiful tempered glass side panel.

You could possibly buy from a local retailer so if in the case of a failure they may be able to replace it quickly for you.

[Nup]

9 minutes ago, megamawman said:

I must say that aesthetics are a huge plus for me and bulky air coolers aren't the best for that. However, if need be, I'll buy the nh-d15 mentioned above.

Thats fair enough

Watch out with aio's though, not all of them properly fit the socket. I dont think the H105 will fit it properly. They work, but arent all optimal.

I only know of the liquitech cooler thats specially made for tr4

[megamawman]

Just now, Prokart2000 said:

You could possibly buy from a local retailer so if in the case of a failure they may be able to replace it quickly for you.

Edited my commend haha. I decided to go for the air cooler just in-case shit hits the fan. Hue hue.

[Prokart2000]

10 minutes ago, megamawman said:

Edited my commend haha. I decided to go for the air cooler just in-case shit hits the fan. Hue hue.

Nice choice, i have owned a noctua heatsink for 4 years and have had no issues.

[andrewmp6]

If you install a aio and leave it alone they work fine,When you mount the waterblock/pump many times or move the rad over and over.That is when you have leaks or dead pumps.And keep a air cooler handy just in case the worse happens you can still use the pc while you wait to replace it.

[takedadshiro]

On 12/22/2017 at 12:51 AM, A Silver said:

I have little experience with AIO's but I would avoid the NZXT Kraken coolers at all costs. For reliability I would just go for an air cooler as the only real thing that can make them run badly or fail is dust build up or a dead fan, both of which are easy fixes. Again I am no expert but the NH-D15 seems like the best option. 

Just want to ask why avoid NZXT Kraken series? I’m currently in the market for an AIO and the looks of the kraken series are pretty good.

[A Silver]

8 hours ago, takedadshiro said:

Just want to ask why avoid NZXT Kraken series? I’m currently in the market for an AIO and the looks of the kraken series are pretty good.

Silly me, I forgot to say why. I ordered one and it was dead on arrival (90-100c idle temp even though I could hear pump running and I even reapplied thermal compound).  I am also not the only one with this problem and I have seen countless posts about high temps with a Kraken Cooler within the past month. @Armakar for example, purchased multiple Kraken Coolers, all of which were faulty.

 

 

[Armakar]

5 hours ago, A Silver said:

Silly me, I forgot to say why. I ordered one and it was dead on arrival (90-100c idle temp even though I could hear pump running and I even reapplied thermal compound).  I am also not the only one with this problem and I have seen countless posts about high temps with a Kraken Cooler within the past month. @Armakar for example, purchased multiple Kraken Coolers, all of which were faulty.

 

 

ayyy it's my boy Asilver

yeah Kraken's are trash tier. I don't know if reviewers are knowingly lying about how bad it is or they are being sent carefully examined, top of the line flawless units, either way it's trash.

Many arrive dead on arrival or die within a few months operation, including as previously mentioned three of my own. The retailers I bought one from confirmed they have the highest failure rate of the high end coolers (Corsair, evga, be quiet, fractal and even deepcool).