Cooling is arguably one of the most important aspects of your build. Having a good cooling system in place will keep your system running smooth for long hours of intensive use, but that’s not all. It will also extend the life of your hardware, since the components will not get as hot, and heat is one of the biggest killers of technology.
So what about CPU cooling? To cool your CPU, you have a few options. There is Air-Cooled, All-In-One liquid coolers, and custom water cooled loops. They all have their pros and cons however. Air coolers, especially high quality ones, can be nearly as good as or even better than an All-In-One (AIO) cooler. The con of air coolers is that they won’t be able to maintain as low temperatures for as long as an AIO. For example, Gaming for extended periods of time you may get the same temperatures with an Air Cooler and an AIO.
The difference is the AIO will be able to handle it longer since the liquid is pulling the heat away from the plate. The downside of AIO coolers is that many times they make noise, even the good ones. The noises can be pump noise, air in the pump that entered during shipping, etc. This is not necessarily harmful for the system, but it can be if the problem is bad enough. Another issue with AIO coolers is the price.
Generally, they are more expensive than Air Coolers. Even for a low quality AIO cooler, which will be out performed by a cheaper Air Cooler. Now, to talk about the king of all. Custom loops. Not only do these work the best, but they are generally dead silent when paired with the right fans. If an AIO cooler keeps your CPU at 60 degrees C, a custom loop can keep your CPU around half of that. So what’s the downside? A lot. The biggest downside of a custom loop is that it requires maintenance.
The liquid has to be topped off about once or twice a year, and every two to three years the system has to be completely flushed and the fluid has to be replaced. Another downside is the price. The price of a custom loop makes an AIO look cheap. Not only can it take hours to do a custom loop correctly, but also the components themselves are quiet expensive. One component of a custom loop could cost more than an entire AIO.
Keep in mind, the custom loop has a water block, pump, reservoir, fittings, tubes, a radiator, fans, etc. All of these add up quick. A custom loop is definitely not something you should ever cheap out on. One cheap part, or one mismatched part, and water leaks all over your system. This is why Supernova Gaming only uses and only recommends the best, such as EKWB.
What’s best?
There is no doubt that a custom loop is the best. But realistically, most people don’t want to deal with it. They look the best, they perform the best, and overall work the best. So why not? As discussed above, its maintenance and added risk. So that leaves us with an Air Cooler vs All-In-One Liquid cooler. It really depends what you are looking for and what your budget is, as well as what processor you are using. If you’re running something that generally doesn’t get too hot, such as a Ryzen 5 or i5, an air cooler is more than enough. If you’re running anything more than that and plan on using it for extended periods of time, its definitely worth it to invest the extra cash into an AIO.
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