Has AIO watercooling caught up yet?

The last time I looked at this section of PC building was a good 3-4 years ago as I was deciding which aftermarket cooler to put on my aging i5 750. I ended up with a CoolerMaster Hyper 212 Evo which turned out to be a very good choice for £25. I think it performed really well and was only behind the Noctua kits back then but considering the price difference, I was very pleased with my Hyper 212. AIO watercooling kits would perform similarly or slightly less than the aircoling kits available at that time IIRC.

So I was just wondering if AIO watercooling has caught up yet in terms of cooling performance in relation to price of the unit? I am planning to buy an i5 6600K CPU and just this evening realized that if I am putting my current system into my son's PC, that would mean I need a cooler as well.

My brain is currently mush after trying to catch up with what's new so any advice or directions as to where I should look would be great. I have looked at newer review sites but the CPUs and the comparison cooling kits don't ring any bells so I can't gauge how good they really are (or aren't).

Thanks!

There are a few models that are better than the best air coolers by a couple of C. They are still $100-$130. Not sure it's possible to 'catch up' considering how many more parts a loop is contains to a heatsink and fans.

AIO coolers haven't caught up but have matured imo. A custom w/c kit will always be better but kits like the Swiftech and Ek AIOs have basically combined customs into AIO, but still have limitations. I use the Swiftech on my Intel pc and like it very much. Other than the 2 fan limit, it cools my overclocked Devils Canyon with near silent noise.

Uh, guys, I think the OP is just asking whether AIO liquid coolers have caught up to high-end air coolers actually.

At least the prices on 240mm/120.2 AIO liquid coolers have come down some, because if I remember correctly when I first started looking for one around 3-4 years ago they were around $140 for a Corsair H100 and now it's $100-120 for an H100i GTX. Also, the performance has improved over the past 4 years. So, the price to performance ratio for what you get is now much improved as well.

My 240mm AIO cooler (H100i) and 280mm AIO cooler (Cooler Master Nepton 280L) do better than any good quality heat sink I have on hand though (Noctua NH-D14 ($100), Phanteks PH-TC14PE ($74.99), Thermalright Silver Arrow SB-E Extreme, Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme ($15-30 on used market)). They don't do better by a lot, maybe 2-6°C usually. But the AIO's I have are like 10°C cooler than a Hyper 212 Plus.

Thanks for the replies guys.

To be clear, I'm not asking about custom watercooling, just AIOs. I'm also asking whether they've caught up in terms of price in relation to a given performance. For example, my Hyper 212 Evo could cool slightly less than a Noctua kit, but was about £15-25 less in cost IIRC. An AIO kit at that time cost WAY more and would only give roughly the same or even less cooling than the Noctua kit.

If the best air cooler at a given price point, say £70, can be matched by an AIO at the same or slightly more price point, say £70-80, then I would consider giving AIO setups a try. Has this happened yet?

Not really.

That and buying a $60 or so air cooler will almost certainly run quieter than almost all of the AIOs that are $100 or less, at least in order to maintain the same temperatures.

All you really gain from an AIO is that it takes up much less space around the cpu than one of the top performing air coolers.

In that case I would say no. Price per dollar, an air cooler would be less hassle, less worry, and less upkeep. Just looking at the initial cost wouldn't make it worth it but add the rest and it's not even close.

-Ice said:

Thanks for the replies guys.

To be clear, I'm not asking about custom watercooling, just AIOs. I'm also asking whether they've caught up in terms of price in relation to a given performance. For example, my Hyper 212 Evo could cool slightly less than a Noctua kit, but was about £15-25 less in cost IIRC. An AIO kit at that time cost WAY more and would only give roughly the same or even less cooling than the Noctua kit.

If the best air cooler at a given price point, say £70, can be matched by an AIO at the same or slightly more price point, say £70-80, then I would consider giving AIO setups a try. Has this happened yet?

Click to expand...

What has been said. Top air coolers still cool at least as good and most times better than CLC, cost less, are quieter, have much lower failure rate and if something goes wrong (fan get noisy or fails) system still works with any fan and fans are not expensive. On a CLC if something goes wrong (almost always pump) there is no cooling until entire CLC is replaced .. system cannot be used and it's an expensive fix.

The reason I say CLC instead of AIO is all CLCs are AIO, but not all AIOs are CLC. Some AIOs (Swiftech H220-X, H240-X, H140-X, Predator 240, Predator 360 are component systems pre assembled and filled. CLCs are hermetically sealed at factory. Individual parts can be replaced on some AIOs, but not on any of the CLCs. Only fans can be replaced on CLCs .. or the whole CLC system.

Thanks for the replies guys!

For ease-of-use, reliability, and cost, I opted for an air cooler this time. Most of my buddies have been drooling over AIOs like the H110 but if they don't have the performance to justify the cost, why go through all the hassle? Got the Noctua NH-D15 and really itching to open it. If it performs like my CM Hyper 212 Evo, I'll be very happy. I do expect it to perform better though!

The d15 SMOKES a 212. Go look at some reviews and see.

Oh, indeed! I am not doubting it. However, the 212 was my very first aftermarket cooler and purchased with very little research. For the price of £20, I am very happy with the cooling it provided and I was very surprised later on to see that it was rated as quite a good performer, especially considering the price.

As EarthDog said, NH-D15 has way more cooling ability than 212. If you don't see a huge difference you probably are having airflow problems.