CPU Liquid Coolers?

Hello Simmers.

I’m looking at getting a CPU Liquid Cooler, so some advice on what best to look for? And are they worth purchasing?

Thanks in advance, GAZ.

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Really happy with my Kraken x73 (on an Intel 10850k). Silent and performant.

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ARCTIC COOLING Liquid Freezer II - 240 ACFRE00046A Multi Compatible All-In-One CPU Water Cooler LGA 1700 . One of the highest rated coolers out there.

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Im am happy with my deepcool AIO as the posters above with their systems.

About the worth? You have to find out that for yourself.

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CPU coolers are great. I use corsair products, but there are plenty to choose from. My only suggestion is to double and triple check placement in your case. There is a right way and a more right way to mount them properly.

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Yep, on top of the case is optimal.

Hot air rises so can escape easier “through the roof”.

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Or a 360 if your case supports it. Excellent cooler.

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Unless you have a very hot GPU (e.g. air cooled 3080/3090) exhausting into the case. In this instance you can get heat soak through the rad.

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I have a “Fractal Design Celsius+ S28 Prisma PWM ARGB 280mm Silent Performance Slim Radiator AIO CPU Liquid/Water Cooler” mounted on top of the case. I could not accommodate 360 (3 x 120mm) on top of the case, 280 (2 x 140mm) gives similar performance with lower fan speeds. Really happy with it.

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Deepcool Castle 360, running great.

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Couldn’t have said it better myself. I have a 360 cooling my R9 5900X. Not only one of the highest rated, one of the lower cost ones.

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One more for the ARCTIC Liquid Freezer II. I have the 280 with the offset mount for my Ryzen 5900x. Awesome product and no RGB foolishness to deal with.

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I can’t recommend any specific liquid cooler but there’s one I would recommend you stay away from. Cooler Master Masterliquid ML240RGB. They have a reputation of making lots of noises caused by trapped air in the system. I can confirm this is true at least in my case.

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Am running a Corsair single radiator liquid cooler. Surprisingly the best solution is for the radiator to vent into the case, not out. The logic behind this arrangement is that your radiator will always have the coolest air using this method. If you use the conventional method of having the radiator vent out from the top of the case to the outside, any heat generated by any other parts (ie video card) will pass through the radiator reducing its effectiveness. Saw a Youtube review on this method, and the result indicated 10 degree lower CPU temps with this method. So I gave it a go and saw a definite improvement. The secret of using this method is of course to have a very effective method of getting the extra hot air out. By using a single radiator I was able to mount it at the top rear blowing in, then have my 2 top mounted fans immediately taking all that heat out the top of the case, along with any heat generated by the other PC components. My CPU never gets above 60 degrees now and the GPU temperature is not effected. Prior to water cooling my CPU usually hit 80+ degrees under full load, so a liquid cooler was a cheap and effective solution.

The other thing to consider is air balancing. ie have similar amounts of air blowing in as out. I have a 140mm fan at the lower front blowing cool air in to service the video card. A 120mm fan blowing in to provide cool air to the CPU radiator, and 2 x 120mm case fans mounted at the top of the case blowing up and out. I also ditch any default fans and replace them with quiet efficient Noctua fans. I have found that Noctua fans are an easy and cheap method of reducing noise levels while increasing air flow. In fact they are so quiet I run them flat out all the time.

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I have the Corsair H150i Elite Capellix and can recommend it - I am using it on a 12900k with a customised CPU mounting bracket.

I have the radiator front mounted which sucks cool air from outside and keeps my 12900k under 60 degrees on full load and around 35 on idle. The downside is my 3090 gets rather toasty after long gaming session - although my opinion is that the GPU can handle heat more easily than the CPU can so I will keep the front mounted configuration.

Airflow through the case also plays a key role in keeping temperatures relatively cool and stable

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All you fancy kids with your store bought pre-filled units, custom loop old school FTW!

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Hose clamps! That really is old school!

My own custom loop says hi.

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Yeah, and all those effeminate city dwellers with their gel saddles and full-suspension hipster bikes too! Hardtail rulez the hills!

Handy Kleenex dispenser to boot.

Oh man. That is super cool.

Dye the liquid glowing green or blue!