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TSarchief
post Feb 16 2022, 11:47 PM, updated 3y ago

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guys, i would like to customize a desktop, b4 i walk into those computer shop and kena brainwash, i'd like to get your opinions.
does it make sense to go for liquid cooling? how is the maintenance like? do i need to topup liquid annually? any risks of leakages?
and lastly, does liquid cooling perform better than normal fan?

thanks !
khreve
post Feb 16 2022, 11:58 PM

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please state your usage and from there /k can share advice...

for office/study/lite editing/esport -ori cooler sufficient

*under heavy CPU load, liquid cooler definitely perform better than air so need to know your need(what software you're running...)
msacras
post Feb 17 2022, 12:10 AM

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Technically speaking, there's two types of liquid cooling out there.

One which you probably heard and came across is those which run on a radiotor+fan hooked onto a loop/pump which in contact with the CPU.

Another type is custom loop which is like some transparent pipe works with colored within.

The 1st one is pretty much maintenance free and you typically use till it fail.
sHawTY
post Feb 17 2022, 02:23 AM

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For liquid cooling:

If you're talking about AIO, no it doesn't require maintenance, just use it until it's dead. Performance? Same as high end air-cooling, some AIO is even worse than some high end air-cooling heatsinks
If you're talking about custom loops, yes it does require maintenance, it's not cheap, it's not easy to setup & very risky if you don't assemble everything properly. Performance? Way better than anything that you could've ever imagine

This is AIO:
user posted image

This is custom loop:
user posted image

This post has been edited by sHawTY: Feb 17 2022, 02:26 AM
TSarchief
post Feb 17 2022, 12:42 PM

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QUOTE(khreve @ Feb 16 2022, 11:58 PM)
please state your usage and from there /k can share advice...

for office/study/lite editing/esport -ori cooler sufficient

*under heavy CPU load, liquid cooler definitely perform better than air so need to know your need(what software you're running...)
*
sorry for not giving more info

this is home office/gaming/will open a lot chrome tabs/sometime do some video editing
i got some budget this time cos bonus.. thought of buying a really good power rig at least for once to experience it.
ktek
post Feb 18 2022, 09:27 AM

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are you afraids of fan noise = wc.
not affraid = hsf
Benefon
post Feb 20 2022, 10:23 AM

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AIO is better in term of liquid cooling via radiator, the fan rpm speed can adjust.
The headroom no issue.
Custom air cooling is depend your pc case and air ventilation

To me even single 120mm for Intel 12400, I5 the temp is control between 40-55c min-max from CB R23

This post has been edited by Benefon: Feb 20 2022, 10:24 AM
JonathanHanYT
post May 19 2022, 04:41 PM

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QUOTE(archief @ Feb 17 2022, 12:42 PM)
sorry for not giving more info

this is home office/gaming/will open a lot chrome tabs/sometime do some video editing
i got some budget this time cos bonus.. thought of buying a really good power rig at least for once to experience it.
*
I using mine for watching video, some programming, mostly gaming and video editiong, some photo editing. I go for AMD and running on AIO water-cooler. Basically, Malaysia weather is more suitable to use water-cooler than air-cooler, unless your room is fully aircon whenever you turn on the computer.

Air-cooler (heatsink with fan) is way cheaper and lower maintenance.

AIO water-cooler is more expensive than air-cooler solution but give you slight 4~8°C cooler than air-cooler (based in normal Malaysia weather without air-conditioning). Must monitor if the pump is faulty or not from time to time. Usually if pump is faulty, the temperature will raise abnormally. And usually 3~5 years, you need to change it.

Custom-loop water-cooler is super expensive and high maintenance. Slightly a bit cooler than AIO water-cooler and it is freely customizable. You can even water-cooling your graphics card, RAM and some other components on your motherboard. I saw they water-cooling the processor, graphics card, RAM, hard drive (HDD, SSD or M2 SSD) and even BIOS. From time to time you need to top up the coolant. And some people even very particular as air flow into the transparent pipe they want it totally air-free (no bubble).

Another solution was all the components dipping in non-toxic electronic liquid. It look exactly like aquarium but basically it is very expensive and difficult to get non-toxic electronic liquid. Or replaced it with mineral oil.
mADmAN
post May 19 2022, 04:56 PM

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if a person has to ask this kinda question, stock heatsink will most likely suffice and should definitely stay away from watercooling and its potential headaches down the road (even with AIOs).

at most, upgrade to a simple tower heatsink+fan but even this i dont feel there is a need to unless u put ur PC directly under the sun.

my PC is running on stock AMD wraith stealth heatsink and its doing fine and rarely ramps up even during gaming. and even if it does, the game sounds coming from the speakers is more than enough to drown it out that i dont hear anything at all from my PC.

just save ur money TS and go with the stock heatsink (if the CPU comes with it)
JonathanHanYT
post May 26 2022, 09:36 AM

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Heatsink is fine if you're in huge spacious area. In a small room or bedroom size with window and door close most of the time, I still recommend AIO rather than just heatsink with fan. Due to heat generated from human body with the modern day desktop, it generate a lot of heat in the small room. My desktop computer generate a lot of heat when I processing my video in Adobe Premiere Pro and heavy 3D gaming. My room temperature can reach 42~43°C with 2 monitor, 1 laptop and 1 Raspberry Pi. If the room temperature can hit 42~43°C, imagine the processor inside the desktop can hit how much on video processing or gaming. That's why I recommend better cooling solution to cool down the processor. If you staying in South Korea, Canada, Northern Europe, Russia or Japan the weather there is more suitable for heatsink with fan. Cooler the temperature on your hardware, the longer lifespan your hardware will last. Unless we are fully running aircon 24 hours or atleast 18 hours a day. Just my point of view from my experience in IT line for over 20 years.
firdausbhari
post Jun 3 2022, 06:20 PM

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Liquid cooling can instant cool your cpu after heavy task such as rendering etc

Air cooling will gradually lower the temp in time. It works but slowly not instantly.

I prefer liquid cooling over hsf. AIO if dont want hassle. AIO works great. Especially if u using sff case where tower cooler wont fit.
TMA.Talks P
post Sep 7 2022, 09:05 AM

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Just go for AIO liquid cooling.
sHawTY
post Sep 7 2022, 11:41 AM

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QUOTE(JonathanHanYT @ May 19 2022, 04:41 PM)
Slightly a bit cooler than AIO
Slightly? No. The difference is night & day
You'd know that if you actually have hands-on experience with custom loop

But as I've mentioned before, custom loop is not for the faint-hearted. It's hard to build, hard to maintain & very expensive

This post has been edited by sHawTY: Sep 7 2022, 11:44 AM
kopiride
post Sep 7 2022, 11:55 AM

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QUOTE(archief @ Feb 16 2022, 11:47 PM)
guys, i would like to customize a desktop, b4 i walk into those computer shop and kena brainwash, i'd like to get your opinions.
does it make sense to go for liquid cooling? how is the maintenance like? do i need to topup liquid annually? any risks of leakages?
and lastly, does liquid cooling perform better than normal fan?

thanks !
*
There is always risk of leaking. In layman terms, imagine pipes. Do they leak? Yes and no. Depends on your luck. The chances for them to happen is low. If u are unlucky, your first experience would be your last.

For fan coolers, like others say, only part will spoil is the fan that can be replace, snap in easily.

At the end of the day, it's more to personal taste and comfortability. If u are more adventurous, go for AiO. Else fan.
And for either one you choose, please get reputable brand and quality. U can google keyword like best CPU cooler or best aio cooler.
Sometimes shop will give u some crap lower quality coolers if u don't know your stuff.

OlgaC4
post Sep 9 2022, 10:44 AM

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Water and electronic are bad mixture.
minano0001
post Nov 7 2022, 09:07 AM

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QUOTE(TheSeaside @ Nov 6 2022, 01:35 AM)
I am a big fan of Fan cooling. Liquid cooling ? no thank
*
aio is fine just dont go with custom liquid cooling
eddie2020
post Jan 15 2023, 07:57 PM

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Aio - slightly more compare air heat sink but some review said about the same. Aio looks cool, but risk of leak, and it will have pump failure after sometimes,and your system overheat but you might not notice till system Shutdown..

Fan less cooler looks but traditional and conventional..
amanechoir
post Jan 22 2023, 11:34 PM

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If you're not overclocking. Stock fan is sufficient.

 

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