bananainyomouf
Does anybody actually use liquid cooling now that all the CPUs have a smaller lithography they're not supposed to get as hot
I do. Unfortunately, not an EVGA unit. EVGA doesn't make 420mm user-serviceable units.
Granted, the only reason I have my Alphacool unit as an AIO is a $12,000 emergency dental bill basically cut into my system build funds. Or I'd have gone custom loop.
EVGATech_AnthonyS
While it's not necessary to get a liquid cooler, it can help you see lower temps, which helps with overclocking and benchmarking.
Not necessarily. A well executed HSF setup can outperform liquid cooling in a variety of circumstances.
There's no real hard-and-fast rule.
Jhk702
Facts. I think hard-core/liquid cooling is only necessary when OCing: otherwise stock cooler has served me well over the past 2 plus decades...
AIO's really aren't all that "hard core". It's well understood, durable tech.
Yeah, 20 years ago it was still "evil magic" and all. But the tech is very mature at this point.
Heck, even custom loops aren't exactly "hard-core".
Something like full-immersion Fluorinert cooling or LN2?
THAT is hardcore. Though, having done both, I MIGHT have a slightly different view than you do.
The primary concerns for AIO units are:
Thermal management (not necessarily best temps).
Where's it easier for a case to dissipate heat? Directly over the CPU with a single 140mm grilled exit hole in the back?
Or from a vent in the top of the case?
Acoustic management With a HSF, you generally have a smaller overall limit to what you can do with fans. At a certain point you're physically limited by said fans, and stepping up fan power means more noise.
Whereas, with a radiator, so long as your case can accommodate it, you can spread the dissipation out over a larger area and use quieter fans.
I currently have 8x140mm and 2x200mm fans. All Noctua. All thermally controlled.
The air-cooled GPU is the loudest thing on the rig. I'd have liquid cooled it too, but I was desperate for a new card at the time (my 970 blew out, and only one manufacturer had ready-shipping stock when I ordered my 2060. Unfortunately, they fiddle with their board layouts too much and no waterblock manufacturer wants to build for them.
post edited by charlesborner - 2021/06/18 13:20:23