So you're building a brand new PC
and it's time to choose a cooler for your CPU.
There are so many options out there,
but before you even really get into the weeds,
you've gotta make one choice.
Do you cool your PC with a large air cooler
or with an all-in-one liquid cooler?
Now, if we can trust the marketing,
AIOs are the clear choice.
Water transfers heat so much better than air, right?
But is that the entire story?
Maybe, actually.
I don't know.
Alex has been working on this in isolation
and I don't know the test results.
So I'm just as eager to find out as you guys are.
Now, before you run out and buy a new CPU cooler,
you need to first figure out if your CPU
is gonna get any benefit from additional cooling.
Now, in the old days,
inadequate cooling was a recipe
for instant catastrophic failure
because the modern protection or throttling mechanisms
that prevent them from exceeding
the generally accepted maximum,
of a hundred degrees Celsius,
didn't exist yet.
But just because both Intel and AMD seem to agree
that their processors will last
at least through their warranty period at that temperature,
doesn't mean having it there is a great idea.
The hotter an integrated circuit runs,
the more power it will consume
and the shorter its lifespan will be.
And furthermore, when your CPU does approach its limit,
you can experience greatly reduced performance.
That throttling mechanism.
That I alluded to before.
So if your only goal is not sacrificing performance,
then temperatures that don't exceed 90 degrees,
it's honestly a good spot to start
with 65 to 75 under full load
being the conventional wisdom target,
as well as contributing
to a quieter computing experience overall.
So finally getting to our PC then,
in here, we've got an RTX 2070
and an Intel Core i7-9700K.
But since any decent cooler
can keep the stock 95 watt 9700K at bay,
provided you don't live in the Sahara, of course,
we cranked it up to a blistering five gigahertz
on all eight cores at a voltage of 1.33 volts,
bringing it up to 160 watts.
Now, we definitely need something a bit more robust.
Or do we?
This overclock was actually achieved
using just a Noctua NFU12S, a mid-range air cooler,
coming from Intel.
And that's what we're going to do today.
We're going to test it out.
We have a 10 gigahertz controller coming in at just $60.
And with just one fan,
it was able to keep us at a max of 84 degrees.
Now, that is a little toasty.
And with our fan at full blast,
it was a little loud,
at least by Noctua standards, at 45 decibels.
So well, now it's time to go water cooling then, right?
Maybe, but not until we've adjusted our test setup.
The thing is, 43 decibels is clearly audible
and bordering on annoying to have right next to your head.
But for context, the average office is 50 decibels.
So because noise is just as important
as cooling performance,
we had to create an environment
where we could properly evaluate both.
Okay, so why don't you show me what you've done here?
Yes, welcome to my room of quietness.
This used to be an office, you know.
Yes, but now it's uncomfortably silent.
So we know this is kind of ghetto,
but it works via the same principles
as our recent server room sound deadening video.
Basically, if you take a bunch of loosely packed
permeable mass and you put it all around
where you're trying to block the sound,
you don't get any standing waves.
It ends up absorbing a lot of the sound
that's trying to come in
and preventing any reflections and bouncing.
So basically,
because we can easily control the HVAC,
this room has its own dedicated thermostat.
And because we've got all these beanbags set up,
we're able to achieve, what was it?
26 decibels.
A 26 decibel noise floor in here.
That means that we can comfortably measure devices
like this computer that are not much above 30.
Now this computer has been modified
from our original configuration a little bit.
So it's running four of Noctua's NF-A12X25FLX fans.
With their ultra low noise adapter
coming off the power supply.
So these are at just 900 RPM.
That power supply is a prime fanless titanium
from Seasonic unit.
So it's not making any noise.
The graphics card, there's not much we can do.
Your system's gonna have a graphics card in it, but-
It does have a silent mode.
It does have, oh, it does.
Oh, the fans are off.
It has a switch on it.
Perfect.
Thank you, ROG Strix.
So what this means then is that our only variable
is our CPU cooler.
Now, some of you have probably noticed
that the spot where we mounted the radiators is in the top
because we've got case fans in the front here.
And that was for a reason.
So on the one hand, yes,
drawing in fresh air for your radiator
is going to give it an advantage
versus drawing in warmed up air
and exhausting it out the top of the system.
However, what we found was that the disadvantage
from an acoustic standpoint
of having it right there in the front of the case
was much greater than the advantage
it gained from having access to fresh airflow,
especially because you guys got to consider,
this is not exactly a little tiny mid-tower chassis.
We've got three intake fans.
So the ambient temperature inside the case
is really not that much warmer.
So to keep things as real world as possible,
we're using the blender classroom test.
So that takes about 17 minutes
and that's enough time to heat up most AIOs.
And we were having issues where the whole room
was heating up two to three degrees.
And given the fact that we had to do that,
given that's more than the variation
between all of our coolers,
we had to have HVAC on and the door open
and then run in at about 16 minutes,
turn the HVAC off, measure the acoustics and boom.
So with that out of the way,
we're ready for the results.
That we are.
Are you excited?
I actually am.
Which one of these do you think is the best?
Cooling, purely cooling.
Am I supposed to play devil's advocate or am I?
Actually guess.
I would guess that it's gonna be
the triple 120 millimeter red
from a sheer mass and surface area perspective.
Not even in second.
This guy here.
Really?
Yup.
Which one do you think?
So hold on.
We're talking raw performance at a given noise level.
Just raw performance.
Straight up raw performance.
Yup.
This beats this.
Yup.
78 degrees, 81.
Wow, that's not even that close.
No.
Okay.
And guess what sound level they were both at then?
Okay, this one right here was at 36.
Okay, 36 decibels?
Yeah.
Okay.
I would say this with only two fans
is gonna have to be a little louder, 38.
34.
Really? It's quieter too.
Yeah.
And the worst part is that this right here.
Yeah.
It performs the 360.
And isn't the 360 the one that comes
with their new redesigned cold plate?
Yeah.
So the Ace Attack one,
it's only a two degree difference,
but also like 79, 81.
So.
So it's quieter as well.
Yeah.
And this right here, garbage, 86 degrees.
This guy fared pretty well.
So.
Okay, well now let's talk price to performance then.
So we know this is our least expensive offering.
This was like our mid-tier air cooler.
Yeah.
This is probably more like 80 bucks, right?
70 bucks.
The one that I really don't understand
is how this performs so well.
I guess this is really a testament
to how well heat pipes perform then.
And also just Noctua, like they just kill it.
They know their shiz.
But if you think about it, like yes,
water transfers heat very quickly,
but heat pipes are also fluid heat transfer.
So this is actually phase change cooling on a certain level.
So then one point of clarification though,
do you think this is unique to Corsair's AIOs?
Like, are they just bad?
No, I think they're pretty good.
They're just like the largest company for AIOs
and they all use basically the same design.
So it's the most representative.
Right.
Cause that's what people are probably gonna buy.
I'm gonna get you to take these two away since they're done.
So things don't look great for our water coolers,
but there is more to the story than performance.
And performance, noise levels and price to performance.
Let's run through some more pros and cons.
So one big problem,
an additional problem for water coolers is actually the pump.
Not only does that add additional noise and cost,
it also adds a point of failure and a nasty one too.
Since not only are pumps more likely to fail than a fan,
but when they do, it's more catastrophic for your cooling
and it's harder to detect.
Now, if your CPU fan dies,
then you can probably see that it isn't spinning
and then slap a case fan on there until a new one arrives.
With a pump,
you better hope that you have your software monitoring
enabled and then when it does bite the bullet,
you pretty much just need to pony up for an entire new unit.
An unattractive prospect since AIOs, like I said,
extra components tend to be more expensive than heat sinks
with similar performance.
But that doesn't mean that AIOs don't have
some advantages.
Because it's full of water,
an AIO has greater thermal mass than a heat sink.
That means that even though after a long load,
its performance might not be as impressive,
during short bursts, like while your CPU is turboing up,
that extra heat can be absorbed then dissipated later
without such stark swings in temperatures.
Also, if you regularly move your PC,
like to LAN parties in search,
transportation is arguably much safer with an AIO.
I mean, we are talking for this guy,
12 points of contact versus just two for this.
Big bulky air coolers have a lot of weight
hanging directly off of your CPU socket,
which in some extreme cases can actually lead
to motherboards bending or even breaking.
Now, this isn't as much of an issue with brands
that have good mounting hardware,
which is one of the reasons
that we so strongly recommend Noctua.
But even with Noctua mounting,
if I needed to entrust my PC to an airline
or a parcel carrier, I would equip it with an AIO.
Another good point for AIOs is the coolness factor,
not coolness for your CPU,
or even for your motherboards VRM,
which can benefit from incidental airflow
that bleeds away from the heat sink.
But I mean, coolness for showing off your PC.
Now, naturally this comes down to personal preference,
but I mean, coolness for showing off your PC.
But I mean, coolness for showing off your PC.
Some people really like the look of big air coolers.
Yeah.
Thank you, Alex.
But most of the time,
it's easier to get a cleaner overall look
to your build with water.
Now, one thing we haven't mentioned yet
is custom liquid cooling.
With a top of the line block from EK or Alpha Cool,
a huge radiator and a D5 pump,
you can get measurably better performance
than what is possible even with the beefiest of air coolers.
The thing is, at that point,
it isn't really a fair comparison anymore,
since a custom water cooling setup
is only for very advanced users,
requires regular maintenance,
and is incredibly expensive.
Like just the CPU block alone
can cost more than our NHU 12A.
That's not to say custom water cooling isn't awesome
and that we don't love it for ourselves.
It's just not the kind of thing
that we're comfortable recommending to people who,
well, enjoy using their computer as opposed to, you know,
tinkering with their computer.
So thanks for watching, guys.
If you just liked this video, you can hit that button.
But if you liked it, hit like, get subscribed,
and maybe consider checking out
where to buy the stuff we featured
at the link in the video description.
Also down there is our merch store,
which has cool shirts like this one.
Bottles, there's some.
And our community forum, which you should totally join.
Nope.
You know what's funny is I remember back when
these 120 millimeter Asetek units first launched,
like 10 years ago or whatever it was,
the initial reviews for the Asetek LCLC,
go find reviews for it, overwhelmingly negative.
But then when the Corsair H50 turned up,
which was literally exactly the same product
with a different fan on it, the reviews get positive.
And I'm not accusing, I know the people at Corsair very well.
I know for a fact they didn't pay off anybody.
But like, it's just funny how a brand can,
like the brand name and brand loyalty
might subliminally influence people.
Like with the Asetek ones, people would be like,
yeah, it's not great.
And then with Corsair, they'd be like,
yeah, it's like, it didn't perform as good,
but like, here's all these other benefits.
I don't know, it's a funny thing.
Ha!