I do not know if I should air cool or liquid cool my cpu

Posted by Secure-Shirt-3141@reddit | buildapc | View on Reddit | 16 comments

These are the current parts I have ( i know that most of this stuff does not matter for my question but i figure I'd post anyways)

CPU

AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D

Motherboard

ASUS TUF Gaming B850-PLUS WiFi

Form factor: ATX

RAM

32GB Crucial DDR5

GPU

Gigabyte Radeon RX 9060 XT Gaming OC 16G

Power Supply

Corsair RM750e

750W, 80+ Gold, fully modular

Storage

Corsair MP700 Pro XT 2TB

PCIe 5.0 NVMe SSD

Case

NZXT H6 Flow RGB

Includes 3 fans

So out of curiosity would it be better to air cooling or water cool my cpu?

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OrganicPlasma@reddit

This is a question I asked myself several times. As I didn't plan to overclock anything and I didn't want the (from what I read) additional maintenance needed for liquid cooling, I went with air.

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CorrectEducation8842@reddit

the 7800X3D runs cool by nature and doesn't overclock, so a good air cooler like the Thermalright Peerless Assassin or Deepcool AK620 handles it just fine.

AIO liquid cooling on that chip is mostly just aesthetics, you won't see meaningful temp differences that justify the extra cost or the added failure point of a pump.

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Powerful-Ad2869@reddit

pretty sure the 7800X3D is a hot chip

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dangoblast@reddit

it doesn't matter if you're just gaming. get one of the good air coolers and call it a day. recommend thermalright phantom spirit like the other commenter.

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Plenty-Industries@reddit

Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 SE. Its $30-40.

Its the best value air cooler on the market, along with basically every other dual-tower air cooler in the same price range. Some will try to recommend Noctua, and there is some validity there - but you'd be paying anywhere from $80-150+ for some variation of the NH-D15. Incredibly overpriced cooler for something whose only value is the fans because of the R&D they've put into keeping them incredibly quiet.

You could replace the fans on the PS 120 SE with a set of Noctua's and you'd still spend less than any Noctua cooler.

7800X3D is not a hard CPU to cool. It consumes 80watts in most conditions and can go even less than that with a negative offset in Curve Optimizer.

You'd only get an AIO for aesthetic reasons in reality.

The good part about AIOs now is that they're really cheap. ID and Thermalright both have 360mm AIOs starting at $60 so its not much more expensive than a good air cooler.

AIO's have added complexity, which also mean potential risks:

Leaks

Pump dying

clogging

Evaporation of the liquid through permeation

Thankfully at least, the failure rate of AIOs is pretty low and most have a decent warranty period. Most being 3 years, some being 5-7 years.

So, the choice is up to you.

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Bichaelcycle@reddit

depends on how expensive you want to get but the thermlright peerless assassin is like the go to cause its not too expoensive

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WhoWouldCareToAsk@reddit

lol, I just posted about peerless assassin I’m using xD

I mean, this is one of those products that worth their money.

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Goddemmitt@reddit

I am running an AIO on my 7600x because the bundle is got came with one (came with 32gb ram, 7600x, and a 9070xt as well). Not because I felt I needed one. I was still planning on getting a 9070xt. The only difference in my build sheet from the bundle I ended up getting was I was wanting a 9600x instead of the 7600x (just preferance). Had a cheapo air cooler picked out for it. Was not concerned about cooling.

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bretticus733@reddit

From my experience, the biggest benefit to liquid cooling is it's more aesthetically pleasing on the eye, but that's about it. A good air cooler can keep temps down at a cheaper cost and easier install. I'm running a Peerless Assassin that cost me $40 and my 5700x3D rarely gets above 70 degrees on high loads.

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lurknessmonster@reddit

Noctua NH-D15. I'm a 3D artist who pushes my rig constantly. I've used it on all my rigs from a 3600 to my current 9950X. I use it because it's quiet, high performance and reliable.

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Expensive-Delivery96@reddit

I know that it doesnt correlate to the question at all but do you need a 7 7800x3d with a 9060xt? Personally I would buy somethibg like a 5 9600x or a 7 7700 bu honestly that's up to you. Getting back to the question, thernalright peerless assasin should do the job at not too high of a price.

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Secure-Shirt-3141@reddit (OP)

Tbh those are the 2 parts that I didn't have much say in. I was given them for christmas.

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skippitydoodah123@reddit

Air

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1sh0t1b33r@reddit

Better is relative. Air cooling is cheaper, easier, and can be just as good. Most of the benefit of watercooling would be from blocking your GPU over that CPU, and there is no 9060xt block (yet). You can go with an AIO if you really want, but it's not really watercooling. Or just get a good air cooler for like $40-50 and call it a day.

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Apinaheebo@reddit

Cheapest air cooler will do.