CPU Cooling 🌊

[M.Kaskar]

Howsit Folks

I’m in the midst of finalising a new build.
I’ve purchased majority of the components. However I’ve yet to choose a CPU cooler. In the past I’d usually opt for the highest end AIO with all the Tomorrowland RGB I could find then set it & forget it. With a few more years of youth stricken from my belt, I decided to go for the distinguished gentleman’s build this time around. Industrial in design & blacker than the meat your one friend who said could braai but in actual fact, can’t braai.

I eventually landed on the EK Nucleus AIO CR360 Dark. Which in all respects is a chart topping cooler only marginally outpaced by the Phanteks Glacier One 360 T30. The slight performance uplift was most likely due to the superior T30 Fans. Taking this into consideration, many AIO’s are Asetek, Apaltek or Coolit rebrands. With the exception of EK, Fractal Design, ID cooling, Artic, Be quiet!, Alphacool etc. Regarding raw performance, the differentiating factors between brands are typically influenced by the inclusion of higher calibre pressure optimised fans on the costlier models. Water blocks, radiator conductivity, fin density & efficient pumps are important as well but I would argue not to the same extent as in a custom loop.

Later I came across the ID Cooling Frostflow FX360 AIO. I was rather intrigued as it retails for a measly R999 at Wootware. Granted it does lack some features that its excessively priced counterparts boast, such as ARGB Fans & a built in display. The bells & whistles no longer interest me. Stock performance is only a few degrees off, but remains almost four times cheaper in comparison to EK offerings. Something that does tickle my fancy is that EK provides an additional 2 years of international warranty, totalling 5 years compared to ID Cooling 3 year warranty.

Lastly, regardless of the AIO I opt for, I intend to switch all fans within the case to Phanteks T30’s. Which may further equalise the playing field.

ID Cooling Frost Flow FX360 - R999
EK Nucleus CR360 Dark - R3 768*
(At the time of US/ZAR conversion on Amazon)

Thoughts?

ID-Cooling FX360 360mm Black Liquid CPU Cooler - Wootware

Buy ID-Cooling FX360 360mm Black Liquid CPU Cooler at Wootware with fast shipping & superb service.

www.wootware.co.za

https://www.ekwb.com/shop/ek-nucleus-aio-cr360-dark

Specs:
AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
ASUS ROG Crosshair Gene X670E
G.Skill Trident Z Neo 32GB 6000MT/s CL30
XFX Radeon RX 7900XTX
Teamgroup Cardea Z540 2TB PCIe 5.0
Asus ROG Thor 1200W Platinum
Lian Li 011 Vision
Phanteks T30 (8)

 

[Toy Machine]

Arctic LF 360, 420 if you can find one but really absolute overkill for your chip (and if you can find a case that isn't a behemoth to fit it in, I've only found 2 recently that have come into the country that aren't the size of something like the Corsair 1000D/7000x). Arctic 280 would also do you just fine but you want the T30's. Their thicker radiators work well and 140mm fans just make things more quiet. They generally perform above their competition and I'm just a massive fanboy of their AIO's because they are clean aesthetically and perform great. (I have 2x420's & 1 280mm). Thanks to Carb they also all cost me less than buying 2 of most name brand 360's (I actually think it literally cost me R3k-R3.5k for all 3).

Undervolting the cpu will also just help in general and recommend it being one of the first things you do on a new build, negligible performance drop for a much quieter system. Probably the next main thing to look for is what gen the pump is if going asetek design, better noise operation, newer so will be less worn out if you buy second hand.

 

[Areola Grande]

Do you want an AIO for the cool factor or for temps? If it's for temps, just get an air cooler and call it a day.

I'm running a 7800X3D under an AK620 and temps are perfect. An AIO could probably get it cooler, but it isn't a hot chip and doesn't need fancy cooling.

 

[M.Kaskar]

Do you want an AIO for the cool factor or for temps? If it's for temps, just get an air cooler and call it a day.

I'm running a 7800X3D under an AK620 and temps are perfect. An AIO could probably get it cooler, but it isn't a hot chip and doesn't need fancy cooling.

Primarily temps, nevertheless I am tantalised by the aesthetics of a water-cooled machine. I pre-ordered the Lian Li 011 Vision Case which is capable of hosting air coolers, although it may not be ideal. Whilst the AK620 is an adequate choice, the ID Cooling FX360 AIO referenced in my post is R400 cheaper. An absolute steal, price to performance wise.

In my personal rigs I’ve always opted for AIO’s due to its greater thermal mass, which in turn lends itself to providing further thermal head room for the CPU to achieve higher frequencies & also proving itself capable for future generation CPU TDP requirements. Notably, ram compatibility. The AK620 has a maximum ram height limit of 43mm. My ram kit barely has clearance at 42mm. Should I upgrade to something else in the future I’d prefer not to be limited. On the other hand, I use the Noctua NH-D15 chromax in my workstation build with low profile ecc memory kits. The reliability & longevity of air coolers remains unrivalled.

 

[LaidToRest]

This just dropped, im over water cooling and RGB, reviews look awesome thus far but price is about the same as mid to high end water. 10/10 would smash. Most high end air coolers do 200w, this handles 240w with ease, apparently.

CORSAIR A115 Air Cooler: Everything you need to know | CORSAIR:EXPLORER

The A115 is CORSAIR's newest high-performance air cooler. Here's a quick rundown on the features and innovations of the A115

www.corsair.com

Corsair A115 CPU Cooler review (Page 9)

Corsair A115 Air Cooling System: An In-Depth Technological Breakdown and Performance Review - Corsair's introduction of the A115 air cooling solution marks a significant advancement in CPU cooling technology and features a high-conductivity copper cold plate coupled with six efficient 6mm heat...

www.guru3d.com

 

[M.Kaskar]

This just dropped, im over water cooling and RGB, reviews look awesome thus far but price is about the same as mid to high end water. 10/10 would smash. Most high end air coolers do 200w, this handles 240w with ease, apparently.

CORSAIR A115 Air Cooler: Everything you need to know | CORSAIR:EXPLORER

The A115 is CORSAIR's newest high-performance air cooler. Here's a quick rundown on the features and innovations of the A115

www.corsair.com

Corsair A115 CPU Cooler review (Page 9)

Corsair A115 Air Cooling System: An In-Depth Technological Breakdown and Performance Review - Corsair's introduction of the A115 air cooling solution marks a significant advancement in CPU cooling technology and features a high-conductivity copper cold plate coupled with six efficient 6mm heat...

www.guru3d.com

Aesthetically it fits perfectly, however testing has shown that the A115 is optimised for Intel’s platform. Where it actually outperforms my favourite air cooler the Noctua NH-D15. Sadly performance falls short on AM5. Not an optimal choice for the 7800X3D

https://imgur.com/a/4XV74Jy

 

[LaidToRest]

Aesthetically it fits perfectly, however testing has shown that the A115 is optimised for Intel’s platform. Where it actually outperforms my favourite air cooler the Noctua NH-D15. Sadly performance falls short on AM5. Not an optimal choice for my 7800X3D

https://imgur.com/a/4XV74Jy

Yeah i see, strange how reviews and cpu types, mounting platforms etc. can make such s difference. Very good looking cooler though, but best to look at multiple reviews (different pastes etc.) before making your choice. Could be that a thicker paste or something makes a huge difference with amd ...

 

[M.Kaskar]

Arctic LF 360, 420 if you can find one but really absolute overkill for your chip (and if you can find a case that isn't a behemoth to fit it in, I've only found 2 recently that have come into the country that aren't the size of something like the Corsair 1000D/7000x). Arctic 280 would also do you just fine but you want the T30's. Their thicker radiators work well and 140mm fans just make things more quiet. They generally perform above their competition and I'm just a massive fanboy of their AIO's because they are clean aesthetically and perform great. (I have 2x420's & 1 280mm). Thanks to Carb they also all cost me less than buying 2 of most name brand 360's (I actually think it literally cost me R3k-R3.5k for all 3).

Undervolting the cpu will also just help in general and recommend it being one of the first things you do on a new build, negligible performance drop for a much quieter system. Probably the next main thing to look for is what gen the pump is if going asetek design, better noise operation, newer so will be less worn out if you buy second hand.

I’ve bought the Lian Li 011 Vision which is limited to 360mm rads up to 80mm. The Artic AIO’s are beasts but in terms of 360mm AIO’s the latest release from EK outperforms it. The main comparison I am highlighting is the price to performance of the ID Cooling FX360. Which is half the cost of the Artic (According to Titan Ice’s pricing of R2699) & 4 times cheaper than EK. The only reason I’d opt for the EK would be build quality & aesthetics. Conversely with such a reduction in cost paired with the performance uplift I am expecting from the T30 fans. It seems like a no brainer. My only concern would be longevity of the ID Cooling AIO, specifically the pump as it uses an in house design.

I will definitely be experimenting with undervolting. However the 7800X3D has a low 120W TDP & does not operate at massively high temperatures due to the cache thermal sensitivity thus I’m unsure how beneficial it would be.

 

[M.Kaskar]

Yeah i see, strange how reviews and cpu types, mounting platforms etc. can make such s difference. Very good looking cooler though, but best to look at multiple reviews (different pastes etc.) before making your choice. Could be that a thicker paste or something makes a huge difference with amd ...

The surface area uniformity, cold plate placement & clamping force plays a significant role in maximising performance. I primarily use Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut Extreme, which provides 14.2w/mK of thermal conductivity.

Noctua took it a step further by releasing an off set bracket for am5 which lowers the cold plate closer to the CCD’s. Corsair basically created their version of the NH-D15. Making it a great air cooler with the caveat of improper support for AM5. Noctua would be the better overall choice & surprisingly is priced cheaper at R2 499 (Rebel Tech). Compared to the A115 at 2 749 (Titan Ice).

The ID Cooling FX360 AIO I referenced in my initial post would theoretically outperform it at half the cost of R999, especially when paired with T30’s. Considering I opted for the Lian Li 011 Vision, the ideal configuration would be to use an AIO. So I compared the price variances between the ID Cooling FX360 & EK Nucleus CR360 Dark. The cheapest 360 AIO VS the highest performing 360 AIO.

 

[fromthewatt]

With pc hardware you usually get what you pay for, with asetec there is different generations of pumps, eg. The cheaper asetec coolers would have the asetec gen 6 or gen 7 pumps, where corsair would use asetec gen 8 pumps.
Imho you mite pay more for corsair but i have seen corsair aio lasting 10 years , yes u pay more but its realy not just a badge slapped on a asetec , corsair uses the best asetec components in terms of asetec generational updates, from pumps to rads , and the fans are some of the best in the industry. My 2 cents

 

[goldfritter]

Primarily temps, nevertheless I am tantalised by the aesthetics of a water-cooled machine. I pre-ordered the Lian Li 011 Vision Case which is capable of hosting air coolers, although it may not be ideal. Whilst the AK620 is an adequate choice, the ID Cooling FX360 AIO referenced in my post is R400 cheaper. An absolute steal, price to performance wise.

You said it yourself - ID-Cooling is not a very well known brand. Why take the risk of poor after sales support or even catastrophic failure on a R 400 difference? That's less than 5% the cost of the CPU, never mind the rest of the rig. Penny-pinching on something which is introducing literal water into your computer seems like an odd decision when building a high-end rig.

In my personal rigs I’ve always opted for AIO’s due to its greater thermal mass, which in turn lends itself to providing further thermal head room for the CPU to achieve higher frequencies & also proving itself capable for future generation CPU TDP requirements. Notably, ram compatibility. The AK620 has a maximum ram height limit of 43mm. My ram kit barely has clearance at 42mm. Should I upgrade to something else in the future I’d prefer not to be limited.

There will always be low-profile RAM available. The only reason you'd get taller RAM nowadays is so that it can have RGB lights on it, you can just choose to not choose that RAM. Besides, DDR5 was released so recently, it'll be a long time before a new RAM spec comes out necessitating an upgrade.

On the other hand, I use the Noctua NH-D15 chromax in my workstation build with low profile ecc memory kits. The reliability & longevity of air coolers remains unrivalled.

Exactly.

Also, on the subject of RAM, AIOs mean there's less air flowing over your other components surrounding the socket, like RAM, VRMs, etc. Usually not an issue but it is a qualitative drawback.

As an aside, I'm not 100% convinced changing the fans to T30s would improve the performance of the cheap AIO that much. I've experimented with better fans before on AIOs and found no difference. But I guess it's worth the try.

 

[M.Kaskar]

With pc hardware you usually get what you pay for, with asetec there is different generations of pumps, eg. The cheaper asetec coolers would have the asetec gen 6 or gen 7 pumps, where corsair would use asetec gen 8 pumps.
Imho you mite pay more for corsair but i have seen corsair aio lasting 10 years , yes u pay more but its realy not just a badge slapped on a asetec , corsair uses the best asetec components in terms of asetec generational updates, from pumps to rads , and the fans are some of the best in the industry. My 2 cents

I agree with you to a certain extent. AIO’s have become quite reliable over the past decade. I only experienced two failures to speak of. The Corsair Hydro Series H100i and EK XLC Predator 360. The past few Asetek releases are not major generational leaps in performance & reliability, with a claimed 0.15% failure rate or 200 million hours of fault free pump operation which is clearly an over inflated metric. According to the independent benchmarks & my personal experiences, many brands perform relatively similar or within margin of error. With EK’s custom design & Asetek’s 8th gen leading the pack.

Regarding corsiar fans, they are good but not outstanding. I’ve used their Light Loop & HD Series 120mm fans in two builds. It has middling performance, sound disparities at higher RPM’s & 2 fans failured. It is aesthetically pleasing but vastly overpriced at over 2 grand per 3 pack. The Noctua AF12x15 Chromax & Phanteks T30 are my current go to fans. Top tier performance matched with equally superb reliability, MTTF 150 000 to 200 000 hours respectively. The budget pick would go to the Artic P12, Sythe Wonder Tornado & Grand Tornado.

 

[M.Kaskar]

You said it yourself - ID-Cooling is not a very well known brand. Why take the risk of poor after sales support or even catastrophic failure on a R 400 difference? That's less than 5% the cost of the CPU, never mind the rest of the rig. Penny-pinching on something which is introducing literal water into your computer seems like an odd decision when building a high-end rig.


There will always be low-profile RAM available. The only reason you'd get taller RAM nowadays is so that it can have RGB lights on it, you can just choose to not choose that RAM. Besides, DDR5 was released so recently, it'll be a long time before a new RAM spec comes out necessitating an upgrade.


Exactly.

Also, on the subject of RAM, AIOs mean there's less air flowing over your other components surrounding the socket, like RAM, VRMs, etc. Usually not an issue but it is a qualitative drawback.

As an aside, I'm not 100% convinced changing the fans to T30s would improve the performance of the cheap AIO that much. I've experimented with better fans before on AIOs and found no difference. But I guess it's worth the try.

After much consideration, your words of wisdom solved my momentary indecisiveness & brought me back to my senses. The entire inception of this build was to create something practical, stable, relatively future proof with minimal points of failure thus I will avoid water-cooling completely.

Regarding ram compatibility, it is a point of contention for me. I chose the G.Skill Trident Z5 Neo kit 6000MT/s (non-RGB) as it’s the highest frequency ram that offers the lowest latency & tightest timings currently available locally. Running at CL30 & 30-38-38-96 with AMD expo support. I only came across 2 other specific ram kits from the Corsair Dominator Titanium & G.Skill Flare X5 Low profile range that runs similarly, the Dominator’s being the tallest at 56mm. The Z5 Neo at 42mm isn’t massively tall however still not a low profile kit. It’s barely supported by most air coolers or not compatible entirely.
I’d prefer having all options available at my discretion.

Luckily Noctua once again comes to the rescue. I can have my bread buttered on both sides with the D15S Chromax Black.
Offering a 205W TDP cooling capacity, slight reduction of 15W from the standard D15 with its inclusion of a second fan. Ram compatibility is up to 66mm, basically all kits on the market. To my knowledge the next generation of the D15 is slated to launch in Q2 2024 so I may wait a bit & opt for that. Most importantly it fits perfectly in the Lian Li 011 Vision. I decided to use 8 Scythe Grand Tornado fans instead. Considering it’s entirely LCP construction, MTTF of 4 decades, highest in class air cooling performance & almost half the cost of the AF12 & T30. It just seems like a no brainer.

Thank you everyone for offering your feedback, it is greatly appreciated! 🫶🏻

 

[Areola Grande]

Good choices.

On a side note, at what age did you realize you were Chat GPT?

 

[M.Kaskar]

Good choices.

On a side note, at what age did you realize you were Chat GPT?

Unsurprisingly this is not the first time someone asked me this🤣