Cooling Buyer's Guide - PC Guide https://www.pcguide.com Practical Guides to PC & Tech at Home, Work, and Play Thu, 18 Apr 2024 10:39:34 +0000 en-US https://www.pcguide.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/PCguide-favicon-75x75.png Cooling Buyer's Guide - PC Guide https://www.pcguide.com 32 32 Best CPU cooler for AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D – noise reduction, budget, and more https://www.pcguide.com/cooling/guide/best-for-amd-ryzen-7-7800x3d/ https://www.pcguide.com/?p=297685 Mon, 29 Jan 2024 11:15:00 +0000 Best CPU cooler for Ryzen 7 5700X3D – budget, high-end, AIO https://www.pcguide.com/cooling/guide/best-for-ryzen-7-5700x3d/ https://www.pcguide.com/?p=293913 Mon, 22 Jan 2024 15:02:29 +0000 Best CPU cooler for Ryzen 7 5800X3D – top overall, high-quality, 240mm AIO picks https://www.pcguide.com/cooling/guide/best-for-5800x3d/ https://www.pcguide.com/?p=274691 Fri, 01 Dec 2023 17:59:30 +0000 Best PC fans for RTX 4090 in 2024 – our 4 top picks https://www.pcguide.com/cooling/guide/best-pc-fans-rtx-4090/ https://www.pcguide.com/?p=165544 Mon, 14 Aug 2023 11:48:36 +0100 Best AIO water cooler in 2024 – for Intel CPUs and AM5 sockets https://www.pcguide.com/cooling/guide/best-aio-water-cooler/ https://www.pcguide.com/?p=2019 Mon, 14 Aug 2023 10:18:11 +0100 Best Water Cooling Kit in 2024 https://www.pcguide.com/cooling/guide/best-water-cooling-kit/ https://www.pcguide.com/?p=20776 Fri, 11 Aug 2023 16:21:09 +0100 Best CPU cooler in 2024 – picks for AIO, premium, and budget https://www.pcguide.com/cooling/guide/best-cpu-cooler/ https://www.pcguide.com/?p=1854 Fri, 11 Aug 2023 16:07:06 +0100 Best RGB fans in 2024 – picks for airflow, radiators, and budget https://www.pcguide.com/cooling/guide/best-rgb-fans/ https://www.pcguide.com/?p=2391 Fri, 11 Aug 2023 14:55:02 +0100 Best CPU cooler for i9 9900k in 2024 – 5 top picks https://www.pcguide.com/cooling/guide/best-cpu-cooler-i9-9900k/ https://www.pcguide.com/?p=20695 Fri, 11 Aug 2023 13:06:51 +0100 Best CPU cooler for i7 9700k in 2024 – liquid cooling and value picks https://www.pcguide.com/cooling/guide/best-cpu-cooler-i7-9700k/ https://www.pcguide.com/?p=20693 Fri, 11 Aug 2023 12:05:40 +0100 Best cooling solutions for Ryzen 9 7950X3D – LCD, budget, and premium picks https://www.pcguide.com/cooling/best-cooling-solutions-for-ryzen-9-7950x3d/ https://www.pcguide.com/?p=183702 Fri, 11 Aug 2023 10:26:20 +0100 Best cooling solutions for Ryzen 9 7900X3D – budget, premium, and liquid solutions https://www.pcguide.com/cooling/best-cooling-solutions-for-ryzen-9-7900x3d/ https://www.pcguide.com/?p=183674 Thu, 10 Aug 2023 16:54:28 +0100 Best PC case fans in 2024 – RGB, budget and premium picks https://www.pcguide.com/cooling/guide/best-case-fans/ https://www.pcguide.com/?p=1942 Thu, 10 Aug 2023 15:28:41 +0100 Best 140mm case fans for your PC in 2024 – RGB, best airflow, and budget picks https://www.pcguide.com/cooling/guide/best-140mm-case-fan/ https://www.pcguide.com/?p=9807 Thu, 10 Aug 2023 14:19:31 +0100 Best CPU cooler for i7-8700K in 2023 – for value, performance, low noise https://www.pcguide.com/best-cpu-cooler-for-i7-8700k/ https://www.pcguide.com/?p=20725 Fri, 04 Aug 2023 16:41:46 +0100 Best LGA 1700 CPU cooler in 2024 – for value, performance and low noise https://www.pcguide.com/cooling/guide/best-lga-1700/ https://www.pcguide.com/?p=220722 Fri, 28 Jul 2023 14:14:43 +0100 Liquid Cooling vs Air Cooling: What’s the difference, and which is better? Understanding cooling typesBefore we determine the winner of liquid vs air cooling, we need to cover each of the cooling types.

Air cooling

Air cooling is the cheapest and most common cooling type. In this context, we’ll be referring to “air cooling” as coolers for individual components, rather than the system at large. (Even liquid cooling setups need radiators and intake fans, in the same way that air-cooled systems do.)The main difference in air vs water cooling is the presence of a heatsink. The purpose of a heatsink is to dissipate heat, with or without a fan attached. Having a fan is usually best, though, as it will allow the heatsink to be directly cooled and help remove hot air from the chassis in question.In general: the larger the heatsink and the more powerful the fan, the better the cooling performance. Liquid cooling actually works under a similar logic, which we’ll get to in a moment.

Liquid cooling (closed loop)

Closed-loop liquid cooling is achieved through the use of all-in-one (AIO) liquid coolers. These don’t require much extra setup for the users, just a place to mount the radiator. These radiators correspond to fan size and start at 120mm. Some radiators will be longer and take up more fan slots, but also provide better cooling performance in turn.Any form of liquid cooling will be more expensive than air cooling, but this is where the price disparity starts. We’ll dive deeper into the performance differences later, but the same wisdom applies here. The more surface area (liquid and radiator) and fan strength, the better the overall cooling performance will be.

Liquid cooling (custom loop)

Last but certainly not least is custom loop liquid cooling. This is the most expensive and difficult setup to get running, especially for a first-timer. It also requires the most long-term maintenance, and the largest chassis to get working. In addition to setting up your own tubing, you’ll also need a dedicated pump and reservoir. Many setups will also employ multiple radiators.The same general rules described above apply here. More surface area dedicated to cooling = better cooling performance.

What’s the difference between closed loop and custom loop?

Closed loop (AIO) and custom loop setups greatly differ in terms of performance and required setup, maintenance, space, etc. To more easily understand the difference, we’ll put it this way: A closed loop cooler is all-in-one. Radiator, cooler, loop-- all handled for you. Just mount them appropriately and you can pretty much forget it. A custom loop cooling system is custom. You’ll need to buy each of your components and assemble them yourself. We’ll dive into why anyone would want to do this below.

The Showdown

Two (technically three) will enter! One will leave!Now it’s time to pit these cooling methods head-to-head...in a death battle!

Liquid cooling vs Air cooling: Cooling performance

To the surprise of absolutely no one, the battle of liquid vs air cooling is won by...Air cooling!...wait, what?It’s true. Unless you’re using a custom loop setup, that is, which far exceed any air cooling setup in performance. (That’s what we meant earlier about why anyone would go to the trouble of a custom loop.)But in terms of raw cooling performance, especially between a store-bought liquid cooler vs air cooler, the air cooler will come out on top. At least, so long as it has the appropriate heatsink and fan to work with.The winner is air cooling for store-bought products. Liquid cooling only wins if you’re willing to do a custom loop. 

Liquid cooling vs Air cooling: Noise

Now, what about noise levels?Liquid cooling wins… usually. The issue is, noise isn’t generated by a radiator or heatsink: it’s generated by a fan, which both of these need to function at peak performance. Fortunately, there are an ample amount of quiet PC fans on the market that you can use with either an air cooling or liquid cooling setup.Liquid cooling still wins, though. That’s because you can run your fans lower while still achieving the same or better cooling performance when compared to an air cooler. As long as you’re willing to invest in high-quality fans, either method will work for keeping a quiet PC. If you want that extra edge, though, then go liquid.Assuming you’re using the same fans and achieving the same temperatures, a water cooled vs air cooled system will be quieter.

Liquid cooling vs Air cooling: Price

This one is pretty clear-cut.Air cooling wins in pretty much every way here. The cheapest AIO liquid cooling setups can cost as much as the best air coolers on the market. If price is your concern in this battle, then water cooling vs air cooling isn’t even a competition. Air cooling always wins.

Liquid cooling vs Air cooling: Size

This one is… a wee bit complicated.For the sake of argument, let’s assume you want good cooling performance, in addition to a small size. This would dismiss abysmal coolers, like the Intel stock cooler, which is very low profile, but also kinda bad, especially once it has a few years under its belt.In this case, liquid cooling wins. You can get an AIO setup that will only take up the space of about one 120mm fan inside your chassis (with the radiator), some tubing, and the very low-profile part that actually touches your CPU.If you don’t have the room to mount even a small radiator, though, an air cooler with a proper heatsink may be the better option, especially if your PC is deep enough.

Liquid cooling vs Air cooling: Final Verdict

So...who wins? As always, the answer is… it depends. We’ll help you choose, though. If you want the best possible cooling performance, and money/time aren’t an object, then custom loop liquid cooling is your best option. As long as you have the requirements to pull it off, you can’t beat the cooling and aesthetics here. If you want great cooling performance and your rig is spacious enough for a thick heatsink, then air cooling is your best option. If you want good-to-great cooling performance without spending too much money, then air cooling is your best option. If you want good-to-great cooling performance while keeping noise levels low, then closed-loop liquid cooling is your best option.And, of course, there’s one reason to get a liquid cooling setup that we haven’t mentioned yet. Arguably the most important of all. If you just think liquid cooling looks cool, especially with RGB, then liquid cooling is your best option.]]> https://www.pcguide.com/cooling/guide/liquid-vs-air/ https://www.pcguide.com/?p=4722 Thu, 04 Jul 2019 17:35:18 +0100