AIO vs Air vs Custom loop
AIO vs Air vs Custom loop
I understand your point. A 360mm radiator might be too much for a 6600K setup. You risk hitting power supply limits or VRM constraints before needing such a large one. For air coolers, check out the recommendations here: https://pcpartpicker.com/products/compar...P6,4vzv6h/
Seems the Hyper 212X is the top option I've seen on rebeltech. No much useful info on evetech. The Phanteks Ph-tc12dx appears to be the best I can find on pricecheck.co.za. Both coolers should work, depending on the style you prefer for your CPU cooler.
Zachariah Engelbrecht :
I understand your point, but a 360mm radiator seems excessive for a 6600K. You might run into power supply or VRM limits before needing such a large one.
For air coolers I suggest: https://pcpartpicker.com/products/compar...P6,4vzv6h/
What about the Coolermaster V8?
It's a solid cooler when it works, though it can cause RAM clearance problems on many newer boards.
it seems the Hyper 212X is the top option I've seen on rebeltech. The coolermaster v8 looks great and would pair well with the rest of the setup. I didn't find much useful about evetech. The Phanteks Ph-tc12dx appears to be the best deal I found on pricecheck.co.za. These two coolers should work fine, depending on the style you prefer for your CPU cooler.
I use an I5-6600K @4.8 with a basic 120mm air cooler.
You won’t need much more.
You’ll likely run out of safe vcore before you hit thermal limits.
Here’s my take on liquid cooling:
I've created a lot of custom loops and I want to let you know that keeping them in top shape is quite challenging. Even using the wrong metals can cause the loop to clog up because contaminants build up in the coolant. AiO makers avoid this by making their products very strict.
For CPU cooling, air cooling seems best unless you're aiming for serious overclocking. I usually don't go beyond a 500MHz boost since it puts extra stress on the motherboard's VRMs when voltage increases.
The savings from AiO or air cooling could also be spent on getting a graphics card with a better cooler.
I've watercooled for nearly 15 years and never faced galvanic corrosion issues. Maintenance is essentially the same as building it the first time, honestly.
Using high-quality products—avoiding aluminum—and sticking to distilled water with antimicrobial additives will handle most problems.
geofelt :
I use an I5-6600K @4.8 with a basic 120mm air cooler.
You probably don’t need much more.
You’ll likely run out of safe vcore before you hit thermal limits.
Here’s my take on liquid cooling:
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You purchase a liquid cooler to boost your overclocking performance by a few percentage points.
How much is that really?
I don’t prefer buying all-in-one liquid coolers when a solid air cooler like Noctua or Phanteks can handle the job just as well.
A liquid cooler tends to be costly, noisy, less dependable, and won’t improve cooling in a well-ventilated case.
In fact, liquid cooling is essentially just air cooling, but it shifts the heat exchange process.
The way you position the radiator matters. If you face it to draw in cool air from outside, it helps cool the CPU better—but then the hot air recirculates inside, warming the GPU and motherboard.
If you flip it to exhaust, your CPU cooling might suffer because it uses pre-heated case air.
And... I’ve seen many bad stories about liquid coolers leaking.
Google “H100 leak”
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Your system will run quieter, be more reliable, and stay well-cooled with a good air cooler.
If you place it to exhaust, you can add another rear exhaust fan and front intake fans for better airflow.
Ten years ago, before AIOs were common (except maybe Zalman’s fanless design), I was into extreme overclocking and never faced issues with custom loops or even my phase-change CPU cooler. Take your time, do your research, choose wisely, and everything will work out.
Tower air coolers are excellent, but I prefer direct access to RAM and internal components—no need for a bulky case.
I've worked on many custom loops and want to warn you that maintenance can be quite challenging. Even using the wrong metals in the loop can cause it to clog due to contaminants in the coolant. Manufacturers avoid this by meeting strict standards.
Air cooling is my preferred choice for the CPU unless you're aiming for serious overclocking. I usually cap overclocking at around 500MHz because it puts extra stress on the motherboard's VRMs when voltage increases.
The savings from using AiO or air cooling could also be invested in a graphics card with a better cooler.
Clogging... if you've ever built a custom loop and it clogged, it means something went wrong. I haven't seen galvanic corrosion in a loop and have never heard of it happening.
Still, an AIO or a solid air cooler seems like the best fit for this build.