Is Liquid Cooling Truly Required For Any Build?
Is Liquid Cooling Truly Required For Any Build?
Part of the bigger problem is that when the majority of the population hears 'liquid cooling' they immediately associate that to closed loop cooling. You then get the association that any liquid cooling = all liquid cooling and then all liquid cooling = good liquid cooling.
There is also a lack of understanding in what actually are good temperatures and how to correctly calculate delta.
Given that TDPs have been dropping (in some instances) in newer hardware, you see less need to apply extreme cooling to accomplish a moderate goal. However, if you still want to accomplish a very high end overclocking goal, you're going to need something beyond moderate cooling to do so.
I've watercooled for almost 14 years and I continue to do so just because it is a fun hobby and it can be very rewarding if you have the time and money to do so. Watercooling being necessary is only an argument that someone can really have with themselves...and if you aren't 100% certain around the pros and cons, you're really just asking the opinions of others who may/may not know the full argument of both sides without a baseline for yourself.
It might be around 9000, but 8000 works well with a budget air cooler. They don't generate more heat than the Sandy Bridge-E chips did a few years back. With an air cooler, I was experiencing temperatures as high as 75C during games like Wolfenstein: The Old Blood. It also caused my PC to shut down frequently.
I used to believe overclocking was just a passing trend that would fade away. To be honest, my computer is mainly built for gaming, and it doesn’t have the very best components. The only games that could possibly push its limits are those with weak code or optimization, like Kingdom Come: Deliverance. In the past, whenever my system needed more power, I’d just upgrade. I didn’t see much value in overclocking. But I guess those who frequently do it are probably dealing with video work or just enjoy the process for its own sake. I tend to prefer keeping things straightforward, and for me, upgrading is simply easier and more reliable than trying to push the hardware beyond its limits.
Belphegore:
dudeman509 shares some insights on cooling performance. They suggest around 9000 watts might be manageable with an affordable air cooler, noting that such heat levels weren't common just a few years ago. Using an air cooler, they experienced temperatures reaching up to 75°C during games like Wolfenstein: The Old Blood, which often caused the PC to shut down frequently. They wonder if you had a similar issue and mention a specific setup—Noctua NH-D15 with heatpipes and Dual NF-A15 140mm fans.
They also recall their i7 8700k running extremely hot on this cheaper cooler, leading them to research further. Eventually, they found someone whose system handled the cooling well without excessive effort. They believe this setup is comparable to or better than most liquid cooling solutions, except perhaps for highly customized ones favored by overclock enthusiasts. They caution against overthinking it, emphasizing that many don't need to overclock unless necessary.
Watercooling isn't always necessary, but it does come into play in specific situations. For serious overclockers aiming to push performance limits, for those who appreciate the aesthetic appeal, for individuals who appreciate the effort involved in crafting a custom loop, and for people like myself who prefer not to have a large metal block on their motherboard—such as with the Noctua NH-D15—while still seeking strong overclocking and cooling results. I've experimented with AIO coolers for some time now and find them more convenient. They provide effective cooling, and their sleek appearance matches my preferences.