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[Games of Today]

So GAF, I finally made the leap to what I call a "Super PC".
I'm not trying to brag... maybe a little haha.. but I've been a PlayStation gamer all my life that eventually bought a mid range PC about 3 or 4 years ago.

Now I was already planning to buy a new PC for Starfield and I knew I wanted something pretty beefy but after booting up Starfield on the PC I had and seeing it tank to below 30fps even at 1080p, medium to low settings (gross I know!) I said "fuck it" and went into full on future proofing mode.

So I got a Z790 Intel LGA 1700 Motherboard, RTX 4090, I9 13900k, 64gb DDR5-6000 and a AIO 360mm CPU Water Cooler with Windows 11.

Now to my main question, who here has an AIO Water Cooler?
How long do they typically last?
Do I need to be worried about leakage?
Should I replace it with a new one every 3 to 5 years?

I'm new to all this. I still don't consider myself a full PC gamer as I'm going to use this to mainly play games that have controller support that I could never play in 1440p/4K, 60fps on my PS5.

Thanks for the help!

 

[Gaiff]

So GAF, I finally made the leap to what I call a "Super PC".
I'm not trying to brag... maybe a little haha.. but I've been a PlayStation gamer all my life that eventually bought a mid range PC about 3 or 4 years ago.

Now I was already planning to buy a new PC for Starfield and I knew I wanted something pretty beefy but after booting up Starfield on the PC I had and seeing it tank to below 30fps even at 1080p, medium to low settings (gross I know!) I said "fuck it" and went into full on future proofing mode.

No such thing as "future proofing."

So I got a Z790 Intel LGA 1700 Motherboard, RTX 4090, I9 13900k, 64gb DDR5-6000 and a AIO 360mm CPU Water Cooler with Windows 11.

Might wanna look at memory with good timings for better performance rather just picking up 6000MT/s. This can make a nice difference for performance. You might also manually tune your timings if you want to delve deeper. CL30 from Hynix for instance is very nice while you might wanna avoid CL40 from Corsair (something I wish I had done but eh).

Now to my main question, who here has an AIO Water Cooler?

I'd wager most of us rocking a 13900K.

How long do they typically last?

Years upon years. It's a piece of metal with a radiator, tubes, and fans, and coolant. A fairly simple lump of hardware without many failure points.

Do I need to be worried about leakage?

Usually, no.

Should I replace it with a new one every 3 to 5 years?

Nah. Might need to clean it up if you see temps degrading but otherwise, it lasts for years upon years.

 

[SlimySnake]

AIOs are awesome. They dont leak. They last a while. Some AIOs come with 3-5 years of manufacturers warranty.

Congrats on the new PC.

 

[acm2000]

use clear pipes and put neon tetras in the system for ultimate rgb gaming rig, they will eat the heat right out of the water.

 

[Games of Today]

No such thing as "future proofing."

Might wanna look at memory with good timings for better performance rather just picking up 6000MT/s. This can make a nice difference for performance. You might also manually tune your timings if you want to delve deeper. CL30 from Hynix for instance is very nice while you might wanna avoid CL40 from Corsair (something I wish I had done but eh).

I'd wager most of us rocking a 13900K.

Years upon years. It's a piece of metal with a radiator, tubes, and fans, and coolant. A fairly simple lump of hardware without many failure points.

Usually, no.

Nah. Might need to clean it up if you see temps degrading but otherwise, it lasts for years upon years.

Awesome! Thank you for the detailed answers! I'll consider all of these points.

And yes, while I agree nothing will ever truly be future proof, this build will last me more than likely as long as it keeps kicking for what I'm using it for.

 

[Games of Today]

AIOs are awesome. They dont leak. They last a while. Some AIOs come with 3-5 years of manufacturers warranty.

Congrats on the new PC.

That's great news! And thank you!

 

[HerjansEagleFeeder]

I have the same CPU/GPU combination you have, OP.

Now to my main question, who here has an AIO Water Cooler?

I do.

How long do they typically last?

Don't know, I upgrade too often to notice.

Do I need to be worried about leakage?

Yes.

Should I replace it with a new one every 3 to 5 years?

Probably. I hate AIO. If you were using anything other than a 13900K, I'd advise you against an AIO. But with that kind of a CPU, you're f'ed.

 

[GreatnessRD]

Congratulations on the new PC, mah boi. With that said...

AIR COOLING FOREVER!

 

[Miyazaki’s Slave]

The only thing I would add here:
Make sure you install the pump in the correct orientation to the radiator.

As a rule of thumb the radiator intake (lines running to the top of the cooling block with fans on it) should be lower in the case than the AIO Pump on the cpu block. This is only valid if you are installing the radiator in a vertical orientation in your case..this orientation may also dump heat onto your GPU....but it is not a major problem.
If you are mounting the Radiator portion horizontally (for example across the top of the case) it may be a little louder for you but I think (anecdotally) that it will run a bit cooler based on my experience with them.

 

[Gaiff]

Yes.

Literally, no. A custom loop would be cause for concern, not an AIO.

Probably. I hate AIO. If you were using anything other than a 13900K, I'd advise you against an AIO. But with that kind of a CPU, you're f'ed.

Again, no. Don't reply with false information.

 

[calistan]

One thing I really notice about my current Lian Li water cooler compared to the massive Noctua air cooler I had in my old PC is the vibration. There's a low vibration that's really noticeable, even with the silicon dampers I bought to put under the case feet. I can hear/feel it in the room below, if I stand directly under the PC.

 

[HerjansEagleFeeder]

Literally, no. A custom loop would be cause for concern, not an AIO.

Again, no. Don't reply with false information.

You know that's just your.. personal opinion. I don't armchair moderate your takes on things by playing the fact checking police, lol

 

[Gaiff]

You know that's just your.. personal opinion. I don't armchair moderate your takes on things by playing the fact checking police, lol

OP is asking for advice. You're spouting false information. This isn't my personal opinion, this is factual and you're misinforming the poster who asked.

 

[Puscifer]

My only contention with AIOs would be to make sure you buy Corsair or NZXT, preferably Corsair, they both cover leaks but Corsair even moreso.

 

[StueyDuck]

The only thing I would add here:
Make sure you install the pump in the correct orientation to the radiator.

As a rule of thumb the radiator intake (lines running to the top of the cooling block with fans on it) should be lower in the case than the AIO Pump on the cpu block. This is only valid if you are installing the radiator in a vertical orientation in your case..this orientation may also dump heat onto your GPU....but it is not a major problem.
If you are mounting the Radiator portion horizontally (for example across the top of the case) it may be a little louder for you but I think (anecdotally) that it will run a bit cooler based on my experience with them.

Pretty much this. ^

The biggest thing with water cooling is installation. And even if you get it wrong you won't destroy your PC or anything, you just won't be getting the full effect of your coolant.

Water cooling is fairly common place in gaming rigs these days so I wouldn't worry about things such as leakages or lifespan etc. You'd be very unlucky if that were to happen to you.

Just like any rig, make sure you install correctly. Make sure you use the correct amount of thermal paste when attaching to your cpu and so on and so forth.

Anything else like fans breaking or coolant leaking would be bad luck (or a bad manufacturer)

 

[willothedog]

Even if they leak I don't think the glycol mix is even conductive.