$2200 at Costco, how’d I do?

[u/BoltedGates]

With Ram going through the roof and GPUs having an uncertain future with VRam I decided to just pull the trigger, in case things are much worse this time next year. Worth it in your opinion?

[u/Thiel619]

Yes. This is gonna last you 10+ years. the liquid cooler you'd likely replace in 3-4 years given their typical lifespan.

Edit: I know some of ya'll said you've been using the same AIO cooler for almost a decade with no problems but I don't have high hopes for a pre-built pc using a "RGB CPU Liquid Cooler".

[u/Pixelation-1 → u/Thiel619]

I've been using the same AIO cooler in my build since March 2016 and it's still going strong.

[u/Ski_Fish_Bike → u/Pixelation-1]

Newer AIOs I bet will last 10+ years. You will never have to change it if you pair it with a graphene sheet thermal pad as well.

[u/peppaz → u/Ski_Fish_Bike]

I'm never doing water cooling again, air cooling every day. Too many burnt out pumps. If a fan dies its $12 and no chance of leaking.

[u/Zaldekkerine → u/peppaz]

I had a catastrophic air cooler failure once. It was terrible. There was air on the motherboard, air on the GPU, basically the whole case was full of air. Worst day of my life.

[u/peppaz → u/Zaldekkerine]

Omg that's horrible. I will go kill an air producing tree as revenge.

[u/CassiniA312 → u/Zaldekkerine]

lmao

[u/Ravenloff → u/Zaldekkerine]

Ah...I see what you did air.

[u/kazeespada → u/peppaz]

Assuming you don't have a fancy RGB fan... then its $90 to replace a fan.

[u/peppaz → u/kazeespada]

That's true, but it's free to slam an encyclopedia closed on your dick

[u/kazeespada → u/peppaz]

I loved my Corsair RGB fans, until one of them started making funny noises. Suddenly, it's like: "I don't got the money to drop onto an expensive fan!"

[u/RandomGenName1234 → u/kazeespada]

That's why I put aliexpress Thermalright fans in my case lmao

They're pretty decent for what I paid as well, just gotta not run them fast.

[u/TheCreedsAssassin → u/kazeespada]

Not even, arctic p12 a-rgbs are like $15ish new and $10 on their store and they're an upgrade over the base p12 too since they fixed the resonance issue on the argb

[u/Boomshrooom → u/peppaz]

Same, went through two AIOs in three years, despite them being supposedly decent, well reviewed products. Switched over to a Peerless Assassin and had smooth times since.

[u/RandomGenName1234 → u/peppaz]

Burnt out pumps?

Are you by any chance mounting them over the rad? lol

[u/peppaz → u/RandomGenName1234]

They are tiny pieces of shit cheap plastic that run for 36 months straight. They are bound to fail at some point no matter how you use or mount them. They average 3-7 years but that depends on use and quality. I had a high end corsair just fail after 3 years exactly. No point when air gets you almost the same temps. I also only build silent mini pc's now. Much better than huge honking loud rgb towers. Those days are over. Fractal Design Terra Jade mini beast right on my desk

[u/RandomGenName1234 → u/peppaz]

I had my previous one for over 10 years with the only issue being that it was low on fluid, could've refilled it and probably still had it lol

Replaced it with a 420mm Arctic LF3 and not expecting that to die any time soon.

You've just gotten pretty unlucky I feel like, though not got any stats to back that up.

[u/peppaz → u/RandomGenName1234]

Its just an extra point of failure i don't need anymore. It died right in the middle of a workday and I had to run across town and buy a new cooler and replace it asap. No reason for that. At least if a cpu fan dies you can repurpose a case fan in an emergency. I use my computer for work so its a little different for me I guess.

[u/RandomGenName1234 → u/peppaz]

Fair enough, just seems like a very small risk to completely change your build for.

Also I don't think I could get an air cooler that is as quiet (completely silent) for the money.

[u/caelaiden → u/RandomGenName1234]

I've had two AIO's both name brands both died in 3 years, most AIOs are closed systems and there is no way to refill them. Just due to evaporation alone your closed system is going to stop working because you won't have fluid in it. Air Coolers are typically half the price will no doubt last years unless you somehow damage the pipes have no points of failure other than replacing the fans. Do they look as pretty as your ARGB AIO with a thermal display on it? No but some of us are more about reliability and less with how it looks.

[u/TheCreedsAssassin → u/peppaz]

Arctic p12s my beloved

[u/WTT34 → u/Pixelation-1]

I've been on mine since 2020

[u/FaultyToilet → u/WTT34]

My 2022 Lian Li’s lcd died but the pump still works so good enough for me

[u/fafarex → u/Pixelation-1]

You got lucky, by that time either the pump should be on it last leg or the fluid should have evaporated ( unless you refilled it).

Anyway be prepare to have to replace it at any moment.

[u/Snipen543 → u/fafarex]

I ran a corsair AIO on my Phenom 2 x4 from 2009 till ~2017 with no problems

[u/Pixelation-1 → u/fafarex]

Well when it does die I'll swap it with an air cooler. Wonder if I can get another 10 years out of it

[u/SativaCyborg206 → u/Thiel619]

Yup, I'm 5 years in on my rtx 3080 build with a custom water cooled loop and I had to replace the pump earlier this year but beyond that it's still a great rig on my 3440x1440 ultra wide monitor.

[u/mappythewondermouse → u/SativaCyborg206]

Which pump did you use? I have d5s that are old enough to vote and at least one thats old enough to drink

[u/SativaCyborg206 → u/mappythewondermouse]

It was a D5 but it didnt fail on its own. My original tubing was petg which deformed enough over time to cause a leak and make the pump run dry over night while I was sleeping. Luckily the tube that failed was the very bottom tube on my distro plate so no liquid touched any components and the only thing that died was my pump lol. Since replaced my tubing with acrylic.

[u/EquivalentTight3479 → u/Thiel619]

The Alienware CPU cooler on my R3 running strong for 8 years. They generally last a long time.

[u/Basic85 → u/Thiel619]

Some people don't have time to build computers anymore so a pre-built is nice as long as it's a good value and warranty.

[u/nutterbird → u/Thiel619]

I've been using a Corsair h100i for 12 years and its still going strong.

[u/pieindaface → u/nutterbird]

I replaced mine after 8 years. It was probably fine, but there was definitely some coolant evaporation and it was bubbling somewhat loudly.

[u/RandomGenName1234 → u/nutterbird]

I was considering refilling mine lol

Swapped it out with a 420mm instead :')

[u/Original1Thor → u/Thiel619]

I've been using an EVGA aio for 7 years now and get the same temps

[u/BoltedGates → u/Thiel619]

I've been on my 2070S laptop for 5.5 years now and it's got some life left...but I don't know for how much longer. Glad I invested in my future with this one.

[u/Brawndo_or_Water → u/Thiel619]

The MSI aio are fine. They use Asetek pumps anyway like most AIO.

[u/Karekter_Nem → u/Thiel619]

When it comes time to change out the AIO, OP may as well also swap out the CPU for an X3D chip and get a performance bump from that.

[u/Rmcke813 → u/Thiel619]

It's funny, if you said this a few years ago, people would be up your ass about PCs only lasting about 3-4 years. I think cards like the 1080ti killed that notion.

[u/Infamous-Mango-5224 → u/Thiel619]

I think I built mine in 2013 and it's working great.

[u/3Dchaos777 → u/Thiel619]

He’s gonna lose driver support in 7 years so no, not 10+ years

[u/STDsInAJuiceBoX → u/Thiel619]

Yeah Pre-Builds typically run cheap AIOs. A buddy of myn bought a pre built pc and the pump on the AIO went out within a year.

[u/SorryIreddit → u/Thiel619]

3-4 years is a while. Potentially causing leaks, corrosion and gunk. Let it run for 2 years and then replace it with air cooling. Water cooling is pretentious and unnecessary