I think it's the generation thing also. Not to sound like an old person, but a lot of the younger crowd wants instant gratification on anything from buying a house that's move in ready to buying a pre built PC. If they don't do the pre built route they go for the AIO or air cooling to make it simplistic instead of the custom water loop or putting a water block on anything. Just my observation.I think PC enthusiast is a shrinking hobby to begin with. How many under 20 people do you think are reading sites like this?
I admit, even in my 50s, I fall in between both of those. I've done air cooling for nearly 3 decades but have taken it to such extremes that my rigs were within reach of the speeds of liquid(albeit much louder). I only just started with liquid today, in fact, with the upgrade to a 5800X3D. Per our review, I went with a Cooler Master Flux PL360 because, yet again with my experience with air, I wanted something that could move it for the other parts and the radiator. It may not rank best for 360s on other reviews but I knew that I needed to push air for other parts of the rig.AIO or air cooling
It's such a limited market already. I wonder if they are pairing down in preparation for a buyout from someone like Corsair?
I disagree. Custom loops were never about noise. The noise floor is limited by the PSU and the water pump, you can't go bellow that.Also a growing niche with CPU and GPU power usage skyrocketing. And as always, better cooling can also lower the noise floor considerably.
PSUs are... quiet? And pumps can be isolated.I disagree. Custom loops were never about noise. The noise floor is limited by the PSU and the water pump, you can't go bellow that.
You're increasing the efficiency of the cooling system. Increase it a bit and you can trade for performance or lower noise - increase it a lot, and you can have both.The draw of custom loops was aways raising overclocking headroom for me, not reducing noise, as I already minimized noise as far as possible without ditching spinner drives and using a passive PSU.
There's still quite a bit of headroom in terms of stock boosting, and even basic 'overclocking' i.e. just raising multiplier and power limits. Voltage tuning then allows you to keep power usage in check, while thermal headroom gives you enough of a buffer to get there.But new hardware almost have zero OC headroom, so now I don't even want a custom loop. I'd rather spend the price difference between an AIO and a custom loop on a better CPU or GPU or even RAM, it is guaranteed to be a better investment.
Same here. I'll be 50 here soon and I was an air cooled guy since the late 90's up until a few years ago when I tried AIO's for the first time. I still go back and forth between the two.I admit, even in my 50s, I fall in between both of those. I've done air cooling for nearly 3 decades but have taken it to such extremes that my rigs were within reach of the speeds of liquid(albeit much louder).
I replaced the fan in my PSU to make it quieter, because it was too loud. I have very little tolerance for noise.PSUs are... quiet? And pumps can be isolated.
My CPU boosts higher stock than I can get out of it with an all core overclock. I saw no point in forcing the issue, so it has been running stock since I've bought it. I see even less point investing $500 in a custom loop for diminishing returns. I doubt I could get even 1-2% more performance out of the system with a custom loop at the same noise level. I'd rather use the $500 and buy a new cpu if I feel I need more performance.There's still quite a bit of headroom in terms of stock boosting, and even basic 'overclocking' i.e. just raising multiplier and power limits. Voltage tuning then allows you to keep power usage in check, while thermal headroom gives you enough of a buffer to get there.
Back in 2001 we were using heater cores out of cars and fish tank pumps. What the heck were you buying back then that's lasted this long?The nice thing at about custom loops is that it’s mostly 1 time investments. I still have loops with the same radiators and pump I bought back in 2001. Just pickup a new block and your good to go.
I still have mine from a '93 Ford Escort. Best radiator you could buy - all copper, nice size (could fit a 280mm fan + some), way cheaper than any "official" PC radiator you would buy today. I did have to sweat on some tubing fittings, and won't fit properly in any PC case made, but those are all small things. It cooled like no one's businessBack in 2001 we were using heater cores out of cars and fish tank pumps. What the heck were you buying back then that's lasted this long?
Back in 2001 we were using heater cores out of cars and fish tank pumps. What the heck were you buying back then that's lasted this long?
Wow! Cool stuff. On my own, I've thought about fish tank pumps but it never occurred to me to use a heater core from a car. You're absolutely right! I've replaced enough of them that when I think about it, it's a facepalm moment that I never thought of it.I still have mine from a '93 Ford Escort. Best radiator you could buy - all copper, nice size (could fit a 280mm fan + some), way cheaper than any "official" PC radiator you would buy today. I did have to sweat on some tubing fittings, and won't fit properly in any PC case made, but those are all small things. It cooled like no one's business
Wish I had thought of that, I cracked a couple of DuronsAnyone remember gluing Sunny Delight bottle tops to the CPUs with exposed silicon dies?
It was The very first 120mm hwlabs series of rads, the black ice extreme. 99% sure I purchased it from Danger den, along with an Ehiem 1250 pump. I later (uhh, late 2002ish) added a black ice pro which was a 2x 120 rad. Then a few years later I dropped both those rads and used a thermo chill 120.3 in my main system, which is actually still in use along with a 420 black ice rad.Back in 2001 we were using heater cores out of cars and fish tank pumps. What the heck were you buying back then that's lasted this long?
You would not like my PC/console gaming room, with the loud-@ss window A/C unit, my fulltower PC case with 4 fans (well 3 are 140mm so quieter than the single floor-mounted 120mm) and 4x 120mm fans on the radiator that I sometimes put at full blast while gaming. And if I turn the PS3 on, everything else in the room including the A/C unit gets drowned out by the PS3's fan!I have very little tolerance for noise.
I can abide by slightly stronger fan noise while gaming as usually the ambient sounds of the game will drown it out, but not the PS3, that was like a hair dryer at times. The PS4 Pro can also get loud under demanding games. But with Sony moving to release exclusives on PC, I'll not have to put up with peasant life much longer.You would not like my PC/console gaming room, with the loud-@ss window A/C unit, my fulltower PC case with 4 fans (well 3 are 140mm so quieter than the single floor-mounted 120mm) and 4x 120mm fans on the radiator that I sometimes put at full blast while gaming. And if I turn the PS3 on, everything else in the room including the A/C unit gets drowned out by the PS3's fan!
On the other hand, when it comes time for sleep, I too can't stand noise. I need it as quiet and as dark as possible when trying to sleep.