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Surprising number of techies still using air cooling
Posted on 4/13/26 at 7:31 pm
Posted on 4/13/26 at 7:31 pm
I read this WindowsCentral article about a "Superdome" shaped enclosure for case fans.
There was a survey mid-article (no info how many people responded,) that respondents are still 67% air cooled for CPUs. This seems unfathomable.
quote:
About a month ago, PC gaming enthusiast and YouTuber Major Hardware revealed a CPU cooling experiment involving 15 mini fans installed in a custom frame.
What some called "The Fanhattan Project" was indeed reminiscent of some sort of nuclear test, yet it proved to be a capable gadget that could keep Major Hardware's CPU just a bit cooler than a standard 120mm Noctua A12x25 fan.
The result wasn't as surprising, considering each custom mini fan (measuring about 30mm) was a scaled version of Noctua's superb design, yet it proved it could be done.
There was a survey mid-article (no info how many people responded,) that respondents are still 67% air cooled for CPUs. This seems unfathomable.
6
Posted on 4/13/26 at 7:43 pm to LemmyLives
The likely reason for those results is air cooling works fine for average to low end processors so it doesn't surprise me that 67% of the respondents don't have high end processors that require water cooling.
Posted on 4/13/26 at 8:10 pm to LemmyLives
Air cooling works and water cooling has high failure rates. Unless you are addicted to benchmarks and overclocking, air is a better choice.
Posted on 4/13/26 at 8:12 pm to GurleyGirl
Even high end cpus do fine on high quality air coolers. There isn’t a game out there that will put a high end cpu into thermal throttling with a quality air cooler.
Posted on 4/13/26 at 8:16 pm to LemmyLives
quote:
There was a survey mid-article (no info how many people responded,) that respondents are still 67% air cooled for CPUs. This seems unfathomable.
YOU are using an air cooled CPU bro.
Posted on 4/13/26 at 8:17 pm to notsince98
I know air coolers are "fine" (I never overclock,) but my water cooling setup is so quiet that the fans only kick in if I'm doing something like Space Marine2 or Age of Wonders 4. The peace is palpable, and that's on a 10+ year old Corsair H100i.
I was just surprised that a tech enthusiast site would lean so hard towards air.
I was just surprised that a tech enthusiast site would lean so hard towards air.
Posted on 4/13/26 at 8:24 pm to LemmyLives
I have a 5700x3d on an undersized thermal take 90mm assassin and I never hear a thing until certain games get fired up. The game has to be fairly stressing before my fans fire up.
Posted on 4/13/26 at 9:29 pm to notsince98
I never hear my CPU cooler. Ever.
If I hear anything, it's the GPU cooler.
If I hear anything, it's the GPU cooler.
Posted on 4/13/26 at 10:25 pm to notsince98
I'm in the process of building a new rig, after having watercooling for over 10 years, i'm going back to air cooling in my new PC.
Posted on 4/13/26 at 10:46 pm to Chromdome35
quote:
i'm going back to air cooling in my new PC.
Fans spin less in water cooling setups, and have decreased dust ingestion. Why? Is it due to a free cooler?
Posted on 4/14/26 at 7:01 am to LemmyLives
I have had two water coolers die on my.
Never had a fan die on me.
I like the clean look of the AIOs, but since I do not over clock they are a pointless expense for me.
Never had a fan die on me.
I like the clean look of the AIOs, but since I do not over clock they are a pointless expense for me.
Posted on 4/14/26 at 8:31 am to LemmyLives
Putting water in a computer sounds like a very gamer thing to do, not so much a techie thing to do.
Posted on 4/14/26 at 8:52 am to LemmyLives
quote:
I was just surprised that a tech enthusiast site would lean so hard towards air.
I also have as few LEDs in the case as possible...its really not for looking at, so who cares
Posted on 4/14/26 at 9:42 am to GrammarKnotsi
I've been searching for months for a new case and it is brutal. Trying to find a nice case (features wise) but no LED and I really dont want a side window. I can probably live with a window if it is not glass but even finding that is a bit ridiculous. I just want a simple case with 120mm+ fans, good cable routing and good SSD/HDD organization/slots. That is it.
Posted on 4/14/26 at 10:25 am to notsince98
quote:
Even high end cpus do fine on high quality air coolers. There isn’t a game out there that will put a high end cpu into thermal throttling with a quality air cooler.
I decided to buy a prebuilt machine instead of building myself this past time, and it came with water cooling.
It's an Core Ultra 9 with a 5080, and I can't think of a game I've purchased that really pushes it. Probably would've been fine with a good air cooling system.
I will +1 your point - not all air coolers are the same. Don't rely on a cheap air cooler for a high-end processor.
Also - if building your own machine, pay attention to air flow. I've fixed a few custom builds of friends over the years simply by flipping around one of the case fans.
Posted on 4/14/26 at 11:17 am to LemmyLives
Water cooling has been around for a long time. Around 2003-5 people really started dabbling in making custom blocks and whatnot to push overclocking.
I was among those people trying out peltier coolers and elaborate water cooling setups. Spent a lot of time and money trying to push more performance out of my systems.
The thing is, modern day watercooling is really just fancy air cooling. The volume of water being moved and the airflow of these radiators is not exactly all that impressive. That said, if you feel like it's making a difference. Neat! But a good air cooler with decent fans is more than adequate for the vast majority of users.
I was among those people trying out peltier coolers and elaborate water cooling setups. Spent a lot of time and money trying to push more performance out of my systems.
The thing is, modern day watercooling is really just fancy air cooling. The volume of water being moved and the airflow of these radiators is not exactly all that impressive. That said, if you feel like it's making a difference. Neat! But a good air cooler with decent fans is more than adequate for the vast majority of users.
Posted on 4/14/26 at 5:55 pm to notsince98
quote:
just want a simple case with 120mm+ fans, good cable routing and good SSD/HDD organization/slots. That is it.
I found 3 or 4 in like 2 minutes.
Why in the world would you want to limit your cooling to 120mm fans these days. Bigger fans will move more air with less noise.
Check out Fractal Design, Silverstone, Antec.
If you can't find something with one of those three then you are just being stubborn.
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