Air Cooler v Liquid Cooler

PCs can get really hot, especially if they are being used for gaming.

So keeping your CPU cool is important if you want your PC to run without hiccups.

Air cooling

A CPU air cooler relies on the power of high-tech fans to cool down your CPU. Heat generated by the CPU is transferred to the cooler’s conductive baseplate via thermal paste. That energy then travels up the cooler’s heat pipes to a heatsink, where the excess heat is pushed away from the CPU via the attached fan.

The benefits include lifespan and repairability. Air coolers rarely fail and have few potential points of failure.

A downside of air coolers is that they push the CPU’s excess heat into your case, potentially raising your PC’s overall ambient temperature.

Liquid cooling

AIO liquid coolers also utilize a conductive baseplate and applied thermal paste as the start of the heat transfer process. From there, the cooler’s water block utilizes coolant to absorb the CPU’s heat and carry it through a tube to the cooler’s radiator. The radiator brings air into the equation to cool down the heat-containing liquid, and attached fans push that heat away. Once the coolant liquid has cooled down again, it goes back to the water block and the process starts over.

However, it is more prone to problems and is a relatively high-end system. AIO liquid coolers tend to be a bit more efficient and don’t raise the ambient temperature as much as an air cooler might.

It will also take up more space.

In the end it depends on your budget and what you use your PC for.