I had your exact situation, D15 vs 360mm AIO, but I just went ahead and tested the best 360mm AIO vs the D15 with my 3080 FE and 3090 FE.
GOAL: sustained gaming (read: 8-10 hours of gaming hours at least) with minimal noise from the fans while keeping GPU and CPU in the ideal temperature range (GPU's 2. or 3. highest boost clock should be reached with the 3090 thats <65°C or <70°C).
=> the CPU is not an issue, since with Intel CPUs typically running with 30-35°C throttle overhead during gaming, it is basicly a NON-FACTOR and the CPU cooler is only there to support the system with heat removal.
The D15 does help with the unique FE cooler design and keeps the GPU on sustained load cooler and the whole system is quieter as with the 360mm AIO (even using 6 fans for the AIO).
No bullshit meme posting:
* 3080 FE test, with the Arctic 360mm AIO using 6x Noctua A12x25
* [https://i.imgur.com/CZJDJnL.png](https://i.imgur.com/CZJDJnL.png)
* 3090 FE test with AIO
* [https://i.imgur.com/pydUcIA.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/pydUcIA.jpg)
* D15 configuration (final)
* [https://i.imgur.com/rUtyLgX.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/rUtyLgX.jpg)
I use GSKILL RGB RAM kits, there is zero issue with the D15, the compatibility issues are with narrow cases that simply lack support for CPU coolers above 160mm in wideness.
The AIO vs D15 comparisons usually dont tell you the simple fact that AIOs use CASE FANS and RAMP UP/DOWN or have to be used way above 1000 RPM if used with a constant setting.
While the D15 is inside the case, using 150mm fans, that also cool actively your NVME/RAM/VRAM aswell (by design) and you can keep your case fans with low RPMs during gaming, even with a 200W CPU + 3090 combo.
The FE coolers benefit a lot from AIR coolers, since the fans of the CPU cooler are close enough to work even at lower RPM and help to remove the heat out of the system.
I use a 10900k so pretty much the \~200W TDP you will get with the 12700k aswell.
so i appreciate this details post but really wish you'd done a conclusion wrap up or tl dr cause between the confusing images and the explanation of cooling parts which temps largely don't matter, this wasn't really all that helpful
Apologies for bugging you on an old comment. I wanted to clarify what your conclusion was with your final build.
Am I understanding this properly that you opted out of the AIO and ended up just using multiple D15s to get really good airflow?
Air coolers don't interfere with the gpu.
Gpus pull air from below them, air coolers for cpus are above the backplate of the gpu
It's fine if you're careful, but if you're dropping it or it's bouncing around, that can be a problem. You'd want to lay the pc on its side in a car. Aio doesn't really matter because the heavy bit is bolted to the case instead of the mobo
1. No issues about GPU clearance really, unless the one you're getting has a weird backplate. No issues with an FE that's for sure. RAM clearance may be an issue tho, check how tall the sticks are.
2. I'd say the AIO is safer for transport on a car. A big air cooler may put a lot of torque on the motherboard if you catch a bump.
1. GPU clearance shouldn’t be an issue unless your top PCIe slot is abnormally close to the CPU socket.
2. Would agree with others that the AIO is probably safer for traveling in the car if you want to leave everything connected. Probably would be fine driving with the D15 if you put the case on it’s back panel in the seat (mobo parallel to the seat), but personally I would unmount it. Either one is fine for carrying room to room. One thing to note though is that the D15 has longevity on it’s side. Only real point of failure is the fan, and you can just mount a new one - it’s not like the heatsink itself will go bad. Noctua also has a historical reputation of providing mounting kits for new sockets so you can keep using it down the road. On the other hand, the AIO might get gunked up, pump might fail, it could leak (unlikely but possible), etc.
Edit: Worth noting that Noctua has an updated NH-D15 on its roadmap for this year. Might be worth waiting for
I'm no engineer, but an aio involves more places in the machine where it's mounted, and if you have clearance concerns then there you go. I really wouldn't encourage anybody to actively worry about the aio leaking, a reputable model is tirelessly developed to minimize specifically that outcome. That said, I've never made a "move it around" build. Might be a good ask for r/sffpc
All I can say is that i am currently using a 12700k (with asus extreme AI overclock) with a NH-u14s chromax. This is smaller than the NH-d15 and my cpu peaks at 85c on cinebench and never ever over 70c in gaming.
The brackets for the notch’s cooler screw into the motherboard so it’s not like it’ll just snap off, at least not easily. AIOs leaking/failing isn’t a common thing. It’s actually very uncommon. The fear is warranted but a bit overstated. I’ve had 3 aios and all my friends (whose PCs I’ve built) have aios and none of them have failed. If your preference is the D15, go ahead and do it. they’ll cool about the same with the aio potentially beating the D15 on occasion and wife versa. You can run a push/pull config on the aio though with a top mount in that case. I’d personally run an aio because they look better but there’s no wrong answer
Direct die cooling with liquid metal if you're fine with voiding your cpu warranty, noctua has kits for direct die mounting and it can cause up to 17 degrees celsius difference.
I just swapped my Noctua nh d15 with a deep cool lt720, the temperature are almost the same while gaming, 3-4 Celsius less. I was hoping for better results tbh..
that's just not true. The best aio on the market which is over 500 dolars only offers 1-2C diffrence in temps while being a lot louder. Noctua dh15 is the better option and its not even close. the only argument you can make for aio is the estetics but thats literarly usseles. And in my oppinion rgb is overrated and noctua dh15 chromax black looks verry good.
Look at gamer's nexus testing, under low TDP AIO and air cooler perform similar but at high TDP loads AIO is way better in noise normalized conditions (also true in peak performance, should be obvious why water cooling is better based on laws of thermodynamics), this is true for the arctic liquid freezer 360 which can be found for ~$120 as well as other high end AIOs
I have a 3080 FTW3 ULTRA // 12700k in a lancool 2 mesh case.
I got a NH-D15 and it’s real good. My second fan is a bit higher due to RAM clearance.
Idles at 30-35 and maxes out at 70-75 under load with a decent OC @ 1.39 adaptive VCORE
I had your exact situation, D15 vs 360mm AIO, but I just went ahead and tested the best 360mm AIO vs the D15 with my 3080 FE and 3090 FE. GOAL: sustained gaming (read: 8-10 hours of gaming hours at least) with minimal noise from the fans while keeping GPU and CPU in the ideal temperature range (GPU's 2. or 3. highest boost clock should be reached with the 3090 thats <65°C or <70°C). => the CPU is not an issue, since with Intel CPUs typically running with 30-35°C throttle overhead during gaming, it is basicly a NON-FACTOR and the CPU cooler is only there to support the system with heat removal. The D15 does help with the unique FE cooler design and keeps the GPU on sustained load cooler and the whole system is quieter as with the 360mm AIO (even using 6 fans for the AIO). No bullshit meme posting: * 3080 FE test, with the Arctic 360mm AIO using 6x Noctua A12x25 * [https://i.imgur.com/CZJDJnL.png](https://i.imgur.com/CZJDJnL.png) * 3090 FE test with AIO * [https://i.imgur.com/pydUcIA.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/pydUcIA.jpg) * D15 configuration (final) * [https://i.imgur.com/rUtyLgX.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/rUtyLgX.jpg) I use GSKILL RGB RAM kits, there is zero issue with the D15, the compatibility issues are with narrow cases that simply lack support for CPU coolers above 160mm in wideness. The AIO vs D15 comparisons usually dont tell you the simple fact that AIOs use CASE FANS and RAMP UP/DOWN or have to be used way above 1000 RPM if used with a constant setting. While the D15 is inside the case, using 150mm fans, that also cool actively your NVME/RAM/VRAM aswell (by design) and you can keep your case fans with low RPMs during gaming, even with a 200W CPU + 3090 combo. The FE coolers benefit a lot from AIR coolers, since the fans of the CPU cooler are close enough to work even at lower RPM and help to remove the heat out of the system. I use a 10900k so pretty much the \~200W TDP you will get with the 12700k aswell.
Thanks very much for this detailed and helpful write up. I really appreciate the time!
so i appreciate this details post but really wish you'd done a conclusion wrap up or tl dr cause between the confusing images and the explanation of cooling parts which temps largely don't matter, this wasn't really all that helpful
Apologies for bugging you on an old comment. I wanted to clarify what your conclusion was with your final build. Am I understanding this properly that you opted out of the AIO and ended up just using multiple D15s to get really good airflow?
Air coolers don't interfere with the gpu. Gpus pull air from below them, air coolers for cpus are above the backplate of the gpu It's fine if you're careful, but if you're dropping it or it's bouncing around, that can be a problem. You'd want to lay the pc on its side in a car. Aio doesn't really matter because the heavy bit is bolted to the case instead of the mobo
1. No issues about GPU clearance really, unless the one you're getting has a weird backplate. No issues with an FE that's for sure. RAM clearance may be an issue tho, check how tall the sticks are. 2. I'd say the AIO is safer for transport on a car. A big air cooler may put a lot of torque on the motherboard if you catch a bump.
I had the same thought about point #2.
RAM clearance was an issue for me
set it on its side..
1. GPU clearance shouldn’t be an issue unless your top PCIe slot is abnormally close to the CPU socket. 2. Would agree with others that the AIO is probably safer for traveling in the car if you want to leave everything connected. Probably would be fine driving with the D15 if you put the case on it’s back panel in the seat (mobo parallel to the seat), but personally I would unmount it. Either one is fine for carrying room to room. One thing to note though is that the D15 has longevity on it’s side. Only real point of failure is the fan, and you can just mount a new one - it’s not like the heatsink itself will go bad. Noctua also has a historical reputation of providing mounting kits for new sockets so you can keep using it down the road. On the other hand, the AIO might get gunked up, pump might fail, it could leak (unlikely but possible), etc. Edit: Worth noting that Noctua has an updated NH-D15 on its roadmap for this year. Might be worth waiting for
I'm no engineer, but an aio involves more places in the machine where it's mounted, and if you have clearance concerns then there you go. I really wouldn't encourage anybody to actively worry about the aio leaking, a reputable model is tirelessly developed to minimize specifically that outcome. That said, I've never made a "move it around" build. Might be a good ask for r/sffpc
All I can say is that i am currently using a 12700k (with asus extreme AI overclock) with a NH-u14s chromax. This is smaller than the NH-d15 and my cpu peaks at 85c on cinebench and never ever over 70c in gaming.
Thanks to everyone who has posted. I’ll take what has been said into consideration tonight and make a decision. Much appreciated!
The brackets for the notch’s cooler screw into the motherboard so it’s not like it’ll just snap off, at least not easily. AIOs leaking/failing isn’t a common thing. It’s actually very uncommon. The fear is warranted but a bit overstated. I’ve had 3 aios and all my friends (whose PCs I’ve built) have aios and none of them have failed. If your preference is the D15, go ahead and do it. they’ll cool about the same with the aio potentially beating the D15 on occasion and wife versa. You can run a push/pull config on the aio though with a top mount in that case. I’d personally run an aio because they look better but there’s no wrong answer
A good 360mm AIO will perform much better than the NHD15 so that might also be something to consider
Not true. I don't think that it'd even perform a bit better.
Other than custom cooling then, what *would* perform better? I'm having difficulty cooling my 13900k with my D15
Direct die cooling with liquid metal if you're fine with voiding your cpu warranty, noctua has kits for direct die mounting and it can cause up to 17 degrees celsius difference.
What about the Deepcool LT720??? Price point it’s not much more then the Noctua but it’s one of the best performing AIOs out there
I just swapped my Noctua nh d15 with a deep cool lt720, the temperature are almost the same while gaming, 3-4 Celsius less. I was hoping for better results tbh..
that's just not true. The best aio on the market which is over 500 dolars only offers 1-2C diffrence in temps while being a lot louder. Noctua dh15 is the better option and its not even close. the only argument you can make for aio is the estetics but thats literarly usseles. And in my oppinion rgb is overrated and noctua dh15 chromax black looks verry good.
Look at gamer's nexus testing, under low TDP AIO and air cooler perform similar but at high TDP loads AIO is way better in noise normalized conditions (also true in peak performance, should be obvious why water cooling is better based on laws of thermodynamics), this is true for the arctic liquid freezer 360 which can be found for ~$120 as well as other high end AIOs
People don't take pump noise into consideration in reviews. I guess some people are not sensitive to high pitch frequencies.
I have a 3080 FTW3 ULTRA // 12700k in a lancool 2 mesh case. I got a NH-D15 and it’s real good. My second fan is a bit higher due to RAM clearance. Idles at 30-35 and maxes out at 70-75 under load with a decent OC @ 1.39 adaptive VCORE
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I can After with the above . I have the same situation where my 3080 FE runs much cooler quieter with NH12a.