Cited on HN 3 times, 2019–2021, never outright recommendedscore 0
Years with an HN recommendation, 2007–2026
HN cites it as evidence that a good air cooler matches pricier liquid cooling, so water cooling is often unnecessary.
Linus Tech Tips argues that big air coolers beat AIO liquid coolers for most PCs. They compare quietness and temperatures, using the Noctua NH-U12A as the example.
“Good air coolers match the performance of twice as expensive AIOs” (HN, 2021)
Linus Tech Tips recently published a video called "why you shouldn't water cool your PC"; they found that a Noctua NH-U12A ran cooler and quieter than an AIO liquid cooler. [this video]
Air cooler outperformed an AIO liquid cooler in quietness and temperature.
I'd expect it to be pretty high: given reviews, I went with the stock Wraith Prism, and it's been fine. If I did bump up, I'd go to a Noctua, as the water cooling just seems like theater. [this video]
> The motherboard is also their custom chipset It's a custom motherboard but not a custom chipset. The chipset comes from AMD. > I'd also be keen to swap the Ryzen 3700 for the newer series chip .. but have no clue whether that is possible on that motherboard If the chipset is A520, B550 or X570, you have Ryzen 5000 / Zen 3 support, though it probably requires a BIOS update. You might also have Zen 3 support on B450, B550A, X470 [0]. Check the BIOS release notes for your machine. > I made the mistake of not getting the system watercooled Most water cooled systems only water cool the CPU, which in your case (a 65W TDP CPU) is absurd. Good air coolers match the performance of twice as expensive AIOs [1] and have far less potential for breakage. > Also, can I say AMDs numbering makes no sense to me personally. The first digit is the generation. 1000 series -> Zen 1 architecture, 2000 series -> Zen+, 3000 series -> Zen 2, 5000 series -> zen 3. The higher the number after that, the better the CPU is within the generation (more cores/cache, higher frequency). [0] [link] [1] [this video]
Evidence that good air coolers match pricier AIOs.
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