I just scored a 5080 FE during the drop and I'm excited to build a new PC! My question is whether an air cooler or an AIO would be the better choice for a setup with a 9800X3D CPU and a 5080 FE GPU. I've heard the cooling design of the Founders Edition cards pushes hot air right into the CPU area. Is this an issue with the 5080 as well, like it is with the 5090FE? I'd really appreciate any advice or experiences you can share!
3 Answers
Honestly, either option will work fine. The cooling design on the 5080 isn't really going to make a significant impact on your choice.
An AIO cooler is usually going to outperform an air cooler, especially when set up as an intake. However, if you're just gaming, both types will deliver similar boost clocks with the 9800X3D. You’ll really only notice a difference under all-core workloads.
I'd lean towards an air cooler for better longevity and cost-effectiveness. If you go with an AIO, it's often mounted at the top as an exhaust, which means your GPU could end up pulling in warmer air. If you set it up as an intake, though, then the GPU will be running on hot air, and it’s generally more heat-sensitive than the CPU.
True, but keep in mind that while the AIO might be great for CPU cooling, it could negatively affect your GPU since it may end up sucking in hot air.