I've been using a custom water cooling loop for about 7 or 8 years, but my latest build is pretty cramped, making it tough to swap out components. So, I'm thinking about ditching the water cooling altogether for either an AIO or air cooling setup.
Right now, I'm running a Ryzen 7600 and an RTX 3080 inside a Fractal Design North case. I'm really keen on keeping everything quiet since I can't stand loud fans while gaming. Given these preferences, what do you think would be the best cooling solution for me? Here are some options I'm considering:
* Arctic Liquid Freezer III - 280mm (I'm debating whether I could fit the 360mm version up front, but I don't want to risk a return).
* Thermalright Royal Pretor 130
* DeepCool AK620 Zero Dark
Also, I'd like to know how the CPU cooler might impact my GPU since I'm not sure how good the Zotac cooler on my RTX 3080 is in terms of performance and noise. I'm open to any suggestions you might have!
3 Answers
I’ve got the Deepcool AK620 on a Ryzen 5 9600 with a mild overclock, and I barely hear it at all! I have to get super close to the fans to even hear them. It’s honestly the quietest cooler I’ve used yet.
The Arctic Liquid Freezer III is definitely one of the best AIOs out there right now, so you can't go wrong there. If you're concerned about noise and were able to do a custom loop budget-wise, I’d recommend a push-pull setup for low noise levels. Using 6 fans could really help keep things quiet!
I would’ve loved to invest in that setup, but I’m trying to keep costs low now. At least I have some spare Arctic fans lying around.
I'd say either of those air coolers you mentioned, especially the big Thermalright ones, would be a solid choice. They perform great and tend to be pretty quiet!
They do have a bunch of options, right? I'm leaning towards the Royal Pretor for its looks, but those price-to-performance ratios are crazy for these coolers!
That's one way to pitch a product, or maybe you're just a bit hard of hearing, lol!