What's an inexpensive AIO product line with a strong pump and low price?

[TPCEA]

I'm thinking of buying an inexpensive product line with 120mm, 140mm, 240mm, 280mm, 360mm AND 420mm AIOs. What product line isn't that expensive, has a strong pump (I don't care about the fans since I'll just swap them out if they're weak), and comes in all of those sizes? If it doesn't have all of them, what product line comes the closest to having the full range?



Alternatively, if I were to build all of them myself, what's the best place to buy the parts cheaply with good quality, if not great? They would have to be identical in every way possible, and mimic pre-built AIOs, so no extras like VRM fan, reservoir, waterflow meter, etc. - fans aren't a concern as I have hundreds. No LEDs as I've discovered that light moves so much faster than water that water actually (not) slows down in their presence!

This is for testing an entire product line. I am not going to build a custom loop, just make CLs that look as much like a standard AIO as possible.

 

[GerKNG]

Arctic Liquid Freezer II and III Series.

 

[Chomiq]

There's a reason why AIOs are popular and that's because they are way cheaper than building your own custom loop.

 

[TPCEA]

There's a reason why AIOs are popular and that's because they are way cheaper than building your own custom loop.

I know, but if it comes right down to it, it'd be kinda fun to skunk all the manufacturers with a superior line-up of my own. Still, that won't really help consumers, which is my goal.

 

[dgianstefani]

Inexpensive liquid cooling?

You're better off with air.

 

[TPCEA]

Inexpensive liquid cooling?

You're better off with air.

I am doing testing. Air coolers are not my goal, and I've got plenty of those to test already. Do you know any AIO product lines that meet my requirements?

 

[SL2]

Both inexpensive and low price?

Anyway, you can't go wrong with Arctic.

Arctic Liquid Freezer III 240 Black Review - Intel Contact Frame Included

Arctic has truly hit the mark with the Liquid Freezer III 240 Black. If you're seeking exceptional performance, features, and an impressive warranty at an affordable price, then your search ends here—especially if you're planning an AMD build.

www.techpowerup.com

 

[dgianstefani]

I am doing testing. Air coolers are not my goal, and I've got plenty of those to test already. Do you know any AIO product lines that meet my requirements?

The strong pump is the issue. Good luck finding one on even an expensive AIO (that's not a preassembled custom loop like EK and some others do).

Also, if you're expecting a long useful life or servicing (coolant top off etc) from a cheap AIO, you won't get it on a system that is actually consistently putting out heat load.

Something that does web browsing? a couple hours gaming every now and then? Sure.

An actual workstation that has heavy load for long hours frequently? Air or custom loops are the only reasonable options unless you enjoy replacing an ewaste AIO (that might just burst or leak) every three or so years, when the performance degradation becomes too severe.

As for bulk buying custom options, you'd have to speak directly to supplier.

A cheap copper rad from somewhere like Alphacool/Corsair (rebranded HWLabs) and a pump/res combo with a cheap block, or one of the reservoir/radiator/pump units you can buy so it's just tubing and a block, three parts.

Single metal is what you want for longevity, so full alu loop or full copper loop. Flushed and used with distilled water with some basic additives from a concentrate and you're good for years. Top off the coolant when needed.

 

[TPCEA]

Both inexpensive and low price?

Anyway, you can't go wrong with Arctic.

Arctic Liquid Freezer III 240 Black Review - Intel Contact Frame Included

Arctic has truly hit the mark with the Liquid Freezer III 240 Black. If you're seeking exceptional performance, features, and an impressive warranty at an affordable price, then your search ends here—especially if you're planning an AMD build.

www.techpowerup.com

Arctic is already raising their prices. I got the 360 for $90 and now it's $117. Apparently, they're too impatient to wait for May to raise their prices.

The strong pump is the issue. Good luck finding one on even an expensive AIO (that's not a preassembled custom loop like EK and some others do).

Example: Thermalright Frozen Notte and Frozen Magic Scenic V2. Both have such strong pumps that when I replaced the fans with Super Flower Megacools, there was ONLY a one degree improvement in the CPU temperature! Sadly, they don't sell the full range for these products or any of their other AIOs, and the Warframe series has 420 but an average pump.

Also, if you're expecting a long useful life or servicing (coolant top off etc) from a cheap AIO, you won't get it.

Again, I'm testing to see performance, not longevity. I don't have an extra PC to do that on.

 

[dgianstefani]

Both inexpensive and low price?

Anyway, you can't go wrong with Arctic.

Arctic Liquid Freezer III 240 Black Review - Intel Contact Frame Included

Arctic has truly hit the mark with the Liquid Freezer III 240 Black. If you're seeking exceptional performance, features, and an impressive warranty at an affordable price, then your search ends here—especially if you're planning an AMD build.

www.techpowerup.com

Yeah, good for low intensity builds for sure.

For the average gamer that's not playing more than a couple hours a day these are great. The contact frame for intel is a bit iffy.

Example: Thermalright Frozen Notte and Frozen Magic Scenic V2. Both have such strong pumps that when I replaced the fans with Super Flower Megacools, there was ONLY a one degree improvement in the CPU temperature! Sadly, they don't sell the full range for these products or any of their other AIOs, and the Warframe series has 420 but an average pump.

This could simply be due to being radiator limited, or CPU isn't putting out enough heat for better fans to make a meaningful difference. Not everything is pump, and most AIO have very thin radiators.

Models with thicker radiators typically have bottlenecks elsewhere, like weak pump, poor block or not enough coolant to deal with thermal spikes.

Again, I'm testing to see performance, not longevity. I don't have an extra PC to do that on.

For performance, it's the same things you want for longevity. Strong pump, thick single metal radiator/block with high surface area of fins and block, decent reservoir volume etc.

Also heat kills pumps, not just use, so the models with pump directly above the CPU block are inherently flawed.

darkFlash Twister DX 360 Ver 2.6 Review

darkFlash enters the AIO liquid cooler competition with the Twister DX-360 V2.6. Its utilization of an infinity mirror pump cap and fan design not only brings ample ARGB flair but also guarantees solid performance. This combination makes it an appealing choice without breaking the bank.

www.techpowerup.com

Fairly cheap and reasonable performance at least when new.
Check out TPU cooler reviews there's quite a few AIOs.

Mixed metals, can't be refilled and pump on block tho, so typical AIO issues.

 

[TPCEA]

This could simply be due to being radiator limited, or CPU isn't putting out enough heat for better fans to make a meaningful difference. Not everything is pump, and most AIO have very thin radiators.

Agreed. At that time, I wasn't running Prime 95, and Time Spy, Port Royal, Speed Way and Super Position didn't get it hot enough to make a difference. I see a retest coming up. XD

Would you rather have a thick or thin rad for cooling purposes?

Models with thicker radiators typically have bottlenecks elsewhere, like weak pump, poor block or not enough coolant to deal with thermal spikes.

True, but some of those things are not easy to detect from specs and visuals. Do you have any particular AIOs in mind that are poor like that?

For performance, it's the same things you want for longevity. Strong pump, thick single metal radiator/block with high surface area of fins and block, decent reservoir volume etc.

Not exactly. If the bearings aren't great, the pump won't last a long time, so no longevity. My TR Notte developed some harmonic resonances in the fans after about 3 months of use and testing. What res do you mean? I wasn't aware that pre-builts have a res. The Notte and Magic have a pump MTTF of only 40,000 hrs. Show me a complete series with all the right stuff and no stupid bling to mark up the price insanely on.

 

[AVATARAT]

Inexpensive liquid cooling?

You're better off with air.

It all depends on your skills if you want cheap water cooling
For AIO's, yeah, there aren't many ways.

 

[TPCEA]

Also heat kills pumps, not just use, so the models with pump directly above the CPU block are inherently flawed.

darkFlash Twister DX 360 Ver 2.6 Review

darkFlash enters the AIO liquid cooler competition with the Twister DX-360 V2.6. Its utilization of an infinity mirror pump cap and fan design not only brings ample ARGB flair but also guarantees solid performance. This combination makes it an appealing choice without breaking the bank.

www.techpowerup.com

Fairly cheap and reasonable performance at least when new.
Check out TPU cooler reviews there's quite a few AIOs.

Mixed metals, can't be refilled and pump on block tho, so typical AIO issues.

That and the sister brand, Aigo, just aren't that good, so I'm not surprised about that.

Mixed metals...Now there's an money-driven idiotic build!

 

[kapone32]

For me it is Thermalright. You can get a capable 360 for about $80 Canadian. That is like $58 US. The performance is on par with other AIOs cost double. Just look up any Thermalright post and you will see. I myself have bought like 5 AIOs in the last 6 months and they all have been Thermalright. From the 240 to 360 and a could of Spirit 140s as well.

 

[TPCEA]

For me it is Thermalright. You can get a capable 360 for about $80 Canadian. That is like $58 US. The performance is on par with other AIOs cost double. Just look up any Thermalright post and you will see. I myself have bought like 5 AIOs in the last 6 months and they all have been Thermalright. From the 240 to 360 and a could of Spirit 140s as well.

Unfortunately, only the Warframe series has a 420, and it doesn't have the small AIOs. AFAIK, none of the TR AIO product lines are comprehensive. I've been running the Notte 360 for the past 6 months and I'm very pleased with it.

 

[bug]

Both inexpensive and low price?

Anyway, you can't go wrong with Arctic.

Arctic Liquid Freezer III 240 Black Review - Intel Contact Frame Included

Arctic has truly hit the mark with the Liquid Freezer III 240 Black. If you're seeking exceptional performance, features, and an impressive warranty at an affordable price, then your search ends here—especially if you're planning an AMD build.

www.techpowerup.com

Good thing he didn't ask them to be cheap also. That would make it hard to find a match.

 

[kapone32]

Unfortunately, only the Warframe series has a 420, and it doesn't have the small AIOs. AFAIK, none of the TR AIO product lines are comprehensive. I've been running the Notte 360 for the past 6 months and I'm very pleased with it.

The least expensive 420 AIO I know about is the Alphacool Eisbear first generation directly from their website.

 

[freeagent]

I am pretty impressed with my Thermalright 360. It is better than their air coolers, but my system suffers overall with it installed because I do not have a top mount for it.

I ran mine pretty hard for about 6 months I guess? No problems to report. Though my H100 permeated pretty hard and did not last the test of time.

 

[TPCEA]

Good thing he didn't ask them to be cheap also. That would make it hard to find a match.

Are you trying to bug me?

The least expensive 420 AIO I know about is the Alphacool Eisbear first generation directly from their website.

Link please.

I am pretty impressed with my Thermalright 360. It is better than their air coolers, but my system suffers overall with it installed because I do not have a top mount for it.

I ran mine pretty hard for about 6 months I guess? No problems to report. Though my H100 permeated pretty hard and did not last the test of time.

Well, I know you like to bake your warez. Top mounting will NOT help - it was the worst position for the CPU - *4 degrees hotter than the best side mount, 3 degrees hotter than the best front mount, and 6 degrees worse with the following: front, tubes up, fans on the pull-intaking. I have the Corsair 5000x, so these are the changes I made to get it to be so cool (59 delta C): side mount position: blocked, top: no glass or mesh, front: mesh on, glass off.

If you have a significantly different case, you might get different results, but most of the valid reviews I've seen say that top sucks, except MSI said it's very good, and we know how good MSI is at AIOs. :O

*The best top-mount in my testing that I've mentioned above was pushing exhaust, tubes forward.

These are just the CPU delta in Celsius (no normal customer is going to use or understand Kelvin, so I don't bother. Besides, Lord Kelvin is dead, so I doubly don't care!). Results monitored with HWiNFO64.
Key
AIO Location
F)ront
S)ide
T)op

Tubes Orientation
U)p
D)own
F)ront
B)ack (not used due to space constraints)

Fan Orientation
I)ntake
E)xhaust

Graphics Card Location
V)ertical Mount
P)CIe slot (not yet tested)

Fan Location
Inner = on the radiator's inner-facing side (against case air)
Sandwich = between the radiator and the case

Testing
CPU temps came from Prime 95 Small FFTs, 1 hour.
GPU temps came from Time Spy.
Motherboard temps came from Time Spy, too.
VRM temps came mostly from Prime 95, but a tiny number of results (for the inner tests) came from Time Spy and Cinebench 2024 CPU Multi-Core benchmark.

More details on Bleeping Computer and YouTube.
Best to worst ranking based on CPU delta T, secondary sort for tie-breaking using the GPU delta T. Room temps ranged between 19-24, but were usually 21-23 C.
Configuration

FUIV-Inner - side blocked,top open, front mesh on, glass off	59
SUEV-Inner	60
SDEV-Inner	61
SUIV-Inner	61
FDIV-Inner	62
SDIV-Sandwich	62
FUIV-Inner	62
SUIV-Sandwich	62
SDEV-Sandwich	63
SDIV-Inner, top blocked, front open	63
SDIV-Inner	63
SDIV-Inner - top & front panels off, top mesh off	63
SUEV-Sandwich	64
TEFV-Inner	64
TIFV-Inner	64
FDIV-Sandwich	65
TEFV-Sandwich	65
FUIV-Sandwich	66
FDEV-Inner	67
FDEV-Sandwich	68
TIFV-Sandwich - panels & front filter off	68
FUEV-Sandwich	68
TIFV-Sandwich - no glass panels	68
TIFV-Sandwich - no top panel & front filter off, side blocked	69
TIFV-Sandwich - panels & front filter off, side blocked	69
TIFV-Sandwich - top panel off	69
TIFV-Sandwich	71
FUEV-Inner	72

 

[cvaldes]

There is no such thing as an cheap AIO with a powerful pump. They don't need to be. The manufacturer already knows the exact length of the loop and just needs a pump to handle that.

My guess is that these AIO manufacturers test several pumps while prototyping and select just one based on a balance of factors (performance, noise, cost, etc.). Most likely the same pump is used in multiple AIO radiator sizes so the smaller radiator sizes will have a pump that more than exceeds what is necessary to move coolant through the loop.

So if an AIO manufacturer offers 420, 360, 280, 240, 120 mm AIO radiator sizes, they will mostly just spec out a pump for the 420 mm radiator and know that everything else smaller will be well handled by that particular pump component.

Note that pump reliability isn't exclusively dependent on pump size; there are plenty of other factors involved (materials, build quality, manufacturing tolerances, design, whatever).

And as I've found out from fiddling with pump speeds in my various custom cooling loops as well as diddling with AIO pump speeds (via PWM or voltage), coolant flow velocity does not impact the cooling performance as much as fan speeds and selection.

That said, I have a number of AIOs in a variety of builds (not all AIO are currently being used) but the Arctic Liquid Freezer II product line performs very well (I have 240, 280, and 360 sizes of the LFII). There's also an LFIII 240 as well as older Cooler Master Master Liquid 240 and an old EVGA CLC 240. The latter is not particularly great (the coldplate design of this Asetek part is small) but currently it's on a Ryzen 5 5600X and is more than capable of handling this.

 

[pattesatan]

I bougt an alphacool 240 AIO, as Alphacool had the possibility to extend the AIO, and I bought another 240 radiator, prefilled, with the quickconnects they use on their AIOs, and then bought the extender tubes after I bought a Bykski waterblock for my R9 390, and that pump was good enough to run 2 240 rads, and a gpu waterblock with the aio pump.....

Link to the pump/cpublock:

https://www.aquatuning.com/en/watercooling/cpu-cooler/cpu-cooler/wac-alphacool-eisbaer-solo-2600rpm-black?currency=12

Very easy to fill up also.

 

[cvaldes]

I bougt an alphacool 240 AIO, as Alphacool had the possibility to extend the AIO, and I bought another 240 radiator, prefilled, with the quickconnects they use on their AIOs, and then bought the extender tubes after I bought a Bykski waterblock for my R9 390, and that pump was good enough to run 2 240 rads, and a gpu waterblock with the aio pump.....

Link to the pump/cpublock:

https://www.aquatuning.com/en/watercooling/cpu-cooler/cpu-cooler/wac-alphacool-eisbaer-solo-2600rpm-black?currency=12

Very easy to fill up also.

OP is asking for an "inexpensive" AIO with a strong pump.

$86 for just the pump doesn't really fall into the "inexpensive" category in my book. Hell for $86, you can buy a whole 360mm AIO (including radiator and fans).

 

[dgianstefani]

I bougt an alphacool 240 AIO, as Alphacool had the possibility to extend the AIO, and I bought another 240 radiator, prefilled, with the quickconnects they use on their AIOs, and then bought the extender tubes after I bought a Bykski waterblock for my R9 390, and that pump was good enough to run 2 240 rads, and a gpu waterblock with the aio pump.....

Link to the pump/cpublock:

https://www.aquatuning.com/en/watercooling/cpu-cooler/cpu-cooler/wac-alphacool-eisbaer-solo-2600rpm-black?currency=12

Very easy to fill up also.

I had one of these too. Temps were... OK. It's nice they're expandable and I think pure copper. But still pretty weak pump and mounted on the CPU socket. Wouldn't imagine CPU plus GPU temps would be great.

OP is asking for an "inexpensive" AIO with a strong pump.

$86 for just the pump doesn't really fall into the "inexpensive" category in my book. Hell for $86, you can buy a whole 360mm AIO (including radiator and fans).

Yeah well OP is asking for something that doesn't exist.

He wants all the perks of a custom loop performance wise, without any of the cost. Good luck

https://www.techpowerup.com/review/ekwb-predator-280-qdc/

Something like this is the closest I can think of, but it's not cheap. You can't have both cheap and good pump etc.

Radiator mounted DDC from what I can tell.

 

[cvaldes]

Yeah well OP is asking for something that doesn't exist.

He wants all the perks of a custom loop performance wise, without any of the cost. [truncated for clarity and brevity]

I don't think the OP really wants to go into the whole custom cooling bit because it is never cheap. You're still probably spending close to $150-200 with dirt cheap & sketchy components (pump, radiator, fans, reservoir, fittings, tubing) which is well north very capable 360mm AIOs (which would come with a multi-year warranty).

My guess is that the Cooler Master MasterLiquid AIO family is very close to fulfilling the basic criteria. I have an old 240mm model that is still working fine cooling a Ryzen 5800X.

But there's nothing on this planet that will check off all of the OP's feature wishlist.

 

[TPCEA]

There is no such thing as an cheap AIO with a powerful pump. They don't need to be. The manufacturer already knows the exact length of the loop and just needs a pump to handle that.

Please explain the qualities of the TR Frozen Notte and Magic Scenic V2, because they have very strong pumps with 5300 RPM, 1500 nL/min flow and 1.5M lift (head), and the AIOs are less than $75. My guess is there's something substandard aside from the fans being average and producing harmonic tones sometimes. The pump's MTBF is 40,000.

My guess is that these AIO manufacturers test several pumps while prototyping and select just one based on a balance of factors (performance, noise, cost, etc.). Most likely the same pump is used in multiple AIO radiator sizes so the smaller radiator sizes will have a pump that more than exceeds what is necessary to move coolant through the loop.

So if an AIO manufacturer offers 420, 360, 280, 240, 120 mm AIO radiator sizes, they will mostly just spec out a pump for the 420 mm radiator and know that everything else smaller will be well handled by that particular pump component.

That's a compelling theory, and would certainly mean they could get bulk discounts on the pumps they chose.

Note that pump reliability isn't exclusively dependent on pump size; there are plenty of other factors involved (materials, build quality, manufacturing tolerances, design, whatever).

Yeah, same with fans - lots of variables.

And as I've found out from fiddling with pump speeds in my various custom cooling loops as well as diddling with AIO pump speeds (via PWM or voltage), coolant flow velocity does not impact the cooling performance as much as fan speeds and selection.

Funny you should mention that, because I just wrote about this to dgianstefani above: "Thermalright Frozen Notte and Frozen Magic Scenic V2. Both have such strong pumps that when I replaced the fans with Super Flower Megacools, there was ONLY a one degree improvement in the CPU temperature!" So, how come I didn't get significant improvement with one of the best consumer fans currently available? Yes, it could be that the testing didn't make my CPU hot enough, and I'll get around to testing that theory with Prime 95. Is there anything else you can think of?

I had one of these too. Temps were... OK. It's nice they're expandable and I think pure copper. But still pretty weak pump and mounted on the CPU socket. Wouldn't imagine CPU plus GPU temps would be great.


Yeah well OP is asking for something that doesn't exist.

He wants all the perks of a custom loop performance wise, without any of the cost. Good luck

https://www.techpowerup.com/review/ekwb-predator-280-qdc/

Something like this is the closest I can think of, but it's not cheap. You can't have both cheap and good pump etc.

Radiator mounted DDC from what I can tell.
View attachment 344772

Nah, if I wanted all the perks, I'd be looking for an AIO with stellar fans on it. I'd be quite happy to buy the whole Frozen Notte line...except it's not complete. So, maybe you're right in that a full product line doesn't exist, but there are at least two product lines (TR) that meet my other criteria....And are inexpensive. ;P

I don't think the OP really wants to go into the whole custom cooling bit because it is never cheap. You're still probably spending close to $150-200 with dirt cheap & sketchy components (pump, radiator, fans, reservoir, fittings, tubing) which is well north very capable 360mm AIOs (which would come with a multi-year warranty).

My guess is that the Cooler Master MasterLiquid AIO family is very close to fulfilling the basic criteria. I have an old 240mm model that is still working fine cooling a Ryzen 5800X.

But there's nothing on this planet that will check off all of the OP's feature wishlist.

Which things does the CM ML series not check off (I realize that some of the sub-variants are not particularly good)?

I don't think the OP really wants to go into the whole custom cooling bit because it is never cheap.

Correct. It's just a last-ditch choice.