# Good 280mm radiator AiO?



## RejZoR (Aug 19, 2018)

I just pulled a trigger on Silverstone's Kublai case (finally found a case that does the airflow and noise dampening right on front and top without stupid glass windows) and realized it would be smart to fit a 280mm radiator on top of it and move everything to 140mm realm. Only problem is, most 280mm radiator AiO coolers seem to perform worse than Nepton 120XL that I have currently. Especially BeQuiet Silent Loop 280 which was my first go to option since I like BeQuiet stuff, but in few tests that I read, it performed really poorly. Quietest, but performance was suffering because of it.

Only other two options I can think of are CM MasterLiquid Pro 280 and Corsair Hydro H115i Pro 280 (which has an awkward SATA power connection, but I guess I could work it out). These both come with one of best fans one can ask for, so that's certainly a huge plus and which would save me from buying a pair of extra SilentWings 3... Any other recommendation?


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## cucker tarlson (Aug 19, 2018)

NZXT X62,if that's not too expensive.Good performer,quiet,and 6 years of warranty.


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## xkm1948 (Aug 20, 2018)

I used the X62 on a 1950X build. Very good quality. Only problem is I don't like the CAM software.

I would also recommend EVGA CLC 280 if you dont want any of the RGB shit.


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## RejZoR (Aug 20, 2018)

Is CAM necessary to use anyway? I always connect AiO in such a way that pump works at 100% at all times and fans are connected to motherboard so I control my own curve via BIOS anyway. Is RGB nonsense off if you don't use any software or is it ON by default? The case is blacked out anyway, but I prefer if RGB things are off by default if no software used.


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## HUSKIE (Aug 20, 2018)

bling bling on X62 aio can be controlled using CAM software even speed of pump or fans.


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## RejZoR (Aug 20, 2018)

No, I'm asking if all the bling crap is OFF by default if you don't use the CAM thing...


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## DarkHill (Aug 20, 2018)

i would opt for the H115i instead - no cam software and  based on the same asetek product.


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## Caring1 (Aug 20, 2018)

RGB on pumps and fans usually has separate wires to connect them, so leave it unplugged if you don't want it.


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## DeathtoGnomes (Aug 20, 2018)

i prefer a software fan control over BIOS. SpeedFan is awesome if you dont have RGB.


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## RejZoR (Aug 20, 2018)

I don't. I had it with Antec and software support was bad. With BIOS, it's OS independent and it just always works as you set it. Especially since I have separate CPU and System sensors so I can tie fan operation to CPU temperature or System temperature. For everything. Which is very flexible.

I'm frankly leaning towards MasterLiquid Pro 280, CoolerMaster makes some really good AiO's, but they are really hard to find where I'm looking for them.


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## Vayra86 (Aug 20, 2018)

Be wary that Krakens have not been free of issues. NZXT customer service is OK at fixing it though, luckily. But they've had some very high fail rates at times.
If you turn off the RGB, don't bother IMO. Its the usp of the Kraken really, and the reason its so expensive.


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## DeathtoGnomes (Aug 20, 2018)

RejZoR said:


> I don't. I had it with Antec and software support was bad. With BIOS, it's OS independent and it just always works as you set it. Especially since I have separate CPU and System sensors so I can tie fan operation to CPU temperature or System temperature. For everything. Which is very flexible.
> 
> I'm frankly leaning towards MasterLiquid Pro 280, CoolerMaster makes some really good AiO's, but they are really hard to find where I'm looking for them.


Antec software was shit to begin with, no wonder you shy away from all software now. Hah!


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## RejZoR (Aug 20, 2018)

I'm shying away from it because I don't need or want it. BIOS just works better and is 100% independent and zero compatibility issues with stupid drivers.


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## Caring1 (Aug 20, 2018)

RejZoR said:


> I'm frankly leaning towards MasterLiquid Pro 280, CoolerMaster makes some really good AiO's, but they are really hard to find where I'm looking for them.


I have the 240 version and can vouch for it so far.


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## thebluebumblebee (Aug 20, 2018)

https://www.alphacool.com/Eisbaer (would allow for adding your GPU if you wanted)
Reviewed here: https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Alphacool/Eisbaer_240/


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## RejZoR (Aug 20, 2018)

But that's 240. The reason I'm now picking 140mm fans is their acoustic profile. SilentWings 3 140mm can run at 1600RPM and is not annoying at all while pushing a lot of air. 120mm fan is significantly more annoying. In general 140mm ones have a much more pleasing noise profile.

EDIT;
Oh, they also have 280 version. Although their fans are a bit cheap, only sleeve bearing? I have bad experience with high temperatures and sleeve bearing fans. And their oil chamber will be pressing against the radiator...


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## Dinnercore (Aug 27, 2018)

I use a corsair aio and can only recommend it if you don´t mind spending extra and replace the fans. Have the H110i on my R7 1800x, it is oc´ed and spits out some heat that the H110 dealt with for over a year without degrading so far. But the fans were much to loud. Those fans were by far the most noise even when spinning at low rpm.
I ended up paying extra and replacing them, not really ideal.


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## Deleted member 67555 (Aug 27, 2018)

I use a Kracken x42 and a Corsair H110i and I honestly prefer CAM over the Corsair software.

You can do everything in CAM,monitor, OC etc... Very nice software suite.
The bling is nice.

I also agree with @Dinnercore  if you go Corsair replace the fans... They are alright but aren't what I consider "good"


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## cucker tarlson (Aug 27, 2018)

Disregard it if you have decided against air cooling, but when it comes to cooling cpu and all components around it while being silent, clcs just can't f**k with air

cpu temps under load






ram






vrm






noise







also,remeber those temps you see on clc tests are either with open test bench or clc as front intake. Once you position the clc on top it will get worse, by 6-8 in this test (na górze - top exhaust, z przodu - front intake)


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## phanbuey (Aug 27, 2018)

cucker tarlson said:


> Disregard it if you have decided against air cooling, but when it comes to cooling cpu and all components around it while being silent, clcs just can't f**k with air
> 
> cpu temps under load
> 
> ...


the same can be said about aircoolers... which are great on a open test... but as soon as they're in a case they have to use hot air...

At lease with a CLC you can use it as an intake and temps won't suffer.

They dont make a 280 but the reeven naia 240 looks like an awesome cooler, and is refillable.


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## cucker tarlson (Aug 27, 2018)

phanbuey said:


> the same can be said about aircoolers... which are great on a open test... but as soon as they're in a case they have to use hot air...
> 
> At lease with a CLC you can use it as an intake and temps won't suffer.
> 
> They dont make a 280 but the reeven naia 240 looks like an awesome cooler, and is refillable.


only this one was tested in closed case and air still looks better than most clcs temps/noise,while having a very good impact on ram and vrm and lower price.


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## StrayKAT (Aug 27, 2018)

RejZoR said:


> Is CAM necessary to use anyway? I always connect AiO in such a way that pump works at 100% at all times and fans are connected to motherboard so I control my own curve via BIOS anyway. Is RGB nonsense off if you don't use any software or is it ON by default? The case is blacked out anyway, but I prefer if RGB things are off by default if no software used.



Are you asking this about RGB in general? I can tell you the Corsair Hydro auto defaults to cycling RGB.. you'll need iCUE to turn it off or set to one color.


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## phanbuey (Aug 27, 2018)

https://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/8494/reeven-naia-240-cpu-cooler-review/index6.html

this one beats out the nhd15 slightly and is really quiet... (not as quiet as the d15 but still very good).

if you read the reviews around the web (including the TPU one) it actually competes with the 280s well, and beats out a few of them, and doesnt have that annoying dry up issue that the other clcs have.

One more thing that's bad with clcs is that performance does degrade over time...  Air coolers do not.  This at least gets it a bit closer to a quiet low end custom loop.


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## Hood (Aug 27, 2018)

RejZoR said:


> I just pulled a trigger on Silverstone's Kublai case (finally found a case that does the airflow and noise dampening right on front and top without stupid glass windows) and realized it would be smart to fit a 280mm radiator on top of it and move everything to 140mm realm. Only problem is, most 280mm radiator AiO coolers seem to perform worse than Nepton 120XL that I have currently. Especially BeQuiet Silent Loop 280 which was my first go to option since I like BeQuiet stuff, but in few tests that I read, it performed really poorly. Quietest, but performance was suffering because of it.
> 
> Only other two options I can think of are CM MasterLiquid Pro 280 and Corsair Hydro H115i Pro 280 (which has an awkward SATA power connection, but I guess I could work it out). These both come with one of best fans one can ask for, so that's certainly a huge plus and which would save me from buying a pair of extra SilentWings 3... Any other recommendation?


The chart position of any AIO cooler is really dependent on the fans and fan profiles being used, so I recommend the cheapest Corsair 280mm rad, and replace fans with Noctua or Corsair ML, since the stock fans suck.  Corsair because my H110 has been running flawlessly and silently for 4 years now, with no loss of performance.  I'm using Noctua NF-P14s redux-1500 PWM fans, powerful, quiet, no brown color.


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## phanbuey (Aug 27, 2018)

Hood said:


> The chart position of any AIO cooler is really dependent on the fans and fan profiles being used, so I recommend the cheapest Corsair 280mm rad, and replace fans with Noctua or Corsair ML, since the stock fans suck.  Corsair because my H110 has been running flawlessly and silently for 4 years now, with no loss of performance.  I'm using Noctua NF-P14s redux-1500 PWM fans, powerful, quiet, no brown color.



If you dont like the brown color the phanteks fans do really well and are dead silent too...
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod...VHYGzCh01NQ4kEAQYASABEgJJfPD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds


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## DeathtoGnomes (Aug 28, 2018)

cucker tarlson said:


> Once you position the clc on top it will get worse,


This is misleading because it depends on fans and flow direction. If fans are postioned as intake while installed at the top, ya you're gonna get higher temps.


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## cucker tarlson (Aug 28, 2018)

DeathtoGnomes said:


> This is misleading because it depends on fans and flow direction. If fans are postioned as intake while installed at the top, ya you're gonna get higher temps.


Has anyone ever tried this ? Place the clc on the bottom of the case as intake (lift it a little so it has breathing space), install second fan as pull, install a fan on the bottom of the front of the case as exhast.Put a duct on the exhast syetm,like one thermalright hr22 or tr zero comes with.

https://www.google.com/search?clien...1j0i8i30k1.0.uA0WITCjHJk#imgrc=HBNo-7iBP9DyuM:







It might be interesting,though I can imagine it requires long tubes and cutting holes in the duct.


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## RejZoR (Aug 28, 2018)

I have a similar arrangement, but inverted. I have the AiO radiator on top, 3x140mm blowing air into the case and AiO is right next to them on top, so it's getting all the nice cold air pretty much directly.


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## cucker tarlson (Aug 28, 2018)

RejZoR said:


> I have a similar arrangement, but inverted. I have the AiO radiator on top, 3x140mm blowing air into the case and AiO is right next to them on top, so it's getting all the nice cold air pretty much directly.


That even better than what I scribbled. I honestly would stick to that and not get a 280mm.


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## jboydgolfer (Aug 28, 2018)

my corsair H110 GTXi is really nice. but i dont know if they make it any longer, or if its under a different name. cools everything , really well. my 8600K @ 5.3Ghz never broke 63C iirc.


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## Dinnercore (Aug 28, 2018)

cucker tarlson said:


> Has anyone ever tried this ? Place the clc on the bottom of the case as intake (lift it a little so it has breathing space), install second fan as pull, install a fan on the bottom of the front of the case as exhast.Put a duct on the exhast syetm,like one thermalright hr22 or tr zero comes with. [...]



Sorry for a little off-topic but yes I tried that in my current build but without the duct. I have a Thermaltake Core X9 where the motherbord tray acts like a separation plate:






So I have the GPU-rad intake at the bottom and right next to it at the lower backside I have an exhaust fan. This works pretty well, when my GPU heats up its own loop, water temp climbing to 38 °C, I can feel a lot of warm air exiting right there. It is not a perfect separation since the 420 radiator is a bit too long to be covered completly and some warm air get´s into the case as well.
My CPU-loop while gaming maitains up to 8°C lower water temp then the GPU. And I measure the air temperature in 12 positions in my case too, including the air temp passing the radiators. I can see 4-5 °C separation from the air exiting my GPU rad and the air going into my top radiators (exit) for CPU.


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## jboydgolfer (Aug 28, 2018)

Dinnercore said:


> Thermaltake Core X9



 Those are great to build in ,I love 'em.   I have one of the lesser version that I bought for my nephew ,the same basic design, just mine has less options .


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## DeathtoGnomes (Aug 28, 2018)

cucker tarlson said:


> Has anyone ever tried this ? Place the clc on the bottom of the case as intake (lift it a little so it has breathing space), install second fan as pull, install a fan on the bottom of the front of the case as exhast.Put a duct on the exhast syetm,like one thermalright hr22 or tr zero comes with.
> 
> https://www.google.com/search?clien...1j0i8i30k1.0.uA0WITCjHJk#imgrc=HBNo-7iBP9DyuM:
> 
> ...


As long as there is good and unrestricted air flow, you can put the radiator on the bottom. You still might see a couple degrees higher than if exhausting.


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## TheHunter (Jan 16, 2019)

Hey,

So what did you get in the end?

I'm also looking for a new 280mm rad, I have cooler master haf 932 adv, but I ordered 120to 140mm fan mounts (bitspower @caseking) , the case has holes for 240mm but space for 280mm on top .. so far I narrowed it down to these

1) corsair h115i pro (best noise/perf)
2) cryorig A80 (great and cools vrm, a bit noisy - I use aisuite for fan control atm for h90 in p/p)
3) kraken x62 (seems good)
4) ?
5) asus ryujin 240 / fractal celsius s24


Was about to order ekwb mlc 240 Phoenix - winter sale whole set just 150e, but then I saw tubing issues with them quick connects and filling liquid - air noise bubbles.


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## Splinterdog (Feb 2, 2019)

Sorry for hijacking this thread, but I'm curious about any advantages of a 280mm AIO (if any) over 240mm.
I'm planning to replace my rather old H100i version 1 (2014) with a new H100i. Both will fit into my Storm Trooper, but if it's a mater of one or two degrees for the extra money, I'm not sure if it will be worth it.


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## cucker tarlson (Feb 2, 2019)

Splinterdog said:


> Sorry for hijacking this thread, but I'm curious about any advantages of a 280mm AIO (if any) over 240mm.
> I'm planning to replace my rather old H100i version 1 (2014) with a new H100i. Both will fit into my Storm Trooper, but if it's a mater of one or two degrees for the extra money, I'm not sure if it will be worth it.


performance wise it is a mattter of a couple of degrees,but 280mm clc with 2x140mm should be queiter at the same time and that's the main advantage imo.


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## F7GOS (Feb 5, 2019)

FWIW, I have a few versions of the Raijintek ORCUS, the 240mm is the mainstay in my main rig and keeps the Ryzen 1700 under check at 4.0Ghz no problem and I know they also do a 280mm version too.


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## John Naylor (Feb 17, 2019)

The only ones I can recommend are the EK and Swiftech models ..... AlphaCool has one too but I forgot why I didn't like it 

If ya wanna see the difference between 240 and 280 look here:

https://tpucdn.com/reviews/Scythe/Fuma/images/temp_oc_aida64.png
https://tpucdn.com/reviews/Scythe/Fuma/images/fan_noise_100.png


The EB 280 Predator manages 65C @ 43 dbA
The EB 240 Predator manages 67C @ 50 dbA

Does it matter ? ... @ 2 C not that bigga deal at 7 dbA ...H U G E deal, thats 62% louder.

Not hat I can recommend the EK's because they were up up over $200 but the Swiftechs were $150 and $165 for the last generation ... They have not, at least as yet, relased a 280mm in the new design.


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