AIO Coolers Question

[phillyman36]

Hey. I have a couple of questions on AIO coolers like the Swiftech H220

1) On average how long do they last?
2) What kind of maintenance is involved?
Reason i ask is eventually wont the liquid inside eventually evaporate? If it does how would you refill it since you cant see how much liquid is inside like the reservoir on a custom loop? On custom loops it is suggested to drain and clean it every 6 months. What about AIO? Do you just use it for a couple of years and then buy a new one?

Thanks for any replies

 

[dma0991]

1. It will last as long as the pump keeps pumping.
2. No maintenance unless tampered with.

The liquid should evaporate but I'm pretty sure the tubing provided is not very porous. It should take years before you'd notice a problem with the water level dropping. Even so, there's a fill port by the radiator which you could gauge by filling it to the brim. AIO uses specialized coolants which shouldn't need replacing for the lifetime of the product.

 

[aigomorla]

If thats what i think it is and its the apogee drive... then that is pretty close to a custom a setup.

That would probably destory corsair's AIO, and all the other competition in AIO because it uses high grade watercooling hobby parts.

The tubing is even larger then standard AIO's. Swiftech is considered one of the tier 1 LC companies.. meaning they specialize in LCing.. made a business to LC.

Gabe is also a great guy to talk to.... totally wouldnt expect him to be what u think of him as.


If you have the budget and you really want an AIO, i give you two thumbs up on this one. You could even throw a GPU block in your loop and have that type of system handle 1 cpu + 1 gpu without monster overclocks.

Something Corsairs AIO couldnt do.

Yup i was correct.. its the apogee drive... hence why these values are possible.
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/coolers/display/swiftech-h220_5.html#sect0

 

[crazymonkeyzero]

Hey. I have a couple of questions on AIO coolers like the Swiftech H220

1) On average how long do they last?
2) What kind of maintenance is involved?
Reason i ask is eventually wont the liquid inside eventually evaporate? If it does how would you refill it since you cant see how much liquid is inside like the reservoir on a custom loop? On custom loops it is suggested to drain and clean it every 6 months. What about AIO? Do you just use it for a couple of years and then buy a new one?

Thanks for any replies

1) They last pretty much last as long as the pump keeps ticking. This is typically~5years of use 24/7, if you get a good unit. But if you buy corsair, you get a 5 year warranty, so if pump does fail before then, they are supposed to replace it.

2) No maintenance required under intended use, other than possibly changing out fans if they die or you just want to.

I would install a program like core temp to monitor temps, that way I'd know whether or not the pump died. Many times your pump can die, but the pc can still function....just at a much higher than normal temperature.

Also may want to clean out rad every year or so if it accumulates dust...

 

[aigomorla]

no that aio has all the same responsibility a custom has.

thats why i said its close to a custom setup.

it has pvc grade tubing which means u will get evap though tubing.

u will need to top it off every 6-8months.

Its not difficult either cuz the res is built into the rad with a fill port.


you have these added responsibilities cuz this aio is not a real aio... its more of a make simple custom.

 

[crazymonkeyzero]

it has pvc grade tubing which means u will get evap though tubing.

u will need to top it off every 6-8months.

Is this true for corsair h100 as well? There is no fill port on it. Also it says its has evaporation free tubing. So I'm assuming water evaporation should not be a significant factor in performance of the product, at least in the lifetime of the pump/entire system. I don't know about the swifttech h220 though.

 

[aigomorla]

Is this true for corsair h100 as well? There is no fill port on it. Also it says its has evaporation free tubing. So I'm assuming water evaporation should not be a significant factor in performance of the product, at least in the lifetime of the pump/entire system. I don't know about the swifttech h220 though.

look at the tubing material.

If its a neoprene type... a plastic... or a non porous rubber material you'll get very little evap in a sealed and closed system.

The OP's system tho uses standard PVC type tubing.
Im guessing its probably tygon grade tubing which is naturally porous.

That means over time water will evap slowly out of the tubing as vapor and escape the system.

The top off rate wont be significant to merit you to stay away from it.
I am guessing u will probably lose at most 1mL of water per month... which is why i said every 6-8 months u may want to put a couple of drops back in.

At most you'll be putting in a capful every year unless u got a high temp system which will increase evap to a tiny bit more.