AIO recommendation and thermal paste for i7-8700k

[IndyColtsFan]

I'm looking for recommendations on an AIO for a delidded i7-8700k. I was looking at the following coolers:

1) NZXT Kraken X62 (280 mm)
2) Arctic Liquid Freezer (240 mm)
3) Thermaltake Water 3 (240 mm)
4) Corsair H100i (240 mm)
5) Corsair H110 or H115 (280 mm)

I haven't selected a case yet but I'm leaning towards a gigantic Cosmos C700P. With that being said, I don't think I want to go above a 280 mm (top-mounted radiator for the Cosmos without removing the ODD cage) but if there is a 360 mm AIO that offers vastly better cooling, I'm all ears and could consider a front mount.

Or, would a NH-D15 give me equivalent performance to all the coolers I listed? If so, I'd probably just stick with air.

Also, any recommendations from the list of thermal compounds below?

ARCTIC MX4
Gelid Solutions GC-Extreme
Noctua NT-H1
Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut

I've traditionally been an Arctic Silver guy in the past and have used Noctua's paste as well, but just wondering what is the best paste to use with the AIO and my 8700k.

 

[bfun_x1]

That looks like an awesome case. I have the Cosmos 1000 and it's a tank. Fully loaded it has to be about 60 pounds.

Is having a non-conductive paste important to you? If so the Noctua might be best.

 

[Crono]

My vote is Arctic Freezer and NT-H1. Quiet cooler and easy applying paste, respectively.

EDIT: Arctic includes MX-4, which isn't bad.

 

[Campy]

Noctua NT-H1 and Kryonaut pastes are both really good, the other two I don't know. The D15 is a good cooler and it's quiet, if you have good case ventilation It should give you really nice temps. The D15 should include that paste when you purchase it, just in case you weren't aware.

In terms of performance all those AIOs are probably just fine, but if I recall correctly the Kraken is among the best AIOs in terms of noise output.

 

[XavierMace]

I've been happy with every NZXT AIO I've had (4 of them). No failures on any of them and NZXT's support has been fantastic. Sent an AM4 bracket at no charge for my X61, sent replacement mounting hardware at no cost because somebody lost parts like a dumbass. As always gets brought up, most of the AIO's are just rebranded Asetek pumps so quality is largely the same, it's just a matter of fans and software. I do believe the X61 and X62 has a NZXT specific pump. May still be an Asetek but I don't believe it's the exact same pump as on the comparable Corsair's. I could be wrong about that though.

With any AIO, it's worth replacing the fans if you don't mind the extra cost. Noctua iPPC's have consistently outperformed any of the fans included on any of the AIO's I've used (NZXT, Corsair, Thermaltake).

 

[IndyColtsFan]

That looks like an awesome case. I have the Cosmos 1000 and it's a tank. Fully loaded it has to be about 60 pounds.

Is having a non-conductive paste important to you? If so the Noctua might be best.

I've always loved the Cosmos cases - current rig is in a Cosmos S from 2008. I seriously considered reusing it for yet another generation but think it is time to move on and I'll keep my current rig alive for other uses.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

Thanks guys!

Noctua NT-H1 and Kryonaut pastes are both really good, the other two I don't know. The D15 is a good cooler and it's quiet, if you have good case ventilation It should give you really nice temps. The D15 should include that paste when you purchase it, just in case you weren't aware.

In terms of performance all those AIOs are probably just fine, but if I recall correctly the Kraken is among the best AIOs in terms of noise output.

Yeah, I have a smaller Noctua dual tower cooler on my small Ryzen 1700X build and I was excited when I realized it came with such high quality paste.

You guys may be wondering about that thermal paste list - well, that's from Silicon Lottery's QVL for Coffee Lake. I sent my CPU in to be delidded and binned. After I posted this, I realized that they only guarantee their results with 240 mm or greater AIOs.

@XavierMace - I'm a big fan (HA!) of Noctua fans. Is there a specific line or fan type I should be looking at in order to use on my AIO? Is it worth going push-pull? Also, what about the NZXT CAM software? I've read a lot of bad stories about it.

 

[XavierMace]

If you're going with a radiator using 140mm fans: https://www.amazon.com/Bearing-Cool...d=1509752512&sr=8-2&keywords=noctua+ippc+3000. I haven't had any issues running mine in just a push setup. I'd start with that.

This is probably going to unleash the flood gates here, but most of the complaints about CAM are FUD and/or straight up misinformation that keeps getting regurgitated over and over. Yes, CAM checks in with NZXT even when running in guest mode. NZXT has stated what it's reporting in and why. If you have a problem with that on principal, that's fine it your choice. Some users choose to believe they are lying and it's actually sending more than that. However, there's no facts to support that. The transmission is encrypted and I haven't seen anyone who's decrypted it. You'll also see people telling you it's checking in at an unbelievable rate. They post this data AFTER blocking the connection attempt. Which causes the application to keep trying over and over which naturally bloats the amount of connection attempts. If you just let it do it's thing, it sends less data than Steam, Origin, or Windows itself.

Source: Packet captures from my own system and monitoring the real time firewall log on my Sophos UTM.