Can a Corsair AIO single radiator cooler run for 18 hours a day for a couple years?

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element72

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Hi guys!

I am planning to switch from my very old CPU heat sink + fan setup to one of the Corsair AIO single radiator. I bought my heat sink back in 2009. I wanted to know if anyone has heard any common issues with the Corsair AIO when it comes to running your PC for long periods of time. Also, it would be important to know if people have killed their CPU because it somehow failed on them.

My reasons for switching below:
1) I hate having to pull out that heat sink just to dust it out. I think it would be easier to detach and dust off a radiator while the CPU block is still mounted.
2) I had to replace the fan on my Cooler Master V8 3 different times! On the 3rd time, I discovered the fan died because the PC wouldn't boot. I don't understand why Cooler Master sickle fans keep literally dying right after the 1yr warranty. I probably have had to replace like 6 in total (cpu and case fans).
 
I don't think you'll have any problems. Corsair makes good AIOs. If you can find a MTBF spec on the unit you're considering, that'll (sorta) answer your question.

Of course, keep in mind that whatever ambient conditions contributed to the deaths of your previous fans will also be in effect for the radiator fan on your new Corsair, but even a rad with no fan will still dissipate heat; you probably won't need to worry about a failure toasting your CPU before you notice it.
 
VanGoghComplex said:
I don't think you'll have any problems. Corsair makes good AIOs. If you can find a MTBF spec on the unit you're considering, that'll (sorta) answer your question.

Of course, keep in mind that whatever ambient conditions contributed to the deaths of your previous fans will also be in effect for the radiator fan on your new Corsair, but even a rad with no fan will still dissipate heat; you probably won't need to worry about a failure toasting your CPU before you notice it.
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Thanks for your input. Where can I find the MTBF. I noticed people have been able to get the MTBF on pumps, such as the one from the h100.
 
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element72 said:
Thanks for your input. Where can I find the MTBF. I noticed people have been able to get the MTBP on pumps, such as the one from the h100.
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Really, the pump is the only thing in the Corsair that's gonna fail. Fans might but they're replaceable. If you've got a MTBF on the pump in the Corsair you can treat that like it's for the whole unit.
 
My wife's computer has had a refurb Corsair H100i cooling it for the past 2+ years.

Was using it with an LGA1366 hex core XEON , and now it is being used with an LGA2011 hex core XEON

Once the fans start speeding up and getting loud, I know it is time to take it outside and blow out the dust with the air compressor.

All you have to do to keep the fans from getting damaged when using an air compressor is to keep them from spinning.

The corsair software is pretty sweet too since they pretty much finally got all the bugs worked out of it.

Super silent when not under load and even under load, it doesn't really get loud. This is with the stock corsair fans.


As for me, I am still using my super old Noctua NH-D14 with 2x 120mm dual ball bearing Rosewill fans.
 
How many threads are you going to post on basically the same set of questions?

I would give typical CLC pumps a lifetime of ~5 years of continuous operation. +/- 2 years depending on your luck.
 
My Corsair H60 ran for 5 years 24/7 before I sold the machine last summer to a friend, and now my brother has the machine and he runs it 24/7 as a Kodi server with no issue with the H60.
The H80i in my main rig has been running 24/7 since December of 2014, still working great.
 
Zepher said:
My Corsair H60 ran for 5 years 24/7 before I sold the machine last summer to a friend, and now my brother has the machine and he runs it 24/7 as a Kodi server with no issue with the H60.
The H80i in my main rig has been running 24/7 since December of 2014, still working great.
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An AIO is definitely good for 3-5 years.

You might want a standard heatsink if you plan on keeping it for a LONG time. There are some cases where you may not want to have a standard heatsink is if you move your case around much. I don't for this reason. Some units are MASSIVE and can cause stress to the motherboard.

Where as an AIO works, there's definitely more maintenance. But you can also throw your system around more if you're into that kind of thing.

It's give and take. They both have advantages.
 
I've been running a H50 24/7 for over 5 years, only powering down for cleaning two times a year and one hardware upgrade, and one or two power outages. Still keeps idle/ load temps like when I first installed it.
 
IKV1476 said:
I've been running a H50 24/7 for over 5 years, only powering down for cleaning two times a year and one hardware upgrade, and one or two power outages. Still keeps idle/ load temps like when I first installed it.
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I'm in the same boat. I bought an i5 2500k when they were ahem "new".. overclock to 4.5ghz.. and ran corsair H50 on it 24/7 until now.. it's still running.. no problems.. Usually under 40C idle and mid to high 50's under load.
 
My original Corsair H50 is the original launch model (that came with springs/screws instead of just screws only) that has been running since 2009. That computer is always running nonstop for gaming, work, and whatever.
 
My old work rig had an h55 running 24/7 (cooling a stock i7 3930k) for nearly five years with no issues.
 
I'm not convinced that detaching a radiator would be any easier from a cleaning perspective. In all the cases i have, it's a pain in the ass. Removing the fans from a heatsink and hitting the heatsink with an air duster would be way easier.

I'd just stick with the heatsink if I were the OP, and get some better fans - Noctuas,for instance.
 
dook43 said:
My original H110 pump died after 3 years in service.
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I'm still using my H110, the computer has ran 24/7/365 for the past 4 years or so.
One of the fans started making noise so I bought some "quiet" 3000rpm Noctuas as replacements.

I've been looking at swapping over to a custom loop but I want to see how my delidding attempt on this 4790k goes before I get too into the idea!
 
A custom loop would not be needed unless you were looking to get a beefier/hotter CPU and/or adding video cards.

Threadripper, for example, is too much for any AIO.
 
Yeah I'd be wanting to add my 1080ti or whatever other card down the line.

I'd rather have my GPU on water than my CPU if I had a choice.
 
I would say no. I am on my third H100i in the period of three years as it seems like the pumps commonly fail after about a year's worth of 24 / 7 use. The last pump failure cost me my 3930K. :( They are great coolers when they are working, but reliability doesn't seem to be Corsair's strong point. I ended up switching to a Coolermaster 212 Evo with my new CPU, and couldn't be happier. It's quieter than Corsair's offering, and temperatures are about the same as the H100i at stock speeds. Just not worth taking the chance of losing another CPU with Corsair's dismal quality control.
 
Ive been running an H100 since July 2011 with no problems. Fans and pump still work great.
 
loafer87gt said:
I would say no. I am on my third H100i in the period of three years as it seems like the pumps commonly fail after about a year's worth of 24 / 7 use. The last pump failure cost me my 3930K. :( They are great coolers when they are working, but reliability doesn't seem to be Corsair's strong point. I ended up switching to a Coolermaster 212 Evo with my new CPU, and couldn't be happier. It's quieter than Corsair's offering, and temperatures are about the same as the H100i at stock speeds. Just not worth taking the chance of losing another CPU with Corsair's dismal quality control.
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An entire thread of people with stellar reviews and you have had nothing but issues. Maybe there is an issue with the way you are mounting them or something. Second point, all current cpu's have thermal protection built in that shuts them down before damage happens. I am surprised you managed to blow a cpu up.

My opinion? It can run for a long time. I've been running my H100 since my 775 socket c2q about 6 years ago and it runs all day every day for that period. No pump whine, no leaks. Nothing.
 
I've been running a Corsair 100i for 5 years almost continuously with no problems. I have an older Corsair AIO with an old i7 930 CPU that has been running for 10 plus years. Also with no problems.
 
I had a Corsair AIO cooler h60 IIRC on my former I7-920 system that I sold in 2013 to a friend of mine. He’s still using it today with no issues. Both the I7 920 and that Corsair AIO unit were/are stellar products.
 
loafer87gt said:
I would say no. I am on my third H100i in the period of three years as it seems like the pumps commonly fail after about a year's worth of 24 / 7 use. The last pump failure cost me my 3930K. :( They are great coolers when they are working, but reliability doesn't seem to be Corsair's strong point. I ended up switching to a Coolermaster 212 Evo with my new CPU, and couldn't be happier. It's quieter than Corsair's offering, and temperatures are about the same as the H100i at stock speeds. Just not worth taking the chance of losing another CPU with Corsair's dismal quality control.
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3930k CPUs shouldn’t fail hard like that, they should just throttle. This has been the case since pentium 3 or 4 chips IIRC.

Nor should 3 Corsair AIO coolers fail in three years. I see stuff like this and I suspect more is at play than simple bad luck. Perhaps that’s all it is, but as a owner/user of multiple 212 heatsinks AMD multiple all in one coolers. There’s no contest to which can keep a superior overclock. If you aren’t over clocking hard it won’t matter though. 212 will work just fine!
 
I had a P4 4.0ghz when they first came out, ran whatever was the first 80mm aio on it bc nothing kept those cpus alive.

I ended up giving that box to a buddy, and they used it until like 2009 when the pump on the aio finally died. They decided single core just wasn't doing for them anymore, neither were the dual 6800 Ultras I originally used to Quake Arena.

So yeah, as long as you have fan filters that get cleaned once in a while your AIO will probably last longer than you think the CPU is relevant for anything more than Web browsing.

This is especially true now that it looks like we are going to see core count wars in the desktop space.
 
Has anyone taken apart one of these system after prolonged use and examined the heat exchanger? Do the sealed units suffer any fluid breakdown? Do any solids form or any type of corrosion/oxidation. Curious as I always have built my own systems and don't have the experience with the sealed units. I can only imagine they are maintenance free barring mechanical failure.
 
noxqzs said:
Has anyone taken apart one of these system after prolonged use and examined the heat exchanger? Do the sealed units suffer any fluid breakdown? Do any solids form or any type of corrosion/oxidation. Curious as I always have built my own systems and don't have the experience with the sealed units. I can only imagine they are maintenance free barring mechanical failure.
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They are certainly maintenance free barring mechanical failure (which is very rare) like you said. Of course you do need to clean the dust out of the radiator every so often but this goes without saying. I own 4 Corsair AIO: 2 H80i and 2 H100i. They've been running just under 3 years without a single issue.
 
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