Phanteks PH-TC14PE vs ID-Cooling Auraflow RGB 240MM

So I won a competition and got a ID-Cooling Auraflow RGB 240MM AIO unit that's going into my lads machine.
It arrived today and I decided to run it in my own system to see how it compared to my Phanteks PH-TC14PE

first impressions of the cooler is its a nice bit of kit. its fairly straight forward to fit and looks good fitted.




so basic system specs are..
4790k @ 4.6Ghz 1.25 vcore
16gb 2400Mhz kingston
Msi 980ti gaming 6g

so first I noticed was the 980ti idled lower I think this is due to not having the big heat sink above it.
I ran heaven just to see how the 980ti would benefit.
CPU temps were identical during the run but the 980ti was 2c lower.

during idle the CPU was between 2c to 3c higher with the 240mm AIO than it was with the phanteks.

I ran realbench for 15 minutes.

this is the AIO


heres the Phanteks


so the Phanteks wins by a few c I know it wasn't a lot but its the difference by being under 80c plus it was quieter..

Its now in my lads system as he was running a stock cooler.

Good work James. Looks a nice bit of kit, interesting that although the cpu temp was marginally higher the gpu was lower. So the new cooler isn't quite as efficient at getting heat away from the cpu but its better at getting it out the case and lowering the ambient temp.

I'm wondering if the GPU temp is down to more space in the case due to not having the big cooler there. So this would allow better airflow above the GPU

yeah probably a combination of both, that big cooler would have been allowing hot air to build up just above the GPU I bet!

So ive had another play with this in my system..
after seeing a video on youtube where the boy tested an AIO cooler in a few placements he found best results with it fitted to the front of the case used as an intake..

So I decided I would give this a bash. I used the Noctua fans to try and give it a fighting chance.

so what have I found..

Idle the CPU sits around the same as it does with the PH-TC14PE, The GPU sits a few c lower.
load.. the CPU is 1 or 2 c lower and the GPU is a few C lower..

so now the question lies.. is a few c worth the extra noise?
Im used to my system being pretty silent. with the AIO fitted its not.. Plus ive lost my Blu Ray burner.. I cant remember the last time I used it but ive had it there for a while..

How long does the test take?

Nik wrote:

How long does the test take?

as I was just testing it to see if the temps were better or worse I used realbench for 15 minutes. I already know my overclock is stable so just wanting an idea of temps.

the noise of the AIO has put me off as compared to my Phanteks PH-TC14PE its noisy even at idle.

hm, as compairing the temps shows that there is not a big difference, so I would change it back to keep the noise down...

Nik wrote:

hm, as compairing the temps shows that there is not a big difference, so I would change it back to keep the noise down...

Yea I'm inclined to agree with you Nick. I've also fitted a cooler master 212 Hyper to my lads system while I was trying out the AIO again in mine. I'm thinking the phanteks will be back in my system before the days out.

I would agree, not worth the noise. Possibly worth it if it was performing much better and giving you more overclocking head room.

Vampire wrote:

I think it is worth getting an AIO if you have a smaller case or a case with bad air flow, because otherwise the ambient temperature in the case would be higher since an air cooler just spits out the hot air in to the case and the AIO spits it out the top of the back (most of the time).

I agree with you there. My old Zalman Z9 case was like that. I got best results from that case using an H80i but since going to the case I have now I've found its best suited to an air cooler.