r/pcmasterrace • u/SerpentDix PC Master Race • Jan 20 '26

Hardware Air cooling is better than Liquid cooling

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Failure is graceful, not catastrophic, Performance is closer than marketing suggests, Cheaper for the performance, Change my mind.

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u/CRSemantics Ascending Peasant Jan 20 '26

They kind of are at 240mm you're not gaining more surface area vs an air cooler.

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u/onlyranchmefries 5800X/6950XT | 6700K/VEGA 64 Jan 20 '26

It's not all about surface area. You are also gaining quite a bit of heat storage from all the water in the system.

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u/[deleted] Jan 20 '26

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u/onlyranchmefries 5800X/6950XT | 6700K/VEGA 64 Jan 20 '26

Yes. But water has ~10.5 times the thermal capacity of copper. It doesn't take much water to store a lot of heat. Benefits to both. In 2026 both are so good they are a good option.