For real though. I stopped using AIOs after my last one decided to spring a leak and ruined my GPU / Motherboard which were never replaced by the manufacturer. It's only giant tower air coolers or maybe a custom loop one day if I feel like messing with one on my personal PC. The aesthetic of an AIO is nice, but you can't beat the reliability of air cooling unless you're running passive.
for a 13600k? any 240mm will be enough. but the absolute best would probably be arctic freezer ii or corsair AIO.
the only reason i dont recommend NZXT products is because CAM is very shit. some people dont like ICUE either but i never enocuntered a problem with it.
Water cooler is not necessary for i5, but if you want, EK AIO 240 seems to be a good choice. I'm using 13700k with Contact Frame + Deepcool AK620 at 100% fan, and stock PL1/PL2 it never seems to go over 96-97c = no throttle.
I suggest undervolting to lower the temps since Raptor Lake is crazy efficient at that.
I have an Alphacool Eisbaer 360 on my 12900K. For an i5 it is overkill, I would get something a bit smaller. What I like about Alphacool is that their radiators are made from copper and not a copper/aluminium alloy like most AiO's. Pure copper conducts heat a lot better. Also their AiO's are expandable. You can expand them to bigger loops if you want to in the future.
arctic 280mm aio
Nh d15 or u12a
For real though. I stopped using AIOs after my last one decided to spring a leak and ruined my GPU / Motherboard which were never replaced by the manufacturer. It's only giant tower air coolers or maybe a custom loop one day if I feel like messing with one on my personal PC. The aesthetic of an AIO is nice, but you can't beat the reliability of air cooling unless you're running passive.
This is why I was too scared to go with a water cooler, got an nhd 15 s instead, prob butchered the name a lot lmao
for a 13600k? any 240mm will be enough. but the absolute best would probably be arctic freezer ii or corsair AIO. the only reason i dont recommend NZXT products is because CAM is very shit. some people dont like ICUE either but i never enocuntered a problem with it.
Custom loop
Ek aio/ arctic liquid freezer are the best ones between performance and build quality.
Water cooler is not necessary for i5, but if you want, EK AIO 240 seems to be a good choice. I'm using 13700k with Contact Frame + Deepcool AK620 at 100% fan, and stock PL1/PL2 it never seems to go over 96-97c = no throttle. I suggest undervolting to lower the temps since Raptor Lake is crazy efficient at that.
Did you test thermals before adding the contact frame?
I have an Alphacool Eisbaer 360 on my 12900K. For an i5 it is overkill, I would get something a bit smaller. What I like about Alphacool is that their radiators are made from copper and not a copper/aluminium alloy like most AiO's. Pure copper conducts heat a lot better. Also their AiO's are expandable. You can expand them to bigger loops if you want to in the future.