PC Building

[MrFunt]

Hi All,

I built my PC a few years ago and have decided to finally upgrade/replace a few things. One of the things I'm thinking about replacing is my Corsair H100i but I'm not sure if it's necessary. I've had it for about four years now and it still seems to be plugging along just fine but I'm curious about what the average timeline for replacing this unit is. Am I way past the recommended replacement time?

[Amber_AMD · Accepted solution]

Hi hello, @MrFunt ! 

So, I have heard it's best to replace liquid coolers around 3-6 years. But, if it's still keeping your CPU at a good temperature, I don't see the need to replace them. If it's not broke don't fix it kinda thing! 

I've also heard in conversations that there are ways to clean them and upkeep them, but that's something I haven't explored really.. plus scared to do honestly haha. 

Again, that's just my personal opinion though! There may be others in the community that have experienced different with a liquid cooler or have tips they recommend 🙂 

[MrFunt]

Thankfully it has been a trooper. I'm probably just gonna buy a new one when I start the new build. I'm also too nervous about tinkering with it haha

[Fragdad]

I 've always heard 5 or 6 years. I agree with Amber, if it aint broke don't fix it. One way to know would be to take it apart and clean it. Look for corrosion and decayed O-rings. Make sure you don't damage the fins and keep track of how it came apart. Your safest bet is to just go ahead and buy a new one. I would steer clear of the high dollar brands like Corsair. You can get a 360 AIO from DEEPCOOL for about $100 to $125. The thing to remember about AIO's is ASETEK owns the patent on AIO pumps so they are all basically the same design. Do your wallet a favor and save some money!

[MrFunt]

I'm mildly curious about building a custom loop but it's kind of intimidating and the H100i that I have has been perfect for the last few years. My Corsair cooler was about the same price, but I'll look into Deepcool and see if anything looks interesting. Thank you for the suggestion!

[ht_addict]

Dedicated loops are easy to do.  I do one on mine with soft tubing.  Never tried the hard tubing yet.  It is a tad more expensive