Is a liquid-cooled PC worth it?

Liquid-cooled systems look amazing, but come at a cost premium compared to air coolers.

Dave Meikleham for Engadget We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

A liquid cooling system can be one of the star components of a custom-built gaming PC, but are they really worth the money? After all, they're usually a lot more expensive than traditional air coolers. AIO (all-in-one) liquid cooling systems often look flashy and can sometimes be tricky to install, but there's a reason they're all the rage with high-end PC builders.

Let's get into how liquid coolers work, the main differences between them and traditional heatsink models, and when it makes sense to opt for an AIO system over a tried-and-true air cooler.

Dave Meikleham for Engadget At their core, both liquid and air coolers perform the same function: they move heat away from a PC's CPU. Where they differ is in the methods used to transfer the heat. Air coolers use a heatsink and pipes to regulate a processor's temperature, whereas liquid systems use coolant. Air coolers are generally simpler in their makeup than AIO models, consisting of only a cold plate, pipes, a fan and a heatsink. Liquid coolers are a little more complicated, being composed of a plate, pump, tubing, coolant, a separate radiator and accompanying fans.

Liquid coolers are typically aimed at a different market than their air alternatives. AIO systems are good for high-end gaming PCs where 4K output at console-beating frame rates is the priority. Aiming for 120FPS gameplay in Ultra HD puts a lot of load on the CPU. To prevent overheating and thermal throttling, a liquid cooler with a large radiator dissipates heat more effectively than an air cooler. On the flipside, while air coolers aren't as well-suited for top-of-the-line gaming processors, they're ideal for budget or mid-range PCs where the CPU is less likely to be under constant heavy load.

Dave Meikleham for Engadget A liquid cooler regulates the heat of a CPU by directing heat away from the processor via a water block, cooling pump and a radiator. When you install a CPU for the first time, you apply thermal paste to the top of the chip to help the cooler transfer heat more effectively. Once the paste has absorbed heat, it's passed onto the water block's copper plate, whereby the heat is transferred into liquid.

After this step, the cooler's pump directs this liquid towards the radiator, which is most commonly installed above a PC's motherboard. Once the liquid reaches the radiator, the heat from the coolant is dissipated by its fans, and the newly cooled liquid is then sent back to the water block in a cycle that constantly repeats whenever your PC is running.

Custom loop cooling systems work a little differently. Unlike an AIO unit where all the components come in the box, custom loops let you choose every part of the cooler (including the water block, radiator, tubing, fans and reservoir. The reservoir is what stores the system's coolant while also feeding the pump. If you like, you can also set up custom loops to cool more than just the CPU.