Octopus Overlords

I have a DEEPCOOL Captain 120EX 120mm Liquid CPU Cooling System cooler that is in my PC built in 2017. Is it a ticking time bomb? Would the pump fail before leaking? Should liquid cpu cooler be replaced after a certain number of years?


I also have a older cpu from 2011 that i'm using for work now since I retired my laptop. Liquid CPU Cooling System w/ 120mm Radiator. Should I replace with air cooled?

Have no idea as Ive never looked into water coolers much. Im an air cooler user..a fan heheh I do like one or two of the water cool ones. So ya never know I may switch next time.

I have a Thermaltake SpinQ air cooler that Ive been using 13 years and still spinning...and lit up too.

The liquid coolers generally don't leak, but the impeller (pump) may fail after a couple years. My cheap one from Ibuypower quit and I had to replace it with a CM all-in-one.

Kasey Chang wrote: ↑Wed Feb 28, 2024 1:20 am The liquid coolers generally don't leak, but the impeller (pump) may fail after a couple years. My cheap one from Ibuypower quit and I had to replace it with a CM all-in-one.

"Cheap" one being the operative phrase

If the coolant is inhibited - see your car coolant, it should easily go 10 years without causing any corrosion issues. Your hoses are in enclosed space and wont see UV light so they should not get hard and brittle. As you pointed out, the pump and fans on the air cooler are the weakest link.

The real question - is what does the water cooling get you? Are you overclocking? What does that 5% increase do for you - does it matter?