An important guide if you are using a liquid cooler for you CPU
Table of Contents Table of Contents The curiosity How does an AIO liquid cooler pump work? Why are 100% pump speeds not ideal? What should you do instead? It is all a myth If you're building or tuning a PC with an AIO (all-in-one) liquid cooler or a custom water cooling loop, it's tempting to assume that running your pump at full speed all the time ensures the best thermal performance. After all, more flow equals more cooling, right? Not exactly. While it might seem logical to max out your CPU cooler's pump speed for optimal temperatures, doing so can introduce a range of issues that impact not just the thermal performance but also noise levels and system longevity. In this guide, I will break down exactly why running your pump at 100% isn't always the best idea, and how to properly configure it for a balance between performance, acoustics, and reliability. Recommended Videos The curiosity This all started a few weeks ago when I noticed that the CPU temperatures on my daily driver PC were a bit higher than what I would expect—partly due to the approaching summer heat. I assumed that increasing the pump speed on my AIO liquid cooler, along with ramping up the case fans, would help combat the heat. In fact, a variety of Reddit threads and PC building forums suggest that one should keep the pump speed at its highest. However, it failed to make a significant difference. On top of that I ended up ramping up the radiator and case fans which further introduced turbulence inside the case, creating more noise and airflow inefficiency. When idling, the CPU package temperature on my Intel Core i7-13700K would hover between 55°C-62°C and during gaming sessions it would go beyond 85°C at times. While these numbers are not alarming, I was quite confident that my cooler and case are more than capable of taming this CPU. After days of trial and error, I eventually found that setting the pump and fan speeds at an optimum level actually helped my system run slightly…