Phanteks CPU Water Block
Phanteks is the best cpu water block when you want a reliable product that performs better than most of its competitors. It has an unique copper base that helps it absorb heat faster and allows cooling liquid to circulate better.
MORE INFOA CPU water block is an important part of the CPU water cooling system. When a water cooling system works, the CPU water block clings to the CPU and directly absorbs heat. Afterwards, the water cooling liquid circulates in the system and takes away the heat quickly. A fan based air cooling system works on the same principle, but doesn’t work as well because the air has lower thermal conductivity and smaller specific heat capacity than the water cooling liquid.
If you look to play PC games, it’s necessary to keep your CPU cool so that it reaches its best performance. As those cheap air cooling systems no longer achieves your demand, a water cooling system is definitely what you need. In that case, you need to find the best CPU water block for your pc.
The CPU water block of the system must be suitable for your motherboard. Brackets are needed to mount CPU water blocks on motherboards, but a bracket for Intel CPU socket usually may not suit a AMD CPU socket. If your CPU socket is the newest AM4, most of the old CPU water blocks can not be mounted as they do not have suitable brackets. You must know that before you pay the bill.
The following 5 products are the best CPU water blocks we highly recommend. We have tested dozens of different products, and these 5 performs the best, considering their cooling effects, fitments, appearances, materials and prices.
Best CPU Water Block Reviews
- Phanteks CPU Water Block
- Thermaltake CPU Water Block
- XSPC CPU Water Block
- Barrow Energy CPU Waterblock
- BXQINLENX CPU Waterblock
Phanteks CPU Water Block
The Phanteks PH-C350I_BK C350I is the best CPU water block produced by Phanteks. The company has provided all kind of computer parts for many years, and each of them has been made with high quality. Phanteks PH-C350I_BK C350I has also been manufactured with excellent materials and exquisite workmanship. We have reason to believe that every pc gamer will love this product.
The most important part of a CPU water block should be the base. Phanteks PH-C350I_BK C350I has a copper base which is larger than standard blocks on the market. This special design helps the product absorb heat faster and let more cooling liquid circulate inside. The 0.15mm internal fin construction inside the product has been modified well. It provides a large contact area with the liquid so that more heat will be brought away. The bottom of the base is mirror-finished. When you mount the product to your mother board, the base will seamlessly cling to your CPU. These reasons explained why Phanteks PH-C350I_BK C350I performs much better than most of its competitors.
Phanteks also has a beautiful appearance. Phanteks uses the same RGB connector as their Phanteks cases. So it looks better if you put them together. We have to mention that you need a special bracket if you want to mount it to your Ryzen motherboard. In that situation, you should call the manufacturer.
Finally, you may worry about the leak problem. As we checked in our lab, Phanteks has made every hole on the product the right size so the leak hardly happens. In fact, compared with Phanteks, products of other brand name may have higher risk of leaks. If there is a leak, it is more possibly caused by false mounting.You should follow the instructions or call the manufacturer for further advice.
Thermaltake CPU Water Block
Thermaltake produces the best CPU water block for DIY lovers. The manufacturer Thermaltake promised to provide more quality, performance and reliability. The product we are going to talk about is the newest product of Thermaltake. It’s called CL-W139-CU00SW-A and it’s the CPU water block of Thermaltake Pacific DIY LCS. This CPU water block performs just like the manufacturer promised.
First, the most important thing, CL-W139-CU00SW-A supports all the latest Intel/AMD CPU sockets, including AM4. All Ryzen motherboard users have to find suitable brackets for AM4, which are hardly provided by manufacturers. It can be really frustrating that you have to be creative to make a poor bracket by yourself, after you paid so much for the latest and best motherboard and water cooling system. Fortunately, Thermaltake has solved this problem. The company provides brackets for all CPU sockets, including AM4, and all of them fit perfectly.
Second, CL-W139-CU00SW-A performs great as a perfect CPU water block. The mirror-finished CU base of the product is anti-corrosion, and it neatly clings to the CPU to absorb heat directly. When CL-W139-CU00SW-A is working, it’s quiet.It also cools the CPU faster than most of its competitors. Since its amazing performance in our tests, we believe that this product will keep your CPU in top working order.
One more thing worth mentioning is that this block has good appearance. It provides 7 solid color options with RGB and LED off features. You can change the color as you like with the controller.
Finally, CL-W139-CU00SW-A still has some disadvantages. It’s slightly big so it will be harder to be mounted in your computer case. It looks beautiful when the LED is working, but it may be dim because the LED’s color hue changes according to the color of your liquid. If you are not satisfied with it, you can choose another Thermaltake product. They have different designs but work just as well.
XSPC CPU Water Block
XSPC is one of the most well known producers of CPU water blocks. Most of XSPC’s products are durable and effective, and XSPC RayStorm is one of them. It’s the best CPU water block for AMD sockets. It doesn’t support Intel socket, but it won’t be problem because it has Intel version.
XSPC RayStorm is the latest product and it supports all AMD sockets. In particular, it supports the AM4. If you are a user of the latest Ryzen motherboard, you know the difficulty of finding suitable bracket to mount your CPU water block to it. Few companies provide reliable brackets, but XSPC does. If you choose XSPC, you can enjoy the best service.
As we talked about before, XSPC RayStorm is durable and effective. It has a copper base which performs great to absorb the heat. The LEDs are bright, and they light warmly inside the computer case. There won’t be any leaks if you mount the product correctly. When the XSPC RayStorm works, it quickly cools the CPU and it never makes noises. As we tested, it works faster than most of its competitors. It can be the best CPU water block for your AMD socket.
Although XSPC RayStorm is more expensive, its price is still quite reasonable. We do not recommend cheap products because they can’t provide better manufacturing processes and services. As XSPC RayStorm has great performance and attentive service, you can’t be wrong to choose it as your CPU water block.
Barrow Energy CPU Waterblock
Barrow provides the best CPU water block with good value for your money. It’s 1/4 cheaper than those popular products on the market, but works almost as well. Additionally, it’s so much better than those cheap blocks with no bracket or service. If you want to pay the least and get the best, Barrow is just the right choice.
The first thing you need to know is that the product we are going to talk about is only for Intel sockets. If you need something for AMD sockets or especially AM4, you should call the manufacturer for advice.
All good CPU water blocks should have good performance when cooling the CPU. Barrow actually does. The heatsink is made of copper, and it neatly clings to your CPU to directly absorb the heat. The 0.3mm intensive micro water ways let the cooling liquid pass faster to take away more heat. The cooling is quite fast, we are pretty sure that Barrow can keep any high duty CPU in good condition.
People may worry about the leaking problem since it’s a cheap product. As we tested, the leak hardly happens. Although there are screw holes on the heatsink, they never cause leaks. If it leaks, the most possible reason may be the incorrect mounting. The product may not be designed as well as its expensive competitors, but it is a reliable product. Any problem can be solved by calling the manufacturer, so there is no need to worry.
BXQINLENX CPU Waterblock
BXQINLENX may be the best CPU water block if you want the cheapest. However, we are not saying that it is not quality. Actually, BXQINLENX does a good job as the most important part of the water cooling system. It’s amazing that this stable product is 3/4 cheaper than most of its competitors. It does have disadvantages, but we still recommend this product as people get more than it costs.
BXQINLENX is universal. It is suitable for Intel/AMD sockets, except AM4. Don’t use it if you have got a Ryzen motherboard. Maybe you can brutally screw it or tie it to the board, because the difference between AM4 and other AMD socket is small and the block is really cheap. However, we never suggest you to do it. We mentioned this measure because there was someone actually did it, and the block still worked as usual.
BXQINLENX also has good performance. It quickly cools the CPU and keeps it in the best condition. It works just as good as than any other block on the market. So, if you correctly mounted it to your board, there won’t be any problems. It may make noises after long term use, but its cooling performance remains good.
BXQINLENX is surely not an incredibly long lasting product, but its life is long enough considering the replacement cycle of other computer parts. If you know how to prevent the leak, this block will work perfectly till the end of its life. It’s simple and you can easily find the specs by searching the internet.
References
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_block
https://www.tested.com/tech/pcs/454619-cooling-your-new-pc-water-cooling-options-explained/
