--- title: Please stop using small AIO liquid coolers in your PC builds description: Small 120mm and 140mm AIO liquid coolers are criticized for offering inadequate cooling for modern CPUs while carrying the same reliability risks as larger... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/please-stop-using-small-aio-liquid-coolers-in-your-pc-builds-elgtujakn twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: Please stop using small AIO liquid coolers in your PC builds | daily.dev og:description: Small 120mm and 140mm AIO liquid coolers are criticized for offering inadequate cooling for modern CPUs while carrying the same reliability risks as larger... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/please-stop-using-small-aio-liquid-coolers-in-your-pc-builds-elgtujakn og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/ElGTUjakn.png og:image:alt: Please stop using small AIO liquid coolers in your PC builds og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Please stop using small AIO liquid coolers in your PC builds **[XDA Developers](https://daily.dev/sources/xda-developers)** · 4 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary Small 120mm and 140mm AIO liquid coolers are criticized for offering inadequate cooling for modern CPUs while carrying the same reliability risks as larger AIOs (pump failure, evaporating fluid, tubes and barbs). The recommendation is to size up to 240mm, 280mm, or 360mm radiators when space allows, or consider high-end air coolers like the Noctua NH-D15. Small AIOs are only justified in cramped small form factor builds where tower coolers won't fit, and even then, low-profile air coolers like the Noctua NH-L12S may be a better, more reliable choice. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### Is a 120mm AIO liquid cooler good enough for a modern CPU? No, a 120mm radiator generally lacks enough surface area to keep up with modern CPUs, especially those with high boost frequencies and aggressive power limits. It also carries the same reliability risks as larger AIOs, such as pump failure and fluid evaporation, without delivering proportionally better performance, making it a weak trade-off in most desktop builds. _Weighing cooler options for a build? daily.dev surfaces hands-on comparisons like air versus liquid cooling._ ### What size AIO liquid cooler should I get for my CPU? A 240mm or 280mm AIO is considered the minimum sweet spot for most modern CPUs, while 360mm units are recommended for particularly hot chips or overclocking. Smaller 120mm and 140mm radiators are discouraged outside of space-constrained builds because they underperform relative to their reliability risks. _Picking the right radiator size is easier with community build advice surfaced on daily.dev._ ### What's a good alternative to a small 120mm AIO cooler in a compact PC build? A low-profile air cooler like the Noctua NH-L12S can deliver competitive thermal results compared to a small 120mm AIO, without the pump failure risk, tubes, or fluid evaporation concerns of a liquid loop. For non-space-constrained builds, a high-end dual-tower air cooler such as the Noctua NH-D15 can perform close to a 240mm liquid cooler. _Comparing air and liquid cooling trade-offs is simpler when reviews are gathered in one place on daily.dev._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [My AIO failed constantly until I switched to a tower cooler and learned the real difference](https://daily.dev/posts/my-aio-failed-constantly-until-i-switched-to-a-tower-cooler-and-learned-the-real-difference-2voegqvya) · XDA Developers · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [My next CPU cooler will be an AIO liquid cooler, and the reason has nothing to do with temperatures](https://daily.dev/posts/my-next-cpu-cooler-will-be-an-aio-liquid-cooler-and-the-reason-has-nothing-to-do-with-temperatures-oifri0beo) · XDA Developers · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Noctua NL-LC1-36 All-In-One Liquid Cooler Review](https://daily.dev/posts/noctua-nl-lc1-36-all-in-one-liquid-cooler-review-mhv6ligtp) · Phoronix · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [I ditched my expensive CPU cooler, and my gaming PC got quieter instead](https://daily.dev/posts/i-ditched-my-expensive-cpu-cooler-and-my-gaming-pc-got-quieter-instead-tkwususwi) · XDA Developers · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Failing To Make A Fanless PC](https://daily.dev/posts/failing-to-make-a-fanless-pc-9scxuswoz) · Hackaday · 0 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#hardware](https://daily.dev/tags/hardware) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/please-stop-using-small-aio-liquid-coolers-in-your-pc-builds-elgtujakn) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"Please stop using small AIO liquid coolers in your PC builds","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/please-stop-using-small-aio-liquid-coolers-in-your-pc-builds-elgtujakn","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/please-stop-using-small-aio-liquid-coolers-in-your-pc-builds-elgtujakn"},"datePublished":"2026-10-04T13:35:55.088Z","dateModified":"2026-10-04T13:42:28.233Z","description":"Small 120mm and 140mm AIO liquid coolers are criticized for offering inadequate cooling for modern CPUs while carrying the same reliability risks as larger...","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/f50f390f505ad28ca93c00b194c57db7?_a=AQAEuop","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/f50f390f505ad28ca93c00b194c57db7?_a=AQAEuop","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"XDA Developers","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"XDA Developers","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/s--kCg6yyAP--/f_auto,q_auto/v1774964407/logos/xda-developers?_a=BAMAMiWQ0","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/xda-developers"},"commentCount":0,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/please-stop-using-small-aio-liquid-coolers-in-your-pc-builds-elgtujakn","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":0},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":0}],"keywords":"hardware","timeRequired":"PT4M"} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"XDA Developers","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/xda-developers"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Please stop using small AIO liquid coolers in your PC builds"}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/please-stop-using-small-aio-liquid-coolers-in-your-pc-builds-elgtujakn#faq","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"Is a 120mm AIO liquid cooler good enough for a modern CPU?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"No, a 120mm radiator generally lacks enough surface area to keep up with modern CPUs, especially those with high boost frequencies and aggressive power limits. It also carries the same reliability risks as larger AIOs, such as pump failure and fluid evaporation, without delivering proportionally better performance, making it a weak trade-off in most desktop builds. Weighing cooler options for a build? daily.dev surfaces hands-on comparisons like air versus liquid cooling."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"What size AIO liquid cooler should I get for my CPU?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"A 240mm or 280mm AIO is considered the minimum sweet spot for most modern CPUs, while 360mm units are recommended for particularly hot chips or overclocking. Smaller 120mm and 140mm radiators are discouraged outside of space-constrained builds because they underperform relative to their reliability risks. Picking the right radiator size is easier with community build advice surfaced on daily.dev."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"What's a good alternative to a small 120mm AIO cooler in a compact PC build?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"A low-profile air cooler like the Noctua NH-L12S can deliver competitive thermal results compared to a small 120mm AIO, without the pump failure risk, tubes, or fluid evaporation concerns of a liquid loop. For non-space-constrained builds, a high-end dual-tower air cooler such as the Noctua NH-D15 can perform close to a 240mm liquid cooler. Comparing air and liquid cooling trade-offs is simpler when reviews are gathered in one place on daily.dev."}}]} ```