240mm vs 360mm AIO: Which AIO size should you choose?

So, you're considering a new build or a replacement of your cooling system? Perhaps you're trying to decide between a 240mm and 360mm AIO. Does that extra 120mm really make all that much difference?

Firstly, we'll talk about size and compatibility.

Although the majority of modern mid tower and full tower cases will support 360mm radiators, you may be limited by the position in which you wish to install your radiator. For example, the CORSAIR 4000D is fully capable of housing a 360mm radiator, but it must go in the front, not in the top where most people prefer to mount their AIO.

Additionally, the space taken up by the radiator and fans at the front can eat into the increasingly valuable space that increasingly massive GPUs need these days. So, if your CPU is not an overly spicy one, perhaps downgrading your AIO radiator size to a 240mm is a worthwhile trade-off.

This is barely worth it's own section, but it is relevant. You will be unsurprised to learn that a smaller AIO is cheaper than a larger one. That being said, you could get lucky with a discount on a 360mm AIO that brings it's price to par with a 240mm.

When it comes to AIOs, it's mostly about the radiator. The bigger the radiator, the more surface area it has, the more surface area it has the more effectively it will cool the CPU. This has the obvious benefit of meaning that a larger AIO has the capability to keep a any given CPU cooler.

The secondary benefit is that a larger AIO makes it so that you can run the fans slower without sacrificing cooling performance as compared to a smaller one. So, if you're particularly hateful of loud computers, this might mean a lot to you

In short, the larger the heat exchange surface area you have, the better the cooling performance you will get, and you'll be able to have a more quiet computer, too. These points are applicable to custom cooling radiators, too, by the way.

Our recommendation is to get the biggest AIO you can fit in your case. You can browse our considerably broad range of AIOs at our webstore, in addition to basically everything else you need to build a gaming PC.