Left is idle, right is under full gaming load (Helldivers 2). My previous rig (Intel) easily went up to 85-90°C in the same circumstances. Ambient temps are slightly elevated as well since we've been having ~30°C temps daily here for a while now.
To me this is almost ridiculous. I had never dreamed I could get my temps under load under 70. CPU is at stock speed since there is literally no reason to push it any further at this point. Can always choose to up the clocks later if I still want to.
Cooler is a Noctua NH-D15 G2. I don't see myself returning to watercooling any time soon. And Noctua has a new customer for life.
I like the AIOs cause the fans don't sound like they're lifting an aircraft carrier. I'm more conscious of noise cause my gaming PC is near to the main tv so don't want my gf to be inconvenienced when she is watching TV, I suppose I could get a lower sound fan that'd do it well (haven't really looked at options for years) but most of them sounded loud when I switched and I like my toys too, though I swear my previous version was making a whining noise for awhile (pump I think) but long since upgraded since I forgot to check radiator size one case upgrade.
Good air coolers are usually as quiet as an AIO, sometimes quieter due to no pump noise.
Huh, I have a Fractal Design AIO that's several years old at this point, and I cannot hear the water pump unless I literally stick my head in the case and ramp the speed up and down. I just leave it at 100% full time.
Pump should be at 100% all the time anyway
I may not have had a good air cooler but I rarely hear my pump unless I put it up high then it's only cause I'm listening afterI changed the speed. Usually it works fine on regular or low. I haven't had an air cooler for about 8ish years now either so good chance they've improved.
GamersNexus has in depth data on fans, noise, and how much air they move.
Haven't checked out many of their reviews I'll keep them in mind, at first I had them confused with guru3d who seem to come up often for parts reviews. I always like to find the worst points of a few reviews then if they don't seem too bad maybe the product is acceptable heh. Though you do need a handful to check for sure.
It's good practice to check multiple reviews. GamersNexus has very good reviews though, if I ever had to place my trust in just one review it would be theirs.