Will just cooling CPU (5800X) be worth it?

Hi all,

Completely new to the watercooling scene and looking for a bit of advice. My main goal is to make my computer quieter - I mostly use it for work, and the fan noise is starting to really bug me. However I do see the CPU temps hitting \~92 C occasionally, which I know is not crazy for this generation of Ryzen, but still ... cooler is better?

I have:

\- Gigabyte 3080 Gaming OC 10Gb

\- AMD Ryzen 7 5800X

\- Gigabyte 3080 Gaming OC 10Gb

Unfortunately I don't think my budget (max 500 USD) will stretch to cooling the GPU (I'd need to buy a new backplate, which I think will likely be 200 USD all by itself).

However I see there are AIO CPU coolers for \*very\* cheap e.g.

[https://www.galaxus.ch/en/s1/product/cooler-master-masterliquid-ml240l-v2-rgb-cpu-water-coolers-13109777](https://www.galaxus.ch/en/s1/product/cooler-master-masterliquid-ml240l-v2-rgb-cpu-water-coolers-13109777)

My question is, is it worth it to just cool the CPU? Will this significantly impact the noise of my PC?

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**Update**: so, I thought it might be interesting to fill you all in on my results. As you all convinced me, I did not go down the water cooling route and instead invested in better/more case fans, and a [Be quiet Dark Rock Pro 4 CPU](https://www.galaxus.ch/en/s1/product/be-quiet-dark-rock-pro-4-16280-mm-cpu-coolers-8192945?supplier=406802) cooler.

Here are dB and cooling results at various stages:

\- *before*, CPU hitting 95C and noise 49-50dB where I sit

\- *replacing case fans*, noise was closer to 45 gB

\- *replaced CPU fan* ... no change in noise but average temp dropped to 65C, max 75C.

\- *changing fan profiles to silent* (i.e. keeping the fans slower until higher temps), noise is now 39dB and max temp so far is only 80C.

So, yes, changing the CPU fan made a HUGE difference and the computer is basically silent now. Thanks all!

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