Total noob question but what's the main reason for liquid-cooling as opposed to air?

[Michael Dunne-Willows]

Total noob question but what's the main reason for liquid-cooling as opposed to air?

 

[Ryan Bloch]

Overclocking potential and stability

 

[Ryan Bloch]

Also looks awesome

 

[Jacob Mier]

Better cooling allowing more over clocking. More stable when over clocked.

 

[Amanda Meggs]

aesthetics at least to me

 

[Alex Landreau]

It's cooler than air, no pun intended

 

[Donte Akermann]

higher more stable overclocks, less heat and it looks nice

 

[Corey Francïs Novak]

OCing Intel Fanboys usually "require" liquid cooling..

 

[Zonne Schijn]

Better overclocking with better temps

 

[Ryan Kinsey]

Lower Temps which allow for better overclocking

 

[Mark Anthony Alcaraz Guerrero]

Lower temps. My gtx 1080Ti overclocl at full load is running 37-39C depend on the ambient temp. =) Thats like idle temp of some cards.

 

[Hans Becker]

Brag Factor Increase

 

[Gary Lewis]

Also can move heat outside of the case much more efficiently. Not blowing it all around inside the case.

 

[David Ferguson]

My 1080ti is at 20 degrees celcius and 25c under load. Compared that to mid 60s for air cooled.

 

[Dennis Barbier]

liquid can transfer heat at a much much higher rate than air can.
Also, their are some extremely well performing air coolers, some performing better than liquid AIOs but by the time you get them installed it makes working in your case difficult because they are so freakin big.... like the attached pic.

 

[Aaron Hunt]

Takes up less space than really nice air coolers and also quieter often times

 

[Joel Varuska]

Because my 1080 Ti at its highest stable clock doesn't pass 30c after hours of playing games with my fans running at 8-900 rpm.

 

[Jonathan Estanislau]

looks cooler dude!

 

[Dennis Barbier]

NHD14 vs Stock cooler

 

[Ryan Keller]

Quieter and you can overclock more.. I use air cooling personally because I am a lazy ass. A coolermaster evo is decent.