I'm all about air cooling bc I don't want to worry about the maintenance of liquid cooling. IMO, pairing the right air cooled parts and cable managing in such a way to leave some wires exposed can make for a very cool industrial looking system
3:10 yes IT DOES Matters Paul!😂😊 Yes, your old school mentality may seem attractive to your niche audience, but there are many users who take the time to quote parts for a PC that is both powerful and also looks attractive, since it is an important piece in their life. , an important investment that you don't seem to remember to consider. Aesthetics are quite important, and obviously duh, the parts always have to be compatible with each other... a PC will ALWAYS be functional. 3:46 that cooler doesn't look attractive Paul
The last thing I want is my system looking like a 70s disco. I'm quite happy having a decent performing system in a simple black box. It works and pushes the frames oh so well. I know that's not for everyone but since the P in PC stands for Personal, that's how everyone's PC should be: Personal.
Agreed. Have built over 300 computers and so far air cooling is not only easier to setup and change down the line, BUT it's about 1/3 of the price. I've had friends go from water coolers to Air coolers after the sound or the cooling was up to par foe the price
it cannot, or rather, you ahve to work just as hard as the water user over there - also, lol with point of failure. 99.9% of people with an AIO will suffer punp death, and likely that death wont even happen because they will replace it before absorption forces the issue.
@@baronvonslambert I have had 3 AIOs that were rated for 5-7 years. Only 1 remains. It is at the 7 year mark. I expect it to die soon. I have had 1 air cooler rated for 35 years (the fans, specifically) and I feel like I'll die before it does. So I don't really get your argument at all. AIOs come and go, but air cooler last basically forever.
Been building electronics for over 40 years, (71 now) it's a choice, air cooling is easy and better for longevity, aio's are now really cheap, so personal choice. Custom hardline is a personal choice in terms of aesthetics, it's just a cost decision.
i look at it from the perspective of preserving the thing you are trying to cool vs the longevity of the thing cooling it. It's not a cost decision, it's an investment to protect what you paid for.
@@Rav56nessMag1c There's multiple arguments against what you said though. Water can leak, thus ending your longevity on the spot. Components downclock themselves when they reach a thermal limit, so they won't ever reach temperatures where they'd die prematurely. Unless you plan to use them for 20+ years, maybe then there would be some differences.
I'm 42 and have been building PCs for 26 years. I've had to talk friends out of getting lesser GPUs and CPUs for expensive RGB fans and AIOs. Newbies will prioritize the lights over quality components 😂
I went a bit more form over function and spent extra getting white parts for my new AM5 build. After I set up a nice logarithmic audio palette with SignalRGB to trigger when playing media, I wish my RAM was more visible - being such a new build, I'm definitely not upgrading my CPU anyhow, but I'm likely to get an AIO so I can see my RAM jump around to my music from all over my living room vs the large air cooler I initially got.
Custom watercooling speaks to the creative part of me who is also into engineering. That's why I got custom cnc parts to build a watercooled pc inside my antique desk with a ghost in the shell theme 😁 also features 3080ti and 5800x, which was pretty high end at the time.
I will usually focus on function, but form still matters. I also think you definitely end up with tiers of gaming PCs, 1080p, 1440p, 4k gaming, and you typically need to have similarly powered CPU, GPU, and monitor to jump between tiers. If someone say couldn't afford $600 to go from 1440p to 4K setup, but could afford $50 to get the RGB version of the fans they want, that seems like a perfectly reasonable investment into aesthetics if they care about it looking good.
That’s essentially my situation. $40-$50 extra for basic rgb cpu fan and rgb case (plus one rgb case fan I got for free). It’s far from fancy, but it honestly makes me happy to change the colors every now and then.
I definitely prefer function over form, but there are lots of reasons to get into PC building and liking form is a perfectly valid reason. The PC building community is better with more people in it, and it's better to be inclusive than exclusive, so I'm definitely not going to gatekeep. Build what you like, it's your computer! That's the beauty of DIY.
My pc is an aesthetic statement, something I bring to life through my own creativity. Having good hardware is fine and dandy but i wanna make it *mine* on top of that. If you spend just a little more time searching for the right deals and parts, maybe even partake in a little modding, you can create something never seen before. For example, I decided to go with a silver/white build with gold rgb and an angel theme, creating wing sculptures inside the case to guide the fan airflow
Wild how nobody seems to know what a HOBBY is anymore. For sure if you dont like "things" and just want your Toyota Corolla/Prius it gets me from A-Z experience in a pc, then yeah, beige box with the best guts inside you can afford is the path for you. Some people are enthusiasts or hobbyists and like the things they have to be nice, personalized, etc etc. When ot comes to hobbies, rationality SHOULD ho out the window. That's what makes it fun. I'm not into hydrolic lowriders but i appreciate the passion that went into building them.
For me, personally, function is absolutely more important. However, form is important to a point. If you have an eye sore of a pc that ruins a space, that will absolutely affect your mood and how you feel in your space
My PC lives under my desk. It's blocked from sight by my chair and desk from all but the front side, which just has a couple red LED fans through glowing through the mesh. Otherwise, nothing down there lights it up and it's an all black build beneath an all black desk, so it's barely visible. I think that solves most of the issues. And being obscured, it also muffles the noise a bit more.
@@OtherTheDave it can be, especially if you have many and diverse peripherals (like a high-end flight sim pit) and even that assumes you have another location for the PC. Forget a carpeted floor, that’s a terrible idea. And any floor is out if you have a pet or young child. The solution that works for one person doesn’t automatically apply to all people. The PC community seems to forget that more than most communities.
yes function should be a priority, but you almost never care about looks..., I only see those HUGE BLOCKs of air coolers in most of Pcs you recomend, Those large blocks hide the aesthetics of the board... and even if you still have RGB LED lighting... that gigantic heatsink block will always make the PC look horrible. Additionally, an aio-liquid cooler makes changing thermal paste easier. so I kinda get it, function yes, but... please lets dont ALWAYS use those air towers, water cooling its so good (not talking about custom w.cooling, fuck that)
*Short version:* Honestly? I feel like the question, Form vs Function, is a bit misguided in the first place. I think it might be better to ask the specific reasons for going one way or the other rather than assuming it needs a balance or that function > form in general. Usually when I spec out builds for people I ask them what they want in the first place and go from there. I RARELY ask for budget as my first question because I feel like the whole minmaxing, bang for your buck PC advice lacks the nuance of addressing what people ACTUALLY want from their computers or if they'd be ok with something cheaper or different. I used to be someone that was all function over performance, and I do still absolutely prefer that to be clear ESPECIALLY for longevity, but I've had so much more success in friends being satisfied/happy when I give that a backseat compared to addressing the real reasons they want a PC. *VERY Long version:* Hoo boy, this always becomes a heated discussion online. I get the reasons why people go for function-first builds. I get the wanting to get the most for your money and realizing that looks are largely fad-based and temporary while performance will always be there until future technology requires more. I get not wanting your friends to be suckered into a RGB lightshow only to have awful parts inside for way too much money. As someone who is in poverty yet still loves PCs, I basically live out junkyard fantasies with most of my builds for myself and friends where junk computers, office computers, and restoring 10-year old parts is the norm while a basic RGB strip can sometimes be out of budget when that money could be better spent on food or barely scraping by on rent. I've built gaming rigs for friends that look and sound like junk but perform great for the price of a modern RGB AIO and I'm always happy to see when people can save money and focus on what, _emphasis quotes,_ *"really matters"* in terms of a gaming rig which is specifically performance. ...That is, I always felt that way until a friend of mine got a 3090 and 11900k system while only gaming at 1080p and hated how their computer sounded, how hot it ran, how it looked, and overall was just having a worse time with life despite getting an AMAZING deal on the whole package. They were encouraged to get it because of the deal they got but, given their relatively low requirements, they really preferred something quieter and wanted something that looked really nice on their desk. It's the same deal with people who purposefully pay the SFF tax because they genuinely see more value in having a computer that looks good or is portable rather than have something larger, cheaper, and _far_ easier to build in. It's made me really start to question suggestions I gave in the past where people seemed to be a bit disappointed in their build overall despite having the "objectively" best decisions for their budget and performance needs. I feel like the community as a whole needs to take a bit of a step back and reflect on what they actually want when it comes to computers. I get that there's a lot of people who really love the numbers and it becomes the sole focus, but at the same time I feel like there's a bit of a philistine-like focus on pragmatism and function while ignoring what _actually_ makes them happy about using a computer. I feel like it's an interesting inversion of so many comments that say "Well I don't care if my PC is ugly because I can put it under my desk!" when you could very easily clap back with asking if they're using 100% of their GPU all the time when they're playing low-impact games or, like in the case of my friend, _ever_ actually using 100% of their computer's potential. There's this idea that looks "distract" from people getting the performance they really desire, but have we ever thought about working backwards from that? What if the focus on performance has been distracting us from getting a "good enough" PC that we can actually make into an art piece that represents us? How many case modders and painters and artists have we missed out on because the enthusiast community has focused so much on performance for the last 20 or so years? To be clear, I'm not justifying massively overcharging people for incredibly basic stuff like RGB lighting or a window on everything, but at the same time would it be necessarily a bad thing if we started embracing how COOL hardware can be sometimes? I've seen 3d printed cases with ducts that look like some kind of 70s futuristic monolith. I've seen artists go WILD with airbrushing their cases and coming up with really fascinating textures and colors to the point where it looks like from an alternative future to ours. I've even seen this one project, which I annoyingly can't find the name of, that uses fiber optic cables combined with lightbars to create this crystal-like pc case that I've wanted so badly ever since. NONE of these PCs had top of the line parts but if someone just wanted a good 1440p gaming rig then that opens the doors for so many different kinds of builds that don't require beefy coolers or mismatched aesthetics just because the deals were better. Ending the discussion on Form vs Function being just watercooling or RGB lighting feels incredibly unsatisfactory because it misses so much potential for ACTUAL creativity rather than just buying something that looks "better." I know it sounds like I'm massively pushing for looks over everything, but again this is coming from a guy who uses a used 10-year old cheapo black box of a PC with used and donated parts in it. I'm literally the definition of someone who focuses on function over form and bringing prices down as much as possible to get the maximum bang for your buck. I just feel like if someone has the comfort of having money, and they won't be NEEDING the max performance of their PC, that maybe we should start embracing looks and getting parts that pass the threshold of being good enough for their needs and upgrading when the time is right. I really do think there's so many people out there who would want to get into PC gaming more if we let them embrace their creativity more than just making everything into a numbers game. I'm sure my friend would have been much happier with a 3060, 11400, and RGB air cooler all in a cooler master NR200P versus the behemoth they got instead given their requirements. Frankly, ever since I got into case printing with a friend, I'm starting to lose my love of function-focused PCs and I'm starting to embrace creatively using parts to best match their use case, longevity, and budget rather than focusing on what's the best performance you can get at a price point. It's SO much more fun that way and, much like the comments in the video, I genuinely don't mind missing a few frames, _which is probably over 144 anyways,_ or lowering settings if it means I get 95% of the gameplay experience while getting the satisfaction of embracing my creativity and care I put into what I created. Again, if you're into function over form, *I genuinely think that's awesome and I'm right here with you.* If you're an esports player who does better with sky-high framerates, want a PC that will last you a decade, or just someone who loves to minmax and stretch their dollar as far as they can, then by all means go and embrace it. I just feel that exclusive focus is missing a huge opportunity to create something really special in the enthusiast PC culture and we should really start thinking about that as well. PCs are, and always will be, tools, but tools can be beautiful and have meaning too.
Function over from, always. Totally agree with Paul, always more beneficial to get better parts than spend on water-cooling, water-cooling should only be used on top tier parts. Also as someone who is poor, it takes years for me to save enough for a build, so there is no way I could even afford thinking about water-cooling.
I'm an old-school gamer from the early '90s, and I've always disliked the lighting on gaming hardware. The only light I want to see comes from the display. If I can buy hardware without lighting, I will choose it. Unfortunately, lighting has become a standard feature, making it almost unavoidable. In the past, I could at least select a case that fully enclosed and hid the illumination. Unfortunately, many cases now have glass sides that fully expose the internals. So, they're forcing me to deal with the lighting. My solution is to place the computer under the desk where I can't see any lighting.
I'm 71...and I don't get how RGB became so important. I'm not staring at my pc when I turn it on. On the other hand, it's nice that the youngins have something to keep them out of the bars with all the neon lights. neon bad rgb good, I guess.
Last bastion, Fractal, has a case that I wanted for its form and size, but only comes with heavier, more expensive and more fragile glass panel. Most manufacturers of mid and higher tier push, or respond to demand, only towards RGB aquariums and components. Not my business what someone likes or dislikes, but this has lead to lack of choice and price bump for everyone. 'RGB isn't really more expensive' is due to manufacturers spreading the costs. There is cost in RD, manufacturing cost, size, reliability and sometimes even to performance, for eyecandy at least I consider eyesore
I water cooled my 10900K/3080 system. The system was air cooled for a while and then I decided to water cool it. I even went and did direct die cooling on the 10900K. Since there is nothing wrong with the 10900K and 3080 and because the system was built a couple years ago I didn't really have a problem water cooling it. The cost of the tubing, fittings, pump res, and rads wasn't going to get me a brand new system. I really enjoyed the process and taking everything apart and planning out my loop. Though I will say, having an open loop can make troubleshooting issues a bigger PITA. System is a lot quieter now though, will probably do it whenever I upgrade.
It’s amazing how many designers don’t understand that. I don’t mind companies committing to a form - that’s kinda what those “thin & light” laptops are - and seeing what they can get away with using it, but it’s maddening to me when someone (Apple) _only_ makes form over function stuff.
Agreed with the second half of what you said but Paul has repeated over and over that he disagrees with watercooling less than top tier components and that’s where people are disagreeing with him. Your don’t need a 4090 for your PC to do what you want so I wont stop someone who’s more than happy with their performance choosing a 200 dollar aio over upgrading their cpu a tier or two.
Thanks, Paul, for the response! It's one of my favorite builds from you! I agree with you about form over function. I prefer function over form. Now, don't get me wrong, I love the customization and personalization of a rig because that's what makes each build unique, but I would rather spend the extra cost on functionality over aesthetics. It also comes down to the user's preferences and intentions for the rig. When I build for my clients I ask them if they want some sort of theme associated with the rig. Thanks again, and Cheers!
Hey there Paul. I like my PC to perform well and look as good as practical. I like ARGB but don't need it. I don't chase frames as my main computer is for content creation and work most of the time, and I only game maybe 10% on it, if that. It's a 13700K, 64GB, and RTX 3090, and it handles whatever I throw at it without any issues. It's in a Thermaltake Ceres 500 with an Artic Freezer II 420mm AIO on the front with ARGB fans on the top and back. I have the lighting set to show CPU performance levels, so I know when the machine is doing some heavy lifting. I like it. My gaming PC is half (probably less than 1/2) the performance of my work PC-it is an MSI Trident 3 12400F, 32GB, and RTX 3050, 8GB. For my gaming PCs I like them small (tiny really) and functional. The Trident 3 is really small and works for all I need it to do. I did pick up an Aero 3060 for later, but I would actually like to try a solo 4060 at some point just to see if it will fit and run. But for looks, I just want them to be super compact. Anyway.. I think I prefer air cooling overall, but I have certainly dabbled with AIOs. It's never been about looks, air vs water, but about performance. I drank the cool-aid about AIOs being so much better. in reality, there are some exceptional dual-tower air coolers that are way more affordable and work nearly as well or even better than some AIOs without the chance of evaporation, pump failure, and leaks over time. So, going forward, I'll go for air-cooled first unless it simply can't do the job and water is required. anyway.. thanks for all the videos. Cheers Rick
Agree to disagree to agree? I recently bought a 140mm AIO. I know it's probably not really going to give me better performance. But I have been working on an all white build. So, I've been spending about $30 more per component to get this look. The white AIO was a few dollars cheaper on sale than the two fan white cooler I was looking at, so I went for it. My temps seem to be steadier than what I had before. I could have had the same GPU for $30 dollars cheaper in black, but it's not what I was going for. But when I look at my build, I've very happy at the way it looks, even though it's more expensive. So, for me it's about what you want as an individual.
on tha gpus naa man naa man naa rtx 4070 suepr it is slti a not mindium card cad man it is on 192 bitl !! tha is not ok ..man tha tha gtx 1060 ..one time fenomonen wel not hapen probali not this decend as tha wey it is gowing ..no if you waon to rock you sitem intha future PLS CHOSE WAISLI LAKE AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT 20 GB / AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE 16 GB / AMD Radeon RX 6800 16GB PLSU AL AFTRE IT GEN AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT... BE A BOLER FI YOU HAVE LAKE 400$ 500 $ TO SPEND GEN ON OGE GPU at lsit get sating from tha top ENDG GEN WTF !!
Purely function over form. I wish manufacturers would stop spending resources on ugly RGB and aesthetics for every single product... GTFO with that crap! Sacrificing performance for looks is just nutty lol... I will never understand that logic. It's a computer, nobody is going to give more than 1 thought about what your computer looks like. That thought that I give when I see $500 in rainbow barf, a hard line water loop on a 4070 and 13600K, and case larger than a midsize sedan is that you wasted your money and should be publicly shamed. IF aesthetics ever come into play, that's when you've already exhausted performance upgrades.
Thermalright has cheap and afaik decent aio's, for like $50. Based on their air coolers reputation I'd buy that (if I was a watercooling sucker, that is :P) Edit: otherwise, a nice strategy is deciding beforehand what percentage of your budget you want to spend on looks, say 20%. Then make a list minmaxing performance and value using 80% of the budget. Finally start replacing components for looks (or more performance). Do you want a clean whiteout build? Or upgrade that 7600 to a 7800x3d? Or maybe uptier the gpu? Maybe you specifically want lian li uni fans? This helps understanding what is possible within your budget and helps avoid overspending on looks first, to be later forced to underspec to stay within budget.
Form follows function (such a great mantra) air all the way for me although did go with a NH-D15 chromax black for the looks. Going to go for a Herman Miller Cosm this year as my next work/play upgrade, on sale for £1,143.20 in the UK atm.
i don't like lights/RGB in PCs I'm done with it. but i also sleep in the same room with my PC. big black air-cool Monolith PCs for the WIN and bonus points for having more black boxes in your black Monolith and extra bonus points if your PC is build by magic dwarfs. i guess my point is some times function can be form like B-2 Spirit and B-21 Raider!
It would be interesting to have this function vs form discussion about SFF PCs. I'd love to build a SFF but they're more expensive - whether that's needing a new smaller PSU, MoBos being more expensive anyway, less flexibility with additional HDDs or PCIe cards, or maybe needing watercooling as a tower cooler won't fit in the case.
There's quite a bit more that's nice about GPT, though I understand why you didn't get into it in this video. It has significantly more robust metadata. In particular it uses GUID codes to identify drives and partitions, so you don't just have to hope and pray that the hardware and firmware will make drive available at the same path / drive letter. This can make using the drive significantly more reliable. It also has robust type codes (also GUIDs) for indicating the intended purpose of a partition. This isn't really used by Windows AFAIK but there's some very interesting standards you can use with Linux to automatically configure drives in the OS based on these types. It's cool stuff.
5:00 My computer is literally in the closet to keep it as far away from me as physically possible (don't worry, I have a thermostatic switch hooked up to recirculation fans so it doesn't suffocate). I couldn't care less if it looked cool, I literally never see it. It wasn't until recently I upgraded do a screen that does 144hz, before that only one of my screens did 60hz so perhaps if you are on an older, slower panel that doesn't have that high of a refresh rate the lower framerate doesn't bother you? 60fps was fine for me for a LOOOONG time because that was the most I could get anyways, it was perfectly "playable" for the games I played. Now that I can get better framerates I try keeping it over 100fps and can see how those used to higher framerates would not want to go back to a "mere 60fps", but for some people it just doesn't matter. I've also come to realize that some people don't "see" at as high a framerate as others. Like, some people actually don't see the difference between say 120fps and 240fps, which sounds bonkers to me but apparently its a thing, kind of like how the flicker of LED Christmas lights bugs some people but not others. If you are less sensitive to the flicker chances are you will care less about having a high framerate during games. If you have a lower res panel or literally can't see the difference maybe a lower tier graphics card makes sense?
I built my computer to play games and do some hobbyist CAD stuff, not to look at it while I use it. I have some RGB on my RAM sticks, but it's only there because I got a good deal on the memory. I don't necessarily want my machine to be fugly - the case is a Fractal Meshify C and looks ok, but looks are a distant secondary factor for any machine I build.
Function is king, but the PC being quiet is functional and if the only way to achive that is watercooling then by all means. Personally I find watercooled rigs to be more noisy, but in different ways so I guess it depends what kind of ambient noise you're ok with. My aircooled rig basically never spins up the fans unless I'm playing games and when I'm playing games the sound of the game is overpowering the fans. If I'm playing a light game or browsing the PC is quiet.
I don't give a hoot about form or pretty LED lighting. My computer is sitting in a small closet with filtered, dust-free, air-conditioned DRY air, and can't be seen.
There are so many factors that it's hard to say with form vs function. I think that a thing a lot of people forget is that form can be function. Not to mention, sometimes it can be cheaper to water cool rather than go to the next tier. Then their is lifetime of the product. The build being quieter has value. The price delta between a 4080 and 4090 can almost pay for all custom water cooling parts needed to cool the system. Some custom water cooling parts last decades and can be reused in multiple builds. Fittings, radiators, and CPU waterblocks don't go bad unless there is corrosion. The problem is catch all advice is while on average it's good advice it doesn't take into account the individual details.
I have recently switched to air cooled (thinking i had a problem with my AIO ) however it was a coil whine problem with my psu ...however stepping away from rgb aio hasn`t affected performance (in fact its improved it) air cooled seems to be the way to go for reliability/ performance for a normal pc/ nas set up just my thoughts btw
Function, every time. All that money I could blow on teh RGBees, or an expensive AIO, or an ultra expensive AIO with teh RGBees and a screen, could be going towards more powerful components instead, or just staying in my pocket for other hobbies. I don't need my computer to look good (although honestly I think RGB usually looks tacky instead of nice), I need it to play games and get things done.
Yeah, I can't agree with the comments being featured for that title/thumbnail question. The suggestion that "the next step up is only slightly faster" is wrong. Water cooling stuff is very expensive. Instead of water cooling a 4080, I'd use the money to get a 4090 instead. It's not "slightly faster", it's going to get you well more than 20 fps. And I'm not looking at my computer. I'm looking at my monitor or TV as I play a game. Performance in games matters way more than what the insides of the box that runs the games looks like. The computer is just a tool to accomplish the work of running video games. The tool doesn't have to look nice, it just has to get the job done. To each their own I suppose, but that's not how I'd ever spend my money. I'd much rather spend the money on the hardware to get frames and the monitor or TV to display the frames than on water cooling. Added bonus, doing maintenance or upgrades on my computer isn't a pain in the butt since I'm not working around water tubes. I mean, right there, the monitor or TV; that's where I can't agree with the second person either. "I don't need the extra frames at the moment" - huh? Instead of spending on water cooling, spend on a 5800X3D and a high refresh rate monitor, then you can get and enjoy the extra frames. I share in Paul and Joe's confusion here.
Its all about the function. Spending money on water cooling, RGB, or other dumb things when that money could go to better system performance or just be saved/invested is a waste.
Function over form 100%. That being said, function isn't too hard these days, especially if you're not running anything super high end. As long as you pick a cooler that lets it boost up to (or at least close to) max frequency, that's all that matters from a function standpoint. Hardware Canucks did a wonderful comparison. ruclips.net/video/lxf4ZXJTNpI/видео.html Look at the frequency chart. 68 MHz between the top and the bottom of the chart. You're never going to notice the difference between any of them. Also, that's noise normalized as well, so none of them are running any louder than the others. At 7.39 they show gaming on Intel. Highest is 655 fps. Lowest is 649.8. I don't think you'll see any difference, regardless of which cooler you choose, as long as it can keep up with the heat load. Good enough is good enough. And if it's good enough, go for looks. If you're wanging off the thermal limit constantly you need to pick something with better performance, be it cooler, case, fans, whatever. Personally, I got an Arctic Liquid Freezer 2 240 AIO on a 5600X. Is it overkill? Yes. Is it great being able to run something like multi-hour video encoding at 4.85 GHz all core, while staying under 70C? Absolutely.
My computer is in a black box Define R6 . iam function over looks any day. I rather have all the power and silent out off my money then anything els. But i never been into the all RGB thing ether. Find it distracting and annoying when having the pc on my desk. But then again we who like it like that are maybe fewer now days.
My daughter and I have to agree with those two commenters. She has an i5 and a 3060 really wanted a hardline loop with pastel pink collant. Her 1% lows in MINECRAFT were perfectly fine and she was interested in ray tracing for 20 minutes so for Christmas I didn’t go out and buy a new cpu or gpu. I bought Bykski and barrow waterblocks and fittings and she couldn’t be happier. I think what’s important is not frames per second but smiles per dollar and saying otherwise is borderline gatekeeping.
The problem with function and form is materialism. People seem to value others opinions of them more than they value themselves these days.. If you are religious turn to god. If not maybe look into it even if you dont believe just read. Extra info wont hurt.
Air cooling can look good too. Minimalism in the context of aesthetics can be more pleasing than lights and loops of colored fluid. I have a Streacom DA6 which i consider form over function. Inside that frame i focus on function over form. That's just me and i never claimed to be sane.
I agree function above all else. you get a pc to run shit. You not giving house tours all day for ppl to admire your setup. Only ppl I can see being practical on the looks of a PC over just fluff for themselves and their friends are content creators that show their room in videos/streams all the time.
I am really interested in the LIONWEI Powered USB Hub for similar reasons. I will await your review. Thanks. I am planning a new PC Build. I have never built a system with AMD... but I am afraid to build with an Intel I9 14900K and have problems. I use the system for business apps 98% of time. Very light gaming but I could easily do with gaming. So a real high end video card is not a must. I want to build a great quality PC for the next 10 years of use. What would you recommend? I am now Waiting for the 2025 CPU's!
Considering a good air cooler will often perform at least on par with a good AIO, function all the way. Easier to build, cheaper in many cases, and very little maintenance
In regards to the water cooling section. Are they looking at their screen or their case. Maybe im a bit old school, but performance is the goal for me not aesthetics, aesthetics is a nice but not required after thought, again im using this machine, not looking at it, if i want to look at something I can get wall art or a sculpture instead. the cost of a water cooling system is similar to a socket upgrade or gpu tier upgrade, id max out the performance of the components, then add polish with a watercool system
For me it's function, always. I have the window in my PC case facing away from me, so I don't even need to see inside it, and the only RGB in there is the RAM (it was on sale). This box has an air cooler, but my last one had a non-RGB AIO. I don't need rainbows blasting in my face constantly. I just want to game.
Paul - I total agree about functionality over looks. I have been building my own PC's for 30 years now. I plan to make my ultimate PC build for gaming, but mostly for content creation, as a gift to myself going into retirement. I do not plan to buy a case which has any glass/plastic sides for display purposes, as I am only interested in how well it will perform for me and for proper air flow. And like you I am not interested in looking at my build and will just keep it in a place best suited for it for airflow and leaving me with as much desk space as possible for everything I need and for monitor placement. As far as AIO vs air-cooled goes: I want to use a aircooler for ease of installation and less maintenance. This may result in a slightly lower CPU, but with some of the high end aircoolers they can cool sufficiently for my purposes. Thanks for all you great video's.
Should the speed of NVME drives be better explained similar to how intel CPU boost speeds are? I find I only get the blistering transfer speeds for so many GBs, then the speed drops off a cliff to only slightly faster than a hard disk.
I was a 911 dispatcher for ten years. YOU DO NOT WANT THE HERMAN MILLER FOR NUMEROUS HOURS OF USE EACH DAY. Comm room had those chairs for 18 months after a remodel… that’s how long it took for people that are using the chair for anywhere from 8-16 hours a day to start having to call off work due to back pain from the lumbar through the upper back and into the shoulders pain. Management then spent 40k on true dispatch long duty chairs. Think racing chair with 6” memory foam. So if you’re truly looking for a long hour day chair for gaming or editing, you want something with memory foam and good lumbar support. The back should be full length and include a headrest. Your body needs a break throughout the day and being able to lean back and support your head, neck, and shoulders is a chiropractic savior.
A big part of those high-end ergonomic chairs is that they NEED to be set up correctly or else you're gonna experience that awful back pain. If you just sit in it without adjusting it to how your back works then it's gonna destroy you. Having a long-duty chair like you describe is MUCH better for people who aren't taking the time to set it up because it's a lot easier to get someone on a huge cushion to distribute their weight versus dialing in support. It's just important not to blame the chair when it's given to people without the proper instructions.
Function over form. And add another catergory noise. Are air cooled pc's noisier than water cooled pc. Then there is the size of the pc.. So what i am saying there are a lot more categories. to be considered.
For editing, what the best hardware is varries, depending on the editor. For Resolve, AMD GPU's actually perform very well, outside of 8K performance and Fusion, but they're not that far behind. Also, if you're working with a lot of x254 or x265 footage, the Intel CPU's with an iGPU have a media engine that can decode them... something the 4090 can't do, and this GREATLY improves timeline performance.
@@FirestormX9 I don't even look at my PC. Why would I need form? I have a shelf on my desk underneath it dedicated to my PC that has access to air from an AC vent.
Watercooling. Leaks, lab experiments growing in your computer, stoppages, failing/noisy pumps, radiators clogged with dust, air in the system. Yeah, gimme more of that.
@@mjc0961 no it doesn't. You can take a water block out and put it on new machines.. I understand why you wouldn't believe, with such narrow thought ability though ryzen alone is already 7 years old
Paul, with the current GPUs on the market, some games are generating a huge amount of FPS. Typically, most people have a 120-144Hz panel of some sorts, so the FPS is more than the screen refresh rate. Why does screen tearing still occur, even with GSync (or FreeSync) on. Can you tell something more about screen tearing and how to prevent it, without buying a 1000 Hz monitor
#1. Stay under your refresh rate. Use Radeon Chill/FRTC, or Nvidia/Intel equivalent. If this somehow fails- #2. Use Freesync/Gsync. If this is not an option (These don't always work with every game) - #3. Use Vsync. You should never see tearing now. As for what causes it, it is merely desynchronization between what the monitor is trying to display, and what the GPU is sending.. It's half up to you, and half up to the dev to make sure it isn't there.
I don't think the distiction when building a PC is really between function and form, it is between function and FUN. Water cooling may not be the best min/max way to build a fast PC while saving the most amount of money, but it can be a very fun and engaging project for some people. This isn't an agree/disagree topic, it's a "what is the goal of your build?" topic. I have an AIO on my 7800x3d when I definitely don't need one. I like it, though, and it was fun building the PC. I had the releively small amount of money that an AIO costs above an air cooler to spend so I took my enjoyment of the project into consideration. Your time, labor, and FUN are worth something. I have to spend more on food every week than my AIO cost. That is why I say it's a reletively small cost in the long term, since it should last about 5 or so years.(unless you go with Enermax... don't do that. I made that mistake only once.)
One minor point on form Vs function - be aware WHAT function it is. A gaming PC will have very different functional requirements to a file server, CAD work station, video editing machine, or monitoring pc on an oil rig
I would rather spend more money having a faster PC then putting money into a water cooling loop and I dont need. I have a 7900x and a 4090 and all I want to do with water cooling is just fit an AIO. custom loops are just a step too far for my overall budget. I would have rather spent that budget on a 7950x3d if I had the extra money in the build budget.
As a Aourus X570 elite user....I'm happy that Gigabyte has kept their Elite boards around $200 but it says alot, as you've pointed out, when the higher end X chipset boards at that price point has given way to B series boards.
You're not taking into account that acoustics are also a variable of the function. I too would sacrifice a couple of frames (as long as they're sufficient, of course, which for me is around 80-90 fps) if it meant a quieter or even barely audible system.
I once bought a vehicle (for fun not my daily driver) and I quickly found out that form is indeed not better than function. Now I get to stare at it in my driveway. Damn it looks good tho.
Paul, I have a different perspective on this. Despite not being a gamer or content creator, I've consistently opted for water cooling in my PC setups. The allure lies in the aesthetics of a custom loop, and I'm willing to invest up to $1200 to acquire the water-cooling components I desire. To me, crafting visually striking open loops is akin to an art form, and as an artist, prioritizing form over function is paramount.
I agree with u Paul when it comes to form-over-function discussion. When I'm building a PC, I'm building it to perform certain functions. Not to be an art piece. Therefore I choose no RGB/as few as possible parts, case without any window, etc. But I can't entirely agree when it comes to cooler. If I had £ to spend, I'd buy a watercooler. Water has higher thermal conductivity than air. It's a basic phisic. That's all.
@@peebrayen6564 ASs I see it - yes. Cause I'm looking at it like, I'm not just gaining a few degrees now. I'm investing(sort of speak), in my processor longevity. Always, no matter how cool you keep your GPU, there is some sort of silicon degradation. So now, when CPUs can reach 70C in just simple tasks(because they are designed to run hot), I'm investing in keeping those for longer just by cooling them appropriately with water. BTW I don't mean whole PC watercooled with hard tubing or whatever, but something like AIO.
Yeah, I am willing to spend a bit more money for some rgb, but that pretty much includes case and cpu cooler fans and that’s it. Spending double the money for rgb ram, rgb motherboards, etc, not worth it to me.
I've been buying AIOs because that allows me to have more cooling surface and less fan noise. Granted, my desktop also has a 5900X in it. Then again (yay tangents!), having an AIO also allows for a 200 mm fan at the top of the case, lazily pushing cool air in. A large air cooler would have clearance issues. On the other end, I have a HTPC box with an i5-8400 with a low profile air cooler, and I've even dialed PL2 down because 1) it will rarely need to boost above the 65W PL1, and 2) the VRM setup is kinda sus and I want to check the temps before allowing even the stock PL2 (122W). (It's a Jingsha mini-ITX board, it was cheap and had the features I wanted.) Even with the CPU fan slightly cooling the VRMs.
The form versus function debate cannot be resolved because it depends on the builders' objectives. I built a retro gaming machine with a Raspberry Pi inside. The appearance was my main objective. It needed to be able to play some retro games, but I didn't care about how it handled modern AAA games. I love this machine. It's a work of art.
Function first. I do think there is an argument for form factor based on space, when I had a much small office I wanted a microATX or mITX case simply due to size, but even that falls more under function (based on space) for me than looks.
One more vote for function over form. But I will say fixed color LED lighted fans make it possible to check dust filters just by looking at them WITHOUT using RGB bloatware.
Function ALWAYS wins out over form, the form is meaningless if the PC doesn't function, then it just becomes a box full of pretty parts. We're stuck with ever increasing prices because manufacturers see people will pay it.
But what function are you favouring over form? Case size has a function if you have limited room, in which case you might need an ITX build with an AIO. What if your thermals are fine but you need to favour acoustics? Water cooling (done right) can be much quieter. I think it’s kinda the wrong question - it might be better framed as “which function should you favour?” I think the vast majority of people will make parts choices on function first, then tweak the choice for form (e.g. I need 3600mHz Cl14 RAM for this build, so the spec is locked. Should I now choose a kit with this RGB, that RGB, or no RGB?). Yet, if a person gets more joy out of their PC build as an impressive display piece rather than with more FPS, then the aesthetic choices they make are serving a legitimate function; the enjoyment of their hobby. Good on them.
![Cody Johnson - I'm Gonna Love You (with Carrie Underwood) [Official Music Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/yy9PuYMU29g/mqdefault.jpg)
Buy a nice-looking case WITHOUT a window, and then you'll quickly find you stop caring about what the guts look like.
Couldn't agree more.
Also you don't need a window to enjoy RGB, plenty of mesh cases let light out and you can even get some cool effects that way.
I'm all about air cooling bc I don't want to worry about the maintenance of liquid cooling. IMO, pairing the right air cooled parts and cable managing in such a way to leave some wires exposed can make for a very cool industrial looking system
3:10 yes IT DOES Matters Paul!😂😊
Yes, your old school mentality may seem attractive to your niche audience, but there are many users who take the time to quote parts for a PC that is both powerful and also looks attractive, since it is an important piece in their life. , an important investment that you don't seem to remember to consider. Aesthetics are quite important, and obviously duh, the parts always have to be compatible with each other... a PC will ALWAYS be functional.
3:46 that cooler doesn't look attractive Paul
The last thing I want is my system looking like a 70s disco. I'm quite happy having a decent performing system in a simple black box. It works and pushes the frames oh so well. I know that's not for everyone but since the P in PC stands for Personal, that's how everyone's PC should be: Personal.
I want form AND function. However, I prefer air cooling. Fewer points of failure and they can look just as good.
"they CAN look just as good" yeah right
Agreed. Have built over 300 computers and so far air cooling is not only easier to setup and change down the line, BUT it's about 1/3 of the price. I've had friends go from water coolers to Air coolers after the sound or the cooling was up to par foe the price
it cannot, or rather, you ahve to work just as hard as the water user over there - also, lol with point of failure. 99.9% of people with an AIO will suffer punp death, and likely that death wont even happen because they will replace it before absorption forces the issue.
@@YuProducciones Hello, I see you have never heard of an opinion before.
@@baronvonslambert I have had 3 AIOs that were rated for 5-7 years. Only 1 remains. It is at the 7 year mark. I expect it to die soon. I have had 1 air cooler rated for 35 years (the fans, specifically) and I feel like I'll die before it does. So I don't really get your argument at all. AIOs come and go, but air cooler last basically forever.
Been building electronics for over 40 years, (71 now) it's a choice, air cooling is easy and better for longevity, aio's are now really cheap, so personal choice. Custom hardline is a personal choice in terms of aesthetics, it's just a cost decision.
i look at it from the perspective of preserving the thing you are trying to cool vs the longevity of the thing cooling it. It's not a cost decision, it's an investment to protect what you paid for.
@@Rav56nessMag1c There's multiple arguments against what you said though. Water can leak, thus ending your longevity on the spot. Components downclock themselves when they reach a thermal limit, so they won't ever reach temperatures where they'd die prematurely.
Unless you plan to use them for 20+ years, maybe then there would be some differences.
I'm 42 and have been building PCs for 26 years. I've had to talk friends out of getting lesser GPUs and CPUs for expensive RGB fans and AIOs. Newbies will prioritize the lights over quality components 😂
I went a bit more form over function and spent extra getting white parts for my new AM5 build. After I set up a nice logarithmic audio palette with SignalRGB to trigger when playing media, I wish my RAM was more visible - being such a new build, I'm definitely not upgrading my CPU anyhow, but I'm likely to get an AIO so I can see my RAM jump around to my music from all over my living room vs the large air cooler I initially got.
@@ivangerginov5648 Intel 13900k and 14900k, they seem to not agree with you, they like to degrade with time..
Custom watercooling speaks to the creative part of me who is also into engineering. That's why I got custom cnc parts to build a watercooled pc inside my antique desk with a ghost in the shell theme 😁 also features 3080ti and 5800x, which was pretty high end at the time.
I will usually focus on function, but form still matters. I also think you definitely end up with tiers of gaming PCs, 1080p, 1440p, 4k gaming, and you typically need to have similarly powered CPU, GPU, and monitor to jump between tiers. If someone say couldn't afford $600 to go from 1440p to 4K setup, but could afford $50 to get the RGB version of the fans they want, that seems like a perfectly reasonable investment into aesthetics if they care about it looking good.
That’s essentially my situation. $40-$50 extra for basic rgb cpu fan and rgb case (plus one rgb case fan I got for free). It’s far from fancy, but it honestly makes me happy to change the colors every now and then.
There is no right Answer. I've don't both many times.
I definitely prefer function over form, but there are lots of reasons to get into PC building and liking form is a perfectly valid reason. The PC building community is better with more people in it, and it's better to be inclusive than exclusive, so I'm definitely not going to gatekeep. Build what you like, it's your computer! That's the beauty of DIY.
My pc is an aesthetic statement, something I bring to life through my own creativity. Having good hardware is fine and dandy but i wanna make it *mine* on top of that. If you spend just a little more time searching for the right deals and parts, maybe even partake in a little modding, you can create something never seen before.
For example, I decided to go with a silver/white build with gold rgb and an angel theme, creating wing sculptures inside the case to guide the fan airflow
Yeah, it is a statement alright. But you mistranslated it.
Wild how nobody seems to know what a HOBBY is anymore. For sure if you dont like "things" and just want your Toyota Corolla/Prius it gets me from A-Z experience in a pc, then yeah, beige box with the best guts inside you can afford is the path for you. Some people are enthusiasts or hobbyists and like the things they have to be nice, personalized, etc etc. When ot comes to hobbies, rationality SHOULD ho out the window. That's what makes it fun.
I'm not into hydrolic lowriders but i appreciate the passion that went into building them.
For me, personally, function is absolutely more important. However, form is important to a point. If you have an eye sore of a pc that ruins a space, that will absolutely affect your mood and how you feel in your space
My PC lives under my desk. It's blocked from sight by my chair and desk from all but the front side, which just has a couple red LED fans through glowing through the mesh.
Otherwise, nothing down there lights it up and it's an all black build beneath an all black desk, so it's barely visible.
I think that solves most of the issues. And being obscured, it also muffles the noise a bit more.
Excellent point well written.
It’s usually not hard to get longer cables and relocate the PC to somewhere less offensive.
@@OtherTheDave it can be, especially if you have many and diverse peripherals (like a high-end flight sim pit) and even that assumes you have another location for the PC. Forget a carpeted floor, that’s a terrible idea. And any floor is out if you have a pet or young child.
The solution that works for one person doesn’t automatically apply to all people. The PC community seems to forget that more than most communities.
@@grievesy83 It can be, yes, but it usually isn’t.
yes function should be a priority, but you almost never care about looks..., I only see those HUGE BLOCKs of air coolers in most of Pcs you recomend, Those large blocks hide the aesthetics of the board... and even if you still have RGB LED lighting... that gigantic heatsink block will always make the PC look horrible. Additionally, an aio-liquid cooler makes changing thermal paste easier.
so I kinda get it, function yes, but... please lets dont ALWAYS use those air towers, water cooling its so good (not talking about custom w.cooling, fuck that)
"who cares how it looks?" well, them... and the not noticing the difference with the frame counter off i think is a valid point.
*Short version:* Honestly? I feel like the question, Form vs Function, is a bit misguided in the first place. I think it might be better to ask the specific reasons for going one way or the other rather than assuming it needs a balance or that function > form in general. Usually when I spec out builds for people I ask them what they want in the first place and go from there. I RARELY ask for budget as my first question because I feel like the whole minmaxing, bang for your buck PC advice lacks the nuance of addressing what people ACTUALLY want from their computers or if they'd be ok with something cheaper or different. I used to be someone that was all function over performance, and I do still absolutely prefer that to be clear ESPECIALLY for longevity, but I've had so much more success in friends being satisfied/happy when I give that a backseat compared to addressing the real reasons they want a PC.
*VERY Long version:* Hoo boy, this always becomes a heated discussion online. I get the reasons why people go for function-first builds. I get the wanting to get the most for your money and realizing that looks are largely fad-based and temporary while performance will always be there until future technology requires more. I get not wanting your friends to be suckered into a RGB lightshow only to have awful parts inside for way too much money. As someone who is in poverty yet still loves PCs, I basically live out junkyard fantasies with most of my builds for myself and friends where junk computers, office computers, and restoring 10-year old parts is the norm while a basic RGB strip can sometimes be out of budget when that money could be better spent on food or barely scraping by on rent. I've built gaming rigs for friends that look and sound like junk but perform great for the price of a modern RGB AIO and I'm always happy to see when people can save money and focus on what, _emphasis quotes,_ *"really matters"* in terms of a gaming rig which is specifically performance.
...That is, I always felt that way until a friend of mine got a 3090 and 11900k system while only gaming at 1080p and hated how their computer sounded, how hot it ran, how it looked, and overall was just having a worse time with life despite getting an AMAZING deal on the whole package. They were encouraged to get it because of the deal they got but, given their relatively low requirements, they really preferred something quieter and wanted something that looked really nice on their desk. It's the same deal with people who purposefully pay the SFF tax because they genuinely see more value in having a computer that looks good or is portable rather than have something larger, cheaper, and _far_ easier to build in. It's made me really start to question suggestions I gave in the past where people seemed to be a bit disappointed in their build overall despite having the "objectively" best decisions for their budget and performance needs.
I feel like the community as a whole needs to take a bit of a step back and reflect on what they actually want when it comes to computers. I get that there's a lot of people who really love the numbers and it becomes the sole focus, but at the same time I feel like there's a bit of a philistine-like focus on pragmatism and function while ignoring what _actually_ makes them happy about using a computer. I feel like it's an interesting inversion of so many comments that say "Well I don't care if my PC is ugly because I can put it under my desk!" when you could very easily clap back with asking if they're using 100% of their GPU all the time when they're playing low-impact games or, like in the case of my friend, _ever_ actually using 100% of their computer's potential.
There's this idea that looks "distract" from people getting the performance they really desire, but have we ever thought about working backwards from that? What if the focus on performance has been distracting us from getting a "good enough" PC that we can actually make into an art piece that represents us? How many case modders and painters and artists have we missed out on because the enthusiast community has focused so much on performance for the last 20 or so years? To be clear, I'm not justifying massively overcharging people for incredibly basic stuff like RGB lighting or a window on everything, but at the same time would it be necessarily a bad thing if we started embracing how COOL hardware can be sometimes? I've seen 3d printed cases with ducts that look like some kind of 70s futuristic monolith. I've seen artists go WILD with airbrushing their cases and coming up with really fascinating textures and colors to the point where it looks like from an alternative future to ours. I've even seen this one project, which I annoyingly can't find the name of, that uses fiber optic cables combined with lightbars to create this crystal-like pc case that I've wanted so badly ever since. NONE of these PCs had top of the line parts but if someone just wanted a good 1440p gaming rig then that opens the doors for so many different kinds of builds that don't require beefy coolers or mismatched aesthetics just because the deals were better. Ending the discussion on Form vs Function being just watercooling or RGB lighting feels incredibly unsatisfactory because it misses so much potential for ACTUAL creativity rather than just buying something that looks "better."
I know it sounds like I'm massively pushing for looks over everything, but again this is coming from a guy who uses a used 10-year old cheapo black box of a PC with used and donated parts in it. I'm literally the definition of someone who focuses on function over form and bringing prices down as much as possible to get the maximum bang for your buck. I just feel like if someone has the comfort of having money, and they won't be NEEDING the max performance of their PC, that maybe we should start embracing looks and getting parts that pass the threshold of being good enough for their needs and upgrading when the time is right. I really do think there's so many people out there who would want to get into PC gaming more if we let them embrace their creativity more than just making everything into a numbers game. I'm sure my friend would have been much happier with a 3060, 11400, and RGB air cooler all in a cooler master NR200P versus the behemoth they got instead given their requirements. Frankly, ever since I got into case printing with a friend, I'm starting to lose my love of function-focused PCs and I'm starting to embrace creatively using parts to best match their use case, longevity, and budget rather than focusing on what's the best performance you can get at a price point. It's SO much more fun that way and, much like the comments in the video, I genuinely don't mind missing a few frames, _which is probably over 144 anyways,_ or lowering settings if it means I get 95% of the gameplay experience while getting the satisfaction of embracing my creativity and care I put into what I created.
Again, if you're into function over form, *I genuinely think that's awesome and I'm right here with you.* If you're an esports player who does better with sky-high framerates, want a PC that will last you a decade, or just someone who loves to minmax and stretch their dollar as far as they can, then by all means go and embrace it. I just feel that exclusive focus is missing a huge opportunity to create something really special in the enthusiast PC culture and we should really start thinking about that as well. PCs are, and always will be, tools, but tools can be beautiful and have meaning too.
Function over from, always. Totally agree with Paul, always more beneficial to get better parts than spend on water-cooling, water-cooling should only be used on top tier parts.
Also as someone who is poor, it takes years for me to save enough for a build, so there is no way I could even afford thinking about water-cooling.
The trick to watercooling function is hooking your fancy new upgrade into the same custom loop you overbuilt for older parts.
I'm an old-school gamer from the early '90s, and I've always disliked the lighting on gaming hardware. The only light I want to see comes from the display. If I can buy hardware without lighting, I will choose it. Unfortunately, lighting has become a standard feature, making it almost unavoidable. In the past, I could at least select a case that fully enclosed and hid the illumination. Unfortunately, many cases now have glass sides that fully expose the internals. So, they're forcing me to deal with the lighting. My solution is to place the computer under the desk where I can't see any lighting.
I am the same. RGB is annoying & I always avoid it or turn it off if I'm able to.
I'm 71...and I don't get how RGB became so important. I'm not staring at my pc when I turn it on. On the other hand, it's nice that the youngins have something to keep them out of the bars with all the neon lights. neon bad rgb good, I guess.
Same. I couldn’t care less how my PC looks.
Last bastion, Fractal, has a case that I wanted for its form and size, but only comes with heavier, more expensive and more fragile glass panel. Most manufacturers of mid and higher tier push, or respond to demand, only towards RGB aquariums and components. Not my business what someone likes or dislikes, but this has lead to lack of choice and price bump for everyone. 'RGB isn't really more expensive' is due to manufacturers spreading the costs. There is cost in RD, manufacturing cost, size, reliability and sometimes even to performance, for eyecandy at least I consider eyesore
at least they still make fan's with no RGB. Try buying a non-smart a.k.a Dumb TV it's basically impossible find a dumb TV.
I water cooled my 10900K/3080 system. The system was air cooled for a while and then I decided to water cool it. I even went and did direct die cooling on the 10900K. Since there is nothing wrong with the 10900K and 3080 and because the system was built a couple years ago I didn't really have a problem water cooling it. The cost of the tubing, fittings, pump res, and rads wasn't going to get me a brand new system. I really enjoyed the process and taking everything apart and planning out my loop. Though I will say, having an open loop can make troubleshooting issues a bigger PITA. System is a lot quieter now though, will probably do it whenever I upgrade.
That's not even a question. Function.
It's nice if it looks cool, but if it doesn't do what I want it to, it doesn't matter what it looks like.
It’s amazing how many designers don’t understand that.
I don’t mind companies committing to a form - that’s kinda what those “thin & light” laptops are - and seeing what they can get away with using it, but it’s maddening to me when someone (Apple) _only_ makes form over function stuff.
Agreed with the second half of what you said but Paul has repeated over and over that he disagrees with watercooling less than top tier components and that’s where people are disagreeing with him. Your don’t need a 4090 for your PC to do what you want so I wont stop someone who’s more than happy with their performance choosing a 200 dollar aio over upgrading their cpu a tier or two.
Thanks, Paul, for the response! It's one of my favorite builds from you! I agree with you about form over function. I prefer function over form. Now, don't get me wrong, I love the customization and personalization of a rig because that's what makes each build unique, but I would rather spend the extra cost on functionality over aesthetics. It also comes down to the user's preferences and intentions for the rig. When I build for my clients I ask them if they want some sort of theme associated with the rig. Thanks again, and Cheers!
Hey there Paul. I like my PC to perform well and look as good as practical. I like ARGB but don't need it. I don't chase frames as my main computer is for content creation and work most of the time, and I only game maybe 10% on it, if that. It's a 13700K, 64GB, and RTX 3090, and it handles whatever I throw at it without any issues. It's in a Thermaltake Ceres 500 with an Artic Freezer II 420mm AIO on the front with ARGB fans on the top and back. I have the lighting set to show CPU performance levels, so I know when the machine is doing some heavy lifting. I like it.
My gaming PC is half (probably less than 1/2) the performance of my work PC-it is an MSI Trident 3 12400F, 32GB, and RTX 3050, 8GB. For my gaming PCs I like them small (tiny really) and functional. The Trident 3 is really small and works for all I need it to do. I did pick up an Aero 3060 for later, but I would actually like to try a solo 4060 at some point just to see if it will fit and run. But for looks, I just want them to be super compact.
Anyway.. I think I prefer air cooling overall, but I have certainly dabbled with AIOs. It's never been about looks, air vs water, but about performance. I drank the cool-aid about AIOs being so much better. in reality, there are some exceptional dual-tower air coolers that are way more affordable and work nearly as well or even better than some AIOs without the chance of evaporation, pump failure, and leaks over time. So, going forward, I'll go for air-cooled first unless it simply can't do the job and water is required. anyway.. thanks for all the videos.
Cheers
Rick
For me, Air almost always, if i would go water, I would go hard tubing. all these soft tube are a sore sight
Same. I plan to build a PC for my nieces and nephews. I would for an AiO but my sister isn't good with tech, so I am planning on keeping it air cool.
Form over function? smh
They must be a mac user.
I use a deck of cards as a support for my GPU. I prefer to look at my monitor while gaming lol
I saw a friend use a toy figure once and it just gave me so many ideas!
Agree to disagree to agree? I recently bought a 140mm AIO. I know it's probably not really going to give me better performance. But I have been working on an all white build. So, I've been spending about $30 more per component to get this look. The white AIO was a few dollars cheaper on sale than the two fan white cooler I was looking at, so I went for it. My temps seem to be steadier than what I had before. I could have had the same GPU for $30 dollars cheaper in black, but it's not what I was going for. But when I look at my build, I've very happy at the way it looks, even though it's more expensive. So, for me it's about what you want as an individual.
on tha gpus naa man naa man naa rtx 4070 suepr it is slti a not mindium card cad man it is on 192 bitl !! tha is not ok ..man tha tha gtx 1060 ..one time fenomonen wel not hapen probali not this decend as tha wey it is gowing ..no if you waon to rock you sitem intha future PLS CHOSE WAISLI LAKE AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT 20 GB / AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE 16 GB / AMD Radeon RX 6800 16GB PLSU AL AFTRE IT GEN AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT... BE A BOLER FI YOU HAVE LAKE 400$ 500 $ TO SPEND GEN ON OGE GPU at lsit get sating from tha top ENDG GEN WTF !!
Purely function over form. I wish manufacturers would stop spending resources on ugly RGB and aesthetics for every single product... GTFO with that crap! Sacrificing performance for looks is just nutty lol... I will never understand that logic. It's a computer, nobody is going to give more than 1 thought about what your computer looks like. That thought that I give when I see $500 in rainbow barf, a hard line water loop on a 4070 and 13600K, and case larger than a midsize sedan is that you wasted your money and should be publicly shamed. IF aesthetics ever come into play, that's when you've already exhausted performance upgrades.
Thermalright has cheap and afaik decent aio's, for like $50. Based on their air coolers reputation I'd buy that (if I was a watercooling sucker, that is :P)
Edit: otherwise, a nice strategy is deciding beforehand what percentage of your budget you want to spend on looks, say 20%. Then make a list minmaxing performance and value using 80% of the budget. Finally start replacing components for looks (or more performance). Do you want a clean whiteout build? Or upgrade that 7600 to a 7800x3d? Or maybe uptier the gpu? Maybe you specifically want lian li uni fans?
This helps understanding what is possible within your budget and helps avoid overspending on looks first, to be later forced to underspec to stay within budget.
Form follows function (such a great mantra) air all the way for me although did go with a NH-D15 chromax black for the looks. Going to go for a Herman Miller Cosm this year as my next work/play upgrade, on sale for £1,143.20 in the UK atm.
i don't like lights/RGB in PCs I'm done with it. but i also sleep in the same room with my PC. big black air-cool Monolith PCs for the WIN and bonus points for having more black boxes in your black Monolith and extra bonus points if your PC is build by magic dwarfs. i guess my point is some times function can be form like B-2 Spirit and B-21 Raider!
It would be interesting to have this function vs form discussion about SFF PCs. I'd love to build a SFF but they're more expensive - whether that's needing a new smaller PSU, MoBos being more expensive anyway, less flexibility with additional HDDs or PCIe cards, or maybe needing watercooling as a tower cooler won't fit in the case.
There's quite a bit more that's nice about GPT, though I understand why you didn't get into it in this video. It has significantly more robust metadata. In particular it uses GUID codes to identify drives and partitions, so you don't just have to hope and pray that the hardware and firmware will make drive available at the same path / drive letter. This can make using the drive significantly more reliable. It also has robust type codes (also GUIDs) for indicating the intended purpose of a partition. This isn't really used by Windows AFAIK but there's some very interesting standards you can use with Linux to automatically configure drives in the OS based on these types. It's cool stuff.
5:00 My computer is literally in the closet to keep it as far away from me as physically possible (don't worry, I have a thermostatic switch hooked up to recirculation fans so it doesn't suffocate). I couldn't care less if it looked cool, I literally never see it.
It wasn't until recently I upgraded do a screen that does 144hz, before that only one of my screens did 60hz so perhaps if you are on an older, slower panel that doesn't have that high of a refresh rate the lower framerate doesn't bother you? 60fps was fine for me for a LOOOONG time because that was the most I could get anyways, it was perfectly "playable" for the games I played. Now that I can get better framerates I try keeping it over 100fps and can see how those used to higher framerates would not want to go back to a "mere 60fps", but for some people it just doesn't matter.
I've also come to realize that some people don't "see" at as high a framerate as others. Like, some people actually don't see the difference between say 120fps and 240fps, which sounds bonkers to me but apparently its a thing, kind of like how the flicker of LED Christmas lights bugs some people but not others. If you are less sensitive to the flicker chances are you will care less about having a high framerate during games.
If you have a lower res panel or literally can't see the difference maybe a lower tier graphics card makes sense?
I built my computer to play games and do some hobbyist CAD stuff, not to look at it while I use it. I have some RGB on my RAM sticks, but it's only there because I got a good deal on the memory.
I don't necessarily want my machine to be fugly - the case is a Fractal Meshify C and looks ok, but looks are a distant secondary factor for any machine I build.
Function is king, but the PC being quiet is functional and if the only way to achive that is watercooling then by all means. Personally I find watercooled rigs to be more noisy, but in different ways so I guess it depends what kind of ambient noise you're ok with. My aircooled rig basically never spins up the fans unless I'm playing games and when I'm playing games the sound of the game is overpowering the fans. If I'm playing a light game or browsing the PC is quiet.
I prefer air cooling. I have been using the same CPU cooler since 2014 The Phanteks PH-TC14S , it's on it's 2nd system.
I don't give a hoot about form or pretty LED lighting. My computer is sitting in a small closet with filtered, dust-free, air-conditioned DRY air, and can't be seen.
There are so many factors that it's hard to say with form vs function. I think that a thing a lot of people forget is that form can be function. Not to mention, sometimes it can be cheaper to water cool rather than go to the next tier. Then their is lifetime of the product. The build being quieter has value. The price delta between a 4080 and 4090 can almost pay for all custom water cooling parts needed to cool the system. Some custom water cooling parts last decades and can be reused in multiple builds. Fittings, radiators, and CPU waterblocks don't go bad unless there is corrosion. The problem is catch all advice is while on average it's good advice it doesn't take into account the individual details.
I have recently switched to air cooled (thinking i had a problem with my AIO ) however it was a coil whine problem with my psu ...however stepping away from rgb aio hasn`t affected performance (in fact its improved it) air cooled seems to be the way to go for reliability/ performance for a normal pc/ nas set up just my thoughts btw
Function, every time. All that money I could blow on teh RGBees, or an expensive AIO, or an ultra expensive AIO with teh RGBees and a screen, could be going towards more powerful components instead, or just staying in my pocket for other hobbies. I don't need my computer to look good (although honestly I think RGB usually looks tacky instead of nice), I need it to play games and get things done.
Yeah, I can't agree with the comments being featured for that title/thumbnail question. The suggestion that "the next step up is only slightly faster" is wrong. Water cooling stuff is very expensive. Instead of water cooling a 4080, I'd use the money to get a 4090 instead. It's not "slightly faster", it's going to get you well more than 20 fps. And I'm not looking at my computer. I'm looking at my monitor or TV as I play a game. Performance in games matters way more than what the insides of the box that runs the games looks like. The computer is just a tool to accomplish the work of running video games. The tool doesn't have to look nice, it just has to get the job done.
To each their own I suppose, but that's not how I'd ever spend my money. I'd much rather spend the money on the hardware to get frames and the monitor or TV to display the frames than on water cooling. Added bonus, doing maintenance or upgrades on my computer isn't a pain in the butt since I'm not working around water tubes.
I mean, right there, the monitor or TV; that's where I can't agree with the second person either. "I don't need the extra frames at the moment" - huh? Instead of spending on water cooling, spend on a 5800X3D and a high refresh rate monitor, then you can get and enjoy the extra frames. I share in Paul and Joe's confusion here.
Its all about the function. Spending money on water cooling, RGB, or other dumb things when that money could go to better system performance or just be saved/invested is a waste.
o yea ontha monitosr ooyea felce nabida ooyea SAMSUNG S95 OLED.. OOYEA FOCA ut i relei hope it is not thda price o a car !!
Function over form 100%. That being said, function isn't too hard these days, especially if you're not running anything super high end. As long as you pick a cooler that lets it boost up to (or at least close to) max frequency, that's all that matters from a function standpoint. Hardware Canucks did a wonderful comparison. ruclips.net/video/lxf4ZXJTNpI/видео.html Look at the frequency chart. 68 MHz between the top and the bottom of the chart. You're never going to notice the difference between any of them. Also, that's noise normalized as well, so none of them are running any louder than the others. At 7.39 they show gaming on Intel. Highest is 655 fps. Lowest is 649.8. I don't think you'll see any difference, regardless of which cooler you choose, as long as it can keep up with the heat load.
Good enough is good enough. And if it's good enough, go for looks. If you're wanging off the thermal limit constantly you need to pick something with better performance, be it cooler, case, fans, whatever. Personally, I got an Arctic Liquid Freezer 2 240 AIO on a 5600X. Is it overkill? Yes. Is it great being able to run something like multi-hour video encoding at 4.85 GHz all core, while staying under 70C? Absolutely.
My computer is in a black box Define R6 . iam function over looks any day. I rather have all the power and silent out off my money then anything els. But i never been into the all RGB thing ether. Find it distracting and annoying when having the pc on my desk. But then again we who like it like that are maybe fewer now days.
How can they tell the FPS when there staring at their CPU block? I game on my screens(3) not the parts bucket... Love ya Paul!
Not hard. Always function.
Ideally function AND form.
Anyone who cares about form over function needs to just go back to console, or Mac, or wherever you came from.
Yep, I want a functioning PC not something in the form of a PC.
Function first, then form if there's money left for it
yep, looks are irrelevant in most situations. Form is sometimes relevant for travel
Water cooling.. NOT EVEN ONCE!!
5950x aircooled with a 3090 and not unhappy with that
I am so function over form I ignore RGB lol. Been building since 1994 when houston actually had stores that sold parts.
My daughter and I have to agree with those two commenters. She has an i5 and a 3060 really wanted a hardline loop with pastel pink collant. Her 1% lows in MINECRAFT were perfectly fine and she was interested in ray tracing for 20 minutes so for Christmas I didn’t go out and buy a new cpu or gpu. I bought Bykski and barrow waterblocks and fittings and she couldn’t be happier. I think what’s important is not frames per second but smiles per dollar and saying otherwise is borderline gatekeeping.
Brilliant.
Genuinely - well said.
The problem with function and form is materialism. People seem to value others opinions of them more than they value themselves these days..
If you are religious turn to god.
If not maybe look into it even if you dont believe just read. Extra info wont hurt.
Air cooling can look good too. Minimalism in the context of aesthetics can be more pleasing than lights and loops of colored fluid. I have a Streacom DA6 which i consider form over function. Inside that frame i focus on function over form. That's just me and i never claimed to be sane.
I want a functioning PC not something in the form of a PC.
I agree function above all else. you get a pc to run shit. You not giving house tours all day for ppl to admire your setup. Only ppl I can see being practical on the looks of a PC over just fluff for themselves and their friends are content creators that show their room in videos/streams all the time.
air cooling cheaper lower risk would rather not have water in my system, also my cpu i7 6800k definatly does not need water cooling
I am really interested in the LIONWEI Powered USB Hub for similar reasons. I will await your review. Thanks.
I am planning a new PC Build. I have never built a system with AMD... but I am afraid to build with an Intel I9 14900K and have problems. I use the system for business apps 98% of time. Very light gaming but I could easily do with gaming. So a real high end video card is not a must.
I want to build a great quality PC for the next 10 years of use. What would you recommend? I am now Waiting for the 2025 CPU's!
Considering a good air cooler will often perform at least on par with a good AIO, function all the way. Easier to build, cheaper in many cases, and very little maintenance
Function always over form. Noise comes before RGB and looks, and sometimes water cooling might just be it if noise is what matters most.
For an nvidia editing/gaming pc I'd look at a 3090 before a 4070 on account of the vram and bandwidth.
In regards to the water cooling section. Are they looking at their screen or their case. Maybe im a bit old school, but performance is the goal for me not aesthetics, aesthetics is a nice but not required after thought, again im using this machine, not looking at it, if i want to look at something I can get wall art or a sculpture instead. the cost of a water cooling system is similar to a socket upgrade or gpu tier upgrade, id max out the performance of the components, then add polish with a watercool system
Powerful, but quiet. Anything else I don't give a damn. If anything, less lights the better.
Well sir, Nerdforge already settled that question. Go check out her coffee making PC.
For me it's function, always. I have the window in my PC case facing away from me, so I don't even need to see inside it, and the only RGB in there is the RAM (it was on sale). This box has an air cooler, but my last one had a non-RGB AIO.
I don't need rainbows blasting in my face constantly. I just want to game.
Paul - I total agree about functionality over looks. I have been building my own PC's for 30 years now. I plan to make my ultimate PC build for gaming, but mostly for content creation, as a gift to myself going into retirement. I do not plan to buy a case which has any glass/plastic sides for display purposes, as I am only interested in how well it will perform for me and for proper air flow. And like you I am not interested in looking at my build and will just keep it in a place best suited for it for airflow and leaving me with as much desk space as possible for everything I need and for monitor placement. As far as AIO vs air-cooled goes: I want to use a aircooler for ease of installation and less maintenance. This may result in a slightly lower CPU, but with some of the high end aircoolers they can cool sufficiently for my purposes. Thanks for all you great video's.
function over form. Steel side panels over glass. Save money on rgb and spend it on better/quieter fans :-)
On a separate note, grow a proper beard man, you seem to have the facial hair for that. This current "beard" is just very very tough on the eyes.
i dont give a fuck how my PC looks . its all about FPS . and i put my feet on the PC case so it heat up my feet . 100% function
Should the speed of NVME drives be better explained similar to how intel CPU boost speeds are? I find I only get the blistering transfer speeds for so many GBs, then the speed drops off a cliff to only slightly faster than a hard disk.
I was a 911 dispatcher for ten years. YOU DO NOT WANT THE HERMAN MILLER FOR NUMEROUS HOURS OF USE EACH DAY. Comm room had those chairs for 18 months after a remodel… that’s how long it took for people that are using the chair for anywhere from 8-16 hours a day to start having to call off work due to back pain from the lumbar through the upper back and into the shoulders pain. Management then spent 40k on true dispatch long duty chairs. Think racing chair with 6” memory foam. So if you’re truly looking for a long hour day chair for gaming or editing, you want something with memory foam and good lumbar support. The back should be full length and include a headrest. Your body needs a break throughout the day and being able to lean back and support your head, neck, and shoulders is a chiropractic savior.
A big part of those high-end ergonomic chairs is that they NEED to be set up correctly or else you're gonna experience that awful back pain. If you just sit in it without adjusting it to how your back works then it's gonna destroy you. Having a long-duty chair like you describe is MUCH better for people who aren't taking the time to set it up because it's a lot easier to get someone on a huge cushion to distribute their weight versus dialing in support. It's just important not to blame the chair when it's given to people without the proper instructions.
For me form over function.. I dont need the fastest pc ...just the best looking, or smallest.
heal yea on tha on tha colig ..totli max 50 60 $ max ... yea not costum coling tha si for tha bolers !! .. normal warar coling .. yea cool
I water cool for silence and silence only. Look and lower temperatures are just bonuses.
people like stefen is whats wrong with the world today. looks over function..
I have an Asus AP201 so the looks of the components don't matter in the slightest to me.
Function over form. And add another catergory noise. Are air cooled pc's noisier than water cooled pc. Then there is the size of the pc.. So what i am saying there are a lot more categories. to be considered.
A great cpu and gpu with a no window case makes a great PC that you can change or upgrade componets quickly...
YES function over form! Someone can change stuff after if they want.
For editing, what the best hardware is varries, depending on the editor. For Resolve, AMD GPU's actually perform very well, outside of 8K performance and Fusion, but they're not that far behind. Also, if you're working with a lot of x254 or x265 footage, the Intel CPU's with an iGPU have a media engine that can decode them... something the 4090 can't do, and this GREATLY improves timeline performance.
I choose both. It hurts......... my wallet.
I'm with you on this Paul. Function over form.
NO. Must have both.
@@FirestormX9 yes the easy obvious answer
@@kickin123 why make it hard when one can make it easy?
@@FirestormX9 I don't even look at my PC. Why would I need form? I have a shelf on my desk underneath it dedicated to my PC that has access to air from an AC vent.
@@KonglomeratYT Sacrilege.
Watercooling. Leaks, lab experiments growing in your computer, stoppages, failing/noisy pumps, radiators clogged with dust, air in the system. Yeah, gimme more of that.
I've had my loop for 13 years unchanged, works great
@@gg-gn3re Yeah I don't believe you. If you have done nothing to your loop for 13 years, that means you haven't upgraded that computer in 13 years.
@@mjc0961 cool, sure, but like, the OP is your typical air-purest who overstates issues like an Intel fanboy talkng about 1% lows.
@@xBINARYGODxfr, some people in this hobby focus way too much on minmaxxing the minutia
@@mjc0961 no it doesn't. You can take a water block out and put it on new machines.. I understand why you wouldn't believe, with such narrow thought ability though
ryzen alone is already 7 years old
I am going to go with balance. Get the function you need and spend what you can afford on form.
Paul, with the current GPUs on the market, some games are generating a huge amount of FPS. Typically, most people have a 120-144Hz panel of some sorts, so the FPS is more than the screen refresh rate. Why does screen tearing still occur, even with GSync (or FreeSync) on. Can you tell something more about screen tearing and how to prevent it, without buying a 1000 Hz monitor
#1. Stay under your refresh rate. Use Radeon Chill/FRTC, or Nvidia/Intel equivalent. If this somehow fails-
#2. Use Freesync/Gsync. If this is not an option (These don't always work with every game) -
#3. Use Vsync.
You should never see tearing now. As for what causes it, it is merely desynchronization between what the monitor is trying to display, and what the GPU is sending.. It's half up to you, and half up to the dev to make sure it isn't there.
I don't think the distiction when building a PC is really between function and form, it is between function and FUN. Water cooling may not be the best min/max way to build a fast PC while saving the most amount of money, but it can be a very fun and engaging project for some people. This isn't an agree/disagree topic, it's a "what is the goal of your build?" topic.
I have an AIO on my 7800x3d when I definitely don't need one. I like it, though, and it was fun building the PC. I had the releively small amount of money that an AIO costs above an air cooler to spend so I took my enjoyment of the project into consideration. Your time, labor, and FUN are worth something.
I have to spend more on food every week than my AIO cost. That is why I say it's a reletively small cost in the long term, since it should last about 5 or so years.(unless you go with Enermax... don't do that. I made that mistake only once.)
Hard agree.
One minor point on form Vs function - be aware WHAT function it is. A gaming PC will have very different functional requirements to a file server, CAD work station, video editing machine, or monitoring pc on an oil rig
I would rather spend more money having a faster PC then putting money into a water cooling loop and I dont need. I have a 7900x and a 4090 and all I want to do with water cooling is just fit an AIO. custom loops are just a step too far for my overall budget. I would have rather spent that budget on a 7950x3d if I had the extra money in the build budget.
As a Aourus X570 elite user....I'm happy that Gigabyte has kept their Elite boards around $200 but it says alot, as you've pointed out, when the higher end X chipset boards at that price point has given way to B series boards.
You're not taking into account that acoustics are also a variable of the function. I too would sacrifice a couple of frames (as long as they're sufficient, of course, which for me is around 80-90 fps) if it meant a quieter or even barely audible system.
I once bought a vehicle (for fun not my daily driver) and I quickly found out that form is indeed not better than function. Now I get to stare at it in my driveway. Damn it looks good tho.
Paul, I have a different perspective on this. Despite not being a gamer or content creator, I've consistently opted for water cooling in my PC setups. The allure lies in the aesthetics of a custom loop, and I'm willing to invest up to $1200 to acquire the water-cooling components I desire. To me, crafting visually striking open loops is akin to an art form, and as an artist, prioritizing form over function is paramount.
I agree with u Paul when it comes to form-over-function discussion. When I'm building a PC, I'm building it to perform certain functions. Not to be an art piece. Therefore I choose no RGB/as few as possible parts, case without any window, etc. But I can't entirely agree when it comes to cooler. If I had £ to spend, I'd buy a watercooler. Water has higher thermal conductivity than air. It's a basic phisic. That's all.
@@peebrayen6564 ASs I see it - yes. Cause I'm looking at it like, I'm not just gaining a few degrees now. I'm investing(sort of speak), in my processor longevity. Always, no matter how cool you keep your GPU, there is some sort of silicon degradation. So now, when CPUs can reach 70C in just simple tasks(because they are designed to run hot), I'm investing in keeping those for longer just by cooling them appropriately with water. BTW I don't mean whole PC watercooled with hard tubing or whatever, but something like AIO.
If you have a fixed budget, its function over form every time. Come back later with more money to upgrade the PC with more form.
Yeah, I am willing to spend a bit more money for some rgb, but that pretty much includes case and cpu cooler fans and that’s it. Spending double the money for rgb ram, rgb motherboards, etc, not worth it to me.
Rather It's
Gaming Vs. Video editing!
Feels like some people look more for the case than the screen.
Not hard. Function. My wife on the other hand...
I've been buying AIOs because that allows me to have more cooling surface and less fan noise. Granted, my desktop also has a 5900X in it. Then again (yay tangents!), having an AIO also allows for a 200 mm fan at the top of the case, lazily pushing cool air in. A large air cooler would have clearance issues.
On the other end, I have a HTPC box with an i5-8400 with a low profile air cooler, and I've even dialed PL2 down because 1) it will rarely need to boost above the 65W PL1, and 2) the VRM setup is kinda sus and I want to check the temps before allowing even the stock PL2 (122W). (It's a Jingsha mini-ITX board, it was cheap and had the features I wanted.) Even with the CPU fan slightly cooling the VRMs.
The form versus function debate cannot be resolved because it depends on the builders' objectives. I built a retro gaming machine with a Raspberry Pi inside. The appearance was my main objective. It needed to be able to play some retro games, but I didn't care about how it handled modern AAA games. I love this machine. It's a work of art.
Function first. I do think there is an argument for form factor based on space, when I had a much small office I wanted a microATX or mITX case simply due to size, but even that falls more under function (based on space) for me than looks.
One more vote for function over form. But I will say fixed color LED lighted fans make it possible to check dust filters just by looking at them WITHOUT using RGB bloatware.
Function ALWAYS wins out over form, the form is meaningless if the PC doesn't function, then it just becomes a box full of pretty parts. We're stuck with ever increasing prices because manufacturers see people will pay it.
Yeah! I love having a super powerful PC that doesn't look that great because everyone sees something ugly, but you'll always know its true potential!
But what function are you favouring over form? Case size has a function if you have limited room, in which case you might need an ITX build with an AIO. What if your thermals are fine but you need to favour acoustics? Water cooling (done right) can be much quieter.
I think it’s kinda the wrong question - it might be better framed as “which function should you favour?” I think the vast majority of people will make parts choices on function first, then tweak the choice for form (e.g. I need 3600mHz Cl14 RAM for this build, so the spec is locked. Should I now choose a kit with this RGB, that RGB, or no RGB?).
Yet, if a person gets more joy out of their PC build as an impressive display piece rather than with more FPS, then the aesthetic choices they make are serving a legitimate function; the enjoyment of their hobby. Good on them.