Cooling Replacing Failed AIO, Air Cooler Help for i9-10900K Build

usyk

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New User
Mar 16, 2026
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You may have seen the thread I opened about this, I've been troubleshooting across several forums for a while now, and I want to thank everyone who helped along the way. Your input was invaluable in diagnosing the root cause.
My Corsair H150 RGB 360mm AIO has failed after 3 years, exhaust air stays at ambient during load, pump reads 3000+ RPM but heat never reaches the radiator. Done with liquid cooling. Looking for an air cooler replacement.
System:
  • CPU: i9-10900K (LGA1200), power limits set to PL1 200W / PL2 250W​
  • Motherboard: MSI MPG Z490 Carbon EK X (large VRM heatsinks)​
  • Case: MSI MPG Sekira 500G, 170mm CPU cooler height limit
  • RAM: HyperX Fury RGB DDR4, 2×16GB, ~41mm tall
Measured clearances:
  • VRM heatsink to leftmost RAM slot: 120mm
  • VRM heatsink + RAM combined footprint: ~40mm
  • Max cooler height: 170mm firm limit​
Cooling performance matters, this CPU pulls 200W+ sustained under load.
Has anyone run a dual tower air cooler on a Z490 board with high-profile RAM? Any fitment issues with the VRM heatsink or RAM clearance?
Open to suggestions.​
 
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