Still got my 4790k with a GTX 1660 which Im using as a NAS server and my 7700k with a 2070 which I gave to my daughter for her schooling. Went to 12900K last year and 4070Ti this February 2023. 4080 and 4090’s price is way off the chart for me. 😅

Ive got a Corsair H150i Elite 360mm AIO. Works great for the i9 12900K. Idle temps average at 35c and gaming load at 65-70c on a 1440p settings.

i7 4790k to i7 7700k to i9 12900K just last year. So am moving to 15th or 16th gen or probably 17th gen in the next few years.

Only reason I upgraded to 12900k was because Windows 11 do not support 7th gen and below and in the upcoming update for Windows 12.

One of my rig is an i5 12600K. Did not undervolt it or anything. My AIO is a MSI Mag Coreliquid 240R V2 and have never seen it thermal throttle even under load medium to high settings in game.

No. You can probably use that 120mm AIO on a media center i3, i5 or i7 4th or 5th gen cpu but not on an i7 or i9 newer gen.