Are some coolers, quieter than others? :o

Greeny93

Greeny93

Greeny93

Associate
Joined
4 Jul 2012
Posts
142
Sounds a silly question, but...

I currently have a :confused: CPU cooler, it was some cheapo (sub £30)

& the "air rushing through the cooler" makes ALL the noise, not the actual fan!

Even at low rpm, it's so much louder than the identical fans elsewhere in the case...
(still very quiet, I may add but a good 2x louder than the others)

Question - Would changing the cooler make any difference? i.e. the noise is the air rather than the fan/cooler? :(
The only solution I can see is - better cooler = more efficient = lower rpm required for equal temp = less " air noise " ? Hmm, thoughts?!

Cheers.
 
Coolers don't make noise, fans do ;)

Inb4 'But Petey, fin density etc...' :p

What cooler is it, what cpu and what clocks/temps are you trying to achieve?
 
Thanks ... again, petey! :)

The cooler is... an acrtic cooler i30 ! Though I changed the stock fan to an Alpenföhn wing boost.

I have three of these in the case, and they're all near silence... Though the one on the cooler, even at lower rpm, makes loads more noise ! It is, i'm 100% sure... " air noise " or turbulance, theres no rattling/catching its just the noise of the air whistling through :)

CPU is currently at stock, running at 26'c... Gave up on the overclock as I noticed little to no improvements in-game...
 
I have about 6 of the wingboosts lol :D Only use one now though.
They're ok up to 1000rpm. After that, they're not the quietest, but definitely not anywhere near the worst I've encountered.

You're right in saying better/bigger cooler equals lower rpm needed.

I'd happily recommend fans/coolers which would do a great job with little noise, but you're considering watercooling are you not? :)
 
Indeed I was...

I came around to the idea after seeing the " all-in-one " 240mm rad...
Being a novice this seemed sooo much easier... & cheaper ! (Around the £200 mark)
Thinking great - quieter and cooler for 200 quid, why not... not too much more than an aftermarket cooler!

But now I've realised the single 240 wouldn't cut it for both CPU and GPU, i.e. it's looking more like £250. & thinking, could I just get a quieter, and cooler air cooler for far less, and put the difference towards another gpu ;)

To sum it up, my needs are -

GPU runs very hot, when clocked ( 1175 is around the limit, pushing 75'c ) and at this temp is very loud, better quieter cooling wanted here. With the potential of adding another at a later date I.E. Not those HUGE coolers :p
CPU runs fine, happy with it at/near stock, temps are fine, though whilst idling, louder than the GPU, isn't really an issue, and is soon drowned out by the GPU under load. The above thread was just curiosity!

What would you recommend? :) The options are as I see it -
1. Easiest, stick an arctic accelero onto the gpu. Ignore the CPU. Its fine, why change it :) Should allow room for another 7970 + accelero in the future. ( £50 + £50 ish )
2. Watercool Just the GPU, with say a 240mm rad, with the vision of down the line adding another 7970 and another 240mm rad. Again leaving the CPU. ( £150 + £50 ish )
3. Full custom loop, for both the GPU and CPU, through 2x 240mm rads and adding an extra 7970 in the future ( gpu+cpu through 2x240's is pushing it though. ( £250 ish )

What do you think? :)
 
Last edited:
First of all, I'd say not to worry about the seeming complexity of a full loop :)
It really isn't that difficult to do and getting a rad/pump combo isn't really going to make it a lot easier.
A bay res/pump is easy, as is a separate res + pump.

Would you be up for modding the bays on your 410 to accept a 360 rad?
If so, I'd say to do that and stick a nice thick 360 in there with a slim 240 up top if you can justify the effort and expense.

If not, a couple of accelero's and maybe a better CPU cooler (or just a better fan) or perhaps a CLC like an H80 or something (with a Scythe GT or two).

I know that if I had one component watercooled, I'd want to do the rest. It'd bug me :D
 
Hmm !

Having all the components, res/rad/pump in one enclosed unit just seems so much better :p
Rad -> Gpu -> rad, repeat... Simples ;)

I looked into this, seems like loads of effort to mod the case ! Preferably not.

I think i've narrowed my choice down to -

1. Accelero, and leave the CPU as is (I see no real reason to change it, the temps are always sub 30'c ((heating is expensive! Extra jumper on is the way forward ;) ) as for the noise, I've just tweeked the rpm even lower and now is in line with the other fans.

(£50 ... then + £50 once another 7970 is added)
2. The all-in-one watercooled loop for Just the GPU (Sorry CPU, <3 you really) With a 360 (bleh) and with the vision of in the future adding on another GPU + 240mm !
(£150 ... then + £120 ish, additional block+rad)

I'm completely sold by the all-in-one :p... Which would you choose? ;O
Long story short - Ultimately, WC will cost £150+ more than air cooling, for... +100mhz / 20'c... is it worth it?! :p
 
It depends on whether you see it as a purely practical solution or whether you want to do it for other reasons as well as temp/noise reduction.

I honestly didn't need to squeeze more out of my card or lower the temps or noise.
It was just a fun project with the above bonuses and different/better looks thrown in.

What would I choose?
Well, I like to attack cases with cutting tools and squeeze stuff in, so full loop with a 360/240 for me :D
I haven't really looked into the all in one rad/pump thing tbh.

Your case only allows for a slim rad up top. 25mm or so from what I quickly gathered. Is this right?
Removing the hdd bays lets you throw in as thick a rad as you like in the front, right?

A couple of accelero's will sort you nicely and do it very quietly with less expense and marginally less hassle on the other hand.
 
Okay so... !

I've been doing some digging around and come to a decision :)

I'm going to get a 240mm All-in-one rad purely Rad -> GPU (£80... + £70 for the block, £150 all in)
This will be installed either in the top or front.
This will allow to xfire ( Originaly bought 2x 7970's, but due to the bottom been flush with the top, temps were off the scale, RMA'd it) Probably keep the second on air for a while then...... this is where I'm still unsure!

1. Simply add the second card to the current loop ( 2x 7970's on a single 240x35mm rad? (FREE))
2. Add another standard 240mm rad to the loop ( Around £50 )
OR.... 3.... Add another all-in-one rad and have a completely seperate loop, for each card! ( Only an additional £30, to have a completely seperate pump/res ? seems worth it but is it necessary?)

opinions? :)

Thanks a lot. P.S. I realise this is completely off the thread topic but meh.
 
Not sure if I'd want 2 cards on one of those, though I guess it depends on how low you want your temps and/or how high you want to clock.
One for each card would be fine. Not the prettiest of solutions with the tubing though :D
Can you fit a 35mm rad up top with your mobo?

What about the cpu? Add in to the loop or have that on a separate clc 120mm?
With a rad at top and bottom for the each gpu, an aircooler would probably get in the way.
 
To be honest, I'm not toooo fussed about the temps :) Like I mentioned, it's primarily just so i can have crossfire, without frying them... With them on air, they were literaly sitting on each other, and the top card was idling at like 80 xD (2x 7970's + soundcard)

Yeah I can JUST fit the 35mm into the top, basically with the rad mounted to the "outside" sat on top, gives about 5mm clearance between the case and the plastic "lid" and the fans mounted essentially "inside" No chance of push/pull though.

I'm thinking one for each card :p But it's whether i'd need another seperate loop, or if I could just add a standard rad into the loop? I.E. is the pump enough to cope with 2x 240mm rads+2x cards? Though like I said, theres only a £30 premium really for the pump and res, which would give better cooling/pressure/everything, right?!
Options -
1. Rad1 -> Gpu1 -> Rad1...with... Rad2 -> Gpu2 -> Rad2.
2. Rad1 -> Gpu1 -> Radstandard -> Gpu2 -> Rad1
3. Rad1 -> Gpu1 -> Rad2 -> Gpu2 -> Rad1
*rad1&2 being the all-in-one's*

Though this sounds messy, it seems so much better than having Rad1-gpu1-gpu2-rad2-rad1 =/ if this makes sence?! have to break it down to get my head around it, so confusing :(

p.s. yeah, CPU on air - airflow would be appaling but i'm happy running it at stock.

Having re-read that, a diagram would be soo much easier to get my head around... gimme 10mins ;)
 
Last edited:
Apologies for the state of these drawings! quickly thrown together (<3 you sketchup)

seperateloops.png


hope you can kinda see whats going on - this is seperate cards, on seperate loops.

28583272.png


This is one option, Rad -> gpu1 -> gpu2 -> rad2 -> rad

41417166.png


This is another option - Rad -> gpu1 -> rad -> gpu ? Hope you can kinda get what i'm getting at... like i said, quickly thrown together ( gotta go to the 'rents for a meal now, bleh )

Which option would you say looks the best? :)
 
It's hard to say really.

I still think a separate res+pump with a thick rad in the front and a slim rad up top with the cpu in the loop is a better solution tbh.

Btw, you won't need push/pull on those.
 
Uncle Petey said:
It's hard to say really.

I still think a separate res+pump with a thick rad in the front and a slim rad up top with the cpu in the loop is a better solution tbh.

Btw, you won't need push/pull on those.
Click to expand...

what he said. if you want further WC advice I would get a mod to move this to WC subforum

you do realise you will need blocks for each card and fittings 2 per component?

I would have a read of the watercooling Sticky to get up to speed if you haven't already.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom