Which cooler is for me?

V4NT0M · 20 Apr 2017 at 19:11

I have just taken apart my full watercooled PC and looking to come away from a full loop for cost and ease of upgrading... Now the main target for me is always silence, I want the new PC to be as silent as possible.

So my options are as below:

An AIO cooler, I love the look of these, they keep the case nice and open and I like the way watercooling works in general, but I'm not really sure on pump noise. How is pump noise in modern AIOs? Assuming everything else in the PC was silent would it stand out?

A normal tower cooler, this would be a good choice for me noise wise I think but I'm not a massive fan of the way they look in the case.

A horizontal cooler, are there any downdraft type coolers that are anywhere AIO or good vertical cooler performance wise? I built a PC a while ago with an Akasa Nero and I liked the way it looked in the case but that was a low power CPU and the nero wasn't particularly high performance. I also don't want to run into any issues with ram clearance.

Any suggestions on any of the above would be great. I will likely be overclocking too and will eventually have the PC sat on my desk not too far away.

BriT · 20 Apr 2017 at 19:16

I'm a big fan of Cryorig coolers, Had the R1 Ultimate https://www.overclockers.co.uk/cryo...atsink-with-2x-140mm-fan-black-hs-003-cy.html

Cools great, easy to put together and quiet.

V4NT0M · 20 Apr 2017 at 20:24

Thanks, I quite like that one, not something I would have normally looked at.

doyll · 22 Apr 2017 at 14:41

Cryorig are very good .. as are Thermalright Silver Arrow IB-E, NH-D15S (not D15 because of PCIe socket interference), PH-TC14PE, Dark Rock Pro 3, to name a few of the top air coolers. As for the AIO and CLC .. well the CLC are very low quality with no provision for repair or even topping up coolant .. and almost always have pump noise and fan noise at high loads because of low flowrate pump and hi-performance fans to overcome dense finned aluminum radiators. AIO like be quiet! Silent Loop and other Alphacool OEM AIOs are much better then CLCs with real fittings, more powerful pump and copper radiator. Swiftech is only AIO with a powerful enough pump to be really expandable.

Basically stick with a simple custom loop or go with a top tier air cooler. Which air cooler depends on what motherboard, RAM and case you plan to use.

Sven69 · 23 Apr 2017 at 00:37

I'll second the Cryorig R1 Ultimate had mine for nearly 18 Months, does a Sterling Job. Can be a bit tight with tall ram. Cooling is excellent never really goes above 65°C whatever you throw at it. Currently sits at about 55 - 60°C in an I5-7600K @ 4.6mhz IN ARMA & Squad.

laddy · 25 Apr 2017 at 16:36

I'm a noctua fan, but lets forget that! Anything near them results, and if well cheaper then go for it . I never choose temp over noise, because what if one cooler is say ' 3-6 degrees cooler, ' but sounds like a hairdryer, forget it!

And do not worry about the diff between air and an AIO - there is hardly any difference in temps, but with water - noise and maintanace

ghutchison14078 · 25 Apr 2017 at 23:44

Recently got an Alphacool Eisbaer 360 to replace a faulty EK predator, it's fantastic.

jbh110tdi · 26 Apr 2017 at 02:01

Ive got the Phanteks PH-TC14PE and cant fault it. I had the H80i before it was a noisy thing..
Im seeing better temps with the PH-TC14PE than I ever saw with the H80i

laddy · 26 Apr 2017 at 08:37

Phanteks PH-TC14PE - just looked at a review. That is a beast!

jbh110tdi · 26 Apr 2017 at 09:07

laddy said:
Phanteks PH-TC14PE - just looked at a review. That is a beast!

old picture of mine the systems changed a fair bit since this picture but still the same cooler

laddy · 26 Apr 2017 at 09:52

One thing i have found with tower coolers is that generally 2 fans are not worth it for the return you get. But when you have a split tower like you have to use 2 fans

doyll · 26 Apr 2017 at 10:06

laddy said:
One thing i have found with tower coolers is that generally 2 fans are not worth it for the return you get. But when you have a split tower like you have to use 2 fans

Actually twin towers work very well with one fan. At low rpm they may run a couple degrees warmer, but at full speed they is using 1c or less difference. Reason is at low speed the fan's ability to overcome airflow resistance from fins is much lower than when fan is spinning faster. NH-D15 and NH-D15S are perfect example of 2x fan versus 1x fan on coolers with same cooling ability. They both have same fins but D15S has offset heatpipes so base is offset for better PCIe socket clearance.

ghutchison14078 said:
Recently got an Alphacool Eisbaer 360 to replace a faulty EK predator, it's fantastic.

I have not used anyh Eisbaer coolers, but have the be quiet Silent Loop 280mm which is made by Alphacool .. same basic system but 280mm radiator and slightly different pump I assume may be a little quieter. I really like my Silent Loop!