3900x Cooling (H100i v.2/Noctua Nf-a12x25 Push/Pull)

NathG79

NathG79

NathG79

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I will soon be building my 3900x Rig and have a H100i v.2 which has the stock Sp120 grey finned fans in Push/Pull
Looking to purchase 4 Noctua Nf-a12x25 to replace the existing H100i fans and still go push/pull Exhaust as I want to keep that 3900x nice and cool.

Would these be the ones to go for?.want a balance of cool/quiet but game on headphones so noise is not crucial but don’t want it stupid loud.
I have my existing bottom two sp120’s hooked up to the h100i’s splitter and the top two on a NZXt 6 channel fan controller so that I have manual control when I want full tilt.
(2x 200mm on front of case as intake)
(Vega 64 liquid GPU hooked up to Exhaust at back of case (1x 120mm)
(1x120mm Corsair ML120 on floor of case as intake)

Is there a better configuration. (Rad must go up top as no room anywhere else.(HDD Cages will clash)
(Case is a NZXt H630).

Not interested in replacing the fans elsewhere-just the ones cooling the Rad up top.

Would be grateful for any advice going forward.


My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £32.73 (includes shipping: £2.74)​
​
 
If you're looking for lowest noise levels as well, then I would agree that those fans are probably you're best bet for your AIO.

The only thing is, having used those fans, I must say I'm not even sure you need them in Push/Pull (some tests by other people have shown there's little difference, but that little difference may be night and day for you so better to test out first I guess), merely Push alone (at max speeds, which produces some noise, but most likely a lot less noise than the stock Corsair fans that came with it) may be enough.

The sweet spot for no noise (* basically same as or less than background noise during the day in London about 50m away from a main road) from the fans is 50% with no Low Noise Adapter, 60% with Low Noise Adapter. 70% with LNA you can just about hear it and full speed you can hear it, but it's nowhere near as loud or distracting as the stock Corsair fans with the H100i V2 on full blast whilst giving out pretty much the same performance.
 
don't spend £100 of fans. If you want push pull which on an AIO sized rad will give very little way of improvement just buy some arctic P12 PWM fans. They are about £6 each.
 
Ross Thomson said:
don't spend £100 of fans. If you want push pull which on an AIO sized rad will give very little way of improvement just buy some arctic P12 PWM fans. They are about £6 each.
Click to expand...

Normally, I'd agree, but @NathG79 posted about the A12x25's first, so I assume they'd already allowed that type of budget for what they want; greater silence for the performance they want/need. Especially at higher rpms from the fans when called for, from which the P12's are known about to be not as good at keeping sound levels low once it exceeds certain rpms thresholds that are lower than equivalent levels on the A12x25. Also, that chip is one of the hotter ones if I'm not mistaken, so thermal performance of the venerable H100i V2 likely will be put to the test if the fans don't provide enough airflow through, so the likelihood of needing the fans are higher rpms are increased to maintain an acceptable temperature, and in that case, the A12x25's probably will yield the better experience.

Hmmm, now thinking about it, I might grab a few P12's myself, test out the sounds myself on my other rig. Although that'll mean I won't have another rig to grab another companys fans to test entirely on then. Ah well, guess I went luxury first time with Noctua, might as well go full budget this time on the Arctic ones. :D
 
Thanks for the input Guys. @Meddling-Monk, your right, budget is not the issue, adequately cooling 3900x is what I want.
If thought I could shave 5c off load temps with the Noctua’s over the Arctic P12s I would get the Noctua’s all day long.
 
Ross Thomson said:
5C off load temps is only relevant when you are 5c off the max temp. I wouldn't spend £100 just for 5C and given how ryzen 3000 is its a total waste of cash.
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Well, whilst I also play via that rule, hence why I allow my CPU and GPU's to hit such high temps, we also have to consider that not everyone wants to run like that. Also, 5C is a very fine limit, which could easily be broken through if we originally do not factor in environmental temperatures. Since it's no longer as hot as it was a few weeks ago, we won't know if the 5C will be enough of a margin, and so something which provides a bit more leeway in cases of extreme hotter weather may be considered by some to be preferable, over needing to do something about it later on when they find that what they currently have isn't enough.

We have people spending thousands on a single GPU, we have people spending thousands on a super quiet setup, etc. So whilst for most of us think that's a bit grand for not that big a difference, for those who can afford it, it's probably worth every penny.

Whatever NathG79 decides on doing, keep us updated on the results you get. :)
 
Ross Thomson said:
be better off getting a 360/280 AIO rather than putting fans on a 240.
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OP has listed a 6 channel NZXT fan controller, and the ones I can find that's controllable manually by the user appears to suggest that it to be one that fits in the 5.25" bay (Sentry Mix 2), which would suggest that a 240mm AIO might be the best they can fit in that case with the current setup without spending even more on overhaulling and changing things. Which would seem even more excessive than simply grabbing some better fans.
 
Ross Thomson said:
be better off getting a 360/280 AIO rather than putting fans on a 240.
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I did look into this, but with the fan controller the 280/360 rad will clash.
I quite like the fact that I can manually adjust fan speed (and noise levels) on the Sentry mix 2 (@Meddling-Monk you are right, it is, so the fan controller must stay).
I want as little overhaul as possible and updating the fans on the AIO seems to be the way to go, and Noctua are the best in class at getting that heat away and although the case (NZXT H630) is a full tower it can be a little restrictive so airflow in the case and static pressure through the rad and out needs to be high on my priority.
The outcome is that I have ordered the 4x Noctua’s NF-A12x25 PWM.
I will post the results in due course but finding time to get this build off the ground is an issue, It’s not something I want to rush.

Thanks again people.
 
You can control the fans via bios with most Ryzen mother boards.
You should have needed a fan controller. I’m sure 2 of the fans will give an improvement over the standard ones.
 
Ross Thomson said:
You can control the fans via bios with most Ryzen mother boards.
You should have needed a fan controller. I’m sure 2 of the fans will give an improvement over the standard ones.
Click to expand...

Bios Control on the fans has never been something I've liked.
I prefer to have instant control of fan speed if i see temps creeping up.
 
never had an issue with bios control as I know how hot the cpu gets during gaming and video rendering. if I want to "manually control" I can open up the mobo software and adjust it if I want.
 
On a personal level, I found the last time I used fans connected to a manual fan setup, it allowed me to compare the sounds the fans make more easily than if I had to switch the fan speeds with software, as each time I change them via software, the "sense" of the sound level begins to fade (from needing to look and modify software instead of just a knob or lever), so I may or may not be able to compare them properly (often I couldn't). That's an advantage that software control doesn't quite have. Also, with fans that are controllable in various sections of the case, it's also easier to test airflow mechanics more easily or when you make minor physical changes, you can adjust and test the fans to suit better (more airflow vs sound) more easily. New GPU? Gets hotter? Will increased front fans with more cooler air coming in help more? Or more exhaust? Stuff like that makes it more of a chore and sometimes harder to do a good comparison with software controlled fans. So I can definitely see why NathG79 may prefer it over an entirely software controlled setup.
 
I've never personally found any software control to be better than a manual one when I'm trying to find the best air/sound ration for the fans I'm testing. Since I can stop and reverse (increase/reduce) as I notice there is no longer a change, or the change is too apparent and then work from there. Something every time I hit the BIOS and change fans, because it spins up for a moment, I end up "forgetting" the sound level in my head previously, making it very hard to compare. And in software control, I can't tell how far I've moved fans or if I'm still controlling the fight fan from software slider (as there's no feedback). So unless software control now works with tactile control on such a fine level, I don't think any software control for the consumer will beat that. :)

As for fan curves, I'd LOVE to have some fan curve control on my Asus RIVE, but the darn thing is too old and no good current software can control it. But I would point out, that if your fans are doing enough of a job for load temps at a specific level and the noise is no different to a lower level, there's no point in running it lower other than for some very meagre power savings (like in my case). Have my set of case fans manually set at 50-60% because any lower and you can't hear the difference and any higher whilst helping with extra cooling, doesn't really impact the important temps (30C+ limit for CPU, and 20C+ for GPU before throttle). So it all depends on what you favor as a user (and how well your ears/hearing is I guess :p) and how your system setup is. :)
 
fan noise makes a difference when you are trying to study when compared to gaming or video rendering. Having next to no fan noise is important when studying but not to much when gaming (headphones) hence the curve. If I didn't have to study then setting the fans to a single rpm is what I would do.
 
NathG79 said:
Thanks for the input Guys. @Meddling-Monk, your right, budget is not the issue, adequately cooling 3900x is what I want.
If thought I could shave 5c off load temps with the Noctua’s over the Arctic P12s I would get the Noctua’s all day long.
Click to expand...

hey matey, regardless of fan the this rad combo is not enough for a 3900x. i have the same unit plugged into my 7700k and the unit is good enough for about 95watts. It can cool more but the noise from the stock fans ramping is a PITA.

I am about to slap in a 9900k into it and it will be locked to 95w mode until my new external rad turns up.

I didn’t want to do this but this is the reality of the 240m H100i.

I have bought the noctuas as a stop gap to replace the Corsair fans as the lead time on my radiator is weeks rather than days.
 
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