H115i Pro or H100i v2?

adrichardson81 · 11 Feb 2018 at 18:54

Hi all

I'm looking to move my current build to a new case this year (most likely a Fractal Design Define S or a Corsair 400Q).

My H100i is coming up 5 years old, so it's probably time for a replacement. Question is, should I go for an H100i v2, or an H115i Pro? I'm planning on upgrading the fans to EK Vardars anyway, so am I right in thinking I'll see better performance from the h115i?

Thanks!

Ross Thomson · 12 Feb 2018 at 10:12

if you are going to change the fans then go for the cheapest asetek based unit you can find.

rhysduck · 12 Feb 2018 at 10:18

Ross Thomson said:
if you are going to change the fans then go for the cheapest asetek based unit you can find.

Don't mean to hijack but I may do the same thing.. any suggestions?

doyll · 12 Feb 2018 at 13:18

I know you have probably already heard it, but why not use a good air cooler? Lower cost, less noise, as good or better cooling, less chance of problems.
Define S is better built than 400Q.

Gee · 12 Feb 2018 at 13:25

OcUK sell the Asetek OEM units, think they're Gen4 pumps. h115i Pro is Asetek again but has the Gen6 pump with a better impeller iirc.

doyll · 12 Feb 2018 at 15:20

Until i see actual data showing pump performance I put no faith in one generation being any better than previous one. Asetek does a lot of 'advertising' about different generations of pump, but to date they have published no specifications of pump's performance .. like how many liters per hour is pumps or meter of lift their pumps can push water up to. In a world where data is king why is it they give us no real specifics rather than advertising hyper with no details? My guess is pumps have changed little except for how they look on the outside .. because if they were really had such great performance they would be publishing that data.

HazardO · 12 Feb 2018 at 15:28

doyll said:
Until i see actual data showing pump performance I put no faith in one generation being any better than previous one. Asetek does a lot of 'advertising' about different generations of pump, but to date they have published no specifications of pump's performance .. like how many liters per hour is pumps or meter of lift their pumps can push water up to. In a world where data is king why is it they give us no real specifics rather than advertising hyper with no details? My guess is pumps have changed little except for how they look on the outside .. because if they were really had such great performance they would be publishing that data.

It's not solely about benchmark temperatures, the newer pumps may simply be more reliable or quieter.

doyll · 12 Feb 2018 at 15:43

HazardO said:
It's not solely about benchmark temperatures, the newer pumps may simply be more reliable or quieter.

Very true, but the likelyhood is they probably have very low flowrate and head ratings, and that is why they have not published that data.

Actually I lied.

There is a little data out there for Asetek pumps saying 40-60 liter per hour and 0.175amp motor rating.

For comparison AIOs (not CLCs) Aphacool Aisbaer, be quiet! Silent Loop, Fractal Design Kelvin are 72-100 liter per hour, 1 meter head and 0.27 amp motor rating and Swiftech H series AIO are 600 liter per hour, 2.8 meter head and 0.5 amp motor rating.

adrichardson81 · 12 Feb 2018 at 21:22

Or new pumps could be made to a tighter budget...

Either way - looks like it's the Define S then. Next stupid question - if I went for a 240mm radiator, am I like to have space for a 120mm intake fan on the front of the Define S? I'm slightly worried that a 280mm radiator with no other intake might make things a bit too toasty inside...

TheVoice · 13 Feb 2018 at 11:09

I recently went with the H115i Pro, can't comment on long-term performance as it's a new build, but it's very quiet which was one of the reasons I went for it.

adrichardson81 · 13 Feb 2018 at 19:36

TheVoice said:
I recently went with the H115i Pro, can't comment on long-term performance as it's a new build, but it's very quiet which was one of the reasons I went for it.

How are you finding the stock fans? I was thinking about going with the Vardars and limiting the fan curve...

TheVoice · 14 Feb 2018 at 13:41

adrichardson81 said:
How are you finding the stock fans? I was thinking about going with the Vardars and limiting the fan curve...

They seem pretty good, haven't put the system through its paces yet but even on 'silent' mode it's keeping temps manageable under load.

adrichardson81 · 14 Feb 2018 at 14:25

TheVoice said:
They seem pretty good, haven't put the system through its paces yet but even on 'silent' mode it's keeping temps manageable under load.

That's good to know - the NF-A14 industrial 2000rpm could be an interesting upgrade (107CFM, 4.18mm H2O, 31.5dBA vs 97CFM, 3.0mm H2O, 37dBA).

TallPaul1878 · 14 Feb 2018 at 14:26

Have a H100i v2 on stock fans on roof, a Fractal Meshify C case with stock fans on front and GTX 1080 Hybrid FTW with radiator and stock fan on rear.

Sounds like a jet engine at full chat

I really need some quiet fans, preferably some nice RGB bling fans.

adrichardson81 · 14 Feb 2018 at 14:30

TallPaul1878 said:
Have a H100i v2 on stock fans on roof, a Fractal Meshify C case with stock fans on front and GTX 1080 Hybrid FTW with radiator and stock fan on rear.

Sounds like a jet engine at full chat

I really need some quiet fans, preferably some nice RGB bling fans.

If you can't see your rad, I'd go for some 2200rpm Vardars (better, much quieter).

TallPaul1878 · 14 Feb 2018 at 14:33

adrichardson81 said:
If you can't see your rad, I'd go for some 2200rpm Vardars (better, much quieter).

Are Vardars really that much quieter? If I buy 3 x 120mm Vardars fans for the radiators and maybe replace the 120mm Fractal fans with 140mm then would I expect significant noise reduction?

adrichardson81 · 14 Feb 2018 at 14:39

Should do, especially at lower RPMs. I tried stock, Phantkes and Noiseblocker before settling on the Vardars. Performance left the others standing and the noise is subjectively better at the same RPMs.

Ross Thomson · 17 Feb 2018 at 15:53

you'll probably find there isn't much in the way of temp difference between the fans. my fans run at their minimum most of the time and only ramp up once I start gaming or video editing. I don't mind more noise when rendering as I just leave the computer to it. gaming the fans hardly go over 800rpm on my curve and rarely go over 40C on the CPU or GPU. I don't notice any noise when gaming.

Ross Thomson · 17 Feb 2018 at 15:58

adrichardson81 said:
Or new pumps could be made to a tighter budget...

Either way - looks like it's the Define S then. Next stupid question - if I went for a 240mm radiator, am I like to have space for a 120mm intake fan on the front of the Define S? I'm slightly worried that a 280mm radiator with no other intake might make things a bit too toasty inside...

the define S can take a load of fans/rads on the top, front or bottom. plenty of space. I'd put fans in the bottom to blow air onto your GPU, 280/360 rad on the front and fans on the top to suck out the hot air.

Front: 3 – 120/140 mm fans (included is 1 Fractal Design Dynamic GP14 fan, 1000 RPM speed)

Rear: 1 – 120/140 mm fan (included is 1 Fractal Design Dynamic GP14 fan, 1000 RPM speed)

Top: 3 - 120/140 mm fan (not included) or 1 - 180 mm fan with 165mm hole spacing (not included)

Bottom: 1 – 120/140 mm fan (not included)

Side: 1 – 120/140 mm fan (not included)

adrichardson81 · 18 Feb 2018 at 14:25

Thanks - I'm on carpet, so bottom fans are definitely out! Equally the VRM cooing on my mobo is quite chunky, so a top-mounted radiator might struggle (I've got about 0.5mm between my h100i and the heatsinks in my current case). Setup is likely to be an h115i pro at the front of the case, with the fans doubling up as a front intake. My guess/hope is the air won't be very toasty with a larger radiator, and I'll swap the exhaust for the Phanteks PH-F140SP in my current case. Is the top vented or would I need to remove the cover to add a fan there?