Help me decide between these 2 Noctua coolers please.

sgoaty

sgoaty

sgoaty

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I'm looking to swap the wraith prism in my HTPC for something a bit quieter.

I've narrowed it down to to the NH-C14S ( 140mm top flow ) this looks like a tight fit but it should go.

Or NH-U9S (92 mm tower cooler)

Anyone used these coolers and able to recommend one over the other?

Also came across the cooler master H412R which looks like a cheaper version of the 92mm noctua which might be worth a punt?

CPU is a relatively cool running 5700X
Thanks
Scott
 
what HTPC case are you using?

CPU cooling is as much about case airflow as what cooler is used, possibly more about case airflow. Reason is if case is not flowing cool air to cooler and then flowing cooler's heated air on out of case than air gets pre-heated on it's way to cooler .. and every degree warmer air is entering cooler becomes same degrees hotter the CPU is (@ same fan speed & load).

Generally tower cases flow front to back so towers do a better job of flowing heated air back and out so it doesn't mix with cool intake air coming in front.
Some HTPC cases have vent over CPU. With vent over CPU so flat / downflow cooler fan is almost touching vent fan draws air from vent into cooler and heated air is pushed out.
 
It's a Silverstone Grandia GD09. Basically looks like an AV receiver. It has 2 x120 slots on the right side and 2 X 80mm slots on the back. I have the 120s blowing in and 1 X 80 exhausting. There's quite a bit of ventilation in the case but it will still be positive pressure I think.
 
Sorry for slow reply

So right side (GPU area) 2x 120mm, PCIe slots vented and vent on top near back. Left side (CPU area) has 2x 120mm and 2x 80mm rear vents with no top vent.

Right side venting gives good airflow to GPU with top and back giving enough exhaust for it.
Front vent left side venting gives good intake for a small tower with 2x 80mm rear vents for it's heated exhaust.

Something like NH-U9S should work. I would prefer 120mm fanned tower but there are not many 138mm or less tall. Thermalright TA120 EX Mini has 5x 6mm heatpipes and stands 135mm tall. Would need fan mounted on back because it wouldn't clear RAM. Also hard to find.
 
CyJZmnt.jpeg
I've flipped the 80mm to an exhaust and it'll be a different GPU. I think the NH9 would make the most sense as I'm not pushing for a big overclock and it should do a better job of directing the warm air out of the case. You think I should leave the 2 X 120s or take away the one nearest the 80?

Thanks
Scott
 
NH-U9S will be fine. Only reason I suggested 120mm fanned cooler is 120mm fan moves more air with less noise than 90mm fan, but don't know of any on OCUK anyway.
Leave both as intake and experiment with both running vs just front one running. Probably don't even need rear exhaust. Probably be quieter just letting intake push air into case and let air flow on out back vent.
 
What sgoaty said, not sure one would fit. Even if radiator would fit I don't think you could squeeze all the hose in. Maybe one of the AIOs that are assembled component with threaded fittings and not the CLC factory press fit/crimped fittings that can't be taken apart to deal with problems. This kind of AIO you could remove hose from fitting, cut to length and re-fit. A lot of work when air cooling will do the job nicely.

Also, many if not most AIOs/CLCs generate audible pump noise
 
With a flat top down cooler I feel there is more area to feed that fan possibly.

I have a system with the NHU9s, I also have a system with the low profile cooler, 92mm fan i think also.

Both benefit from a front fan feeding them air.

I would have only one 120mm top to feed the tower cooler, by blowing air in front, with the 80mm exhausting.
 
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Airflow is simple displacement. Think of air as water. For water to move it has to both push and pull the water behind and in front of it.
Front-most side intake fan flows air in turning 90 degrees and flow back into tower cooler, then on back and out back of case.
Side intakes have to turn 90 degrees to flow down into flat cooler, then another 90 degrees coming out of flat cooler and flowing in all directions .. airflow forward and to sides mixes with cool intake air pre-heating it several degrees. Every degree warmer air is entering cooler means CPU is same degree hotter (@ same fan rpm and CPU load).

For air to flow into case same amount of air has to be flowing out of case. Again, simple air displacement. So with good intake fans flowing air in we often have no need for exhaust fans because air has to be flowing out.

Using both intake and exhaust fans is same principle as push / pull fans on cooler or radiators. It give us little to no improvement. Noctua says NH-D15 (2x 140mm fans cools 0-3c better than NH-D15S (1x 140mm fan). But 2 fans make more noise than 1. Run intake at same dB as intake & exhaust and we have same airflow as just intake as same dB.

Also in your case with 120mm intake and 80mm exhaust the 120mm fan flows more air than 80mm at same noise level, so 80mm is quite likely restricting exhaust airflow rather than increasing it. Easy way to find out is test 80mm running and unplugged with 120mm at same db as 80mm and 120mm to see what temps do.

Hope that all makes sense.
 
be quiet! are quality coolers, but Pure Rock Slim 2 has 3x heatpipes and NH-U9S has 5x heatpipes. That's a lot more cooling ability in Noctua. ;)
 
EsaT said:
Thermalright Silver Arrow 130 would have been easy fit at 130mm.

Silver Arrow 130 – Thermalright

www.thermalright.com www.thermalright.com

And another one, though 20 grams lighter at only 580 grams.

Silver Soul 135 BLACK – Thermalright

thermalright.com thermalright.com
Click to expand...
I should have remembered them. Don't think any are for sale in UK, but than neither is TA120 EX Mini and I mentioned it. :o I used Silver Soul 135 for awhile and liked it a lot. Only changed because I had case clearance for Frost Spirit 140 Black and got it.
 
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TEct1uK.jpeg


Little bit disappointed with the performance TBH. It's within a degree of the wraith prism and while it's quieter it's not as significant a difference as I expected
 
Bummer

Maybe unplug 120mm fan along side of cooler and remove rear fan.
  • 2 sound sources at same db are 3dB louder than 1.
  • 3 sound sources at same db are 4.8dB louder than 1.
  • 4 sound sources at same db are 6dB louder than 1.
  • Assuming each is a fan we have additional db generated by airflow resistance thru grilles.
  • 5db increase in volume sounds twice as loud to human ear, and it takes about 3dB for ear to noice a change is volume.
  • Fewer fans with combined with smoother airflow from intake to cooler and on out back could noticeably lower noise level without effecting cooling .. possibly improving cooling.
You have 4x fans (2x 120 & 2x 90mm) running to cool CPU side of case.
If you feel like experimenting a little, my guess is 2x fans (1x 120 side and 1x on cooler) will move plenty of air to keep things cool and do it with less noise.
Might help to block unused vent area on side so air 120mm side fan is pushing into case flows out back venting.
 
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