Help me decide between these 2 Noctua coolers please.

sgoaty · 12 Jun 2022 at 12:10

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

sgoaty · 12 Jun 2022 at 14:49

It's 138mm

sgoaty · 12 Jun 2022 at 15:12

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.

sgoaty · 13 Jun 2022 at 18:25

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

sgoaty · 14 Jun 2022 at 05:54

An AIO would be the ideal solution but there's no clearance for one unfortunately

sgoaty · 14 Jun 2022 at 22:16

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/be-quiet-pure-rock-slim-2-cpu-cooler-92mm-hs-01s-bq.html

Was a bit late discovering this one I've committed to a used NH-U9S on eBay now for significantly more than the new be quiet. They get great reviews for the most part apparently perform on a par with the Noctua whilst being quieter. Build quality isn't as good but looks great for the price

sgoaty · 18 Jun 2022 at 13:43

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

sgoaty · 20 Jun 2022 at 08:29

I've revised my opinion, just played Forza horizon 5 then flight sim. CPU temp was usually around 64-66 with one spike to 74, Much quieter than the prism when it's not doing cinebench. I think at full fan speed there's not a lot of difference in cooling performance but with normal loads the Noctua is miles quieter.

I also have done some experimenting, I've tried with 2 rear 80mm fans, no 80mm fans and one or 2 CPU fans. The best balance of noise/performance I've found is one exhaust fan and 2 CPU fans. The second CPU fan doesn't do much tbh but I bought it so I'm using it