Is a Corsair H80 better than a scythe NINJA PLUS Rev.B for cooling

doyll · 26 Jul 2012 at 19:00

Sliver said:
And your implication is that they are lying then and instead of listening to the people who make and sell the product we should listen to people on internet forums who have nothing but opinion based on no evidence. Again, evidence please for your assertions. You made a statement, now back it up.

Please back up your assertions. The default position is not to believe any claim that is unsupported.

Corsair says their TX v2 series PSU are "Ultra-quiet" which is a bold face lie. I'm half deaf and I can hear both of mine from 2 metres away!! Ask anyone with a TX v2 and you will get the same answer: not ultra-quiet.

The ultra-quiet 140mm fan automatically adjusts its speed in response to temperature.

http://www.corsair.com/en/power-sup...tt-high-performance-modular-power-supply.html

Speed and many others on OcUK have had problems with Corsair H series coolers. Search hear and you will see he's not steering you wrong.

Several like Speed have had to RMA more than one cooler trying to get a good one.. and each time tasks a couple of weeks and money out of pocket to post.

jamesd · 26 Jul 2012 at 19:45

Wow quite a discussion on the corsair cooler problems. Thanks for letting me know about the problems. I realise some people have had no problems with them and some people have had problems with multiple units. Silver I appreciate you defending corsair as you have not had a problem with your cooler, but Speed is quite entitled to voice his experience with the H80 cooler. From a quick search on the internet these faults seem quite common and still common on the replacement coolers sent out from corsair. To be honest if I had an £80 cooler go defective and sent it back to the manufacture only to receive a replacement that had the same fault I would be quite annoyed and would suggest to other people not to use that cooler. Speed did not actually say DO NOT BUY AN H80 he just advised to be cautious of the problems. Speed actually said that if a closed water cooler was what I was looking for then to go for the H80. I agree that the information on the corsair forums and the posts from staff might not be 100% accurate as well. It makes sense, a company is not going to post information that might jeopardise future sales nor is it likely to admit there is a massive problem with a large quantity of these coolers. They would much rather let people think that it’s only a small number of coolers with the problem so that people aren’t put off buying them. I am not saying that this is what corsair are doing, this is only my opinion as to why the corsair forums and comments from staff could be biased. Only corsair will ever know how many coolers that have been returned and they are not likely to release those figures. As it goes I think I actually would take the risk and purchase an H80 cooler, despite all the reports of problems.

Anyhow with the problems aside will this cooler perform better than my current scythe cooler assuming that its 100% working as it should with no faults? Or will the temps be much the same as the scythe cooler?
This is the scythe cooler that I have:
http://www.scythe-usa.com/product/cpu/026/scnj1100p.html

doyll · 26 Jul 2012 at 20:22

maybe 5c better than H80.... hard to say but that's probably best case scenario

I would suggest figuring out what other air coolers will actually fit in your system. The best air are less money and better coolers.

And I have a Phanteks stuffed into a Define R2. ;p

Speed · 26 Jul 2012 at 20:24

jamesd said:
Anyhow with the problems aside will this cooler perform better than my current scythe cooler assuming that its 100% working as it should with no faults? Or will the temps be much the same as the scythe cooler?
This is the scythe cooler that I have:
http://www.scythe-usa.com/product/cpu/026/scnj1100p.html

Your cooler is quite old so that makes it hard to find reviews comparing it to a recent release like a Corsair H80. This obviously makes it hard to provide a definitive answer however from the reviews of the H80 I've read the answer is yes, although it may not be a huge difference. About what doyll suggested, 5c or a bit more due to your current cooler/case/fan layout.

I've had a look at your other thread and your cooler setup, did changing thermal compound make any difference? A remount using the pea method, putting a small blob in the middle and using the pressure of the cooler to evenly spread it out. Also moving the fan to push air towards the extractor would be a good idea if the ram doesn't interfer with it. Even if you cannot affix it properly you could at least see if it makes a difference.

Ultimately if the H80 does not improve your temperatures enough, you can always return it using the DSRs, you just pay the postage back to the retailer.

Leeroy123 · 26 Jul 2012 at 20:52

Im on my 4th corsair h80 in a short period, luckily the place i bought it happily exchange when i take them in and i live pretty close. Although the pumps failed 3 times they are still a great cooler, i was looking at changing the h80 and may well do in the future. As for performance on 5ghz on prime it doesnt go above 75 and 12 hours. So its pretty decent. As said though pump problems are very common mate.

shankly1985 · 26 Jul 2012 at 21:26

I love my H80 and wouldn't swap it for nothing

My i5 2500k is OC 4.5 and my temps idle 33-35C and when playing games I reach between 55-59C

jamesd · 26 Jul 2012 at 22:26

Thanks for the replies every one. Thanks for reading my other thread Speed. I have not ordered new thermal paste yet to try that but I have re applied the paste. I put a rice grain blobbed size in the middle of the CPU and re fitted the cooler. I was doing a bit of research as to what paste is the best to get before ordering. The stuff I used was cool masters branded but after reading the forums I think I am going to order IC diamond to replace it with. I have also broken my scythe fan on the CPU cooler and have fitted two smaller fans in push pull config and pointed them towards the case exhaust like this:

This however has not made a difference to the temps, they are staying about the same. I am really running out of idea’s on how to get my temps down now. I have had the case panel off and pointed a desk fan in the case on full and the temps dropped 1-2c . I have put the side panel back on and pointed the desk fan at the intake fan on the front of the PC and the temps still stay the same. I have also been monitoring the temperatures outside my case and inside my case. The outside temp just now is 27.3c and the in case temp is 28c. If the PC is stress tested the in case temp can hit 35C. So I don’t think air flow in the case is a problem?

shankly1985 · 26 Jul 2012 at 23:30

You complaining over 35C? I find it hard to believe your load is only 35C. Thats more a idle temp. what you using to get theses temp readings?

Speed · 26 Jul 2012 at 23:33

jamesd said:
*snip*

IC Diamond may be the best but I'd suggest against it. It is expensive, hard to apply / remove and offers little benifit. Some Arctic MX-3 or similar would be fine although the stuff Corsair pre-apply to their H80 isn't half bad.

Like you say airflow seems pretty good. Looks like a new cooler is the road to go down.

shankly1985 said:
You complaining over 35C? I find it hard to believe your load is only 35C. Thats more a idle temp. what you using to get theses temp readings?

Case temp!

His CPU load is about 85c under Intel Burn Test.

shankly1985 · 26 Jul 2012 at 23:59

Speed said:
IC Diamond may be the best but I'd suggest against it. It is expensive, hard to apply / remove and offers little benifit. Some Arctic MX-3 or similar would be fine although the stuff Corsair pre-apply to their H80 isn't half bad.

Like you say airflow seems pretty good. Looks like a new cooler is the road to go down.

Case temp!

His CPU load is about 85c under Intel Burn Test.

O ok missed that part LOL

doyll · 27 Jul 2012 at 00:14

Agree with Speed. IC Diamond is good but hard to work with.

Your case temp rising to 35c under load is with ambient at 27c under load? Or is that when ambient is 22-23c?

Mine case is 2c above ambient idle and 3c above ambient 100% load. If GPU is under load too case temp is 3-4c above ambient... My GPU is HD5770 Silent Cell... passive cooled so all heat is in case.
Cooler exhaust is 7-8c above ambient idle and 12-14c above ambient 100% load.
My cooler exhaust is ducted out of case so no cooler exhaust .heat stays in case.

I would try some proper fans on your cooler. You can get a decent fan for about 6 quid. Ask Speed. He is pretty sharp. My guess is it will cool much better.

Your case is a big part of your problems. I had a Xaser III before my Define R2. Had done major modding to increase airflow on it.

Leeroy123 · 27 Jul 2012 at 08:44

Intel burn test my cpu cooler on the h80 reaches high 80's but thats on 5ghz.

jamesd · 27 Jul 2012 at 11:44

Thanks for the replies. Yeah those are case temps not CPU temps I would be over the moon if they were CPU load temps. I did read that the IC diamond paste was awkward to use the other paste I was considering was AS5 (I think that’s what it’s called?) But am I right in thinking that it’s conductive? If the Arctic MX-3 paste is decent then I shall order that instead.
The in case load temp is 35c when the outside case temp is 27c. The load test is just a CPU stress test with Intel burn and not a video card test. Doyll the Xaser III case has more fan slots on it than my case does. Which is worrying if you had air flow issues with it. I did think about changing the case fans for better fans but I wasn’t sure if that would help. I suppose at £6 a fan it wouldn’t hurt to try it and see. I would be willing to spend more on case fans though if it meant getting better performing ones.

Apologies for the lack of quotes in my reply but I am writing this at work and type it out in word. Then paste it into the reply on the forums so the boss doesn’t see and its quicker if I don’t add the quotes.

doyll · 27 Jul 2012 at 12:17

jamesd said:
Apologies for the lack of quotes in my reply but I am writing this at work and type it out in word. Then paste it into the reply on the forums so the boss doesn’t see and its quicker if I don’t add the quotes.

There are a few mods that I think would solve your problems.
1. Put 1 or better 2 fans in the bottom and raise case at least 55mm. I make a caster base to solve this problem. SilverStone sell some nice filters that attach magnetically

2. Remove all unused PCI slot covers to allow hot air out.
3. Remove the metal grate on back exhaust duct.

A couple of good fans on you cooler and possibly duct exhaust out the vent hole so heat is forced out. Need to be careful with duct to keep airflow to PCU intake.

jamesd · 27 Jul 2012 at 18:58

doyll said:
There are a few mods that I think would solve your problems.
1. Put 1 or better 2 fans in the bottom and raise case at least 55mm. I make a caster base to solve this problem. SilverStone sell some nice filters that attach magnetically
2. Remove all unused PCI slot covers to allow hot air out.
3. Remove the metal grate on back exhaust duct.

A couple of good fans on you cooler and possibly duct exhaust out the vent hole so heat is forced out. Need to be careful with duct to keep airflow to PCU intake.

Hmmmm I would prefer not to butcher the case if it can be helped. I am not too sure that adding two fans in the bottom of the case will help. As taking the case panel off and pointing a desk fan in the case didn't do much for the temps. I already have the spare PCI slot covers removed. Perhaps changing my current case fans for some better performing ones would help?

doyll · 27 Jul 2012 at 20:30

Cases with decent airflow usually have 2x 120/140mm fan in front and usually 1x120/140mm in bottom.

Your cooler really needs some bigger fans. Those are dinky fans you have on it now. Isn't it supposed to have 120mm fan?

Speed · 27 Jul 2012 at 20:57

They look like 80mm fans on the cooler, I suspect that is more to do with space than anything else. He had trouble fitting 120mm fans due to the Ram and Motherboard heatsink if I recall correctly. Even if you had to have the 120mm fans sticking out above the cooler slightly they would offer better cooling than the current ones, so as long as the side panel goes on I'd give that a try.

The case has 120mm intake and extractor if the specs are correct, so that should be fine airflow wise. I think the hard drive bay is also removable so putting the hard drive up the top or down the bottom with the cage removed should improve airflow. Also check that the filters on the intake at the front are clean.

How are the case fans connected? 4-Pin molex or 3-Pin to the board?

Ultimately though this is all pointing towards buying a new cooler or a new case.

jamesd · 27 Jul 2012 at 22:08

doyll said:
Cases with decent airflow usually have 2x 120/140mm fan in front and usually 1x120/140mm in bottom.

Your cooler really needs some bigger fans. Those are dinky fans you have on it now. Isn't it supposed to have 120mm fan?

I did have a scythe 120mm fan on the CPU cooler to start with but while checking the PC and checking to see if the heat pipes on the cooler were getting warm under full load I managed to break a blade off the fan

Speed said:
They look like 80mm fans on the cooler, I suspect that is more to do with space than anything else. He had trouble fitting 120mm fans due to the Ram and Motherboard heatsink if I recall correctly. Even if you had to have the 120mm fans sticking out above the cooler slightly they would offer better cooling than the current ones, so as long as the side panel goes on I'd give that a try.

The case has 120mm intake and extractor if the specs are correct, so that should be fine airflow wise. I think the hard drive bay is also removable so putting the hard drive up the top or down the bottom with the cage removed should improve airflow. Also check that the filters on the intake at the front are clean.

How are the case fans connected? 4-Pin molex or 3-Pin to the board?

Ultimately though this is all pointing towards buying a new cooler or a new case.

It is 80mm fans on the CPU cooler. The case spec's are correct there is a 120mm front intake fan and a rear 120mm exhaust fan and a 80mm on the side window. I shall try removing the HDD rack and see if that makes a difference. All the filters are cleaned and free from dust. I cleaned out all the dust in the case and on the fans, I even removed the filters completely to see if this helped but there was still no change in temps. The fans are connected to the motherboard 3pin connector apart from the side window fan and one of the 80mm fans on the CPU cooler which are connected to a Molex. I shall try fitting a 120mm fan to the CPU cooler, I don’t have one spare so what one would be the best to order. Noise isn't really a concern as long as it’s not like a plane taking off.

Many thanks to both of you for your replies, I hope we get to the bottom of these temps soon.

doyll · 28 Jul 2012 at 00:39

A 80mm fan has half the area and move about half as much air as a 120mm fan

My guess is a 120mm fan will perform better then the 2x 80mm fans you now have... and 2x 120 fans will be even better.

jamesd · 28 Jul 2012 at 11:34

doyll said:
A 80mm fan has half the area and move about half as much air as a 120mm fan My guess is a 120mm fan will perform better then the 2x 80mm fans you now have... and 2x 120 fans will be even better.

Ok what fans would you recommend for use on the CPU cooler?