Senior Post Whore
When you want your SBC (single board computer) cooled -in proper colo(u)rs!:
Schermafbeelding 2021-04-16 015537.JPG (click image for larger version)
There are 5V PWM models for every size, but only the A4x10 5V PWM shows differences in scores as compared to the standard model.
Last edited by Dirk Broer; 06-02-2021 at 08:33 PM.
Senior Post Whore
When my Ryzen 5 2400G arrived I double-checked whether I received the right cooler, as it was just so small...In fact smaller than the stock cooler that came with my Ryzen 5 3400G.
So I decided to buy a better cooler and let the 2400G cooler cool my A12-9800GE, because that came with an even smaller cooler -about the size of the coolers of the Asrock A300 barebone series (that have a maximum cooler height of just 46mm, you'd need to take off the outer ring from the 2400G cooler).
My choice fell on the Noctua NH-U12S SE-AM4 -the AM4 only version. For the future I think of buying the Noctua NH-U12S -for all contemporary consumer sockets, and the Noctua NH-U12S Redux as well to cool my other 65 Watt TDP AM4 systems. Linus Sebastian (of the YouTube Tech Tips) was very enthusiastic about the Noctua NH-U12S Redux -in Canada $20 cheaper than the standard version -but here it is just 10 Euro's difference for an extra heat pipe, less noise and more cables, amongst them the L.N.A. cable...the L.N.A. cable is included in the NA-FK1 Redux upgrade fan though, specially made for the NH-U12S Redux. There is also a Noctua NH-U12S Chromax Black, but that performs slightly less and costs 20 Euro's more.
L.N.A.=Low Noise Adapter
Type Fan Size in mm Noctua's Standardised
Performance Rating
(NSPR)Max. airflow
m3/hMax. airflow
m3/h with L.N.A.Max. acoustical noise
dB(A)Max. acoustical noise
dB(A) with L.N.A.Price in Euro's Tower model coolers NH-D15 SE-AM4 NH-U14S 2x NF-A15 PWM NH-D15S NH-U14S NH-U12A NH-D12L NH-U12S Redux+NA-FK1 NH-U12S SE-AM4 NH-U12S Redux NH-D9L 3x NF-A9 PWM NH-D9L 2x NF-A9 PWM NH-U9S 2x NF-A9 PWM NH-U9S NH-D9L Top-Down coolers Noctua NH-C14S Noctua NH-L12S Noctua NH-L9x65 SE-AM4 NH-L9a-AM4
Last edited by Dirk Broer; 09-01-2023 at 07:45 PM. Reason: added NH-D12L, actualized prices
Senior Post Whore
Today my newest cooler arrived: A NH-U14S, my 4th Noctua.
It will be used for a Ryzen 7 5700G that replaces my Ryzen 5 3400G in my ASRock B450 Pro4 mobo.
The 3400G will then be used in a X370 iTX system that till today worked with my Athlon-A12 9800E, taking with it the 3400G stock cooler -for the time- and the RAM sticks.
The 9800E will be used to rebuild its original configuration -but with the 5700G stock cooler.
The NH-U14S is quietly humming along in the ASRock B450 Pro4, pushing the performance of the Ryzen 7 5700G to the desired level.
The Athlon-A12 9800E does what it is supposed to do in the ASRock A320M Pro4 with the stock 5700G cooler.
The Ryzen 5 3400G however won't play nice with my ASRock Fatal1ty X370 Gaming-ITX/ac. I suspect that it can't handle the 2x 16GB 3200MHz Kingston Fury RAM sticks and will try with 2x 8GB 3000MHz Corsair Vengeance sticks.
If that fails too I'll try two Patriot 2400MHZ sticks. In case that also fails I'll first start howling and, after that, rip the system apart to perform some hardware surgery, and the innards will be transferred into a MSI B450 Tomahawk MAX II.
The Fatal1ty will then have to do with a Ryzen 5 2400G.
Last edited by Dirk Broer; 08-28-2023 at 03:45 PM.
Senior Post Whore
When we discuss cooling here it is mainly whether (AIO) water-cooling is better than air cooling, where air cooling usually means: BIG air, e.g. the Noctua NH-D15 or likewise dual tower/twin fan coolers.
But suppose such a cooler won't fit your case? You can usually find good performing 120mm coolers too, or small AIO coolers. In case your casing is even smaller there's the 92mm department. But how well do these coolers perform when you're into BOINC?
Let take our friends from Noctua as an example. They have both single- and dual tower models beside the usual 92mm board-huggers.
To start with the board-huggers: DON'T! Noctua themselves give them a Noctua's Standardised Performance Rating (or NSPR) of 59 to 61, depending on the model. They can only be used for BOINC-systems with 25 Watt or less of power draw -and even then I'd advise a very well ventilated casing. They also have extended board-huggers with bigger heat sinks, but these are hardly better with a NSPR of 67.
Things are beginning to get interesting with the NH-D9L, a dual tower cooler with -standard- a single fan and with a NSPR of 88. The next model price-wise -the NH-U9S- is a single tower cooler with the same single fan, but it gets a NSPR of 93 due to the bigger heatsink and extra heat pipe.
Adding a second fan to that NH-U9S gets you an equivalent to the NH-U9 TR4-SP3 or the NH-U9 DX-4677, both scoring a NSPR of 118.
But adding a second fan to the NH-D9L gets you an equivalent to the NH-D9 DX-4677 4U, with an NSPR of 134....
....and then we're in the NSPR regions of the well-known 120mm Noctua coolers. Adding a third fan will even more increase the capabilities....
We will forgive the guy the small mistake for his efforts.
The NH-D9L (including one fan) weighs 531 gram, two additional NF-A9 PWM fans weigh 184 gram, so the triple fan cooler weighs 715 gram, 0.715 Kg. It looks far more massive than it is, on the picture. Mind you, the NH-D9 series is also rated for 3U servers.
A NH-D15 (with two fans) weighs 1,320 gram, 1.32 Kg.
A NH-D15S (with one fan) weighs 1,150 gram, 1.15 Kg.
184 gram is the difference between the weight of the NH-D9 DX-4677 4U: Weight (without fans) 584 g and Weight (with fans) 769 g
The NH-D9 DX-4677 4U itself is some heavy fu**er compared to the NH-D9L.....weighing more without fans than the NH-D9L does with one! Must be the big ground plate for socket 4677...
Last edited by Dirk Broer; 08-30-2023 at 11:27 AM.
Senior Post Whore
This posting 10 years ago kicked this thread off, let's see if the biggies are still for sale! It is exit for the Ichbinleise/IamSilent EKL 225/800 and the ThermalTake Thunderblade 23, there are new ones (hello to newcomer SXDOOL 250mm).
I will also actualize/expand the content a bit:
Originally Posted by Dirk Broer
Cooling is getting more and more important now CPUs and GPUs are spilling heat like there's no tomorrow in your casing. How to keep the system cool? There are lots of choices:
- Air. Add fans till there's no more room for them, though it may depend on your casing and the outside temperature whether air will be enough and the noise of 10+ fans in one system alone may be prohibitive.
- Water. Lots of commercial products around nowadays. Costs a bit more than air cooling, but is less noisy and seems to work better too.
- Electricity. Via Peltier Thermoelectric Cooling.
- Liquid nitrogen. Works even better than water, because it is far colder.
- Phase changer(s). For those who like to be on the cutting edge. You can even put a few in series to try to approach the absolute zero...
Air
There are a few things that are important for air coolers: The amount of air that gets moved, the pressure the fan can deliver while moving the air and the noise it takes to do so. In the past a 40 mm fan was enough,
now 120/140 mm is the pretty much standard in modern casings. Fans have gotten bigger and bigger because bigger fans can push more air, while making less noise. Those who once bought a Cooler Master HAF 932
could get three 230 mm(!) fans with it! The biggest problem with air cooling remains that you can not get lower temperatures than the ambient temperature -if you find air cooling who can achieve such a feat in the
first place-, a problem that already painfully rises with our Australian and Southern US members, let alone those who live even closer to the equator...
Part 1: super-sized case fans (>200 mm) Let's start with the utter kings of cool -at least in looks- of the air department:
Brand-Type Diameter in mm Speed in rpm Noise in dB(A) Airflow in cfm cfm/dB Airflow in m3/h m3h/dB Air pressure in mm H2O pressure/dB Amps Watts 1st PC Corp. FN-250 Akasa AK-FN066-BK BitFenix Spectre Pro BitFenix Spectre Rexus Rexflo 250 mm Rexus Rexflo 360 mm SXDOOL 250mm Yate Loon D22SL-12H Yate Loon D22BL-12H
These figures, however, are the manufacturers claims. In real life/testing other values might be measured, such as with the Akasa AK-F2230SM and the IchBinLeise 225/800, which both get thoroughly trashed by the reviewers, just as they do the
Yate Loon products to a lesser extent. For newcomer SXDOOL 250mm read the user reviews on Amazon! Oh, and that 18 Watt sure is not "low power consumption".....it's easily twice or thrice that of most competitors, and a far cry from the Bitfenix offerings!
The reported air pressure for the Rexflo 360 mm sticks out like a sore finger, my guess is that they have floating point problems...But with these biggies air pressure is less important, as that parameter only becomes really useful when pushing air
through/around things (water cooler radiators, CPU heatsinks, hard disks, SSDs)
Last edited by Dirk Broer; 07-13-2024 at 09:43 AM.
Senior Post Whore
Blast from the past, some of the fans are years out of production....
Some good nowadays fans, (data via https://hwbusters.com/, which uses a LongWin LW-9266 Fan PQ Performance Measurement Apparatus):
Brand Type Diameter in mm Speed in rpm Real Noise in dB(A) Claimed Max Noise in dB(A) Real Airflow in cfm Claimed Airflow in cfm real cfm/real dB Noctua NF-A12x25 Phanteks PH-F120T30 (High speed)
Missing your favorite 120mm fan? Just mention it...perhaps it is even in this excerpt I made (click on it to make bigger)
120mm shoot-out 2024-08-14.jpg
If it is static pressure you want and loads of air transported, you might consider the Silverstone FHS 120X, which delivers 141,3 CFM and 11,71 mmH20 -but at the cost of 56,50 dB(Aa) and 11,83 Watt....
Last edited by Dirk Broer; 08-14-2024 at 11:51 AM.
Senior Member
i got a 2000 and 3000 RPM industrial 140mm noctua, both too loud for my taste. tho i think the 3000 is currently strapped to my Scythe Ninja 4 on my 7900X, but i'm a bit too tired lately to swap it or the cooler out
Senior Post Whore
The industrial 140mm Noctua fans illustrate quite nicely the dilemma computer users face when cooling their systems: Performance (Air Displacement and/or Static Pressure) vs Environment (Noise and Power Use).
The 3000 RPM industrial 140mm Noctua fan is great in moving lots of air forcibly through your case and against your heatsink or radiator, but does so in a very loud way (62 dB(a) in some tests, way more than the advertised 41.3 dB(a)) and at a high power use of some 6.6 Watt -Noctua's own figure. Noctua-wise the 2000 RPM Industrial model comes second in performance, is a bit less loud (still hitting the 50 dB(a) in tests, way more than the advertised 31.5 dB(a)) and running far cheaper at 2.16 Watt.
If you want both silence and low power use, performance sucks -at least a bit. Sad, but true. The Noctua NF-A14 ULN illustrates this good. It is -especially when you use the LNA adapter- whisper quiet and runs at a mere 0.48 Watt, but does the performance still suit your needs?
Here are the 140 mm fans so far tested at hwbusters in a very condensed way. See the site itself for more detail.
140mm shoot-out 2024-08-18.jpgclick unto to make bigger
Last edited by Dirk Broer; 11-03-2024 at 11:55 AM.
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