Help Me decide on a CPU Cooler?

Ghot · Aug 30, 2023

JAM83 said:
LMAO! trust me, I need a lot of that right now. Not only for all of this, but I have other things going on.

When I was a wee lad... it would have taken 6 months to get here.
Assuming they even made personal computers, which they didn't.

Ghot · Aug 31, 2023

@JAM83

If these are louder than the 2000rpm Cooler Master fans... I can't hear it.
Room is 70F and this is the rpm and the temps for the fans...

Load temps....

Summary...

Seems that either the Cooler Master Blade Master fans (no longer available), are a lot better than their specs, or that the Noctua fans do a lot less than their specs. I'm only seeing about a 2C drop in temps.
It could also be that I need "more" heatsink to take advantage of the Noctua fans. It might be that no matter what fans I put on there... there's only enough aluminum fins to cool a certain amount.

CM Blade Masters ~$13
Noctua fans ~$28

Ghot · Sep 1, 2023

Well, I set the Noctua CPU fans at 85% (~2500rpm), in the BIOS.
At that percentage they seem to keep the temps like the Cooler Master fans did.

Seems it IS the heatsink itself that is the limiting factor here.
No matter how much air I blow through there... it's not gonna get any cooler.
Need to find a heatsink with more aluminum fin-age.

Dru2 · Sep 1, 2023

I keep my 140mm Corsair fans below (900 RPM) their rated 1200 RPM speed and they're whisper quiet while also keeping my system cool. Hate 120mm fans as they sound like buzz saws.

Stigg · Sep 1, 2023

I only use slow and quiet case fans (about 700 RPM). You only need a slight draught running through your case to remove hot air build-up. My case fans have the airflow running from front to back.

Most Noctua fans come a with Low-Noise-Adapter (L.N.A.) and Ultra-Low-Noise-Adapter (U.L.N.A.) to slow their speeds down and make them even quieter. I like a quiet system and usually use quiet insulated cases.

Wolfzz · Sep 1, 2023

Stigg said:
I only use slow and quiet case fans (about 700 RPM). You only need a slight draught running through your case to remove hot air build-up. My case fans have the airflow running from front to back.

Most Noctua fans come a with Low-Noise-Adapter (L.N.A.) and Ultra-Low-Noise-Adapter (U.L.N.A.) to slow their speeds down and make them even quieter. I like a quiet system and usually use quiet insulated cases.

I Agree here is my case with low noise Noctua Fans. My Cooler is a Noctua NH-U12A Chromax Black Running nice and cool on my Intel Core i9 12900KF Alder Lake

JAM83 · Sep 1, 2023

Ghot said:
@JAM83

If these are louder than the 2000rpm Cooler Master fans... I can't hear it.
Room is 70F and this is the rpm and the temps for the fans...

View attachment 69522

View attachment 69524

Load temps....

View attachment 69550

Summary...

Seems that either the Cooler Master Blade Master fans (no longer available), are a lot better than their specs, or that the Noctua fans do a lot less than their specs. I'm only seeing about a 2C drop in temps.
It could also be that I need "more" heatsink to take advantage of the Noctua fans. It might be that no matter what fans I put on there... there's only enough aluminum fins to cool a certain amount.

CM Blade Masters ~$13
Noctua fans ~$28

I don't like hearing my fans speed up. That's the problem with the stock fan that I currently have too. It's probably not too hard to up the RPMs in the BIOS though. One of the Noctua Fans will be here tomorrow morning. Mom is actually giving me the money back to get another one ordered.

JAM83 · Sep 1, 2023

Wolfzz said:
I Agree here is my case with low noise Noctua Fans. My Cooler is a Noctua NH-U12A Chromax Black Running nice and cool on my Intel Core i9 12900KF Alder Lake

What temps does your CPU run?

Ghot · Sep 1, 2023

Dru2 said:
I keep my 140mm Corsair fans below (900 RPM) their rated 1200 RPM speed and they're whisper quiet while also keeping my system cool. Hate 120mm fans as they sound like buzz saws.

I have a 12K BTU A/C unit right behind and to the right of the comp. I can't hear any of the computer fans.

Stigg said:
I only use slow and quiet case fans (about 700 RPM). You only need a slight draught running through your case to remove hot air build-up. My case fans have the airflow running from front to back.

Most Noctua fans come a with Low-Noise-Adapter (L.N.A.) and Ultra-Low-Noise-Adapter (U.L.N.A.) to slow their speeds down and make them even quieter. I like a quiet system and usually use quiet insulated cases.

Yeah... among others my case has 3x 230mm fans. Very low rpm.

Wolfzz said:
I Agree here is my case with low noise Noctua Fans. My Cooler is a Noctua NH-U12A Chromax Black Running nice and cool on my Intel Core i9 12900KF Alder Lake

I was just looking at the specs of that cooler. Looks pretty decent.

JAM83 · Sep 1, 2023

I have 2 X 240mm fans at the top. . I have no idea which direction they point. I assume they blow hot air up and out of the case but I can't tell. I would have to take the top off and see which way the arrows point. Should they point UPWARD to take the hot air out of the case?

Which way should the arrows on my new Noctua Fans point? I don't have a fan on the back of the PC, but I could probably use the 120mm CoolerMaster Fan that I have for that. . . I also need to get an extra set of those fan clips. I may have to somehow use small zip ties or electrical tape in the mean time.

Ghot · Sep 1, 2023

JAM83 said:
I have 2 X 240mm fans at the top. . I have no idea which direction they point. I assume they blow hot air up and out of the case but I can't tell. I would have to take the top off and see which way the arrows point. Should they point UPWARD to take the hot air out of the case?

Which way should the arrows on my new Noctua Fans point? I don't have a fan on the back of the PC, but I could probably use the 120mm CoolerMaster Fan that I have for that. . . I also need to get an extra set of those fan clips. I may have to somehow use small zip ties or electrical tape in the mean time.

The 240mm fans should blow.. up.
If they blow down, they'll fill your case with dust.
The CPU cooler fans should point like the pic in post #21.

The air movement in your case should be... intakes on the front and bottom, and exhausts on the top and rear.

And just wait till you get the clips. Absolutely don't use electrical tape.

JAM83 · Sep 1, 2023

Ghot said:
They should point like the pic in post #21.

And just wait till you get the clips. Absolutely don't use electrical tape.

ok, that's easy to do. I read that people have used a tiny drop of super glue too. . lol

Stigg · Sep 1, 2023

JAM83 said:
I have 2 X 240mm fans at the top. . I have no idea which direction they point. I assume they blow hot air up and out of the case but I can't tell. I would have to take the top off and see which way the arrows point. Should they point UPWARD to take the hot air out of the case?

Which way should the arrows on my new Noctua Fans point? I don't have a fan on the back of the PC, but I could probably use the 120mm CoolerMaster Fan that I have for that. . . I also need to get an extra set of those fan clips. I may have to somehow use small zip ties or electrical tape in the mean time.

The arrows on the side of the fans point towards the direction they are blowing.

Regarding about which way case fans should blow. You want to create a consistent draught and not have one fan work against the other(s). The top fan should obviously blow outwards towards the vent.

Most case fan setups create a front to back airflow. So, the front fan(s) will be sucking in cool air and blowing it towards the back. The rear fan(s) will be sucking that warm air and extracting it out the back. The top fan will be sucking and extracting the warm out the top.

These days, with the design of modern CPU coolers, they also play a part in case cooling as well as CPU cooling. The one or two CPU cooler fans will also be assisting in creating that draught through the case.

JAM83 · Sep 1, 2023

Stigg said:
The arrows on the side of the fans point towards the direction they are blowing.

Regarding about which way case fans should blow. You want to create a consistent draught and not have one fan work against the other(s). The top fan should obviously blow outwards towards the vent.

Most case fan setups create a front to back airflow. So, the front fan(s) will be sucking in cool air and blowing it towards the back. The rear fan(s) will be sucking that warm air and extracting it out the back. The top fan will be sucking and extracting the warm out the top.

These days, with the design of modern CPU coolers, they also play a part in case cooling as well as CPU cooling. The one or two CPU cooler fans will also be assisting in creating that draught through the case.

That makes sense. Whenever I decide to change Fans, I'll check all the other fans to see which way they are going. I'll have to put a back fan in. (My PSU fan is pointing downwards. I'm assuming that is the correct way)

Ghot · Sep 1, 2023

JAM83 said:
My PSU fan is pointing downwards

On the PSU you have.... yes that is the correct way.

My PSU for example is a bit different. It exhausts the air out the back.
The way the founding fathers intended it.

JAM83 · Sep 1, 2023

Ghot said:
On the PSU you have.... yes that is the correct way.

My PSU for example is a bit different. It exhausts the air out the back.

oh that's cool! Not sure if i've ever seen that.

Ghot · Sep 1, 2023

JAM83 said:
oh that's cool! Not sure if i've ever seen that.

Back in the days when ships were wood and men were iron.

Anyway... it's time for me to... "sleep, perchance to dream".

Dru2 · Sep 1, 2023

Ghot said:
I have a 12K BTU A/C unit right behind and to the right of the comp. I can't hear any of the computer fans.

I don't have anything next to my PC but my audio system, so I definitely don't want to hear fans.

I only have 3 case fans in my system - two stock Cooler Master 230mm front fans, and one Corsair 140mm rear fan.

The Corsair AIO has two 140mm fans. GPU has 3 fans. Power Supply has an eco-mode so the fan will only run if needed.

JAM83 said:
(My PSU fan is pointing downwards. I'm assuming that is the correct way)

Most power supplies (PS) with fans on top (bottom) are best facing down as they actually suck air in and exhaust out the rear. This also helps avoid sucking in hot air from the case and adding more heat to the component inside the PS.

However, that also depends the case - you'd need a case with an opening at the bottom and enough space between it and the surface it's sitting on to allow the fan to suck in air. You'd also want a mesh filter on the bottom to keep dust bunnies and other particles out. Most modern cases meet those requirements, as does my case and why my fan faces down.

PSU Fan Direction: Should It Face Up Or Down?

Many people are surprised to find out the direction of the fans in their case matters. This includes built-in fans, like the one on the power supply unit.

www.technewstoday.com

Wolfzz · Sep 1, 2023

JAM83 said:
What temps does your CPU run?

JAM83 · Sep 1, 2023

Is the CPU temp, is that idle, or is that with a few big software running?

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