[SOLVED] Arctic Liquid Freezer II or Noctua NH-D15

[Alca]

Hi,

Here is my setup: Fractal R6 case, MSI MEG unify x570 motherboard, AMD 3900X cpu, AMD radeon Sapphire nitro+ 5700XT gpu, 2x8 lpx 3600 corsair memory stick, 1000gb Samsung evo SSD, 2 tb ssd

I would like to have a rather silent cooler and if possible keep HDD bay inside the R6. Which one of the two is the most silent?
The arctic liquid would be either 280 or 360. I am not sure that it fits in front of the HDD bay but it looks like it should, does anybody know? Could I consider putting the radiator somewhere else (like top or bottom) but still thinking to minimize noise. If I put it in front would adding one bottom intake fan be sufficient?

With what I have seen so far the arctic freezer is more efficient and possibly more quiet than the noctua. Where I live it is comparable price to the cream/brown Noctua and cheaper than the black chromax version. (not by a lot though).

Which of this two is the better choice?

 

[Phaaze88]

NH-D15.

Thermalright Le Grand Macho RT
Scythe FUMA 2
Dark Rock Pro 4
Even better if you can acquire one of those above.

I've found that the pumps on liquid coolers - at 100%(recommended) can be louder than air coolers when just idling or doing simple browsing.

 

[Lutfij]

Silence is a subjective matter. Some people can hear the ticking of the fans motor or the buzzing inside a pump. I'd choose the Arctic AIO if the funds for both are there and they both cost the same. I would also ask you to probably stick with an all Fractal affair...?

 

[Alca]

Thanks for quick input!
Apparently the arctic freezer 2 also have a mode which reduce the pump when not needed to keep noise down. Based on gamersnexus it doesn't look like very noisy in comparison and performance are slightly better.

I am hesitating a lot between the two because it seems easier to put the noctua and it will most likely last longer, but it takes a lot of place on the motherboard.

Yet, I am not familiar with aio and not sure of the placement, add intake or not,etc.

The dark rock pro 4 looks also interesting but perf are not as good as the noctua, are they?

 

[Alca]

Fractal affair

Just for style?

 

[Deleted member 2720853]

NH-D15.

Noctua gives you free mounting kit upgrades for new sockets so you can keep it for years.

It has 6 year warranty. It comes with a full tube of NT-H1 thermal paste and allen key for mounting. It is extremely easy to mount. It can be mounted inside the case if you wish.

Trust me, I recently got this thing delivered to me and it is NOT bulkier than an AIO.

Heatsinks don't break. Heatsinks don't leak. Fans might break, but Noctua has you covered. They will send you free fan replacements as long as you have proof of purchase and are under warranty.

The NH-D15 is VERY quiet, even under full load. AIOs are not as quiet.

Costs $100, one time investment. Buy an AIO for $100+, replace it in 3-4 years at best paying full price again.

I was considering the Dark Rock Pro 4 myself but after reading about how tedious the installation process still is, the god-awful fan clips that can't be removed without cutting your fingers off, and how the cooler wobbles after installation which is apparently "normal", I just decided to go with a NH-D15. A good decision if I may add.

 

[Phaaze88]

The D15 isn't the best, but it's darn good at what it does.

The dark rock pro 4 looks also interesting but perf are not as good as the noctua, are they?

Not quite, yes. But it does appear to offer a slightly lower noise profile compared to the D15. Same deal with the other 2 coolers I mentioned.

I am hesitating a lot between the two because it seems easier to put the noctua and it will most likely last longer, but it takes a lot of place on the motherboard.

POV.
Air cooler occupying a specific area over the motherboard VS an AIO/CLC with its waterblock, 2 tubes, and radiator - which is just an extended heatsink.
To add to that, I can handle a D15 with one hand... I can't do that with a liquid cooler.

Heatsinks don't break. Heatsinks don't leak.

A member here has actually had a heatpipe burst on them... I can only chalk that up to a freak accident...

Costs $100, one time investment. Buy an AIO for $100+, replace it in 3-4 years at best paying full price again.

I suppose this doesn't matter too much if one is earning wages, but ~ehh... it's nice to have so many options.

 

[Deleted member 2720853]

A member here has actually had a heatpipe burst on them

Hurray, more anxiety

 

[Phaaze88]

Hurray, more anxiety

I'M SORRY!
But if it didn't happen after powering the PC after the first installation, then you're fine!

 

[Deleted member 2720853]

I'M SORRY!
But if it didn't happen after powering the PC after the first installation, then you're fine!

I haven't actually got around to installing the NH-D15, still waiting to order my Ryzen.

I am 100% certain no heatpipes will die on me though

Then again, knowing my luck...

 

[geofelt]

Your case will support a noctua NH-D15 just fine.
With twin radiator towers, it is actually more efficient than a 120 aio.
Past that, it is easier to install, quieter and
will not leak.

 

[Flayed]

I am hesitating a lot between the two because it seems easier to put the noctua and it will most likely last longer, but it takes a lot of place on the motherboard.

You could always get a Noctua NH-U12A which would take up less space so covering less of the motherboard. I believe its performance is only slightly lower than the D15.

 

[CountMike]

Arctic Liquid Freezer II 240 here and one thing I can tell you is that it's exceptionally quiet even with pump and fans at highest rpm.
On the other hand, Noctua fans can be noisy but are highly efficient and most of time don't have to be used at much more than 50% RPM.
As far as I have seen, NH-D15 would be "Just enough" for it but if you want relative quiet and full performance only good 360 liquid cooler can give it to you. Keep in mind that all Ryzen need temps up to 70c, ideally up to 65c for best boost performance. No air cooler can achieve that.

 

[Deleted member 2720853]

We'll see once I get this thing installed

 

[vMax]

I have the Arctic Liquid Freezer II and it is excellent both on cooling and on the noise front. I run the quiet profile and even under load the noise is never a issue unless I am running bench tests like Aida64, Prime95 etc. For normal usage like gaming and light productivity noise will not be an issue and the performance is just stellar..280mm would be the way to go if you can fit it...

 

[Phaaze88]

What I'm seeing so far:
1)Noise does appear to be subjective here, like @Lutfij said.
Perhaps it's because I'm used to Noctua fans, but I don't notice how 'noisy' they are. This Celsius S36 that I installed on my gpu last month, on the other hand... because it's not an Arctic Freezer 2?
I can hear this faint 'Mmm-mmm-mmm-mmm' over the Noctua's running around 1000rpm.
Even my gpu, before I installed the Kraken G12 kit on it, was a good deal louder than all the Noctua fans in my chassis at 100%.

2)For best noise to performance profile among AIOs, the win goes to 280mm and 360mm models.

 

[Flayed]

My issue with AIO cooling is I think mine will be the 1 in 1000 that leaks or that the pump will die a week after the warranty expires. Just something else to go wrong lol. Just got rid of one point of failure the motor in a HDD can't see the point of adding another one.

 

[Alca]

Dos anybody know if the 280 or 360 liquid freezer fits in the front in standard layout?
Would I need to have more intake in the top or a bottom intake will suffice?
Kinda feel like going for aio but NHd15 seems easier overall. Still thinking about it...

Thank you all for input btw!

 

[vMax]

With the Freezer II it is critical to take the thickness of the radiator into account which is 38mm as opposed to all others which are 28 to 30mm. So make sure you check the specs of your case to insure you have enough space for the radiator and fans combined which I believe is Radiator - 38mm + Fans 25mm = 63mm total...This seems to be more of an issue for top mounts and should be fine in the front..

Looking at the Define R6, the front is capable of 280mm AIO's and the cut out space seems to be more than enough even in push pull...

Dos anybody know if the 280 or 360 liquid freezer fits in the front in standard layout?
Would I need to have more intake in the top or a bottom intake will suffice?
Kinda feel like going for aio but NHd15 seems easier overall. Still thinking about it...

Thank you all for input btw!

 

[Alca]

From what I checked, I could still fit two hard drive on top with the 280 but it is too large to put any drive in front of the radiator. Around 5mm too large. With two drive, that's the same then r6 non-standard layout.

Or would that be possible to use thinner fans? Not sure that it makes sense.

 

[vMax]

You could use thinner fans but it really does not make good sense...jeez you are just 5mm short!!!! Remember it does not have to be the Arctic as other 280mm AIO's will also more than do the job and the rad thickness will be down to 28mm...the temp difference will not be that great or default to the NH-D15 which will always do a good job....

From what I checked, I could still fit two hard drive on top with the 280 but it is too large to put any drive in front of the radiator. Around 5mm too large. With two drive, that's the same then r6 non-standard layout.

Or would that be possible to use thinner fans? Not sure that it makes sense.

 

[Alca]

Checking again it looks like it exactly has 6,3 cm but maybe it's a bit tight

I checked with another one, I arrive also at 6,3 6,4 when straight we can see better

 

[Alca]

I ordered the freezer 360, with added warranty to 5 years that was same price than noctua. If it doesn't fit in standard layout, I'll change the case layout and there should not be any problem.

I will add two intake in the bottom (with case fan) and see if more exhaust if needed. I'll replace the case exhaust with the p14.

I will post back to confirm if it fits or not in standard.

 

[Alca]

I am posting an update for those that might be interested.

The good news: the HDD bay fits in front of the radiator and fan of the arctic liquid freezer 2 360 in fractal define R6. It's not perfect though.

I wanted to install it with the tube down and intake fan in push but it did not work out. The tube is too short to be placed down. The fan placement doesn't really fit with the layout of the R6. So one fan could not be fixed. In push layout I was using the screw from the fan to radiator to include the grill. It did not seem stable enough, fan to radiator to case,... And I changed to intake pull with the tube up instead.

So the HDD are very close to the fan which are in pull mode. I was not very concerned with the hdd in front of the rad but when they are in front of the fan, would that affect airflow? (I don't have a lot yet)

Perhaps the 280 allows more possibilities to fix it.

The real bad news though is that while removing this <Mod Edit> of wraith prism the cpu got stuck to the the cooler and I could not remove it. I don't know what is this pre-applied <Mod Edit> paste they use but I could not remove it and brought it back to the shop for a warranty claim and....I must wait.
No idea if the new cooler work and how.

 

[Flayed]

I think if you run something like prime95 for 5 - 10 minutes just before you take off the cooler the paste is warmed up and easier to remove