Best Cooling

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Holly molly, what a time to be alive. Totally useless thing that has nothing to do with performance and You are stating that lack of RGB on damn cooler is a problem? <3
 
Often the effectiveness of a cooler comes down to the fans.

But I find it confusing sometimes understanding some of the outcomes. I'm talking liquid cooling only.

How can coolers with fans that have lower static pressure and, slower maximum rotational speeds and lower air flow cool more effectively than coolers with higher everything.

Let's take my set up; H115i RGB Pro. I have two 140mm noctua 2000 RPM iPPC PWM fans. The stock fans SP140Ls performed terribly, but the cooler is rated as one of the better 280mm coolers. With the Notua fans I get 3-5 degree Celsius lower temps, consistently, than the stock fans.

Now the Masterliquid cooler (Which I had for one week and returned for credit due to noise and poor performance).
Fan Airflow 66.7 CFM (Max) Fan Air Pressure 2.34 mmH2O (Max)

Are those fans 66.7 EACH? And static pressure the aggregate of all three fans? Other way around?

The Noctua's I use are 182.5 CFM and 4.18 mmH2O. So how is it the Masterliquid is allegedly the better cooler.

I'm always on the lookout for a better cooler, and would even consider a custom loop (Which I've never built before), but I just don't get how the ML360R is a more efficient cooler than the H115i Pro RGB - that certainly wasn't my experience.

EDIT: I'm running a 10940X CPU OC'd to 4.5 Ghz. 32GB DDR4-3600 C16 in a Thermaltake W100 case with 11 other fans (All Noctua).
 
So, last version of this article only has 3 coolers: big size, medium size and threadripper. No budget option? :-(
Also, the article is has not been well updated. You can find this text, even if the artic model is not recommended anymore ^^.
"With slightly better cooling and slightly lower noise than the above Arctic model, Noctua's NH-U12A becomes the premium choice for buyers who aren't afraid to pay big dollars for small gains. "
 
javiindo said:
So, last version of this article only has 3 coolers: big size, medium size and threadripper. No budget option? :-(
Also, the article is has not been well updated. You can find this text, even if the artic model is not recommended anymore ^^.
"With slightly better cooling and slightly lower noise than the above Arctic model, Noctua's NH-U12A becomes the premium choice for buyers who aren't afraid to pay big dollars for small gains. "
Click to expand...
Thomas' article
https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/deepcool-gammaxx-400-slim-tower-cpu-cooler,4460-2.html
seems to show the Gammax 400 outscoring at least two of these coolers. I have bought for $15, had excellent results, and have installed second 120mm fan with included clips for push / pull configuration for even better cooling. dont know why it never shows up on list.
 
I don't understand, they propose Corsair H150i Elite Capellix ast an alternative to the
Deepcool Assassin III ast a Big Air cooler. But in the water section they recommend
CoolerMaster MasterLiquid ML360R RGB as the best 360mm water loop.
 
Crashman said:
Here are the best CPU cooling solutions (air and liquid) for a range of systems, from small form-factor builds to overclocked big-rigs.

Best Cooling : Read more
Click to expand...
You didn't include Scythe Mugen, Ninja or Fuma in your review. You are obviously unfamiliar with them. I have a Coolermaster CM 690 II and it has room for 6 140mm fans, and 4 120mm fans but it cannot take an Air Cooler with a 140mm fan on the RIVE motherboard and a i7-3930k. They are all 170mm or so tall and the case will take up to 160mm, So that puts Noctua and lot of other darlings of air cooling out of contention. Step down to the 120mm fan size, and the number one air coolers are Scythe. Every one of them is push-pull capable and they all fit a X97 board and avoid interference with both the Corsair Vengeance Ram as well as not interfering with the first PCIe slot. They are quiet. None of the 140mm coolers can claim no interference whatsoever on as Asus Rog Rampage iV Extreme motherboard. Scythe did their homework beyond just slapping a contact plate on a chip and concerning themselves just with the attachment. Push-pull fans slows down the RPM and they are quiet like a 140mm fan. Incidentally the Scythe Mugen trades overclocking blows dead on with Noctua's 140mm fitments and the Ninja 5 beats them: sound and cooling, with 120mm fans.
 
fredfinks said:
Should be stated that gunk builds up on the insides of liquid coolers. Also theres chance of pump failure & leaks.

A big dumb block of metal, combined with a top notch fan (i.e. the noctua - guaranteed for 7 years) will function for a LONG time.
The only thing stopping it being mounting kit obsolescence. (low & behold noctua will send out a mounting kit in future if you ever need it, for free anywhere in world)
Indefinite lifespan. Eff liquid AIOs. (custom loops go ahead)
Click to expand...
Gunk builds up on water cooler systems because the coolants offered for sale are incompetently concocted, They are not "permanent" in any way and subject to biological contamination. Stupid. Anyone with an education in chemistry could come up with better and much cheaper fluids for water coolers. They are selling overpriced garbage to an uninformed customer base who have bought into their marketing hype of impermanence, regular maintenance, short warranties with boiler plate disclaimers for product failures limited only to the product., not the system they destroy. The rate of water cooler failure is 10 times what the industry claims. That's why they are still trying to "improve" upon them and why Air Coolers have found a huge and growing audience. But from the marketing hype, you'd think they got it nailed already. Been there, The only place I'd put a radiator, reservoir and pump is outside the case. Every water cooler will fail before the computer is 10 years old and many will fail before that. Warranties predict their rate of failure! If an air cooler fails (the fan!) it destroys nothing.
 
Poppypbr said:
You didn't include Scythe Mugen, Ninja or Fuma in your review. You are obviously unfamiliar with them. I have a Coolermaster CM 690 II and it has room for 6 140mm fans, and 4 120mm fans but it cannot take an Air Cooler with a 140mm fan on the RIVE motherboard and a i7-3930k. They are all 170mm or so tall and the case will take up to 160mm, So that puts Noctua and lot of other darlings of air cooling out of contention. Step down to the 120mm fan size, and the number one air coolers are Scythe. Every one of them is push-pull capable and they all fit a X97 board and avoid interference with both the Corsair Vengeance Ram as well as not interfering with the first PCIe slot. They are quiet. None of the 140mm coolers can claim no interference whatsoever on as Asus Rog Rampage iV Extreme motherboard. Scythe did their homework beyond just slapping a contact plate on a chip and concerning themselves just with the attachment. Push-pull fans slows down the RPM and they are quiet like a 140mm fan. Incidentally the Scythe Mugen trades overclocking blows dead on with Noctua's 140mm fitments and the Ninja 5 beats them: sound and cooling, with 120mm fans.
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www.tomshardware.com

Overclocking On Air: 10 LGA 1156-Compatible Performance Coolers

Intel’s latest Core i5 and Core i7 processors for the LGA 1156 interface are great overclockers, but they still have thermal limits. Today we compare nine coolers that can take clock speeds to the next level. Read on if you have 4 GHz+ ambitions.
www.tomshardware.com www.tomshardware.com
Some reviews get outdated.
 
PLEASE, It would be great if tomshardware indicates the section modified in the article. Many times the article have been modified but we need to read the entire article to find the modifications.
 
Deepcool Assassin III, 89.99, Pro - budget friendly
Noctua NH-U14S, 89.99, Con - Premium Price

I get that these are on going updated reviews, but maybe a little check of the others not being updated?
 
Are we REALLY trying to say that ANY of the "Master air" coolers are better than the NH-D15 or Thermalright IBE Silver arrow, or ANY of the other high performing big twin finstack coolers, so that it sits in first place on this buyers guide?

I'm sorry, but that's absolutely ridiculous and makes this buyers guide pointedly useless. I mean, even Garrett's own review shows the NH-D15 with lower temperatures at both max fans and 50% fans. Feels like these kinds of "best of" articles could be a little more representative of actual performance especially when our own reviews bear that out.
 
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Most coolers aren't "socket specific" in that the vast majority of them come with adapters for whatever socket type you want to use. So it's unlikely you're ever going to see "Socket 1700/1800" or ANY socket specific coolers listed unless they are intended for a socket model that requires a specific type cooler because of the die configuration under the heat spreader, like the Threadripper coolers needed to. For the sockets you're talking about, any cooler with a sufficient ability to compensate for the TDP of the processor in question is perfectly fine so long as the manufacturer is including, giving out for free or selling an adapter for it. Most worthwhile companies will send you a socket adapter for free if you show them proof of purchase for the cooler and any company that doesn't offer socket adapters for it's coolers is a company that I would entirely avoid.
 
Darkbreeze said:
Most worthwhile companies will send you a socket adapter for free if you show them proof of purchase for the cooler
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Thanks for the reply, Darkbreeze. That's the point I was trying to make: which coolers have Socket 1700 adapters in the box? I want to purchase a cooler and use it immediately, not wait literal months for the adapter to clear customs.
 
I don't really think there is or can be a clear answer on that because it all depends on WHEN that box left the factory. Same product, two weeks apart out the door, one might have the adapter and one might not.

If it's a cooler that moves quickly, and it's product page says it supports that socket, then it will have the adapter most likely. If not you can always contact them and get one sent to you pretty speedily in most cases. Noctua for example had my adapter to me in 4 days but I didn't want to wait that long so I ordered the adapter for seven bucks off Amazon and had it in 2 days for my 12700k.

If you want to know you can use it immediately, I'd contact the vendor to verify it is not an old box that's been sitting around and that the package specifically notes that it comes with the adapter or that the socket is supported. Or, order directly from the manufacturer. Most of them have their own stores online these days but honestly you usually pay more that way.
 
bit_user said:

The enemy of air is dust. Of course, this also applies (somewhat) to liquid cooling radiators.

Bigger, slower fan = less dust buildup.

I also run a positive-pressure case setup, with removable dust filters behind the intake fans. This has worked remarkably well at keeping the case clean.

Of course, it also helps not to have pets.
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It also helps to just de-dust the whole system once a month, wipe the fan blades, remove them and clean them if you want to go full detail, use an air compressor to air out dust and even soft make-up brushes work very well, for the fins on radiator or heatsink, MB, the whole interior of case, I clean mine once a month, it's just like if you were detailing your car. dust will build up no matter what slow fan, bigger fan any fan the whole dang system, hell your whole dang house, pet or no pet, dust just gathers on everything.
 
Geezer760 said:
It also helps to just de-dust the whole system once a month, wipe the fan blades, remove them and clean them if you want to go full detail, use an air compressor to air out dust and even soft make-up brushes work very well, for the fins on radiator or heatsink, MB, the whole interior of case, I clean mine once a month, it's just like if you were detailing your car. dust will build up no matter what slow fan, bigger fan any fan the whole dang system, hell your whole dang house, pet or no pet, dust just gathers on everything.
Click to expand...
Nope, haven't had to do this on a positive-pressure case with removable filters on the intake fans. With a setup like that, the inside is virtually spotless.

If you use a positive pressure setup, air only enters through the intake fans, which lets the dust filters do their job. Just take them out, wash them, and you're good.
 
Air can only EVER enter through the intake fans. Air can NEVER enter through the exhaust fans (Like, not in any meaningful way anyhow), so not sure what you were trying to say there but it made literally no sense to me personally. Maybe I misunderstood something, or something.
 
Darkbreeze said:
Air can only EVER enter through the intake fans.
Click to expand...
In a negative pressure setup, it also gets in through other cracks and holes. Positive pressure only helps with dust buildup if you have dust filters in front of all your intake fans.

This basic principle applies not only to computer cases, but to clean rooms as well. They are positively-pressurized so that unfiltered air can't leak in and bring contaminants.

In hospital wards where patients might have infectious diseases, they do the opposite and run negative pressure in those areas. This is so that infectious microbes don't leak out into the general population areas.

What I'm saying isn't new. You can find other people with the same experience as me, with a little searching.

 
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