[SOLVED] cool I9

philipshari

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May 12, 2018
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Hi. I'm a retired 67 y/o with a home build gaming system getting ready for a GPU upgrade in the future. I like my case (cooler Master Cube)and I don't want to replace it. I have a 2 fan liquid cooling system on the face plate of the case for cooling. This restricts the size of the GPU length to around 300 mm. Most cards are longer. My GTX 1080 ti is 293 mm. Would a single fan liquid cooling system cool the I9 9900K adequately? My current cooling system (corsair) keeps the CPU temp lower than 70 degrees (C) while game playing. Running 1 fan cooling system would open up the area for the GPU to a max of 334 mm which would accommodate all the GPU's I've looked at.
Whaddya think? Any input would be helpful.
Thanks!
 
Solution
If you're set on an AIO 120mm, then I'm with Eximo. Go with a thicker radiator, like the Corsair h80i or maybe the Arctic Liquid Freezer ii 120, which also has a motherboard VRM cooling fan. I have the 240mm version of the Arctic mounted in the front of my case. Idle temps are in the low 20s and gaming (mostly BF5) temps mid-high 60s for my i9-9900K.

Eximo

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You could switch to an air cooler at that point. 120mm AIO generally don't do as well as many of the larger 120mm/140mm tower coolers.

You might have a fairly strict limit on CPU cooler height if that is the case I think it is.

Considering current GPU prices, all theoretical. GTX1080Ti is still a decent 1440p card.
 

philipshari

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May 12, 2018
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Hi. I'm a retired 67 y/o with a home build gaming system getting ready for a GPU upgrade in the future. I like my case (cooler Master Cube)and I don't want to replace it. I have a 2 fan liquid cooling system on the face plate of the case for cooling. This restricts the size of the GPU length to around 300 mm. Most cards are longer. My GTX 1080 ti is 293 mm. Would a single fan liquid cooling system cool the I9 9900K adequately? My current cooling system (corsair) keeps the CPU temp lower than 70 degrees (C) while game playing. Running 1 fan cooling system would open up the area for the GPU to a max of 334 mm which would accommodate all the GPU's I've looked at.
Whaddya think? Any input would be helpful.
Thanks!
You could switch to an air cooler at that point. 120mm AIO generally don't do as well as many of the larger 120mm/140mm tower coolers.

You might have a fairly strict limit on CPU cooler height if that is the case I think it is.

Considering current GPU prices, all theoretical. GTX1080Ti is still a decent 1440p card.
thanks for your reply. I like the idea of pulling in outside air for cooling the CPU instead of recirculating air from inside the case. So do you think a single fan/radiator with half the footprint of a double fan system like the corsair liquid cooling system I'm currently running would cool the I9 9900 K adequately?
 

philipshari

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May 12, 2018
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What is your current AIO? If your current AIO has a thick radiator, you might be able to find another AIO with a thinner radiator that will give you more room for a longer video card.
Hi. Thanks for the reply. My current cooler is a CORSAIR Hydro Series, H115i RGB PLATINUM dual fan system I'd like to replace it with a Cooler Master MasterLiquid ML120R ARGB Close-Loop AIO CPU Liquid Cooler, 120 Radiator, Dual Chamber Pump. It still has 2 fans on half the radiator (one fan on each side of the radiator) size opening up space for a larger GPU. Do you think the replacement will still cool the I9?
Thanks!
 

Eximo

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Mass and surface area being the key factors. Going from a dual 140mm radiator to a single 120mm radiator is a huge drop in cooling capacity.

Most 120mm rifle tower coolers do about as well as a single 120mm radiator, for less money. Which is why I made my suggestion initially.

You could also opt for a thicker 120mm radiator, such as the Corsair h80i or similar. This will get you not quite as much as your old cooler, but better.

If you list your exact chassis we can list some decent CPU air coolers that are likely to fit. The generic name above is not enough to find it as near as I can tell, or you have the manufacturer wrong.
 
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If you're set on an AIO 120mm, then I'm with Eximo. Go with a thicker radiator, like the Corsair h80i or maybe the Arctic Liquid Freezer ii 120, which also has a motherboard VRM cooling fan. I have the 240mm version of the Arctic mounted in the front of my case. Idle temps are in the low 20s and gaming (mostly BF5) temps mid-high 60s for my i9-9900K.
 
Solution

philipshari

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May 12, 2018
31
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10,535
Thanks for your reply.
System Specs
Case: Cooler Master HAF XB EVO
I9 9900K
Gigabyte Z390 Designairre MB
Gigabyte GTX 1080 ti
32 Gigs memory
2-.5 tb SSD
1-1tb M2 drive
1-2tb sata HD
1 Blu-ray burner
850 watt power supply
 
I think I can resolve your fears.

My setup is similar excepting I use air cooling.
I also use a HAF XB EVO A really good case that is easy to work with.
I use a i9-11900KF.
My cooler is a noctua NH-D15s.
I mounted two 140mm fans in front of the mounting plate.
I did use a GTX1080ti FE before replacing it with a
Asus RTX 3070 TUF gaming which is 11.81" (300mm) long. A longer card can fit.
I think your 334mm is accurate, it looks like I have about 32mm extra.
Running a cpu-Z stress test, My top cpu temperature is about 70c.
I do not overclock, instead, I use the turbo mechanism to boost a couple of cores when the need arises and conditions permit. I seem to get 4.98 on all cores without any tweaking. These things are so fast that fiddling does not seem worth it.
 

philipshari

Honorable
May 12, 2018
31
1
10,535
I think I can resolve your fears.

My setup is similar excepting I use air cooling.
I also use a HAF XB EVO A really good case that is easy to work with.
I use a i9-11900KF.
My cooler is a noctua NH-D15s.
I mounted two 140mm fans in front of the mounting plate.
I did use a GTX1080ti FE before replacing it with a
Asus RTX 3070 TUF gaming which is 11.81" (300mm) long. A longer card can fit.
I think your 334mm is accurate, it looks like I have about 32mm extra.
Running a cpu-Z stress test, My top cpu temperature is about 70c.
I do not overclock, instead, I use the turbo mechanism to boost a couple of cores when the need arises and conditions permit. I seem to get 4.98 on all cores without any tweaking. These things are so fast that fiddling does not seem worth it.
Hi. Thank you for you reply and recommendations. When you stated you had my case and a more powerful CPU that was the same setup as another user answering my post. A third gamer had a different case but the same CPU and was also using the Noctua Cooler, so you sold me.
However...
While I was waiting for the delivery of the Noctua (it hasn't arrived yet...) I got on YouTube and watched a video of a gamer installing the Noctua on an LGA 1151 just like mine. At the end of the install he picked up the motherboard and it clearly looked like the head of the cooler was covering up the PCI-E 16 slot so alarm bells went off. I went to the Noctua site, located their motherboard compatibility list. Guess what.. INCOMPATIBLE.. The head of the Noctua will cover up the PCI E 16 slot on my Gigabyte Designairre MB.
I've put my corsair cooler back in my system and have it running again. I will be sending my second cooler purchase back to Newegg. I've also found a few graphic cards at 300 mm that will just squeak by my current setup (308 mm maximum length I can allow). I didn't even consider that my motherboard would be incompatible with the Noctua.
Live and learn. Being retired I have plenty of time to keep working on this gaming system.
Thank you for helping me, all of you's. Your input is appreciated.
Philip Baney aka 67 y/o kid.
 
Hi. Thank you for you reply and recommendations. When you stated you had my case and a more powerful CPU that was the same setup as another user answering my post. A third gamer had a different case but the same CPU and was also using the Noctua Cooler, so you sold me.
However...
While I was waiting for the delivery of the Noctua (it hasn't arrived yet...) I got on YouTube and watched a video of a gamer installing the Noctua on an LGA 1151 just like mine. At the end of the install he picked up the motherboard and it clearly looked like the head of the cooler was covering up the PCI-E 16 slot so alarm bells went off. I went to the Noctua site, located their motherboard compatibility list. Guess what.. INCOMPATIBLE.. The head of the Noctua will cover up the PCI E 16 slot on my Gigabyte Designairre MB.
I've put my corsair cooler back in my system and have it running again. I will be sending my second cooler purchase back to Newegg. I've also found a few graphic cards at 300 mm that will just squeak by my current setup (308 mm). I didn't even consider that my motherboard would be incompatible with the Noctua.
Live and learn. Being retired I have plenty of time to keep working on this gaming system.
Thank you for helping me, all of you's. Your input is appreciated.
Philip Baney aka 67 y/o kid.
I think you were looking at the NH-D15 not the NH-D15s
The NH-D15s is a high compatibility version of the NH-D15
It is designed with an offset to clear graphics cards in the first pcie slot.
It clears tall ram also.
Here is the link which shows that the NH-D15s
https://ncc.noctua.at/motherboards/model/Gigabyte-Z390-Designare-3417
FWIW, you are talking to a 83 Y/O kid.