[SOLVED] Core I9-12900K | NOCTUA NH-D15 VS AIO NZXT KRAKEN X73

[NexusFred]

Hello,

to cool an Intel Core I9-12900K I hesitate between a NOCTUA NH-D15 and a NZXT KRAKEN X73.

In your opinion, which of these two cooling methods would be the most effective knowing that in summer time the temperature in my flat is between 35°C (95F) and 40°C (104F)? 🆒

Thanks.

 

[LORDPrometheus]

The unfortunate truth is that any cooler is going to struggle with ambient that high due to thermodynamics. The closer the CPU is to room temperature the harder it is to remove heat from the CPU. That said you should almost certainly go with an AIO water cooler for this scenario an NH-D15 is an awesome air cooler but you want liquid cooling for this.

 

[Phaaze88]

How will the cpu be used?
Do you have air conditioning?

A)If you just game and have air conditioning, it will not matter.
B)If you just game and have no AC, it still won't matter, but make use of applying lower power limits on the gpu to help keep the heat down; that's by far the biggest heating element.
C)If there is work involved that loads up all this cpu's cores, you will need to utilize caps on power/temperature limits, even with an AIO/CLC of that size, to keep temperature within your personal comfort zone. The liquid cooler will have the edge after tuning the cpu.

 

[NexusFred]

Thanks @LORDPrometheus.

@Phaaze88 , Sadly I have no AC at home. I'm not a gamer but I big user of Photoshop, Illustrator, Dimension & sometime After Effect.

Right now I have a Intel Core i7-4770K, 3700 MHz + a Noctua NH-U12S since 10 years (it's time to upgrade lol) and that works very well.

I'm a little worry about the liquid with a AIO solution. Can the liquid evaporate or solidify over time ?

 

[LORDPrometheus]

Thanks @LORDPrometheus.

@Phaaze88 , Sadly I have no AC at home. I'm not a gamer but I big user of Photoshop, Illustrator, Dimension & sometime After Effect.

Right now I have a Intel Core i7-4770K, 3700 MHz + a Noctua NH-U12S since 10 years (it's time to upgrade lol) and that works very well.

I'm a little worry about the liquid with a AIO solution. Can the liquid evaporate or solidify over time ?

No they are all self contained and factory sealed. Unless you damage it (and they are far more durable than you might expect) then they will last for quite a long time and should not give you any trouble

 

[Phaaze88]

I'm a little worry about the liquid with a AIO solution. Can the liquid evaporate or solidify over time ?

The liquid does evaporate over time. Corrosion and organic build up kills the pump over time... the mechanical device eventually dies on its own over time.

 

[geofelt]

AIO coolers do not last forever.
The pump, being a mechanical device will eventually fail or get clogged up.
Air will permeate the tubes and the aio will need to be replaced.

The capability of any cooler, air or aio starts with the ambient temperature.
Expect idle temperatures to be some 10-15c. higher.
As you run, the pc heat will raise the temperature in the room unless you can get the heat out.

The good news is that the 12900K can handle heat quite well.
In testing my new 12900K I used a spare NH-U12s. Noctua sent me gratis a lga1700 mounting kit.
Of course the load was not heavy. In the case, I used a NH-D15S which as worked well.
On a cpu-z stress test, some cores would show 100c. indicating throttling.
But the 12900K kept on going.

With batch production and fully utilized cores, you may want the best cooling.
A 360 sized aio in a good case would seem to be a good idea.
I would be inclined to try the NH-U12s and see how it does. That would cost you nothing.

 

[NexusFred]

Thanks @geofelt. I will try the NOCTUA NH-D15 and if this is not enough I will switch to a AIO