Corsair ML 120 Twin pack for CPU cooling

[deathess3nc3]

I have got this corsair pack a few weeks ago and already installed one in my Zalman Z1, can't place the 2nd one anywhere due to lame specifications of this case. I was thinking to bring back the original cooler, and pop these corsairs onto my CPU. Is it worth the candles? The reason of doing this is because of their loudness on higher rpms, although they do their cooling-job nevertheless. CPU cooler 10x Optima by Zalman.

 

[Aeacus]

Sure you can do so. I've done it with my Arctic Freezer i32 where at some point i replaced stock fans with 2x Corsair ML120 Pro (red LED) fans.

Image too, click on spoiler to view:

Spoiler

Top left: Retail package of i32.
Top right: i32 in push-pull with stock semi-passive fan and Arctic F12 PWM PST fan.
Bottom left: i32 in push-pull with 2x Corsair ML120 Pro (red LED) fans.
Bottom right: Night shot of complete build.
Full specs with more pics: https://fr.pcpartpicker.com/b/bd9J7P

In BIOS, i have set a custom fan curve for them. When PC is idling (CPU at 26°C), both fans spin at about 450RPM. Fans go to 100% once my CPU reaches 80°C but most what i've seen out of my CPU was 55°C during CinebenchR15, so, for me, fans would never reach their max RPM.

 

[deathess3nc3]

Sure you can do so. I've done it with my Arctic Freezer i32 where at some point i replaced stock fans with 2x Corsair ML120 Pro (red LED) fans.

Image too, click on spoiler to view:

Spoiler

Top left: Retail package of i32.
Top right: i32 in push-pull with stock semi-passive fan and Arctic F12 PWM PST fan.
Bottom left: i32 in push-pull with 2x Corsair ML120 Pro (red LED) fans.
Bottom right: Night shot of complete build.
Full specs with more pics: https://fr.pcpartpicker.com/b/bd9J7P

In BIOS, i have set a custom fan curve for them. When PC is idling (CPU at 26°C), both fans spin at about 450RPM. Fans go to 100% once my CPU reaches 80°C but most what i've seen out of my CPU was 55°C during CinebenchR15, so, for me, fans would never reach their max RPM.

And what rpm you've set to your ~55°C? My stock-fan does like 1400-1600rpm on these temps on burn, kinda a bit loudy aswell

 

[Aeacus]

Went to the BIOS to check it and my fan curve for ML120 fans on CPU cooler is:
CPU 85°C - fan 100% (~2400 RPM)
CPU 70°C - fan 63% (~1512 RPM)
CPU 55°C - fan 38% (~912 RPM)
CPU 40°C - fan 13% (~312 RPM but lowest it spins is 461 RPM)

Since i like my PC to be quiet, i have quite the relaxed curve on fans.

 

[deathess3nc3]

With this curve I get 30-40 idle heat, but the rest breakpoints are just the same as yours. I got 26-28idle only on when switched to automatic "silent-mode" in bios. Maybe need to modify lower bracket of the curve. 450rpm on curve-mode but temps above 35

 

[Aeacus]

What CPU you do have in use? Since different CPUs have different heat production, especially when you've OCd your CPU. Also, what is your ambient temp and how good of a airflow you have in your PC case?

I have i5-6600K at stock clocks (3.5 Ghz base, 3.9 Ghz turbo) with C-Steps enabled in BIOS, which clocks the CPU depending on its usage (e.g when CPU idles, it's speed fluctuates between 800 Mhz and 1.1 Ghz). It saves a lot of energy and also extends the CPU lifespan considerably.

Also, my ambient temp is 26.6°C and with air cooling or AIO in use, you can not get your temps below ambient. Only way do get lower than ambient temps is to use LN2 cooling.

Of course, i have very solid airflow in my Corsair 760T V2 Black full-tower ATX case as well, in form of:
2x 140mm front intake fans (Corsair ML140 Pro (red LED))
1x 120mm bottom intake fan (Corsair ML120 Pro (red LED))
3x 140mm top exhaust fans (NZXT AER140 RGB)
1x 140mm rear exhaust fan (Corsair ML140 Pro (red LED))

All fans, except bottom 120mm intake are hooked to the external 5.25" fan controller (Thermaltake Commander F6 RGB) for me to control their RPM with a simple turn of a knob. I have all my case fans running at 1000-1100 RPM for the best balance between noise and airflow.
And since my setup is tuned towards negative pressure, it offers the best cooling performance compared to the neutral or positive pressure. Downside is that a more dust would enter the system but i've countered it with high-end Demciflex custom filter kit, so, dust isn't an issue for me.

While your Zalman 10X Optima heatsink dimensions are very close to my Arctic Freezer i32 heatsink dimensions, thermal paste can also give that temperature difference. I'm using Arctic MX-4 thermal paste with my setup.

 

[avcx]

Went to the BIOS to check it and my fan curve for ML120 fans on CPU cooler is:
CPU 85°C - fan 100% (~2400 RPM)
CPU 70°C - fan 63% (~1512 RPM)
CPU 55°C - fan 38% (~912 RPM)
CPU 40°C - fan 13% (~312 RPM but lowest it spins is 461 RPM)

Since i like my PC to be quiet, i have quite the relaxed curve on fans.

Just some necro "unverified" info on these fans for December 2019:

• ML120 Pro doesn't stop at 0% PWM signal.
• ML120 non-Pro stop stop at 0% PWM signal:

- They start spinning at 20% PWM when starting from 0% on Speedfan.​

- They spin at 15% PWM when decreasing the speed on Speedfan.​

At the least, that's the case with my 2xML120 Pro and 4xML120.

I'm going to buy a new computer case, or chassis, or whatever you wanna call it, and probably an Hyper 212 BE, and install the ML120 Pro on the cooler.

Cheers.