Hi, I've done some research on replacing the loud stock fans on the Corsair H100i V2 and ended up picking up a pair of the 120mm Noctua NF-F12 fans to replace the Corsair fans the AOI came with. I figured I would post my results here in case they help someone decide on whether or not to go with the Noctua fans. I'm sure this info is out there somewhere but hopefully it will help someone with their decision in the future. In short, I'm still not sure if I will keep these or not. The sound level is better, but they are still audible when running at full speed which is almost a necessity. There is a performance hit with the Noctua fans being 1500 rpm vs the 3000 rpm stock fans the AOI came with if you do an apples to apples corsair link profile between the two (as the Noctuas run at a lower RPM max).
Test Setup:
15 cycles of intel burn test normal mode.
Notes: I did not run the balanced profile with the noctuas as there simply wasn't enough airflow and I was concerned with the temps I was seeing during the test (mid 80's C). I did not run the stock Corsair fans on performance or max profile because they are way too loud for that to be a valid mode to operate IMO.
Rig Setup:
i7-6700k @ 4.7GHZ (1.26VCore, 1.15 VSA/VIO)
Corsair Vengeance DDR4 3000 MHz Ram running at XMP 3000 MHz profile
Asus Prime Z270-AR
Corsair H100i V2 AOI cooler. (Fans in PULL configuration)
Results below:
Stock fans with balanced corsair link profile - Max Package Temp 78 C
Noctua NF-F12 fans with performance profile - Max Package Temp 79 C
Noctua NF-F12 fans with max profile - Max Package Temp 78 C
Summary - as stated above, I had to run the Noctuas at performance or Max corsair link profile to get similar temps on my i7-6700k. My gut is telling me I would like to have some margin on top if I ever do need the additional RPMs to keep the cpu cool while running a strenuous game or program. I may look into the 3000 rpm series of Noctuas or simply keep the stock fans and deal with the noise.
If anyone has any opinion on this subject, keeping the stock fans, recommendations on another pair of fans please let me know....
Test Setup:
15 cycles of intel burn test normal mode.
Notes: I did not run the balanced profile with the noctuas as there simply wasn't enough airflow and I was concerned with the temps I was seeing during the test (mid 80's C). I did not run the stock Corsair fans on performance or max profile because they are way too loud for that to be a valid mode to operate IMO.
Rig Setup:
i7-6700k @ 4.7GHZ (1.26VCore, 1.15 VSA/VIO)
Corsair Vengeance DDR4 3000 MHz Ram running at XMP 3000 MHz profile
Asus Prime Z270-AR
Corsair H100i V2 AOI cooler. (Fans in PULL configuration)
Results below:
Stock fans with balanced corsair link profile - Max Package Temp 78 C
Noctua NF-F12 fans with performance profile - Max Package Temp 79 C
Noctua NF-F12 fans with max profile - Max Package Temp 78 C
Summary - as stated above, I had to run the Noctuas at performance or Max corsair link profile to get similar temps on my i7-6700k. My gut is telling me I would like to have some margin on top if I ever do need the additional RPMs to keep the cpu cool while running a strenuous game or program. I may look into the 3000 rpm series of Noctuas or simply keep the stock fans and deal with the noise.
If anyone has any opinion on this subject, keeping the stock fans, recommendations on another pair of fans please let me know....