Question Is an L9i enough to cool an I5-12400 for gaming purposes? Without throttling it?

[Joe_182]

Title explains most of it. But basically I am building an ITX gaming build and have the yeston Waifu, So i wanted to show the card off in the case without a giant CPU cooler hanging over it. AIO's cannot fit in the cases I was looking at.

The L9i is nice and small and will barely block the GPU. So if it can cool the 12400 no problem, that would solve my issue.

Thank you so much

 

[Lutfij]

SAMA IM02
I always saw that as the budget NCase M1(later Lian-Li SFF cases)...that's not meant as a complement

 

[Joe_182]

SAMA IM02
I always saw that as the budget NCase M1(later Lian-Li SFF cases)...that's not meant as a complement

Ha, yeah it wasn't my favorite. I actually got it, and then opened it and immediately ordered the NR200P. It would be a last resort here.

 

[Joe_182]

SAMA IM02
I always saw that as the budget NCase M1(later Lian-Li SFF cases)...that's not meant as a complement

How do you feel about the H210? I know it's not quite SFF, but it's still a hell of a lot smaller than the S340 Elite I am coming from. I know it's a must to use SFX to keep the GPU cooler from what i've read. But I see lots of people are moving their H210 builds into NR200P cases, so it seems there must be a reason why. I imagine thermals and size.

 

[Phaaze88]

Look at pictures and the dimensions of the H210.
It's restricted to dual slot gpus.
The gpu is sandwiched against the psu shroud.
Even though there are perforations in the shroud, the air the gpu can draw through is next to non-existent. Psu, psu cables, cable management bar, drive cage(if in use), combined, all choke the crap out of a gpu.

Basically, blower, AIO/CLC, and custom loop gpu coolers will do ok in that case. The open air models, of which are the most popular, have a rough time.

I'd imagine the NR200P is more flexible with cooling options, and it being more compact than the H210 definitely makes it more attractive.

 

[Karadjgne]

Guess I'm spoilt. I have the nCase M1 v6, and it's great. Also have no case fans, but eh lol.

MITX is all about creativity, running a downdraft as an updraft isn't a new concept, Dell has been doing it since the days of the Pentium 4, slap a plastic shroud on it and the cpu cooler becomes double duty as the exhaust fan as well.

But with TG panels and a hefty gpu I'd definitely be looking at a chimney build. You'll want fans underneath, high SP versions, that'll push that heat upwards after it leaves the gpu/cpu. A standard front/top orientation will mean that TG is going to get very warm through proximity to the exhausts of those gpu/cpu fans.

That's a good part of the reason downdraft is favored, the other part being aesthetics since the exhaust side of a fan is typically the 'ugly' side.

 

[Joe_182]

Look at pictures and the dimensions of the H210.
It's restricted to dual slot gpus.
The gpu is sandwiched against the psu shroud.
Even though there are perforations in the shroud, the air the gpu can draw through is next to non-existent. Psu, psu cables, cable management bar, drive cage(if in use), combined, all choke the crap out of a gpu.

Basically, blower, AIO/CLC, and custom loop gpu coolers will do ok in that case. The open air models, of which are the most popular, have a rough time.

I'd imagine the NR200P is more flexible with cooling options, and it being more compact than the H210 definitely makes it more attractive.

Yeah, my plan was to mod it a bit. It's $50 on sale right now. They have an acrylic front panel mod that gives you better airflow in different patterns. And using an SFX PSU is supposed to help mitigate some of the GPU choke from what Steve said on GN. At worst, I was going to maybe remove the shroud and 3d print a smaller SFX cage/shroud. So I would still need to mod, but these seem more doable than the NR200P mod.

As I'm Just not sure if it will even be possible to fit the AIO in the NR200P at all. Some people have had success but it seems to really depend on your motherboard heatsink location and Ram slots. As there is just barely enough room to squeeze a 27mm rad with 15mm fans up top. You basically have to also tear up the top panel, which looks kind of janky. If i wasn't so set on aesthetics this would be much easier for sure. Like i said, normally i just use ugly [redacted] D15's.

https://imgbb.com/9N7QB6n

 

[Lutfij]

How do you feel about the H210?
If you placed the Fractal-Design Nano S(or any of their itx cases), the Phanteks Enthoo Evolv itx, the Coolermaster N200(yeah the old matx legend), side by side, they are all the same size, in fact the NZXT Manta falls into that category. They were designed to accommodate beefy hardware(that you can pick off the shelf), in effect making them as cumbersome as a beefy air cooled matx/atx build. The cases I've mentioned and the one you've said as well are meant for a certain category but in reality that isn't SFF.

SFF.net and even OCN's definition of an SFF build is something well below 20liters in volume(can't find that thread anymore sadly).

The people who made the NCase M1 are also the people behind SSUPD's Meshlicious and Meshroom S(the followup to the Meshlicious chassis) but like I've said in a previous post, you need to make tough choices with regards to how to go about with an SFF build, making compromises along the way.

 

[Joe_182]

How do you feel about the H210?
If you placed the Fractal-Design Nano S(or any of their itx cases), the Phanteks Enthoo Evolv itx, the Coolermaster N200(yeah the old matx legend) and they are all the same size, in fact the NZXT Manta falls into that category. They were designed to accommodate beefy hardware(that you can pick off the shelf), in effect making them as cumbersome as a beefy air cooled matx/atx build. The cases I've mentioned and the one you've said as well are meant for a certain category but in reality that isn't SFF.

SFF.net and even OCN's definition of an SFF build is something well below 20liters in volume(can't find that thread anymore sadly).

The people who made the NCase M1 are also the people behind SSUPD's Meshlicious and Meshroom S(the followup to the Meshlicious chassis) but like I've said in a previous post, you need to make tough choices with regards to how to go about with an SFF build, making compromises along the way.

Yeah these cases are all in a weird, not SFF but also not full size. So in my case, I was basically just trying to downsize from my S340 elite which is how this build started. It was huge, and weighed a ton (like 35 lbs, I'm actually disabled with an autoimmune condition so this was a problem). The smallest/lightest case possible would be nice, but it's not the only factor as I wanted this build to look nice as well. If i wasn't set on using a glass window case showing off the GPU backplate, I could just get an actual SFF case and be done. That meshilicious looks awesome for example.

I think these not so SFF cases are a nice bridge for my particular case (bad pun). The NR200p seems to be the perfect size for example, but only IF i can get an AIO into it to help show the GPU backplate art. I believe this build will be around 20lbs and still small enough to maneuver. Possibly a good middle ground between my needs. I just unfortunately didn't map this out as well as I usually do and I'm trying to make it work.

If i end up doing a true SFF, I think I am going with that Meshilicious though, thanks for showing me that one.

 

[Joe_182]

No. Not the MSI. Please not that. The Arctic liquid is good, but has a thicker rad, so stick with Fractal, Evga, EK, Deepcool, CoolerMaster MR or Corsair.

I have the SF600 Platinum, love that diminutive psu 👍. It's a breeze to work with those braided cables vs the ribbons.

Do you happen to know of any good 120mm AIO's? And do you think it would be enough to handle the 12400? I was doing some thinking and thought maybe I didn't even need a 240mm AIO for this CPU at all and I am trying cram in 240mm for nothing, thus allowing me to use much smaller cases.

I know of the NZXT kraken, but have heard nothing but awful stuff about CAM. Which leaves me with the older H60i Corsair, the new EK 120mm AIO, and I see an ASUS Tuf AIO 120mm.

I really like this EK
https://www.newegg.com/ekwb-liquid-cooling-system-d-rgb-120mm/p/37B-000B-003G1?Item=9SIAWVVDVF4179&Description=120mm aio&cm_re=120mm_aio--9SIAWVVDVF4179--Product&cm_sp=SP--1076285--0--1--9SIAWVVDVF4179--120mm aio--120mm|aio-_-6

I will be gaming at 4k or 1440p but usually 4k.
Thank you,

 

[Karadjgne]

I ran an NZXT Kraken X61 with Cam for better part of 7 years before the fans gave out on me, (yes, the fans lol). There was only 1 issue I had with Cam and that was the updates. Occasionally I'd actually have to open it up and redo the settings. It wasn't a program I ever really used, just had running. Made a Windows Task to bypass the UAE and set it for Silent mode. Done, didn't mess with it again.

Others have issues with Cam for 2 major reasons. First, it's a deep diver, it gets its nose everywhere in the system, it really should considering all that it does. Second it reports your usage to nzxt, they like to keep tabs on what pc's are running what cooler and at what temps, for how long. Nothing personal, but some take issue with it. The excuse is reasonable, they wanna know how their stuff is performing and not relying on Amazon reviews.

Most 120mm aios run @ 140-150w class cooler. A Corsair H60 has almost identical performance to a CM Hyper212 Evo in every department. That's the kicker, why spend (at the time) $90 for an aio that does the exact same job, exactly the same, as a $30 aircooler, and will only last @ 5-6 years.

Simple answer, because I want to. I had a Corsair H55, loved that little thing, ran great and quiet, sold it when I sold the pc after 5 years of use. Most ppl update, upgrade, change coolers with every pc purchase, very few actually re-use older coolers unless they went overboard on big air to start with. Anyone upgrading from an old 4760k to a 12700k isn't going to reuse their $30 CM again. So longetivity and reuse forever tends to become a moot point unless you have a D15 or BQ DRP4 etc.

AIO vs Air is a personal decision. There's benefits and drawbacks to both designs. Spend $150 for an RGB aio, that has 3x RGB fans included, or spend $90 for a D15 and then another $100 for 3x RGB fans to fill up the top vents. Air is cheaper, but most tend to forget the extra expense of the fans for airflow reasons. But thats aesthetics. Air can cost more, overall, depends on how you want your pc to look. Personal taste.

 

[Phaaze88]

I can certainly see that for cases that come with next to no fans.

 

[Karadjgne]

And cases that only come with the 3x rgb in front 🚪🤣

 

[Phaaze88]

Hey, if they're strong enough, it's totally doable...

 

[Karadjgne]

True. But Phanteks has the only fans I'd trust to be strong enough at just intake in a mid tower, and they aren't rgb.