Question Kraken X63 280mm or Corsair iCue H150i RGB PRO XT (360mm) for i7 10700k???

[SteveBeast]

Hey guys,

I just dont know which AIO I should get for my i7 10700k??? (I have the BeQuiet Pure Base 600 as a Case)
Which of the above mentioned AIOs is louder? I would want a very quiet one.
And is 280mm sufficient for cooling my i7 10700k ?(No intention of overclocking)
And where would be the best place to connect the Radiator? On the top or the front?

 

[Phaaze88]

1)Kraken X63.
140mm fan moves more air than 120mm at the same rpm, and they tend to have a nicer sound profile.

2)Yes.

3)The answer isn't as simple as the last 2:
Front: Potentially louder, but better than top if you only look at cpu thermals.
Top: Potentially quieter, but not as good for cpu thermals - primarily when the gpu is active.
The front panel presents a fair bit of air resistance as it is - adding the radiator behind it stacks more resistance, thus you should run the fans higher to make up for it once your system gets to rolling on the power consumption.
The higher the power consumption, the faster air needs to move in and out of the PC, carrying the heated air with it.

 

[SteveBeast]

Ok and what would you say about a Corsair 280mm? Or is Kraken in general quieter?
So theres no perfect answer to where to place the Radiator? I think I'll go with the top then maybe!

 

[Phaaze88]

Ok and what would you say about a Corsair 280mm? Or is Kraken in general quieter?

While it depends on the fans each is equipped with, could you specify a model?

So theres no perfect answer to where to place the Radiator?

Unfortunately so. It's a pick your poison sort of deal.

 

[SteveBeast]

1.
Corsair iCUE H115i RGB PRO XT 280 mm


2. Ok, but I think, If I dont overclock it shouldnt be to bad with the cpu thermals maybe?

 

[Phaaze88]

1)Between those 2 coolers, they're pretty much the same, and you likely wouldn't notice a difference except at 100% - if your ears let you comfortably run them that high...

2)It depends.
Some applications are only hard on one thing or another, or a combination of them.
What? Putting a 3090 under there? Might have to do a front mount anyways...

 

[SteveBeast]

1) yeah because i heard a lot of people say, the corsair is way too loud, and kraken is much quieter.

2) And if I had to choose between the Corsair iCUE H115i RGB PRO XT 280 mm and the Corsair iCue H150i RGB PRO XT (360mm) ? Which one would you get then?

3) Currently I'm running a ASUS RTX 2070 Super. Would it be better to use the radiator in front or on top then? In the front I would use the radiator practically as the front fans right?
Soon I want to upgrade to a RTX 3080 tough

 

[Phaaze88]

1)This is comparing the same size fans? Hmm...
I did read awhile back that RGB fans are weaker than non-RGB due to the allowed power budget, and that they produce slightly more noise too because of how LEDs are installed into the fan/fan frame, or something like that.
~Ehh, is Corsair cheaping out on their fans somewhere? Oh, it might be the fan motors too - such as magnetic levitation vs hydraulic vs ball bearing vs sleeve bearing...

2)140mm fans > 120mm.
I'm personally done with coolers that use 120mm fans, and 360mm AIOs are hella inflexible. You're more or less stuck with a top mount when using those.
While some chassis do support front mounted 360mm, after a few years(+/-), you're going to have to move it to the top due to noise, or replace it - even though there's nothing wrong with it.

3)Oh, just a 2070 Super? That's not that bad on power consumption then. I believe you have more freedom which side you want to install the cooler then.
A 3080 though, consumes a fair bit more power...
Test both ways. If not, look at it this way: which of the following is the lesser of the 2 evils? Some of the heat from one cooler will make its way through the other, no matter how you spin it.
A: Radiator mounted at the front.
Cpu heat passing through the gpu cooler.

B: Radiator mounted up top.
Gpu heat passing through the cpu cooler.

Remember, the cpu and gpu aren't always pulling their max power.
The 10700K has an Intel-defined turbo power limit of 250w - but you as the user can influence it some to go higher or lower than that.
The 3080, on the other hand, has a board power limit of 370w. Most aftermarket cards have higher power limits than this. They can be undervolted a little, but that's still well over 300w.

 

[SteveBeast]

1. Yeah probably just have to decide either for corsair or kraken

2.Ok so right now I only got a 650w corsair gold power supply, would you also go for a bigger one when I'm upgrading to a 3080?

To 3b) I thought if I mounted the radiator on top , the gpu heat would go out of the back fan of my case because the 2 front fans would push it out the back fan? I should keep my two 140mm front fans installed if i mount the radiator on the top right? And if i mount the radiator on the front i can take the 2 front fans off right?

 

[Phaaze88]

2)You probably need too. @sizzling gets by with a 3080 on a 650w Seasonic Prime Ultra, but uhh... the 3700X that's paired with that isn't capable of as high power consumption as a 10700K...

3B)That would be very inefficient.
As I said before, as power consumption goes up, you need to move more air in and out.
An AIO is not a fix for poor or restricted airflow.
Both a 10700K and a 3080? Even if you're not going to OC, that's still a lot of potential heat you need to quickly disperse. You can't keep the heat in.

 

[SteveBeast]

So do you have a suggestion where I should try out the radiator first, top or front? And where should I put the tubes up or down?

 

[Phaaze88]

Does it matter? You'd have to try both out anyway to see which works best for you.
I can do naught but speculate.

You must plan to keep that top plate on, huh? I was of the mind that you wouldn't use that if considering mounting the radiator at the top...
Mounting at the front looks like the best compromise, in that scenario.
Really, the sound dampening panels and design hurt this chassis' capability to disperse larger volumes of heat.
It's not going to be a big deal if you're browsing the web, watching movies - you know, light stuff.
Once that gpu gets going though... I see the front intake and rear exhaust alone not being enough.

 

[SteveBeast]

So the only option would be opening the top lid mount the radiator there and have more noise but not the heat, or get a new case?
I clearly dont want a new case to be honest.

So if I mount the radiator at the front and close the top lid, will the gpu get too hot while gaming? Isnt there any other option? Or I could put the radiator to the front and buy two 140mm fans for the top but have more noise.

I'm currently using the dark rock pro 4 and it just gets too hot. It spiked to 90 today while playing mfs2020. That's why I want an aio. And ambient temps are around 26 degrees Celsius.

 

[Phaaze88]

So the only option would be opening the top lid mount the radiator there and have more noise but not the heat, or get a new case?
I clearly dont want a new case to be honest.

Then do the best you can with what you got.
You are going to have to reign in your system's power consumption; make use of both gpu undervolting and negative Vcore offsets, as well as fps limiters in some titles(higher fps does increase power consumption).

So if I mount the radiator at the front and close the top lid, will the gpu get too hot while gaming? Isnt there any other option? Or I could put the radiator to the front and buy two 140mm fans for the top but have more noise.

You can't fight physics. Mo' power = mo' heat = mo' air(movement).
NZXT's H500 series has the same problem; there's just not enough gaps for air to get in and out effectively, and thermals for hardware in it suffer with high power consuming hardware combinations.

I'm currently using the dark rock pro 4 and it just gets too hot. It spiked to 90 today while playing mfs2020. That's why I want an aio. And ambient temps are around 26 degrees Celsius.

An AIO is not a fix for poor, or lacking airflow. They are just as dependent on good airflow, as an air cooler, if not more so:
While both the heatsink on an air cooler and a radiator present some air resistance... on an AIO, that resistance is typically higher, thus the fans need to be stronger on them, which also means they can get louder.
While it takes the liquid longer to warm up, it also takes longer to cool down.
It's just relocating the heat somewhere else to be removed. It's not getting rid of it - the fans are still responsible for that.

 

[SteveBeast]

Ok I guess I'll try to mount the radiator at the front first, see how hot the GPU gets and if it's not good mount it to the top. Do I have to remount the pump also if I move the radiator to another location every time?

So but overall would you recommend I should try out an AIO, because I heard many people say the CPU temps were much better. Or should I stick with my air cooler, and try the voltage offset stuff altough I have to get into this never done that.?

 

[Phaaze88]

Do I have to remount the pump also if I move the radiator to another location every time?

Not every time, no.

I heard many people say the CPU temps were much better.

~Man, after having played around with both air coolers and AIOs myself:
Some people have over-hyped AIOs while completely overlooking their shortcomings. They have their place, but they are not magic.
I used to have an Alphacool Eisbaer Aurora 360 on the 7820X... recently went back to the old NH-D15S. Cools it just as well, and was quieter while doing it.
I might have been able to get a couple 100 mhz higher OC with the Eisbaer, but at the end of it all, that's crap for the higher power use it brought.
Power efficiency has become more valuable to me over time.


I'm sure you just want to plug-n-play and enjoy your games and whatnot, and not have to tinker with anything else - and I get that - but the Pure Base 600 has made it more difficult for you to do that without compromises.

 

[SteveBeast]

Yeah. I need to think about it maybe I'll try an AIO. But do you think undervolting the CPU can also help alot when it comes to lowering CPU temps? But i read if you go too low, you cant even start the bios and have to jump it, and honestly I don't want to get in all that stuff.

But just out of curiosity what would be a perfect gaming case for cooling in your opinion?

 

[Phaaze88]

Lower voltage = lower power consumption, but that alone will only go so far...
Undervolting a 400w(total board power) FTW3 3080 may get it down to around 360-370w, but that's still a significant amount of power.
Same deal with a 10700K, but around the lower 200 range.

But just out of curiosity what would be a perfect gaming case for cooling in your opinion?

I'm not into all the gamery stuff, so I've no idea how to respond to this. Instead:
For users trying to pack high power consuming hardware into a chassis, go mesh. The only thing that'll beat that is open bench.
The easier it is for air to get in and out of the chassis, the easier it is to cool your hardware.
PLUS, you can run the fans at lower rpms with a smaller penalty to thermals.
By closing all that up, it's harder for air to move through, and trying to run the fans at lower rpms yields a larger penalty to thermals.

 

[Karadjgne]

x2 on the Kraken. I ran an x61 for 6 years on a i7-3770k @ 4.9GHz OC, just used the Cam software and set it to Silent mode and forgot about it. The difference from Silent to Performance was 6°C at 100% cpu Prime95 loads, or about 2-3°C gaming loads and much, much quieter fan profile. Gaming I'd top out at 55°C in an airflow challenged Fractal Design R5 with the front door closed sitting under the desk in a cubby hole.

If front mounting, use the fans in Pull configuration if possible, more effective at lower rpm, also far easier to clean the rad, just use the brush tip on a vacuum. Top mount use fans as exhaust configuration, with decent dust filters on the front intakes cleaning the rad is done less often.

 

[sizzling]

2)You probably need too. @sizzling gets by with a 3080 on a 650w Seasonic Prime Ultra, but uhh... the 3700X that's paired with that isn't capable of as high power consumption as a 10700K...

3B)That would be very inefficient.
As I said before, as power consumption goes up, you need to move more air in and out.
An AIO is not a fix for poor or restricted airflow.
Both a 10700K and a 3080? Even if you're not going to OC, that's still a lot of potential heat you need to quickly disperse. You can't keep the heat in.

I’m running a Gigabyte 3080 Gaming OC, 3700x and a Corsair 360mm AIO (I’d need to remind myself of the model). This runs from a Seasonic 650w Prime Ultra Platinum without issue. I have recorded a peak of 546w at the wall during stress testing using a not particularly accurate smart plug. During gaming it averages about 450w. However the 10700k & 3080 FTW3 could likely take >100w more than my setup and you want headroom above the peak stress test requirements.

 

[SteveBeast]

x2 on the Kraken. I ran an x61 for 6 years on a i7-3770k @ 4.9GHz OC, just used the Cam software and set it to Silent mode and forgot about it. The difference from Silent to Performance was 6°C at 100% cpu Prime95 loads, or about 2-3°C gaming loads and much, much quieter fan profile. Gaming I'd top out at 55°C in an airflow challenged Fractal Design R5 with the front door closed sitting under the desk in a cubby hole.

If front mounting, use the fans in Pull configuration if possible, more effective at lower rpm, also far easier to clean the rad, just use the brush tip on a vacuum. Top mount use fans as exhaust configuration, with decent dust filters on the front intakes cleaning the rad is done less often.

Can you set the pull option in the settings of the software or do you mean in which direction to put the radiator? Never had aio before

And do you have to maintain an aio?

 

[Phaaze88]

I think a misinterpretation could be made here.
Sure, Karadjgne's Define R5 is airflow challenged like the Pure Base 600, but what's separating the 2 is power consumption(mainly cpu and gpu).
I was ok with what SteveBeast had in mind, until a 3080 was brought up in the equation.

do you mean in which direction to put the radiator?

Notice where the radiator fans are.
Push:

Spoiler

Pull:

Spoiler

And do you have to maintain an aio?

You have to dust out the fans and radiator, like everything else. Nothing more.
The vast majority of them aren't designed to be serviced, and when it dies or starts giving you trouble... don't throw away that DRP4.

 

[SteveBeast]

I think a misinterpretation could be made here.
Sure, Karadjgne's Define R5 is airflow challenged like the Pure Base 600, but what's separating the 2 is power consumption(mainly cpu and gpu).
I was ok with what SteveBeast had in mind, until a 3080 was brought up in the equation.


Notice where the radiator fans are.
Push:

Spoiler

Pull:

Spoiler

You have to dust out the fans and radiator, like everything else. Nothing more.
The vast majority of them aren't designed to be serviced, and when it dies or starts giving you trouble... don't throw away that DRP4.

ah ok get it. So i guess Push is not a good option because I have a closed front lid with only 2 small air passages on the sides.
And what do you mean you were ok until the 3080 came up? Do you think I shouldnt use a 3080 in that case? Sorry if I got something wrong

 

[Phaaze88]

And what do you mean you were ok until the 3080 came up?

Front mounting the AIO to pull air in, having a straight front to back airflow path, with a 2070 Super? That's cool, I've got something similar going on. Heck, the tower air cooler works better with straight front to back setups.
Cpu thermals don't appear to be where you'd like them, but they could be brought down a little bit with some manual tuning.

But the 3080 adds a lot more power(heat), that needs to be expelled faster... now you're going to have to closely monitor it's thermals.

Do you think I shouldnt use a 3080 in that case?

No. I was ok with it because the Pure Base 600 has the option to remove the top plate and allow for more air movement... but you don't actually want to do that at all, so...
Then I'm reminded of NZXT's H500 all over again. Some people would cram high power hardware like that in them - even put an AIO on the cpu - but they're still complaining about thermals.
Then ultimately have to get rid of the chassis, because there's no way to get more air in and out of the thing. At least you have that option with the PB600.

 

[SteveBeast]

Ok, yeah so I guess my first option will be mount the Kraken Radiator at the front and let it pull the air in. Then I watch the thermals of CPU and GPU. If that doesnt work, I mount it on top and remove the Panel completly or only partially? Or would you say Push the Air out (to the little air openings) could also be an option?


QUOTE:
No. I was ok with it because the Pure Base 600 has the option to remove the top plate and allow for more air movement... but you don't actually want to do that at all, so...
Then I'm reminded of NZXT's H500 all over again. Some people would cram high power hardware like that in them - even put an AIO on the cpu - but they're still complaining about thermals.
Then ultimately have to get rid of the chassis, because there's no way to get more air in and out of the thing. At least you have that option with the PB600.
QUOTE END

Yeah I guess If i get a 3080 then , i have to remove the top plate and live with the noise then