liquid vs noctua vs silent

[Skorpovita]

hi everyone
i've build my pc with an

• 
  i7 7700k that will be oc
  z270 rog maximus ix hero
  cooler master maker 5 case
  evga supernova g2 gold 750w

i wanted to take a noctua d15 as cpu cooler but i'm considering to change it for a liquid cooling system.
it has to be good as i want to oc and keep everything completely fresh but it needs even to be silent.

i read a tomshw comparison article where the thermaltake water 3.0 extreme s had similar peformance and noise as the noctua.
it would still be 12db louder at max speed but what if i change the thermaltake radiator fans with noctua 120mm fans? would it help?


i'm new to water cooling so if you know any other radiators that are top tier performance but doesn't get as loud as please tell me


and..i could consider building a liquid cooling system by myself but im new to this so i got no idea where to start and it need it asap

 

[n0ns3ns3]

don't compare high end air coolers to crap liquid coolers.
take a look at Swiftech H220 X2 (or any other size of the rad) or EK Predator 240 (again any other side).
With larger the rad surface, it is possible to run fans at lower RPM.
From my experience, 240 or 280 or 320 rad is more than enough to keep the system both quite and cool.
I guess you understnd that there is a trade off between performance and noise. If you don't try to achieve the lowest possible temperature, but instead going for cool enough to feel comfortable with, you can lower the fans RPM. for CPU only (overclocked to whatever running stress test) 240 radiator can do the job with decent fans (noctua NF-F12) under 1000 RPM - which is barely audible from less than meter in absolutely quite room. If you are looking for silence, I'd recommend to use DC fans since PWM can add some clicking noise.

As for you question about putting noctua fans on TT cooler - yes, it will help with noise and performance, but will take you to the price of much better liquid cooler like those that I mentioned above

 

[dudmont]

Put it this way, you can have it cool, you can have it quiet, you can have it for a decent price. Pick any 2 of those you want.

 

[juanrdp]

it has to be good as i want to oc and keep everything completely fresh but it needs even to be silent.

The Noctua d15 probably outside mostruous overcloking is more silent that the 99% of the AIO water coolers.

I you want to go the silent route as far as i known you need to go the DIY route, the reasons:
- The pump usually make a "lot" of noise on silent systems. You have some premium pumps, usually PWM controled that allow you a very precise control of the flow depending on the temperatures, that minimize the sound comming from the pump.
- I think that not a single AIO water cooler allows to stop the fans on low temperartures, but with a 360mm radiator you have enought cooling power just by convection for almost any cpu load outside heavy weight and gamming, if you use a temperature sensor on water, connect it to a fan control and use the fan control on the fans of the radiator you have an almost silent pc.

Then you only need a Gtx 10xx with the fans stopped under 60º, and a PSU that allows a semi-pasive operation at low-medium loads (under 300w for example) and you have a 100% silent Pc outside the pump and when on heavy load.

 

[jwcrellin]

Silent builds should use either Noctua or BeQuiet cpu coolers.