Noctua NH-D15 and Corsair vengence led

[shillien]

hello, so im about to order my new build as soon as asus gtx 1080 ti gets back in stock and i just realized i may have space problems, im going with:
16GB Corsair Vengeance LED 3200
asus rog strix z370e
and noctua nh-d15

case will be Obsidian Series® 750D Airflow Edition Full Tower

now case spec says that max cpu cooler is 170 and noctua is 165 so that should fit but will noctua fit on MOBO with vengence led? i know solution is putting a second fan a bit higher but in that case my pc case will run out of space... anyone using that combo and would be able to tell if it all fits? especially ram and noctua

ty in advance

 

[geofelt]

Here is a spec for the cooler.
It will clear 64mm.
That said, I would buy the NH-D15s or the NH-U14s instead.
The s variants have redesigned with an offset to clear graphics cards with back plates in the first pcie X16 slot
as well as taller ram heat spreaders.

 

[shillien]

Here is a spec for the cooler.
It will clear 64mm.
That said, I would buy the NH-D15s or the NH-U14s instead.
The s variants have redesigned with an offset to clear graphics cards with back plates in the first pcie X16 slot
as well as taller ram heat spreaders.

yes i was thinking about the nhd15s also but extra fan is arround 20-25€ but nhd15 with 2 fans included is only 4€ more expensive, i know its not that much in expensive rig but why pay more if i dont have too

but yeah i will probably be forced to do it

 

[Aeacus]

While you don't have enough RAM clearance when using NH-D15 (RAM is 49mm tall, RAM clearance is 32mm) and if you move the front fan up, you'll run out of CPU cooler clearance (you'd be 12mm short), you can always mount the front fan at the back of the heatsink to get enough clearance for RAM and CPU cooler.

With front fan installed at the back of the heatsink, you would have RAM clearance of 64mm. Though, i can't say if the back I/O cover would be in the way if you install your front fan at the back. That can be a new issue though.

Image:

 

[shillien]

While you don't have enough RAM clearance when using NH-D15 (RAM is 49mm tall, RAM clearance is 32mm) and if you move the front fan up, you'll run out of CPU cooler clearance (you'd be 12mm short), you can always mount the front fan at the back of the heatsink to get enough clearance for RAM and CPU cooler.

With front fan installed at the back of the heatsink, you would have RAM clearance of 64mm. Though, i can't say if the back I/O cover would be in the way if you install your front fan at the back. That can be a new issue though.

Image:

oh nice! thats a way i will consider, need to check a bit arround if its working ok tho since it will almost touch case exhoust cooler, btw what about 15s + 2nd fan, will there be problems with space also? ill pay 15€ more if that means less compatibilty problems

 

[Aeacus]

NH-D15S is positioned more towards the top of your case, thus giving more clearance room for your GPU. RAM clearance wise, they both are the same.
NH-D15 specs: http://noctua.at/en/nh-d15/specification
NH-D15S specs: http://noctua.at/en/nh-d15s/specification

Another possible solution would be to use 120mm fan at the front in place of 140mm fan. With 120mm fan in use, you would have RAM clearance of 52mm and you don't have to install the front fan at the back.

 

[samer.forums]

I would say get a water cooler AIO better than this heavy huge brick ... mount the weight on the case not on the motherboard and get better cooling performance as well

 

[Aeacus]

I would say get a water cooler AIO better than this heavy huge brick ... mount the weight on the case not on the motherboard and get better cooling performance as well

As far as AIOs vs air coolers go, there isn't any gain in cooling performance if you use AIO over air cooler since both are cooled by air.

Pros of air coolers:
less cost
less maintenance
less noise
far longer longevity
no leakage risks
doesn't take up case fan slots
additional cooling for the RAM
cools down faster after heavy heat output

Pros of AIOs:
no RAM clearance issues
no CPU clearance issues
takes longer time to heat up during heavy heat output

While how the CPU cooler looks inside the PC depends on a person. Some people prefer to see small AIO pump in the middle of their MoBo with tubing going to the rad while others prefer to see big heatsink in the middle of their MoBo.

Main difference between AIO and air cooler is that with AIO, you'll get more noise while cooling performance remains the same.
Here's also one good article for you to read where king of air coolers (Noctua NH-D15) was put against 5x high-end AIOs, including king of AIOs (NZXT x61 Kraken),
link: http://www.relaxedtech.com/reviews/noctua/nh-d15-versus-closed-loop-liquid-coolers/1

Personally, i'd go with air coolers every day of the week. With same cooling performance, the pros of air coolers outweigh the pros of AIOs considerably. While, for me, the 3 main pros would be:
1. Less noise.
Since i like my PC to be quiet, i can't stand the loud noise AIO makes. Also, when air gets trapped inside the AIO (some AIOs are more prone to this than others), there's additional noise coming from inside the pump.
2. Longevity.
Cheaper AIOs usually last 2-3 years and high-end ones 4-5 years before you need to replace it. While with air coolers, their life expectancy is basically unlimited. Only thing that can go bad on air cooler is the fan on it. If the fan dies, your CPU still has cooling in form of a big heatsink. Also, new 120mm or 140mm fan doesn't cost much and it's easy to replace one. While with AIOs, the main thing that usually goes bad is the pump itself. And when that happens, your CPU has no cooling whatsoever. Since you can't replace pump on an AIO, you need to buy whole new AIO to replace the old one out.
3. No leakage risks.
Since there's liquid circling inside the AIO, there is always a risk that your AIO can leak. While it's rare, it has happened. It's well known fact that liquids and electronics don't mix.

 

[Karadjgne]

If you look closely at the picture, you'll notice the ram is set in slots 1,3 which is where most larger air towers run into ram clearance issues. Using slots 2,4 will solve most of that putting the ram into the slot under the heatsinks corner, rather than right up against the bottom.

While I totally agree with Aeacus on the differences between air and aio, it's a rather lopsided and unfair equivalent. You are pitting Noctua fans against the competition. That in itself is rather unfair. If the aios came with the same Noctua fans as the NH-D15/S then noise issues at loads would be irrelevant. As is, I own a kraken x61 and it's dead silent, even gaming, unless stressed tested, and even then it's still extremely quiet. I run silent mode, not performance, since temps differences are negligible (3-4°C max loads) and fans are capped at 900rpm. I also run a Corsair H55 with a Noctua NF-F12, what's quieter? That aio or a hyper212 or Cryorig H7? Same performance.

Slap the fans from a Corsair H110 in the heatsink of a NH-D15, and put the Noctua fans on the H110 and test that. Aio will win.

It's all in the fans.

 

[samer.forums]

you forgot the weight of huge air coolers on the motherboard ... while AIO coolers put the weight on the case ...

water leakage is no issue , the AIO are under warranty and even PC makers like Dell and others are using AIO water coolers.

 

[shillien]

NH-D15S is positioned more towards the top of your case, thus giving more clearance room for your GPU. RAM clearance wise, they both are the same.
NH-D15 specs: http://noctua.at/en/nh-d15/specification
NH-D15S specs: http://noctua.at/en/nh-d15s/specification

Another possible solution would be to use 120mm fan at the front in place of 140mm fan. With 120mm fan in use, you would have RAM clearance of 52mm and you don't have to install the front fan at the back.

this, i dont know why i didnt even think about using smaller 2nd fan... on noctua offical site the recomanded one is NF-F12 so i decided to go with it
https://www.mindfactory.de/product_info.php/Noctua-NF-F12-PWM-120x120x25mm-1500-U-min-22-dB-A--braun-beige_776869.html
so im going with d15s and 2nd nff12 fan (will be a bit more expensive, but what can we do )

 

[shillien]

I would say get a water cooler AIO better than this heavy huge brick ... mount the weight on the case not on the motherboard and get better cooling performance as well

As far as AIOs vs air coolers go, there isn't any gain in cooling performance if you use AIO over air cooler since both are cooled by air.

Pros of air coolers:
less cost
less maintenance
less noise
far longer longevity
no leakage risks
doesn't take up case fan slots
additional cooling for the RAM
cools down faster after heavy heat output

Pros of AIOs:
no RAM clearance issues
no CPU clearance issues
takes longer time to heat up during heavy heat output

While how the CPU cooler looks inside the PC depends on a person. Some people prefer to see small AIO pump in the middle of their MoBo with tubing going to the rad while others prefer to see big heatsink in the middle of their MoBo.

Main difference between AIO and air cooler is that with AIO, you'll get more noise while cooling performance remains the same.
Here's also one good article for you to read where king of air coolers (Noctua NH-D15) was put against 5x high-end AIOs, including king of AIOs (NZXT x61 Kraken),
link: http://www.relaxedtech.com/reviews/noctua/nh-d15-versus-closed-loop-liquid-coolers/1

Personally, i'd go with air coolers every day of the week. With same cooling performance, the pros of air coolers outweigh the pros of AIOs considerably. While, for me, the 3 main pros would be:
1. Less noise.
Since i like my PC to be quiet, i can't stand the loud noise AIO makes. Also, when air gets trapped inside the AIO (some AIOs are more prone to this than others), there's additional noise coming from inside the pump.
2. Longevity.
Cheaper AIOs usually last 2-3 years and high-end ones 4-5 years before you need to replace it. While with air coolers, their life expectancy is basically unlimited. Only thing that can go bad on air cooler is the fan on it. If the fan dies, your CPU still has cooling in form of a big heatsink. Also, new 120mm or 140mm fan doesn't cost much and it's easy to replace one. While with AIOs, the main thing that usually goes bad is the pump itself. And when that happens, your CPU has no cooling whatsoever. Since you can't replace pump on an AIO, you need to buy whole new AIO to replace the old one out.
3. No leakage risks.
Since there's liquid circling inside the AIO, there is always a risk that your AIO can leak. While it's rare, it has happened. It's well known fact that liquids and electronics don't mix.

im also not fan of aio, so im not going with it ever, ill maybe do custom loop in 6 months or so with GPU and CPU cooled, but im not going with aio.

 

[Aeacus]

While I totally agree with Aeacus on the differences between air and aio, it's a rather lopsided and unfair equivalent. You are pitting Noctua fans against the competition. That in itself is rather unfair. If the aios came with the same Noctua fans as the NH-D15/S then noise issues at loads would be irrelevant. As is, I own a kraken x61 and it's dead silent, even gaming, unless stressed tested, and even then it's still extremely quiet. I run silent mode, not performance, since temps differences are negligible (3-4°C max loads) and fans are capped at 900rpm. I also run a Corsair H55 with a Noctua NF-F12, what's quieter? That aio or a hyper212 or Cryorig H7? Same performance.

Slap the fans from a Corsair H110 in the heatsink of a NH-D15, and put the Noctua fans on the H110 and test that. Aio will win.

It's all in the fans.

While Noctua fans on a rad can lower the noise AIO makes, one Noctua 140mm fan costs about $20. Replacing both stock rad fans with Nocuta fans would add additional $40 bucks to the high cost of an AIO. At that price, going with AIO isn't just worth the money. Especially when you won't gain in cooling performance and the longevity issue still remains.

you forgot the weight of huge air coolers on the motherboard ... while AIO coolers put the weight on the case ...

water leakage is no issue , the AIO are under warranty and even PC makers like Dell and others are using AIO water coolers.

Yes, AIOs are under warranty and if one should leak, AIO maker (e.g Corsair) will replace your broken AIO out cost free. But what AIO warranty doesn't cover is replacement of any other component the liquid from AIO fried (e.g GPU, MoBo).