[SOLVED] Noctua nh-u9s or nh-d9l

[Barkfunklerbunk]

I'm looking to replace my stock cooler. Which is better, d9l or u9s?

My system:
https://pcpartpicker.com/list/3HTg3t

It seems like a toss up. Noise isn't really a concern, I want which one will cool the best. I can live with the brown scheme, but eventually when they're available I'd nab those black 92mm fans.

 

[richiestang_78]

This would be a fairly minor upgrade for cooling and I wouldn't waste my money on either. The stock cooler is more then adequate and if you want better cooling for overclocking there are better options. If you are having a cooling issue I would start by first checking your case air flow.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Neither of those coolers is going to give you any kind of decent performance gain over your stock cooler. Yes, they are quiet. Yes, they are high quality. But they are not intended for 65w and higher CPUs and they certainly won't do well with higher boost scenarios.

There are much better options out there. You might consider this:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU Cooler: Scythe Choten TUF Gaming Alliance 51.17 CFM CPU Cooler ($45.89 @ Amazon)
Total: $45.89
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-01-10 18:34 EST-0500


Or this, which performed within about a degree of the 120mm four heatpipe Deepcool Gammaxx GT.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU Cooler: CRYORIG M9 Plus 48.4 CFM CPU Cooler ($48.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $48.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-01-10 18:37 EST-0500

 

[Barkfunklerbunk]

Thanks for the opinions and suggestions. I'll check those out. My pc is currently in a media cabinet, with the door wide open. The back of the cabinet has a cutout for exhaust. The cutout was originally for "antique" CRT TV.

I've been running handbrake for about 6 hours, and the CPU temp has been about 87 consistently, max 92.. which seems pretty alarming. I don't use handbrake regularly, so maybe I just grin and bear it until my transcoding is done, and continue to use the stock cooler. The stock cooler has been quite adequate for movies and games, and when I idle after tasks, drops the temp fairly quick.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Yeah, that's way too high. Are you using Ryzen master for monitoring or something else?

 

[Barkfunklerbunk]

Yeah, that's way too high. Are you using Ryzen master for monitoring or something else?

Nzxt cam, hwmonitor, and ryzen master. All had the same temps. I think I'll avoid handbrake for now. I'm pretty sure the case itself has good airflow, my normal operating temps under a regular load is around 50-70 c. Games, movies, or anything I throw at the ryzen is just fine.. but transcoding a 1080p x265 on high quality video and audio settings really put my CPU through it's paces. 90-99% cpu usage the entire time, nearly solely by handbrake. It was worth it to me though.
I just wonder, if I use handbrake again to transcode a video like that again, if an aftermarket cooler would keep it a bit cooler. Ambient temperature was 74 Fahrenheit. Maybe I need to look into a different case?

 

[Barkfunklerbunk]

I should mention that I don't overclock, I don't really see a reason to put strain on my CPU for minimal gains over the stock 3.9 ghz turbo speed.
Seemingly, any of the aftermarket cpu coolers I've looked at, the minimal thermal gain(?)(not sure of the correct nomenclature there) vs the stock cooler is not worth the money.

 

[Barkfunklerbunk]

This could be an option.. https://pcpartpicker.com/product/DKfhP6/scythe-big-shuriken-3-5079-cfm-cpu-cooler-scbsk-3000
Any thoughts? Reviews on amazon claim drop of 10-20 celcius vs amd stock cooler and noctua nh-l9x65

 

[Darkbreeze]

Yes, the Scythe big shuriken is a good option, but I think I'd look closely at reviews because I believe the Cryorig M9 Plus is the better cooler. Either of them is certainly more capable than the stock cooler OR the two little Noctua coolers you first mentioned.

 

[Barkfunklerbunk]

Yes, the Scythe big shuriken is a good option, but I think I'd look closely at reviews because I believe the Cryorig M9 Plus is the better cooler. Either of them is certainly more capable than the stock cooler OR the two little Noctua coolers you first mentioned.

I've found it's a good idea to look on pcpartpicker.com and search for each of these coolers in builds, to see why they opted for them instead of the stock cooler, and their results. I just look for AMD builds. Doesn't hurt to see how they look too in their pics! I'll have to look more into that cyrorig.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Cryorig M9 Plus Compact Air Cooler Review

We at eTeknix review the Cryorig M9 Plus air cooler. A compact upgrade on their highly popular space conscious range!

www.eteknix.com

Early version of the same cooler with only one fan, so, not even as good as the M9 plus but a good indicator of it's quality, performance and efficiency since even then it was a terrific performer for such a small cooler.

https://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/7426/cryorig-m9i-cpu-cooler-review/index7.html

The NH-C14S is probably the very best cooler you can get under 140mm tall, not counting any liquid coolers of course. But it's not cheap either.

https://www.anandtech.com/show/11041/horizontal-cpu-coolers-3way-roundup/8

 

[Barkfunklerbunk]

Cryorig M9 Plus Compact Air Cooler Review

We at eTeknix review the Cryorig M9 Plus air cooler. A compact upgrade on their highly popular space conscious range!

www.eteknix.com

Early version of the same cooler with only one fan, so, not even as good as the M9 plus but a good indicator of it's quality, performance and efficiency since even then it was a terrific performer for such a small cooler.

https://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/7426/cryorig-m9i-cpu-cooler-review/index7.html

The NH-C14S is probably the very best cooler you can get under 140mm tall, not counting any liquid coolers of course. But it's not cheap either.

https://www.anandtech.com/show/11041/horizontal-cpu-coolers-3way-roundup/8

I keep on going round and round about it, but I'm going to go with the C14S. Much thanks! I wouldn't have even thought or known about this one, as it doesn't show up in compatible cpu coolers on pcpartpicker, due to 142mm in height with fan on top. Hopefully, noctua or someone else comes out with a 15mm thick 140mm fan. I might be able to slap a 120mm 15mm fan on top for extra cooling.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Yes, you can mount the fan below the heatsink fins and then it's only 115mm. Very capable cooler for a low profile model.

You wouldn't want to replace the fan with another model unless perhaps it was the NF-A14 chromax.black.swap or chromax.black.swap industrial iPPC 2000rpm models, because the NF-A14 that it comes with is a highly superior fan with excellent static pressure, sound pressure level and CFM characteristics. You won't find another fan AS good as that fan that moves as much air as that one does, while having excellent high static pressure AND nearly silent operation. Believe me, won't happen.

The closest thing in a slim design would probably be the Cryorig XT140, and it's not nearly as good especially in terms of static pressure and noise level.

http://www.cryorig.com/xt140_us.php

Might be ok as an addition though, to use WITH the NF-A14 since the Noctua fan will tend to have a higher overall CFM so it won't be a restriction to the XT140. Honestly though, I'd probably just the Noctua by itself. I do expect Noctua to be releasing a slim 140mm version of the NF-A14 or A15 at some point, much like the NF-A12x15 120mm slim fan they released recently. No telling when though. Noctua tends to take a long time developing products to ensure they are without equal, but since they already released the 120mm slim model that MIGHT indicate that the 140mm model has already been in development and could come sometime this year, maybe.

 

[Barkfunklerbunk]

Yes, you can mount the fan below the heatsink fins and then it's only 115mm. Very capable cooler for a low profile model.

You wouldn't want to replace the fan with another model unless perhaps it was the NF-A14 chromax.black.swap or chromax.black.swap industrial iPPC 2000rpm models, because the NF-A14 that it comes with is a highly superior fan with excellent static pressure, sound pressure level and CFM characteristics. You won't find another fan AS good as that fan that moves as much air as that one does, while having excellent high static pressure AND nearly silent operation. Believe me, won't happen.

The closest thing in a slim design would probably be the Cryorig XT140, and it's not nearly as good especially in terms of static pressure and noise level.

http://www.cryorig.com/xt140_us.php

Might be ok as an addition though, to use WITH the NF-A14 since the Noctua fan will tend to have a higher overall CFM so it won't be a restriction to the XT140. Honestly though, I'd probably just the Noctua by itself. I do expect Noctua to be releasing a slim 140mm version of the NF-A14 or A15 at some point, much like the NF-A12x15 120mm slim fan they released recently. No telling when though. Noctua tends to take a long time developing products to ensure they are without equal, but since they already released the 120mm slim model that MIGHT indicate that the 140mm model has already been in development and could come sometime this year, maybe.

Might as well just wait for noctua to come out with the 15mm NF-A14. Options for a 15mm 140mm fans are slim pickens I'd like to have the nf-a14 on the bottom and hopefully a nf-a14x15 on top. Although, just the single fan on the bottom, for now, should be more than adequate.
My next choice was a scythe big shuriken 3, but I would have wanted to replace the fan with a noctua fan.. basically making it the same price of the c14s and not as good a cooler. Thanks again for the information and your opinions, greatly appreciated!

 

[Darkbreeze]

In order of preference, when a suitable model is available, I generally go Noctua >Thermalright >Phanteks >Scythe/Deepcool. The only reason Cryorig isn't included in there is because they have for the most part pulled out the US market, so (blows raspberry) on them anyhow. But, they make good coolers so when one of their model is available at a reasonable price then they are always a choice to consider.

Thermalright actually, IMO, makes better heatsinks than Noctua, but Noctua has a higher level of engineering when it comes to their fans. Since often the fan quality and performance are the defining factors for a CPU cooler with differences in heatsinks being more comparatively similar, that tends to give them the edge. Thermalright has been doing this for a long time, way longer than Noctua, so in any search for a CPU cooler they should always be a name you are looking at options from and do NOT confuse Thermaltake for Thermalright, which a lot of people do. Thermaltake, is like Cooler Master. Cheap budget garbage for the most part. Mass produced low cost ka ka.

 

[Karadjgne]

CPU Cooler: be quiet! Dark Rock TF 67.8 CFM Fluid Dynamic Bearing CPU Cooler ($79.90 @ Amazon)

At any cpu under @ 200w, this thing meats or beats a Noctua NH-D15 temps. Even with handbrake, I'd be surprised if you could hear this thing on your cpu, but of course you'll pay a premium for that.

 

[Darkbreeze]

CPU Cooler: be quiet! Dark Rock TF 67.8 CFM Fluid Dynamic Bearing CPU Cooler ($79.90 @ Amazon)

At any cpu under @ 200w, this thing meats or beats a Noctua NH-D15 temps. Even with handbrake, I'd be surprised if you could hear this thing on your cpu, but of course you'll pay a premium for that.

Sorry, K, that, is not accurate. Not only is not even near the performance of the D15, it's actually not even better than the C14S, being practically identical. In addition to which it is both louder by 5db and does not have the same QUALITY of fan as the Noctua C14S. Only in terms of price would I ever choose a Be Quiet fan over a Noctua fan, and even then I'd have to REALLY consider whether the trade-off was worth it or not.

It's a good cooler, but I don't feel like it's as good as the C14S and it FOR SURE doesn't meet or beat the D15. Not even the single fan D15S. Or a lot of other coolers for that matter.

https://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/7444/quiet-dark-rock-tf-top-flow-cpu-cooler-review/index6.html

 

[Barkfunklerbunk]

Not sure how I missed that be quiet dark rock TF cooler, but I'll consider it. The ugly Noctua colors are starting to grow on me, and would actually fit the scheme of my future custom wood chassis that I plan on making.

 

[Barkfunklerbunk]

Well, I've got quite a few blurays in my queue for handbrake. I'll save the encoding for when I get the Noctua c14s in the next few months.. which hopefully will knock down that cpu temp a bit vs the stock cooler. I don't want to use handbrake until then unless it's a DVD rip. I just don't like the idea of having my cpu temp so high for so long, even if it's technically in the safe zone.

 

[HWOC]

If you have a long to do list, why not open up the media PC case, if that is possible, and get those encoding jobs done?

 

[Darkbreeze]

As an aside, or more specifically, it might be directly relevant, you might check the BIOS settings to see if there is an option for an AVX offset. AVX is what generally drives up temperatures when encoding and transcoding depending on the codec version and type used, and if there IS an offset in the BIOS, you can use that offset to bring down temperatures.

Yes, it will add a little bit more time to the job, but considering the reduction in temperatures it is a tradeoff worth having. Your board SHOULD be new enough to have the setting for AVX offset.

 

[Barkfunklerbunk]

I ended up getting the noctua nh-c14s, which has drastically reduced my temps. This cooler has been worth every penny, IMO. I've been running Handbrake nonstop for about 5 hours now at a consistent CPU temp of 58 C. I don't even have the NF-A14 fan running at full RPM (at about 900 or so RPM). I've tested an overclock @ 4.1 ghz, and while running handbrake, reached a consistent max temp of 76 C. I also upgraded the thermaltake core v1 stock 200mm fan to a noctua 200mm flx fan, but I highly doubt that it's effected thermals in any substantial way. Ambient temperature has been 70 F. Thank you for the recommendation @Darkbreeze !

 

[Karadjgne]

@Darkbreeze
Beg to differ.



Hmm, it's running a lower temp than Noctua.



Huh, it's also quieter than the NH-D15 at any fan setting.

And yet in that same tweaktown test, the NH-D15 at low fans is 1db quieter, and at max fans it's 2db quieter than the TF. So nobody gets a straight win, as everybody seems to be coming up with different results. But honestly, a couple of degrees, couple of db either way is seriously moot point, the only thing everyone seems to agree on is that the TF is about, if not, the best downdraft style cooler around.

Op, seriously nice cooler and one that does the job you wanted, get those temps manageable. There isn't much that's better and a whole heap that are much worse, so kudos on a good choice. Happy handbraking!

 

[Darkbreeze]

As usual, I guess it comes down to who did the review, what their test platform consists of, what their ambient was at the time, whether or not all compared coolers were tested on the same platform with the same ambient and other conditions, whether there are discrepancies in the test platform and even potentially whether that person really knows WTF they are doing. It would be nice to have links to the reviews you took those screenshots from. I sure as hell don't trust every reviewer out there.

In fact, I'm getting to where I don't trust the MAJORITY of them for that matter. If you don't like the performance of a given cooler in one review, just go find another review. You'll get something different. Check enough and you'll find a review that's favorable to your position. Seems I'm not the only one that feels that way either.

https://www.gamersnexus.net/guides/3561-cpu-cooler-testing-methodology-most-tests-are-flawed

 

[Barkfunklerbunk]

I mainly chose the Noctua by reputation.. sure maybe there is a slightly better and/or cheaper (or more expensive) cooling solution out there that fits my case, but I have zero regrets investing in this cooler. Even considering higher ambient temps in the past when I first started this thread, a drop of 30°+ C (when running handbrake) is absolutely amazing. Also, being able to overclock and still be way under the temp I had with my stock clock speeds and stock cooler.. (Max. 92 C YIKES!!)
Hopefully PCPartPicker updates their database and includes this in their compatibility with the Thermaltake Core V1, because it obviously does fit perfectly fine in low profile mode, and can(if you wish) also be used in dual fan/high clearance mode(even though it is technically taller than the 140mm limit(142mm with top fan iirc). If it weren't for this forum, I would have never known about this one! Thanks again.
Flawed reviews/testing is right, I didn't read the article, but watched the video. It's hard to refute, by my real world scenario and evidence, that the Noctua nh-c14s is indeed a fantastic cooler. I think I would have been happy as well with a be quiet or scythe as well, but glad I made this choice.