Question Quiet cpu air cooler with max 155mm height

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cifroes

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May 3, 2011
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My current case is a Cooler Master Silencio 352 (says has a CPU clearance of 155mm) and I'm gonna upgrade the CPU to an AMD 5800X (GPU is AMD RX5700). The PC is mainly used for coding / office work (basically lightweight with small cpu intensive operations) and 30% of gaming.

My main goal is to be able to cool the CPU properly while making as little noise as possible in 'normal' use (lightweight cpu usage). I don't have a fixed budget on this, it's basically: I don't mind spending 60€ if that really means a quieter machine but if a 30€ cooler is enough and I won't notice any difference, of course I want to save that money :)

My alternatives right now are:
  • Arctic A13X - 23€ (92mm fan, cheap)
  • Be quiet Pure Rock Slim 2 - 32€ (92mm, brand known for silence)
  • DeepCool AK400 - 35€ (120mm, says it has a 155mm height so it's gonna be tight on the case)
  • Thermaltake CPU UX 200 ARGB - 38€ (120mm fan)
  • Noctua NH-U9S - 53€ (92mm, good brand, expensive)
  • Noctua NH-D12L - 99€ (120mm, good performance, very expensive)
In my country I can't get Thermalright stuff or it's very expensive (Peerless Assassin 120 SE at like 99€ at amazon.es). Easy to find brands are: be quiet, cooler master, arctic, noctua, some DeepCool and some Thermaltake. (I will get a 40% discount on top of this so the differences between coolers are a bit less than the normal price.)

Another solution is to buy a new "silent" PC Case to have bigger CPU clearance so I can buy a high end CPU cooler with no height restrictions that can last another decade or so. I can use this old case to upgrade another PC but the new case will set me back another 100€ (fractal or cooler master silent cases).


Right now I'm just inclined to go big, buy the D12L that surely is the best cooler here. But I don't know if I'll notice the difference between that or the be quiet/AK400. I also don't want to spend all that money and in 5 years when I upgrade, I need a better cooler because D12L is a 'low profile' cooler and not a 140mm high end cooler (which btw the D15 costs the same 99€ here)
 
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I've been using a U9S for years and would have no problem with that on your chosen CPU. It is 125 mm tall I think.

The D12L is 145 mm tall if I recall. Dual tower. Temp difference from U9S wouldn't be large....maybe 5 degrees? It may be superior to any Noctua single tower?? Haven't checked.

Your 155 mm max height is critical. A lot of "better" coolers are 158 mm and above. You'd be taking a chance on the AK400.

You might be able to find a non-Noctua below 155 mm tall that is better than U9S or D12L. I looked around myself a few months ago and didn't find any.

Some people are very panicky about temps. Others aren't. Maybe you are terrified by 70 degrees. Can you decide to worry less?
 
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cifroes said:
My current case is a Cooler Master Silencio 352 (says has a CPU clearance of 155mm) and I'm gonna upgrade the CPU to an AMD 5800X (GPU is AMD RX5700). The PC is mainly used for coding / office work (basically lightweight with small cpu intensive operations) and 30% of gaming.

My main goal is to be able to cool the CPU properly while making as little noise as possible in 'normal' use (lightweight cpu usage). I don't have a fixed budget on this, it's basically: I don't mind spending 60€ if that really means a quieter machine but if a 30€ cooler is enough and I won't notice any difference, of course I want to save that money :)

My alternatives right now are:
  • Arctic A13X - 23€ (92mm fan, cheap)
  • Be quiet Pure Rock Slim 2 - 32€ (92mm, brand known for silence)
  • DeepCool AK400 - 35€ (120mm, says it has a 155mm height so it's gonna be tight on the case)
  • Thermaltake CPU UX 200 ARGB - 38€ (120mm fan)
  • Noctua NH-U9S - 53€ (92mm, good brand, expensive)
  • Noctua NH-D12L - 99€ (120mm, good performance, very expensive)
In my country I can't get Thermalright stuff or it's very expensive (Peerless Assassin 120 SE at like 99€ at amazon.es). Easy to find brands are: be quiet, cooler master, arctic, noctua, some DeepCool and some Thermaltake. (I will get a 40% discount on top of this so the differences between coolers are a bit less than the normal price.)

Another solution is to buy a new "silent" PC Case to have bigger CPU clearance so I can buy a high end CPU cooler with no height restrictions that can last another decade or so. I can use this old case to upgrade another PC but the new case will set me back another 100€ (fractal or cooler master silent cases).


Right now I'm just inclined to go big, buy the D12L that surely is the best cooler here. But I don't know if I'll notice the difference between that or the be quiet/AK400. I also don't want to spend all that money and in 5 years when I upgrade, I need a better cooler because D12L is a 'low profile' cooler and not a 140mm high end cooler (which btw the D15 costs the same 99€ here)
Click to expand...
Says 154mm

Edit says out of stock.
 
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Lafong said:
Some people are very panicky about temps. Others aren't. Maybe you are terrified by 70 degrees. Can you decide to worry less?
Click to expand...
Thanks. Myself I'm mostly worried about noise. My guess is that the D12L since it has 120mm fans will run cooler so the fans will spin less, thus less noise. That's me just guessing...

In reality my main doubt is a bit like that. If I get a cheaper cooler or the monster D12L. Probably cheaper coolers are more than enough to cool the CPU properly to avoid throttling, I just don't know if they will be louder.

Do you think the U9S runs very quiet in light usage and 'quiet' even when fans start spinning more?
 
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cifroes said:
Thanks. Myself I'm mostly worried about noise. My guess is that the D12L since it has 120mm fans will run cooler so the fans will spin less, thus less noise. That's me just guessing...

In reality my main doubt is a bit like that. If I get a cheaper cooler or the monster D12L. Probably cheaper coolers are more than enough to cool the CPU properly to avoid throttling, I just don't know if they will be louder.

Do you think the U9S runs very quiet in light usage and 'quiet' even when fans start spinning more?
Click to expand...

Noctua stuff is known for quiet.

But.................any fan at say 1500 rpm on up is likely audible at 4 feet.

My U9S is set to "silent" mode in BIOS. It spins at a near constant 800 rpm.

I am never aware of it after Windows loads.

If I were to spin the fan at 2000, I'd expect to hear it....but it wouldn't be highly annoying...just noticed.

Your case fans or GPU fans (if you have one) may easily be much more noticeable.

I don't use a video card at all and am completely unaware of PC noise from 4 feet after the boot process. One fan on the U9S, one Noctua intake fan, one Noctua exhaust fan. Intake and exhaust at a near constant 500 rpm, also in "silent"mode setting in the BIOS.

If I were building tomorrow and needed a cooler, I'd get the D12L if my case were wide enough.

But it isn't. I am restricted to 140 mm max cooler height. So I would stick with the U9S without any second thoughts.
 
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Zerk2012 said:
Says 154mm
https://es.pcpartpicker.com/product...tom-spirit-120-se-6617-cfm-cpu-cooler-ps120se
Click to expand...
thank you. Unfortunately in my country it's basically impossible to get any Thermalright coolers and even in european amazon stores it's not easy / overpriced.

Lutfij said:
The case looks identical to an N200 by Coolermaster as well and you could get an Hyper 212 in the case with room to spare on the side panel. Using this build as a guide;
Click to expand...
oh, wow, what a great usage of PcPartPicker, didn't think to use it 😀 That means it's very safe to use a 155mm cooler and very likely it will fit 159mm coolers also. Still means no Noctua NH-D15 but maybe the NH-D15S will fit at 160mm. There's a build there with a be quiet dark rock 3 that clocks at 160mm.

But the main doubt still stands, even if 158mm coolers fit, which one would be the more silent one?

geofelt said:
The D12L is probably the best that fits 155mm. For quiet, you want larger fans.
Click to expand...
Thanks, that's also what I was thinking but the Deepcool AK400 is also 120mm fan and it's 35€. A third of the price of the D12L. As I said, I have the money for it but not sure if there will be a noticeable difference in noise between the two.
 
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As a suggestion:
When deciding between a low priced unit and a better unit, buy the better unit if your budget allows.
If you do not, and buy the lesser product, you will enjoy the sweetness of the price for a few days, but you will forever be wondering if you did the right thing.
 
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cifroes said:
My current case is a Cooler Master Silencio 352 (says has a CPU clearance of 155mm) and I'm gonna upgrade the CPU to an AMD 5800X (GPU is AMD RX5700). The PC is mainly used for coding / office work (basically lightweight with small cpu intensive operations) and 30% of gaming.

My main goal is to be able to cool the CPU properly while making as little noise as possible in 'normal' use (lightweight cpu usage). I don't have a fixed budget on this, it's basically: I don't mind spending 60€ if that really means a quieter machine but if a 30€ cooler is enough and I won't notice any difference, of course I want to save that money :)

My alternatives right now are:
  • Arctic A13X - 23€ (92mm fan, cheap)
  • Be quiet Pure Rock Slim 2 - 32€ (92mm, brand known for silence)
  • DeepCool AK400 - 35€ (120mm, says it has a 155mm height so it's gonna be tight on the case)
  • Thermaltake CPU UX 200 ARGB - 38€ (120mm fan)
  • Noctua NH-U9S - 53€ (92mm, good brand, expensive)
  • Noctua NH-D12L - 99€ (120mm, good performance, very expensive)
In my country I can't get Thermalright stuff or it's very expensive (Peerless Assassin 120 SE at like 99€ at amazon.es). Easy to find brands are: be quiet, cooler master, arctic, noctua, some DeepCool and some Thermaltake. (I will get a 40% discount on top of this so the differences between coolers are a bit less than the normal price.)

Another solution is to buy a new "silent" PC Case to have bigger CPU clearance so I can buy a high end CPU cooler with no height restrictions that can last another decade or so. I can use this old case to upgrade another PC but the new case will set me back another 100€ (fractal or cooler master silent cases).


Right now I'm just inclined to go big, buy the D12L that surely is the best cooler here. But I don't know if I'll notice the difference between that or the be quiet/AK400. I also don't want to spend all that money and in 5 years when I upgrade, I need a better cooler because D12L is a 'low profile' cooler and not a 140mm high end cooler (which btw the D15 costs the same 99€ here)
Click to expand...
If you want silence, just buy a random cheap <$50 dual-tower CPU cooler, then replace he fans with silent fans.
 
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