Replacement CPU cooler

[Potato Joe]

The pump in my Thermaltake Water 3.0 Ultimate is making some funny noises, but only once in a while. The warranty expired last week, and I'm hoping that it can last until I can afford to replace it, but I'm debating what to replace it with. Any cooler will fit in my case (HAF 932 Advanced) but I was hoping to have a new liquid cooling AIO, but I would be willing to try a custom loop for my CPU (Intel i7 5820k, 4.4GHz at 1.25V). Temperatures with the Thermaltake under full load sit in the mid 60s, except when the pump is acting up. It will hiccup, turn off for about half a second, then turn back on. And yes, I've tried using a different fan header.

Sidequestion: would using different fans help prevent dust buildup?

 

[Samer1970]

The pump in my Thermaltake Water 3.0 Ultimate is making some funny noises, but only once in a while. The warranty expired last week, and I'm hoping that it can last until I can afford to replace it, but I'm debating what to replace it with. Any cooler will fit in my case (HAF 932 Advanced) but I was hoping to have a new liquid cooling AIO, but I would be willing to try a custom loop for my CPU (Intel i7 5820k, 4.4GHz at 1.25V). Temperatures with the Thermaltake under full load sit in the mid 60s, except when the pump is acting up. It will hiccup, turn off for about half a second, then turn back on. And yes, I've tried using a different fan header.

Sidequestion: would using different fans help prevent dust buildup?

you can try Swiftech H220 X2 , or H240 X2

here is a review

https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Swiftech/H220_X2/

as for dust , use a better case or add dust filters to fans ,

 

[Potato Joe]

The pump in my Thermaltake Water 3.0 Ultimate is making some funny noises, but only once in a while. The warranty expired last week, and I'm hoping that it can last until I can afford to replace it, but I'm debating what to replace it with. Any cooler will fit in my case (HAF 932 Advanced) but I was hoping to have a new liquid cooling AIO, but I would be willing to try a custom loop for my CPU (Intel i7 5820k, 4.4GHz at 1.25V). Temperatures with the Thermaltake under full load sit in the mid 60s, except when the pump is acting up. It will hiccup, turn off for about half a second, then turn back on. And yes, I've tried using a different fan header.

Sidequestion: would using different fans help prevent dust buildup?

you can try Swiftech H220 X2 , or H240 X2

here is a review

https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Swiftech/H220_X2/

as for dust , use a better case or add dust filters to fans ,

Ok but how am I supposed to get dust filters to go in front of these giant fans?

I have time to work with since the pump only hiccups about once a day.

 

[Samer1970]

The pump in my Thermaltake Water 3.0 Ultimate is making some funny noises, but only once in a while. The warranty expired last week, and I'm hoping that it can last until I can afford to replace it, but I'm debating what to replace it with. Any cooler will fit in my case (HAF 932 Advanced) but I was hoping to have a new liquid cooling AIO, but I would be willing to try a custom loop for my CPU (Intel i7 5820k, 4.4GHz at 1.25V). Temperatures with the Thermaltake under full load sit in the mid 60s, except when the pump is acting up. It will hiccup, turn off for about half a second, then turn back on. And yes, I've tried using a different fan header.

Sidequestion: would using different fans help prevent dust buildup?

you can try Swiftech H220 X2 , or H240 X2

here is a review

https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Swiftech/H220_X2/

as for dust , use a better case or add dust filters to fans ,

Ok but how am I supposed to get dust filters to go in front of these giant fans?

I have time to work with since the pump only hiccups about once a day.

http://www.demcifilter.com/

They have all kinds of filters , shapes , sizes

 

[Samer1970]

also this

http://www.akasa.com.tw/update.php?tpl=product/product.detail.tpl&no=181&type=Fans&type_sub=Fan%20Accessories&model=GRM140-AL01-BK

 

[Ecky]

How about a good air cooler? A Noctua D15 will perform within margin of error of your TT watercooler with no parts to fail and for a fraction of the price.

 

[Samer1970]

How about a good air cooler? A Noctua D15 will perform within margin of error of your TT watercooler with no parts to fail and for a fraction of the price.

He is overclocking 6 cores CPU ... Water cooling is his best choice for low temps ...

 

[Ecky]

Here's how the D15 performs relative to the cooler OP has:

It does so with 12dba less noise:

Put some more powerful fans on it, like the Noctua industrial series, and it'll almost certainly outperform any AiO cooler at the same noise levels.

 

[Samer1970]

Here's how the D15 performs relative to the cooler OP has:

It does so with 12dba less noise:

Put some more powerful fans on it, like the Noctua industrial series, and it'll almost certainly outperform any AiO cooler at the same noise levels.

I recommended Swiftech ... not those AIO

any ways recommendations does not include Changing fans .. your industrial fan are $50 !!! not cheap

 

[Ecky]

The industrial fans are not necessary - the Noctua heatsink basically performs on-par with high-end AiO coolers with its stock much-quieter fans already.

 

[Samer1970]

The industrial fans are not necessary - the Noctua heatsink basically performs on-par with high-end AiO coolers with its stock much-quieter fans already.

I recommended the swiftech H 220 X2 , or H240 X2

I dont care bout other coolers . Thanks.

 

[Ecky]

The industrial fans are not necessary - the Noctua heatsink basically performs on-par with high-end AiO coolers with its stock much-quieter fans already.

I recommended the swiftech H 220 X2 , or H240 X2

I dont care bout other coolers . Thanks.

It's fine that you're personally not buying a cooler based on its pricing, performance and noise relative to other coolers, but I feel there's a strong case to be made that a Noctua tower heatsink is a better buy based on those metrics, which are important to most people.

 

[Samer1970]

The industrial fans are not necessary - the Noctua heatsink basically performs on-par with high-end AiO coolers with its stock much-quieter fans already.

I recommended the swiftech H 220 X2 , or H240 X2

I dont care bout other coolers . Thanks.

It's fine that you're personally not buying a cooler based on its pricing, performance and noise relative to other coolers, but I feel there's a strong case to be made that a Noctua tower heatsink is a better buy based on those metrics, which are important to most people.

Actually you miss a huge point .. his CPU is i7 5820K SIX CORE CPU of TDP 140 W .

your Benchmarks are made using 4 cores i7 4790K 88 watts CPU !!!...

It is very hard to OC 6 or more cores to higher frequencies , and they generate more heat . But You are not paying attention . I even Mentioned it , yet you give me 88 TDP WATT ONLY i7 4790k and compare it to 140 WATT TDP i7 5820K ...

you compare 88 watt CPU with 140 watts CPU ? and This will increase after OC on BOTH.

Air cooling start underperforming when they reach higher watts . ONLY water can deal with it.

Thank you very much .

 

[Ecky]

Actually you miss a huge point .. his CPU is i7 5820K SIX CORE CPU of TDP 140 W .

your Benchmarks are made using 4 cores i7 4790K 88 watts CPU !!!...

It is very hard to OC 6 or more cores to higher frequencies , and they generate more heat . But You are not paying attention . I even Mentioned it , yet you give me 88 TDP WATT ONLY i7 4790k and compare it to 140 WATT TDP i7 5820K ...

you compare 88 watt CPU with 140 watts CPU ? and This will increase after OC on BOTH.

Thank you very much .

The relative cooling ability of these coolers does not change with the amount of heat they dissipate.

 

[Samer1970]

Actually you miss a huge point .. his CPU is i7 5820K SIX CORE CPU of TDP 140 W .

your Benchmarks are made using 4 cores i7 4790K 88 watts CPU !!!...

It is very hard to OC 6 or more cores to higher frequencies , and they generate more heat . But You are not paying attention . I even Mentioned it , yet you give me 88 TDP WATT ONLY i7 4790k and compare it to 140 WATT TDP i7 5820K ...

you compare 88 watt CPU with 140 watts CPU ? and This will increase after OC on BOTH.

Thank you very much .

The relative cooling ability of these coolers does not change with the amount of heat they dissipate.

sorry there is a limit of TDP to Air cooling , once you reach it only water can do better .

Besides , I gave an AIO recommendation not in your benchmarks , so you are getting no where here .

 

[Ecky]

There's no such thing as a "TDP limit". Cooling ability has to do largely with surface area and airflow, and you're right in that it's easier to have a larger surface area with watercoolers. Your recommended cooler does perform a little better than the D15:

It's also makes more noise to cool ~2c better on TechPowerup's test bench:

So, really they're close to tied, while the H220 X2 is twice as expensive and has all of the problems associated with AiO coolers - potential leaks and inevitable pump failures. After more than a decade of custom closed-loop watercooling, I generally steer people clear of them because high-end air coolers perform about the same for less money with less risk.

 

[Samer1970]

There's no such thing as a "TDP limit". Cooling ability has to do largely with surface area and airflow, and you're right in that it's easier to have a larger surface area with watercoolers. Your recommended cooler does perform a little better than the D15:

It's also makes more noise to cool ~2c better on TechPowerup's test bench:

So, really they're close to tied, while the H220 X2 is twice as expensive and has all of the problems associated with AiO coolers - potential leaks and inevitable pump failures. After more than a decade of custom closed-loop watercooling, I generally steer people clear of them because high-end air coolers perform about the same for less money with less risk.

not really , swiftech wins .. and still this is an i7 4 cores 88 watt CPU as well ..

and you just showed one table of benchmarks the one you like and ignored the others in the same review .... and still winning anyways .


Here is a true 200watt LGA 2011 test

http://www.frostytech.com/articleview.cfm?articleid=2766&page=6

as you see , The Noctua at low fan , DELTA TEMP 23.8 noise 31 , High fan TEMP 15.8 , noise 49.8

on the Other hand , the water cooled Nepton 140XL and 280L temps are 11.8 and 11.6

sadly I cant find Swiftech in this site , Swiftech is even better ..

This is a true site that knows how to review coolers .. They test both LGA 2011 and 115x

 

[Ecky]

In your linked review

Noctua D15 - 15.8c rise in temperature, 49.8dba
Nepton 140XL - 11.8c rise, 59.6dba
Nepton 280L - 10.6c rise, 58.8dba

So, the watercoolers are significantly more noisy while cooling a little bit better. Big surprise. Likely if you had fans producing ~60dba of noise on the Noctua, it would cool better too. Which watercooler outperforms the Noctua at the same noise level?

My point is that the Noctua heatsink is similar in performance, much less noisy, far less expensive, and does not have a pump that will eventually fail. I've personally found the average lifespan of watercooling pumps to be 3-4 years, after having built a great many custom loops.

EDIT: Did you even read FrostyTech's conclusion?

Exactly how does the Noctua NH-D15 stack up?

On all three of Frostytech's synthetic thermal test platforms the Noctua NH-D15 heatsink offers the best, quietest cooling performance of the tower-class heatsinks we've thus tested. In other words, that means several all-in-one liquid cooler models do perform cooler than the NH-D15, but they're also much louder. The only two tower coolers which have a slight edge are also much louder.

 

[Samer1970]

In your linked review

Noctua D15 - 15.8c rise in temperature, 49.8dba
Nepton 140XL - 11.8c rise, 59.6dba
Nepton 280L - 10.6c rise, 58.8dba

So, the watercoolers are significantly more noisy while cooling a little bit better. Big surprise. Likely if you had fans producing ~60dba of noise on the Noctua, it would cool better too. Which watercooler outperforms the Noctua at the same noise level?

My point is that the Noctua heatsink is similar in performance, much less noisy, far less expensive, and does not have a pump that will eventually fail. I've personally found the average lifespan of watercooling pumps to be 3-4 years, after having built a great many custom loops.

i dont care ..coolermaster fans are not of low noise .. I was showing you 88 watts vs 140 watts as an example .

The swiftech is not there ! and the swiftech fans are better .

That link was to show you that Water is better in 140 TDP CPU Thats all ... Swiftech is not there at all .

have a nice day .

 

[Potato Joe]

I appreciate the discourse and thoughts, guys, but why are you comparing the NH-D15 to the Water 3.0 Extreme when I clearly stated I had the 3.0 Ultimate?

The difference is 120mm of radiator space, about $10-20 in price, and my temps at 4.4GHz sit in the mid 60s with the fans spinning around 50% speed, completely inaudible while wearing earbuds.

 

[Ecky]

I made that comparison because reviews between high-end air and AiO coolers are scarce. My point is that the Noctua unit hangs with the high-end AiO coolers, is less noisy, cheaper, and has no pump to fail or coolant to leak. It's more than enough for 140w CPUs, and is even plenty to cool AMD's monster 220w CPUs.

In my years of liquid cooling, I had a pump fail on average after 3-4 years of continuous use. In a custom loop, that's about $60 to replace - almost the cost of Noctua heatsink on its own. For an AiO cooler, it requires that you basically replace the entire unit. I'm just doing my best to steer you away from what I perceive as a money sink.