Shhh... Quite (almost mute) CPU cooler

[kill.krt]

Hi,

I'm looking for a very silent CPU cooler because I use my PC for audio mixing.

This is my current setup:

• 
  CPU: i7 6700K (overclocked to 4.5GHz)
  Motherboard: Gigabyte Z170X Gaming 5
  Case: Fractal Design Define R5
  GPU: Asus Strix GTX 970 Ti
  Power supply: Corsair HX750i
  CPU cooler: Noctua NH-U9B SE2
  Case fans: Fractal Design (provided with the case)

My current CPU cooler is quite, but not so quite as I desire.

So I'm looking for something more silent since, since at the moment only CPU and case fans are running (GPU and power supply fans are not spinning at all during mixing).

Googling around I found that Kraken x62 or Noctua D15S are very good cooler and they should be very silent, and should be compatible with my setup.

Which is your experience whit those? They are really silent (I mean something that you can barely hear from 1 meter far)? Does it worth invest 50€ more on a x62 (for noise level point of view) or is the D15S enough?

There are other solutions?

Thank you.

 

[Aeacus]

While NH-D15 is king of CPU air coolers and Kraken x62 is king of AIOs, they aren't on top position by the noise but by the overall performance.

NH-D15 outputs 30 dB(A) on idle and 45 dB(A) on full load.
Kraken x62 outputs 37.4 dB(A) on idle and 53.9 dB(A) on full load.
In comparison, your Noctua NH-U9B SE2 outputs 17.6 dB(A) on full load.

It's tall order to get any more quiet from 17.6 dB(A). Only thing i can think of would be semi-passive fan where fan doesn't turn at all when your CPU temps are below certain limit. One such CPU cooler is Arctic Freezer 33 and Freezer i32,
Freezer 33 specs: https://www.arctic.ac/eu_en/freezer-33.html
Freezer i32 specs: https://www.arctic.ac/eu_en/freezer-i32.html
Freezer i32 review: http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/arctic-freezer-i32-cooler,review-33860.html

In my Skylake build (full specs with pics in my sig), i have Freezer i32 in use and for me, the semi-passive fan didn't turn at all when my i5-6600K was under 52°C, making CPU cooler's output noise 0 dB(A). Though, fan itself, at max RPM produces about 22.5 dB(A).

 

[kill.krt]

Thanks for the reply!

Uhm... I don't think the NH-U9B SE2 outputs 17.6dB for real. I don't have an SPL meter with me at the moment, but I think that mine is clearly over 30dB (at 0.3m with no case panel installed). I will make some measurement.

BTW how do you take your values? I mean the 22.5 dB(A), is it something that you took from official specs or you have actually measured with an SPL meter?
I am asking just to understand if I could compare my measurement with yours.

Thank you!

 

[Aeacus]

I don't have SPL meter and thus, i took the official specs of 0.3 Sone.
Since Sone and Phon scales are not proportional, it's difficult to convert sones into dB(A). Though, 0.3 Sone is around 22.5 dB(A) +/- 2 dB(A) or so.

Arctic Freezer i32 comes with Arctic P1300001-001 A-2 fan. Did some digging and found in-depth video review of said fan,
youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2XYQVR55hU

In that test, the fan at max RPM produced 18.2 dB(A). It's about as same as your current Noctua cooler (17.6 dB(A)).

Note: your Noctua cooler has ULNA and LNA adapters to reduce the fan noise even further. 17.6 dB(A) is produced without adapters while with LNA adapter, the fan voltage is capped at 7V and with ULNA adapter, the fan voltage is capped at 5V, reducing the fan output noise considerably.
NH-U9B SE2 specs: https://noctua.at/en/nh-u9b-se2/specification

 

[COLGeek]

The Noctua NH-L12S is very quiet. If OCing the CPU, I wouldn't recommend it, however, but for stock speeds it would be good.

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIAADY6A94509

I have one in a Ryzen rig that I use for BOINC/SETI crunching. It is barely audible and the CPU is at 100% 24/7.