[SOLVED] So what went wrong? Noctua NH-D15 vs Corsair H100i Pro

[hest_814]

Hi!

My specs:
Ryzen 7 3700X (stock speeds, default Performance settings)
ASUS X570 Prime-P
8GB X 2 G.SKILL SNIPER RAM
Noctua NH-D15

Story:
8 months ago, I bought a Corsair H100i Pro AIO to replace the AMD stock cooler. Despite re-seating it a couple of times, my temps were:
Furmark CPU Burner: 80.05 degrees Celsius
AIDA64 CPU Package: 85 degrees Celsius

A week ago, I bought the Noctua NH-D15 from NewEgg and installed it. I had to replace the 2nd fan with a smaller 120mm Cooler Master Scythe fan (2000RPM) as the RAM sticks were quite tall and my case side panel barely fits if I install the 140mm Noctua fan.

Guess what, my temps now are:
Furmark CPU Burner: 68 degrees Celsius
AIDA64:CPU Package: 73 degrees Celsius

Wow! A big difference! Any ideas on why are the temps difference so large? Is the Corsair H100i Pro AIO really weak against the Noctua NH-D15? Or a defective H100i Pro?

 

[4745454b]

I don't know if the temps you reported at right. But I do know that generally, the best air coolers work as good if not better than the AIO coolers. They are large and might be noisier due to the fans, but the Noctua's are some of the best air coolers out there. I wouldn't say the H100i is a bad cooler. But it wouldn't surprise me if an air cooler or two are better.

 

[lancerzero9]

It depnds on how long the stress testing went on.

AIOs suffer from heat soak issues from prolonged gaming and bench marks and the radiator/fan combo just can't cool the coolant anymore. Its hot liquid just circulating throughout the loop.

An air cooler is just a hunk of metal with a fan on it. It blows the hot air off and outside and never really gets above a certain temp unless ambient temps increase.