In my new build I have decided to move away from AIO coolers, I don’t overclock other than the built in with XFR2. I initially thought I would just use the Stock Wraith Prizm as I have seen many good reviews on it, but the fan get’s a little louder than I like, and I have seen temps in the 85c range while running prime95 and other benchmarks.
I’m thinking of either the beQuiet! Dark Rock 4 Pro or Noctua NH-D15 SE-AM4, from the reviews I can find they seem to be the best for air cooling.
Pros for the DH-15 it has slightly better thermals according to the reviews I have seen,
Cons the brown fans.
Pros for the beQuiet it’s slightly quieter by 1 to 2 db, looks nice. Cons is 2-3 c hotter in reviews than the NH-D15.
Is there another air cooler I should be looking at?
Another one is the Cryorig R1 ultimate. I find it’s a nice compromise between the beQuiet! and the Noctua in both looks and performance. It also has custom covers to make it look a bit better if the normal aesthetics aren’t quite good enough.
Really you can’t go wrong with any of the 3 as they’re all top-tier coolers that will last forever (or until socket support is no longer available) and perform spectacularly.
I’ve been using an NH-D15 on my 4790K for four years now and my raccomandation is to get it. With the fans spinning 100% is barely humming and temps are always great. It’s really easy to mount but it will interfere with the closest PCIe to the socket so take that into consideration if the first slot is a 16x. Also requires low profile memory for dual fan and a shit ton of width.
I don’t know if you’re concerned about cohesion of colour scheme in your system, but, if you’re not, I would surely go for it.
NH-D15 is amazing, I have one myself. I don’t see any reason to put water in my systems when noctua performs nearly as well. You will be happy with it, but as psycho_666 noted, make sure it will fit. If you have RAM clearance issues check out the NH-D15S instead.
That said, if you aren’t overclocking I would just stick with the AMD cooler. 85C is high but that’s running prime95, you’re never going to see that sort of load in regular use. Even loading every CPU core to 100% with normal usage, like compressing video or whatever, doesn’t heat it like prime95 does.
If you find it loud under normal use (not prime95) then adjust the fan profile a bit. That would be my suggestion.
Yeah, I know what you mean about the clearance issues with it. I had a NZXT s340 is what I orignally built in but took it back and got a Fractal Design Meshify C, just so I can fit one of those.
Yes I have one, but it’s in my other system so I need somethign for this new system I have built, I just don’t see the pro’s for the AIO’s anymore alot of these Air tower coolers provide the same cooling performace at half the cost and with no worries down the line about breakage or leaks. Worst case on the Air coolers the fan goes out.
Using pcpartpicker it says that they should fit in my Meshify C with out any issues.
I got the Noctua NH-D15 SE-AM4 for my 2700X primarily for silence. Quite happy with its performance, and also its ease of mounting since I ended up removing/reinstalling more than anticipated due to motherboard issues/RMA.
For the clearances:
Front (140mm) fan won’t fit with taller RAM like TridenZ, at least not without mounting it much higher on the cooler, which is not possible in the Define C.
Top PCIe slot is not blocked on the C7H. It might be an issue on some motherboards. I think the top PCIe x4 on the X370 Taichi would be unusable.
I mounted the included 140mm front fan at the front of the case. A 120mm fan on the front of the cooler makes a few degrees difference. I’m thinking of getting the NF-A12x25 PWM for it eventually.
Oh and I really don’t see a problem with the aesthetics. If anything the hate for Noctua colors create a counter-culture coolness.
be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4
Cryorig R1 Ultimate/Universal
Noctua NH-D15
Phanteks PH-TC14PE
All of those will perform practically the same. The temps will be within a handful of degrees and the noise will be close enough. It’s really down to brand loyalty or aesthetics.
Having said that, I don’t see the need to go for a dual tower cooler if you’re not overclocking (and assuming your case gets any airflow). Something like a Cryorig H5 would be plenty and cost half as much.
Cryorig R1 Universal might be something if you’re worried about RAM fitment. On the Universal (compared to the Ultimate) the stacks are further back and the front fan is thinner, it doesn’t actually overhang any RAM slots on many motherboards.
I use a Dark Rock 4 Pro now on a 2700x and have used the Noctua on earlier systems. Can easily recommend either.
They’re big so be sure to check each vendor’s site, and your case maker’s site, to see if they will fit.
Almost certainly will be easier to install either cooler before screwing the motherboard into case, especially adding the fans. And check to see if you will have room to plug the cooler cables into the board after the install. On a small board — ITX or mATX —either fan might cover that fan connection.
