Cooling for Threadripper 3960x

Hardware Cooling
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I have been doing a TON of research on cooling the Threadripper and there does not seem to be any clear answer. I just bought a threadripper 3960x and MSI Creator MB. The threadripper will be running constantly under heavy load and I am looking for cooling options.

I purchased the Corsair H115i pro xt but now I am thinking it was not a good option. I can still cancel.

What is my best option given it will be under very heavy load constantly?

Thanks

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I’d look at a noctua nh-u14s trf-sp3

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Custom loop, but in all honesty what case ?

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Meshify 2 XL. Ive heard to many horror stories about custom loops leaking etc, would rather not go that route as Ive never done one and I do not want to start on a 10k computer:)

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Based off of you mentioning this will be under a constant heavy load, I think you should avoid water cooling, as it sounds like reliability will be of great important for this system. Water cooling is inherintly more risky (ex. Leaks, more components to fail) and time-consuming if something goes wrong and troubleshooting is required.

Go with a large air-cooler with at least 2x fans for redundancy.

Edit: I’ve used a Noctua U14 in the past with a single fan, and it did cool the threadripper chip to about 80C, but I can’t remember which CPU it was. 1920 or 1950x I think. My recommendation is the U14 with 2x fans (default config is 1x fan) or a “be quiet! Dark Rock Pro TR4”, because of its dual fan config (with the possibility of adding a third fan).

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You could go for the Ice Giant if you want air.
You could go for the ML360 TR4 Mirror. https://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-MasterLiquid-Close-Loop-Threadripper/dp/B08W2JL94D

I used the first version of the ML360 TR4 on my 2950X, and it was fantastic up until I retired the system. Be cautious of the Amazon reviews as they are mixing together completely unrelated coolers.

One thing to note with custom loop horror stories is that people who tell them often leave out glaring mistakes they made. My last two 3970X builds were custom loop and it’s fine so long as you’re careful and test everything. That is your best route for sustained performance, but I understand not wanting to go that way. Down time avoidance should always be considered for a workhorse PC. The ML360 should be just fine.

Should also mention that if you do use an AIO, I recommend having a backup air cooler. Given the socket mounting, it’s very quick to swap coolers if something like pump failure should happen.

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The IceGiant would be my pick for sure but it is simply unavailable in Canada…

The ML360 is another I looked at but from what I understand it is only better at keeping burst loads cool but sustained loads the Noctua U14 with 2 fans works just as well with better long term track records.

I was also looking at replacing the fans on the Noctua with:

Would this help?
I could not come up with a clear answer for this.

I have a threadripper pro 3955x under constant 90-100percent load and the Noctua single fan keeps it around 70C. That being said I cannot figure out how to get the fan at 100 percent constant on the ASUS wrx80 sage which would help as it bounces from 900k to 1.3k

Also to mention, noise is not an issue

Thanks

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@HardwareTracker is Canadian and he was able to simply email them and they accommodated him. That said, unless your build was horizontal, the IceGiant wouldn’t work with the Sage, so I guess it’s out.

I found it to do better overall with a similarly ideal airflow situation than my U14S. (Fans @ 100% since noise was not an issue for me either). Takes longer to heat soak which is why it helps with bursts, but if you get rid of that heat quickly enough it will win in sustained as well.

Have you tried going into BIOS and set 100% manual in QFan Control? That’s what I’ve always done. Not sure if the Sage differs in that regard.

The Noctua industrial will definitely move move air, but it’s their pitch that gives me problems more so than noise.

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This one is for the MSI Creator MB with a Threadripper 3960x. Ill try to email them thanks.

The BIOS in the WRX80Sage is FAR different than previous ASUS MB…there is no EZMode, its missing a ton of options like ram speed etc…

I ordered the AIO as well will see:)

Thanks for your input

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For IceGiant:
I contacted them to see if we could do something for shipping to Canada and the answer is yes.
You may do so here: https://www.icegiantcooling.com/contact-icegiant

While they have agreed to my request (And I’m sure they will happily agree to yours if you ask nicely) the one caveat was that I had to pay the import fees on my own, after it was shipped. (and before it got delivered!) via whichever shipping company it goes through.

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Any idea on overall price?

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200$ USD for the cooler itself & shipping + 34$ import taxes to Quebec.
(With UPS, if you can, ask not to use them because other carriers charge less for import fees…)

So about 275$ CAD

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Just as an FYI, I talked to them over the weekend and they confirmed what I said above.
their Canadian retailer is Extreme PC and being out of stock, they do individual sales.

For that, they asked me to let you know to email them instead.
You can do that here: https://www.icegiantcooling.com/contact-icegiant

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