I’m looking for cooling options/recommendations for the threadripper pro 3995wx, preferably something that will fit in a 4U rack mount case (but not opposed to changing up setup), motherboard is a wrx80e-sage-se. thermals are way to hot with the noctua cooler I’ve tried 80c+ at idle, need something that’ll support the 280w tdp. There are some epyc coolers like the Dynatron A38, but curious to see what’s worked for other people to keep thermals at a reasonable level on a setup like this.
Noctuas HS piping approach [tower-wise], was best one thought out, back from the STR4 era. Their U14 would likely give, the most breathing room [for cpu boosting]. The 12 variant and other lower HSs, would be having boosting nerfed some, if not request to shut it off [aka, only run base clocks]
The 12 variant I tried (it barely fit the 4U case I’m using) had very high thermals ~80c just idle in BIOS with the IPMI monitor tool running. I did buy the U14 to try and see what what that would do, but I would need to move the entire setup to a new case if that works.
This evening I installed a Dynatron A38 as it would fit and that certainly keeps the temps down ~40c, but @ 11K rpm its extremely loud, 60-70+ dbi and its just not practical for a workstation/lab setup to work around as my rack sits in my home office.
As with any server fan being used in a home setup a fan controller is a must. Other options include using ducts or shrouds to improve air pathways in to the cooler and out of the case.
And server chassis really need high static pressure if the intake fans are not on the front face but behind storage devices.
To test if you are starving the cooler of fresh air pop the top if temps drop 5c or more then it is an issue with getting air in and out.
I did try a second fan with the 12 as well as the NA-FC1 controller to set the fans on high… the 3995wx temps were still pretty high at idle. I may try and toss the 14U in tonight with a second fan and see how that does.
I have 6 noctua 120mm fans in two rows of 3, front and mid + 2 noctua 80mm fans in the rear for exhaust, the case is a Rosewell 4u. the orientation of the noctua 12 was perpendicular to the airflow, which seems like a disadvantage…
I was looking at the U14S with a secondary fan and if that works I’ll move it to different case setup… although, its positioning is basically the same, its just ‘bigger’. Ideally, I could rack mount this thing, but after the cost of the processor, board, and memory … not about to let a case get in the way cooler temps and my ability to hear myself think
At least the temps seem ok then, good to know as a starting point.
There is also the Supermicro SNK-P0064AP4, which is bigger and lower rpm. However I haven’t seen any detailed reports about how it performs in a consumer chassis, w.r.t. cooling and noise. I expect a Noctua 14 or 15 cm would have outperformed it if it weren’t for the different orientation of the socket.
Btw, there was a thread asking a very similar question recently. Mentioning it just in case you haven’t seen it already.
Hi @mwhite76, did you end up trying the U14S? How did it go?
I’m waiting for my 3995ws to arrive and wanted to air cool the beast.
Looking forward to hear what you ended up with.
I’ve got your same setup (3995wx and ASUS wrx80e) and also am using the Noctua U12S, but the dx3647 version (for Intel… with TR4 adapter). I’m not sure whether its the pre-applied paste you get w/ that one, or sthg else, but talking w Noctua Tech they mentioned this would outperform the TR4 version (which has the same adapters on it). I have the U14S as well but have yet to try it, but may this winter. I am using the U12S dx3647 with 2 of Noctua’s industrial 3k fans in push/pull, and while at full-tilt it sounds a little bit like a medium sized drone hovering in the room, it’s not that bad otherwise. I’m talking about a hot LA summer day w/o ac, my temps stay below 69C using the CPUID 100% stress test for 30min (no pbo).
Disclaimer: InWin D-Frame Signature (the re-issued old model) open chassis.
It’s not quiet, but still glad I passed on the Dynatron. I was tempted given the WRX80e moBo is basically a server layout, so your cpu is 90deg offset from the non-Pro moBo’s. Another plus for me is this is a cpu-only render server so I’ve got no bfGpu blocking the flow… just a little passive geForce in the last slot. Another good thing about the InWin D-Frame signature chassis, Is that it mounts the moBo i/o panel facing up, and if you only need the end PCIe slot to hang your gpu off of, it looks like the Ice Giant ThermalSiphon Elite will fit. Sans the InWin HDD carrier, it certainly can be mounted in the correct orientation (for gravity to do its thing) with the D-Frame Sig Chassis and WRX80e moBo. The long side of the Ice Giant cooler will project into the huge open area on the right side of the D-Frame Sig’s chassis, but the left side will likely block at least 2-3 pcie slots.
I’m not sure the U14S TR4 with the stock 1500rpm fan will cut it unless I have the AC on. I do believe the fan rpm has more to do with performance than adding more fans to a single tower cooler. I also have a 3950x with their flagship dual tower AM4 cooler and that thing is dead quiet no matter what I’m doing (which is usually 3D VFX rendering). We need a version of that for TR Pro:).
One more option. If u look on eBay hard enough you might be able to find the little Lenovo p620 cooler made for TR Pro, and it won’t block any slots, but it’ll probably also be a screamer.
