NZXT X52 AIO Water Cooler on New Machine...Meh

Is there a current consensus about NZXT’s AIO water coolers? And CAM?

My contribution is that I am unimpressed. (Grumble Grumble)

I put together a Windows machine in a Fractal Design Meshify C (Not So) Mini. It has a 1080 TI and an i7-8086k (because Amazon didn’t have 8700k’s in stock and I’m impatient).

On top, in exhaust mode, is a Kraken X52 240mm AIO w/ Fractal Design fans (more on the fans below). The video card is too long to put an AIO in front.

NZXT’s documentation seems sparse, but I figured out that the X52 ignores motherboard pump/fan settings and relies on CAM. And I also figured out, eventually, that CAM needs to be running to control the thing.

At idle, the CPU’s temps are fine: 33-35C in a room with a high ambient. I’m not impressed with the X52’s decibel level. There’s a constant very apparent hiss coming from the fans and the pump when nothing is going on but Firefox. I’ve selected the “performance” setting in CAM but, subjectively, “silent” is no quieter.

Speaking of fans: I put two Noctua A12x25 fans on the X52’s radiator and they didn’t work using that unit’s fan connections. They do work just find otherwise. Scattered net detritus suggests CAM’s minimum speed is below the Noctua’s minimum speed. So, the fans do not spin up initially but should when temps go higher (I haven’t verified this).

Been down this route before and typically replace the AIO with an air cooler, even if the installation is often obnoxious.(Why are air cooler fans not preinstalled?)

Why not stop relying on CAM and connect the pump to a dedicated header on the motherboard (I’m sure your board has one since you bought an 8086K) and the fans to the CPU and CPU_OPT header?
Playing around with the motherboard settings might me what you’re looking for to fix your issues with noise. But, to be honest, I think you can’t silence it that much below a certain noise level.

Fans are usually not attached to air cooler to make installation easier. Screws are near the coldplate below the fins stacks so having a fan already mounted makes installation a real pain. But, if you go Noctua for the air cooler, you won’t be disappointed. It’s a painless installation and I experienced it with an NH-D15.

I did try connecting the fans directly to the motherboard but, as you suggest, there was little difference.

Probably foolish on my part to buy another AIO when the units I’ve owned previously were all too loud for my tastes.

I take your point about fans on air coolers. My big hands, tight spaces, and those silly little fan clips that like to fall off the fan until there’s tension on them don’t get along.

Maybe you can buy a piece of insulating pipe and fit it around the pump. I guess it will block some noise coming from it.

If you buy some Geomag you can strip those of the tiny magnets they have on the end. Hotglue some magnets on the fans corner, some on the fins stack on the air cooler and you’re done with dealing “silly fan clips”.

Thanks. Didn’t know about Geomag.