Which Noctua cooler is better for CPU cooling and how should I orientate it?

Deyan Dobromirov · Jul 7, 2015

Hello, my case looks like this and I've already decided to get one Noctua S12 case cooling fan from the bottom, because of the case cooling mesh.
The dilemmas, that i'm having are:

1) Should I turn the radiator to 90 degrees for better cooling to exhaust from the top and get two extra S12-s coolers for the top?

2) Which fan should be better for replacing my CM BladeMaster. Industrial F12 @ 2000
(Has the same stats like mine, but also quieter ), Industrial F12 @ 3000 ( Beter specs, but louder ) or the standard F12 ( The most quiet of all three, but the lowest static pressure)

3) Should I try a 140mm for the CPU ( A14 for example ) ?

Tanyac · Jul 7, 2015

IMHO, since you have low profile memory, I would personally leave the orientation you have and push the air out the back. You have air flow from the front fan helping to create a good flow path.

Adding top fans might add a little extra cooling but I tend to wonder if they would really be good value.

I ran the NH U99B-SE on one of my old rigs. Had to orient the cooler upwards because my memory heat spreaders were too high. I had no bottom fan, but had a 230mm top fan. I had no cooling problems. generally 8-10 degrees over ambient.

The NH-U12S (NF-F12 PWM) seems like a reasonable fan - http://www.noctua.at/main.php?show=productview&products_id=63&lng=en

I run liquid cooling now (Corsair H100i) and it's only marginally better than the Noctua I had before (although to be fair, I'm now running a Haswell-E system).

Just my 2 cents worth.

Deyan Dobromirov · Jul 7, 2015

My current temps are indeed 25-40 degrees celsius in the CPU and 40-65 on the GPU, thought the BladeMaster is geting pretty old now and it is generating extra noise because of the fan blades. As i ran it on 15 volts, it literally became a weed wacker. Still I think Noctua's industrial PPCs are worth it, have to lower the fan speed to get lower noises. I think of combining F12's LNAs with it. I don't trust the liquid cooling so far, because if the leaks and all ....

I Guess Top Fans really not worth it at that point. I will stick with only the bottom extra fan that I decided

What do you think about getting a 140 mm fan for the CPU and attach it on the back, because it will make additional extra flow there and also coll vrims

Tanyac · Jul 7, 2015

Yes, two fans on the heat sink is a good idea. In a push-pull configuration of course, so that air flow is out the back.

I have found that the Noctua fans are not only quieter, but also more efficient; at least in my tests.

I purchased a Corsair H100i liquid cooler (which is a sealed unit, and very reliable and quiet). The first thing I did was take off the Corsair fans and replace them with Noctua NF-F12 PWM fans. I can literally feel the difference in improved air flow, and I have almost no sound.

Then I added another NF-F12 PWM to the bottom of the case, and replaced the NZXT rear case fan also with a 14cm Noctua. I left the front and side 23cm NZXT fan installed.

I did not use the LNA adapters at all.

I have the NZXT Phantom 820 case. It's a full tower with huge amounts of room and good cable management so I get maximum air flow. I have found that squeezing stuff into small cases is more likely to result in temp issues compared to a large case (at least in my experiences).

Your case looks good for air flow too.

Your BIOS also can help you out. Often, especially with later model boards, you have some fan control in the BIOS. A few tweaks and you should be able to find a balance of noise and cooling that suits you.

As to your GPU - I assume that 40 degrees at idle and 65 under load? Some might say that 40 degrees is a little warm for idle. Mine runs between 23 and 27 degrees at idle. I run the fan(s) at around 650rpm to maintain that. Under load it hasn't gone over 70 degrees.

Of course, these are just my experiences. Cooling is a vast subject, and many people have many different opinions. If no one else chimes in here, I'd still ask for a second opinion.

Deyan Dobromirov · Jul 9, 2015

Sorry for the GPU, I was just guessing. Now I've ran SpeedFan and it says the idle temp is 30C. Here are the temps.

For the bottom, I decided to run one of these, because I have a ani-dust mesh down there.

For the CPU it will be ether of A-14 or F12 still wandering which one, because industrials have greater static pressure like the Blade master. I think I will put one 140 mm at the back of the CPU to cool down my VRims too

PPC that 3-phase motor is pretty neat:
http://www.noctua.at/main.php?show=productview&products_id=83&lng=en
http://www.noctua.at/main.php?show=productview&products_id=79&lng=en

Standards Less noise, but they do not pus so much air:
http://www.noctua.at/main.php?show=productview&products_id=65&lng=en
http://www.noctua.at/main.php?show=productview&products_id=42&lng=en

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Which Noctua cooler is better for CPU cooling and how should I orientate it?

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