Best Air Cooler for Gaming Rig in HTPC (GD09B) Case

[GTRetro87]

Hey everybody,

 

Ok so I've recently rebuild my PC into an HTPC case (Silverstone GD09B). Keep in mind, I'm running a stock 4790k and don't plan on overclocking any time soon.

 

What do you guys think would be the BEST possible air cooler for this. Currently I'm running a Cooler Master Vortex plus which I'm still testing for the best possible fan configuration to see if I can get it to run cooler; aside from wanting to reinstall the heatsink and spreading thermal compound across the heatpipes on the base, instead of just a "dob" of compound on the CPU which I did previously.

 

Lately, on a hot summer night here in NY a couple days ago, prime95 blend test reached a MAX of 82 degrees. During gameplay, I've seen 50-65 degrees.

 

Here's my current fan configuration -- you need to look at the case to understand. I will upload pics so you can see the before and after of my build. Previously I had used a Zalman 9500A but the temps spiked WAY too fast during a prime95 test, so I immediately ran to Microcenter to replace the heatsink to the Vortex plus which you'll also see, just not pics of it installed which I forgot to take.

 

Anyway,

 

1) On the PSU side, I have one intake fan (with case filter installed) - the GPU fans face the PSU and the fans on it are pullers - so this fan has to be an intake.

2) On the CPU side, I have two intake fans (also with case filter installed). The CPU fan is pushing air downwards towards the CPU. Lastly, I have two 80mm fans pulling air out for exhaust in the back of the case.

 

I'm not exactly sure how well the air is being directed through the heatsink and out of the case, and if the system is being cooled properly. 

 

 

Keep in mind, this PC is going inside of a TV stand, and there's about 3-4 inches of space on both sides. I think this is adequate for intake fans to pull cooler air in, but I don't think it's best to have both fans as exhaust on the CPU side with this configuration (unless exposed outside)

 

 

Do you guys think I should perhaps try a different cooler? I was thinking of the Cooler Master TX3 (since I prefer tower coolers), or should I try a Noctua top-down cooler (forgot the models).

 

 

OR........  Corsair H5 SF water cooler?   I prefer to go air cooler, not just for price but also for simplicity (with no worries of leaking EVER).

 

 

 

I personally wouldn't mind keeping the Vortex, I just think it's cool having a top down cooler.. but I have to test again

 

 

Perhaps I should flip the CPU fan to make it pull air away from the CPU? 

 

 

 

Give me your ideas

 

[GTRetro87]

Forgot to mention, I've heard that the case filters for the fans are very restrictive. Not the mesh itself, but the plastic cutouts for the fans themselves, perhaps I should cut the plastic just enough to create an open circle with just mesh to free airflow from obstacles. 

 

 

Updates soon

[ClobberXD]

If tower coolers can fit in your case (as you mentioned HTPC), a Hyper 212 Evo is preferred, as it's just around $30, but performs like hell! If you want slim top-down coolers, the Cryorig C7 is supposed the best in such a restrictive form-factor...

[GTRetro87]

I have a hyper 212 evo and I was cursing like crazy when I looked at the MB installed in the case and saw the tower sticking through the top of the case lol.

 

My temps never went passed 72 degrees on prime95. If I decide to cutout the top cover, then for sure I'll be using the hyper 212.. save my money!

 

 

I TOTALLY forgot to mention that I'm running a stock 4790k CPU! I'll edit the first post

 

 

 

[GTRetro87]

I'm gonna look into the Cryorig C7, see if I can find anybody using it in a HTPC case and/or 4790k

[GTRetro87]

Actually, as much as I can get a TX3 within minutes (from work and from home lol).. I did a little research and happened to stumble upon these coolers..

 

Noctua NH-U9S

 

Here are some links:

http://noctua.at/en/nh-u9s/specification

http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/7038/noctua-nh-u9s-cpu-cooler-review/index6.html

 

 

And this!

 

Noctua NH-C14S

 

http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/7284/noctua-nh-c14s-style-cpu-cooler-review/index6.html

http://noctua.at/en/products/cpu-cooler-retail/nh-c14s

 

 

According to the test in tweaktown, not exactly sure what the room temperature was but, looks like the C14S is a better cooler than the U9S.

 

Perhaps it's time to buy another cooler!

[GTRetro87]

Ok so, purchased the Noctua NH-C14S from Newegg. Let's see what happens when it comes in

 

According to some tests, considering that it's an air cooler, it should keep the CPU running only a couple degrees hotter (literally 2-6 degrees) than a Corsair H5 SF water cooler. So, hopefully this should be great for my case!

 

 

[WoodenMarker]

Your temps are perfectly fine as in so you might want to cancel that order.

If you want to lower noise, you could just replace the heatsink fan. 

[GTRetro87]

@WoodenMarker You think really so? 80-82 deg max during prime95 blend test, and 50-65 (more like 58-62) deg during gameplay? Shouldn't it be a little cooler?

 

Well, I'll do more testing and upload pics of what I'm reading, as well as check to see how the thermal compound spread with the initial drop placed in the middle - maybe end up spreading a little across the base of the heatsink (according to instructions)

 

I can cancel the order later on, but isn't it better to have it run cooler than this though? 

 

 

[WoodenMarker]

17 minutes ago, GTRetro87 said:

@WoodenMarker You think really so? 80-82 deg max during prime95 blend test, and 50-65 (more like 58-62) deg during gameplay? Shouldn't it be a little cooler?

You're fine up to 80-90c at load. Your temps are fine and you have a decent amount of headroom.

[GTRetro87]

@WoodenMarker Oh! I guess I am alright after all. 

 

I guess I'll just retest upload results to confirm

[DragonTamer1]

Any kind of stress test is designed to hit your CPU harder than it would ever see in a real world scenario. I seem to remember Haswell CPUs don't fair as well with P95 as compared to something like Aida64. Remember that there are different types of CPU load as different parts of the CPU are used. I stress test mine with P95 and hit 70*, when I render a video (still at 100% load) it only gets up to 60-65*.

 

Honestly your temps are fine and I would have left them. If they are not hitting high temps during games then I doubt it will get hot enough to be noticeable.

[GTRetro87]

@DragonTamer1 You guys could very well be right. I guess what throws me off is how much cooler my PC was running in it's previous tower setup with a Hyper 212 Evo - regardless of P95 or Aida64, it never went passed mid-70's ever when being stress tested. 

 

I was playing a little CS:GO last night, windows open, fan blowing in the room (mostly towards the PC). As shown in the pic uploaded, CPU was running around 65-70 degrees at 45% usage. Of course when the usage would drop (when not much was going on on-screen), the usage would drop and the temps would drop to around 35-45 degrees, then again back up quickly to 60's. 

 

So perhaps you could be right that the temps are ok, but I'm just not that comfy yet with the fact that it would run cooler at these usage percentages. You can see here in my thread, 

, There's a pic showing my temps during Aida64 testing (which I know I have not done yet). You can see at 100% CPU usage, temps are 64, 57, 64, 58 degrees from Core 1 through 4, or 64 degrees CPU Package.  Seeing this irks me

 

 

Temperatures are fine but my nerves aren't lol. 

 

I'll try out Aida64 soon, see what the results are.

[DragonTamer1]

You can try the Noctua cooler when it comes in and see if it makes a difference, I would also suggest adding more case fans to move air around. Typically it's recommended to use high static pressure fans while working in such a small case but you can probably get away with two high air flow blowing on the CPU and three to four high SP exhaust (don't know what your current case fan configuration is).

[GTRetro87]

@DragonTamer1

 

The case is a GD09B (Silverstone).  

 

1) Two 120mm Corsair Air AF120 fans blowing towards the CPU

2) Two 80mm Enermax UCTB8 fans behind the CPU as exhaust (also, these are adjacent to the intake fans)

 

3) There is another 120mm Corsair AF120 on the opposite side of the case setup as an intake because the GPU fans (pullers) are facing it - so it makes sense to keep this as is

 

Here's a pic of what others looks like, I don't have a picture of mine yet.

 

As shown in the picture, my configuration is just like this (obviously different CPU cooler and fan brands). But the tray is there just like in the picture, this tray blocks about half of the 120mm fan behind it which you cannot see), so I will definitely be moving the HDD and SSD's around to free up some airflow in the case

 

 

After some research, I may replace the intake fans with Corsair SP120's

[GTRetro87]

SO...

 

Got the Noctua C14S intstalled, man this is a big cooler. I currently have the fan in the low profile position, blowing up into the cooler.

 

So far, it's definitely made a difference. I didn't test in prime95 yet, but with Aida64 I've got pictures of my results. I took mulitple pictures within a small time frame (8-10 seconds) and you can see that (in a general sense) it's running cooler than the CM Vortex Plus

 

 

I can say that it's max temp is a few degrees cooler than 80-82 max like the Vortex, however most of the time the fan kicks in slightly and brings down the temps to 10 or more degrees - to me, on a hot summer night, this is GREAT.

 

And I happen to cut out the plastic designs from the filter on the CPU side - just by blowing into the plastic, you can tell how much of an obstruction of airflow they are - so when cut open, leaving the mesh filter in tact, it's a big difference. I do believe that the testing pics wass with the filters cut open, so perhaps they were also a hindrance in cooling performance, but nothing drastic.

 

 

BTW, I realized that the fans I have installed are Corsair SP120's, but they're the LED versions which do not flow as powerfully or as much as the current High performance SP120's without LED's. The ML120's also happen to be attractive as they're powerful fans but with LED's -- might take a look at them when I get the chance

 

 

 

In the meantime, I'm sure that the Vortex was adequate with temps not being dangerously high - I'm sure in the winter, the temps will be much lower, but still if I OC my 4790k, it may not be enough - so I'm glad I spent the money on this cooler