Noctua nh-l12s vs AMD stealth HTPC

[woody3250]

I have an HTPC setup that serves dual purpose as Plex server and NVR running Blue Iris.  The case is a Silverstone ML-03b with Gigabyte mATX board, Ryzen 2400g, 16gb Ballistix RAM, 2 4TB HDD, and m.2 SSD.  I have two side 80mm intake fans right next to the mobo.  The stock wraith stealth cooler gets a little too loud at times when the CPU is loaded (typically when transcoding video), and I would like to switch to the Noctua nh-l12s.  However, my case clearance is only 70mm, which would require mounting the fan underneath the heatsink, pushing air up away from the mobo.  My concern is that will I lose cooling performance with this airflow design.  With the case fans pulling air in and the cpu cooler pushing it out, would that create an air loop on that side of the case?  The top of the case has vent holes directly above the mobo.  Would I be better served by the Noctua NH-L9x65?  Currently the noise isn't unbearable and not constant, but I do notice it at times, and would like to explore better cooling options.  Thanks for any suggestions.

 

[Bacon soup]

have you tried not using the 80mm fans? or put the side fans in exhaust. Also try cut a piece of cardboard to duct air from the panel to the CPU fan

[Tristerin]

What thermal paste are you using?  The stock cooler is quite good for what it is, and pairing it with TG Kryo yields 3-5c less temps easily over stock TIM applied to the heat sink (Ive tested on my 1700's).  Id try a high end thermal paste since you have very little options for coolers as is.  My only other thought would be add a PCIe mounted exhaust fan that is powered with molex and use a inline voltage regulator to keep the speeds low/sound low.

[woody3250]

2 hours ago, Tristerin said:

What thermal paste are you using?  The stock cooler is quite good for what it is, and pairing it with TG Kryo yields 3-5c less temps easily over stock TIM applied to the heat sink (Ive tested on my 1700's).  Id try a high end thermal paste since you have very little options for coolers as is.  My only other thought would be add a PCIe mounted exhaust fan that is powered with molex and use a inline voltage regulator to keep the speeds low/sound low.

I'm using the stock paste that came applied to the cooler.  Out of curiosity, are you referring to the spire or the stealth?  I thought the 1700 included the spire cooler.  Using a higher quality paste might be a cheap fix, though, thanks for the tip.

[Tristerin]

16 minutes ago, woody3250 said:

I'm using the stock paste that came applied to the cooler.  Out of curiosity, are you referring to the spire or the stealth?  I thought the 1700 included the spire cooler.  Using a higher quality paste might be a cheap fix, though, thanks for the tip.

I would have to dig them out, I have one with clips and one without (and they are buried lol) they both did well on 1700s for what they were and a better thermal paste will help - other question is how hot is it getting and can you let it get a little hotter while still keeping a low fan speed?  As long as its within operating temps it will be just fine (I say this but at the same time always strive for low internal operating temps myself lol)

[Zando_]

You can mount the fan underneath the cooler, pulling air down through it (also pushing it over the VRMs, better for the health of the board too). Don't have to have it push up, and the only limitation here is if your RAM is too tall. I doubt pull will hurt cooling performance too much. I would offer to test with my L12S, but I don't think my RAM fits under the cooler with the fan mounted on the underside. 

[WoodenMarker]

The NH-L12S performs better with the fan facing up when mounted under the heatsink anyway. 

The NH-L9x65 isn't as good. 

[woody3250]

9 hours ago, WoodenMarker said:

The NH-L12S performs better with the fan facing up when mounted under the heatsink anyway. 

The NH-L9x65 isn't as good. 

You're saying it works better with the fan pushing air up through heatsink away from cpu, right?

[WoodenMarker]

On 11/1/2019 at 5:26 AM, woody3250 said:

You're saying it works better with the fan pushing air up through heatsink away from cpu, right?

Yes, at least when the fan is mounted under the heatsink.

Having the fan on the of the heatsink is better but that's not the situation here. 

[woody3250]

Thanks everyone for your help.  I think I will try the L12S.  Surely I can tinker with the orientation of the fans and obtain results I'm happy with.