Using only Noctua as for cooling

Snowmnason · May 22, 2020

HI, I am a really dingus when it comes to theory crafting and to broke to actually try things out.

I was planning on doing a whole new build/upgrade! and I want it to be as quiet and flashy as possible.

So I was wondering how potent is Noctua, I have seen people especially Linus use them on builds with a threddripper, but how would a build be if I were to insert them as case fans and the CPU cooler.

Using something like this Case and adding like 3-6 Noctua NF-S12A Fans ......

Looking at the specs its not the best on airflow and RPM but I am not to sure how high you needs those specs to be in order to get proper cooling.

Thank you in advice.

Also, if I need to switch to closed loop can these fans just be mounted on to the Rad?

Stuttgart · May 22, 2020

10 minutes ago, Snowmnason said:

HI, I am a really dingus when it comes to theory crafting and to broke to actually try things out.

I was planning on doing a whole new build/upgrade! and I want it to be as quiet and flashy as possible.

So I was wondering how potent is Noctua, I have seen people especially Linus use them on builds with a threddripper, but how would a build be if I were to insert them as case fans and the CPU cooler.

Using something like this Case and adding like 3-6 Noctua NF-S12A Fans ......

Looking at the specs its not the best on airflow and RPM but I am not to sure how high you needs those specs to be in order to get proper cooling.

Thank you in advice.

Also, if I need to switch to closed loop can these fans just be mounted on to the Rad?

Noctua produces good fans, but cooling depends not just on themselves.
Cooling is about airflow, which coolers you use and many many other factors.

Rule of thumb:
Get proper airflow in your case, whatever fans you are using. And if you go watercooling, use Static Pressure optimized fans for radiators. Those noctuas are not really optimized for static pressure, and therefore not the best pick for radiators. Theoretically it will work, but practically there are better options.

And dont just focus on Noctua fans. Corsair / Arctic / and many other brands have some pretty good fans too....

NineEyeRon · May 22, 2020

I went with the Noctua Redux series for my case 140mm intakes. Good balanced airflow and pressure.

Happy with the purchase as its a quieter rig now.

If building from scratch I would buy the proper Noctua fans instead of the redux to replace all case fans. Its not that the fractal fans are bad, I just didn’t budget for better fans which I will do next time.

Snowmnason · May 22, 2020

54 minutes ago, Stuttgart said:

Noctua produces good fans, but cooling depends not just on themselves.
Cooling is about airflow, which coolers you use and many many other factors.

Rule of thumb:
Get proper airflow in your case, whatever fans you are using. And if you go watercooling, use Static Pressure optimized fans for radiators. Those noctuas are not really optimized for static pressure, and therefore not the best pick for radiators. Theoretically it will work, but practically there are better options.

And dont just focus on Noctua fans. Corsair / Arctic / and many other brands have some pretty good fans too....

Thank you for the rule of thumb, that is actually a ton of help!

The reason I want to go all Noct is because I have a small space and I want to start working as a professional VO, if I can get a RTX card(not happening soon lol) or a build that is below 20 dB is the goal!

I might have to find a more optimized case like a sound damping one, or not to be annoyed about the that I just need to add more gain to my audio in post.

But thank you again, I now have an idea on what I should research

Stuttgart · May 22, 2020

1 minute ago, Snowmnason said:

Thank you for the rule of thumb, that is actually a ton of help!

The reason I want to go all Noct is because I have a small space and I want to start working as a professional VO, if I can get a RTX card(not happening soon lol) or a build that is below 20 dB is the goal!

I might have to find a more optimized case like a sound damping one, or not to be annoyed about the that I just need to add more gain to my audio in post.

But thank you again, I now have an idea on what I should research

No problem!
Usually from my experience Case fans wont be the loudest part inside your PC. For me its the old HDD i got inside my case and the Coil whine of the GPU, which is beeing reinforced by the GPU Waterblock. Below 20dB is pretty hard to achieve imho. If you really want to stay under 20dB, you shouldnt be having fans at all.

Check out this Video Linus made, could be interesting for you: