Processor Air Cooling

Taintedmind · May 25, 2020

I have a few questions, if anyone is able to help.

I'm looking to possibly purchase an i9-9900k after the new computer parts come out later this year to put in my current rig to give to my g/f over my i7-8700k w/an EVGA RTX 3070 FTW2. I'm goin to build my own PC w/the new computer parts and hand this one to her. I was looking at two coolers to see which one would be better at either Auto config and/or Sync All Cores on the i9.

I'm looking at:

Be Quiet! Dark Rock 4 (159.4mm w/135mm fan)

Noctua NH-U12S chromax.Black (158mm w/120mm fan)

I was looking at the Noctua NH-D15 chromax.Black, but there'll be clearance issues w/her Cougar Panzer-S case by 5mm. Case CPU Cooler max is 160mm and the NH-D15 is 165mm w/2 140mm fans. It would be tight, but there might be a possibility of just slidin the fans a 5mm lower for clearance; if this's an options, please let me know, along w/the other info.

I was wondering which one would have better cooling (I would assume the Be Quiet due to one more heat pipe w/a larger fan) and if either would be able to use the Corsair LL120/140mm RGB fans. I have both sets of fans, so it wouldn't be an issue of putting it on - I'm asking if they're compatible.

Anyone useful info on this subject is appreciated; thanks.

Bombastinator · May 25, 2020

The old school method is count the pipes. The i12 has five and the dark rock has six. This leads me to suspect that the dark rock has a higher total TDP.

NineEyeRon · May 25, 2020

If you can't get the TDP with an air cooler that fits, I would personally want a mm spare at least, you can always consider an AIO.

Taintedmind · May 25, 2020

I've decided to go w/the Dark Rock 4, but I'm still curious if the Corsair LL120/140mm RGB fan will work on it, since the fan that's on there stock is 135mm; so it appears it might alter where the holes will be grabbed to the metal sync.

WoodenMarker · May 26, 2020

5 hours ago, Taintedmind said:

I've decided to go w/the Dark Rock 4, but I'm still curious if the Corsair LL120/140mm RGB fan will work on it, since the fan that's on there stock is 135mm; so it appears it might alter where the holes will be grabbed to the metal sync.

The 135mm fan uses 120mm mounting holes. They're also centered at the fan instead of at the outer edges so you would need to bend the wires to fit normal 120mm or 140mm mounting holes.

The NH-D15 Chromax heatsink itself is 160mm. The height is 165mm only with the fans in their standard mounting position. The cooler can be used with the center fan completely lowered into the heatsink and with the front fan at the rear for pull or removed for a total height of 160mm.

If you want to use LL's on the cooler, you might as well get a different cooler to begin with. What ram are you using?

Taintedmind · May 27, 2020

On 5/25/2020 at 8:28 PM, WoodenMarker said:

The 135mm fan uses 120mm mounting holes. They're also centered at the fan instead of at the outer edges so you would need to bend the wires to fit normal 120mm or 140mm mounting holes.

The NH-D15 Chromax heatsink itself is 160mm. The height is 165mm only with the fans in their standard mounting position. The cooler can be used with the center fan completely lowered into the heatsink and with the front fan at the rear for pull or removed for a total height of 160mm.

If you want to use LL's on the cooler, you might as well get a different cooler to begin with. What ram are you using?

G.Skill TridentZ RGB 3200MHz 32gb (4x8). The entire build is in my Signature, if you require any more info. The clearance of the case is the issue - I wanted to get the Noctua NH-D15 chromax.Black as I've stated prior, but this case has limiting clearance issues w/being more flexible w/non-Liquid Cooling. I only want Air Cooling in this rig.