Corsair H100i vs Noctua NH-D14 - Temps and price to performance?

[angrylemon]

Just wondering what cpu cooler i should get for my rig (i have the stock cooler atm), looking for a good cooler for a decent price and had the Corsair H100i in mind but my friend is trying to convince me to get a Noctua NH-D14 i dont know what to get, i was planning on getting 2 corsair SP120's or 2 NF-F12's to go along with the aio liquid cooler, (BTW im not sure why he wants me to get the Noctua cooler, he is also completly biast to AMD), what offers the best temps (i will consider coolers other than the 2 mentioned depending on the temps and price, budget of around $150-$160 max) Thought i should mention i have a intel i7 4770k along with a asus z87-c mobo and i get idle temps from 29-37 degrees in a Thermaltake Versa 2 with 3 fans

 

Thanks, all help appreciated

[zapsyou]

They are both great cooler and close to equal in price to performance, In my opinion go h100i it cost a bit more but also performs a better. That said the Noctua will last longer as it's just a chunk of metal there's nothing really that can were out, break or leak.

[Ivyk]

*snip*

How long would you say the H100i lasts?

[zapsyou]

Not really sure, more just meant that it's vastly more complicated so it's just at a higher chance of breaking then an air cooler which is just metal. Not to say you should worry about the h100i breaking because it is a very high quality but I was talking more in the scope of decades. 

[Paralectic]

How long would you say the H100i lasts?

5 Years, if shorter you've got warranty.

[Sintezza]

I was at the same decission, i choosed for the aircooler.

The reasons because the aircooler is much quieter.They perform equaly. And offcourse there is a price diffrence.

The H100i only wins if you put it on full speed, with an overclock, but still thats in a margin of 3 degrees, at the max.

Also the pump can fail.. or starting to make noice, you also have wind wine trough the fins of the rad.

 

With all thease things in concideration, i decided to get an aircooler. Mines performs even a littlebit better then the Noctua, but mines is also bigger then the noctua.

 

I have the Phanteks PH-TC14PE. its realy quiet, fans dont spin higher then 1300rpm max. But your asus Fan xpert software, you are able to put the fans down to 800rpm.

[Guest Generallee]

I was at the same decission, i choosed for the aircooler.

The reasons because the aircooler is much quieter.They perform equaly. And offcourse there is a price diffrence.

The H100i only wins if you put it on full speed, with an overclock, but still thats in a margin of 3 degrees, at the max.

Also the pump can fail.. or starting to make noice, you also have wind wine trough the fins of the rad.

 

With all thease things in concideration, i decided to get an aircooler. Mines performs even a littlebit better then the Noctua, but mines is also bigger then the noctua.

 

I have the Phanteks PH-TC14PE. its realy quiet, fans dont spin higher then 1300rpm max. But your asus Fan xpert software, you are able to put the fans down to 800rpm.

 

The two SP120's on my H80i are at 500rpm, unnoticeable, 25° idle, 38° on load. I would say go liquid if you plan to OC but then it's also a matter of looks .. IMO aio's look better, i prefer having an aio than a big chunky piece of metal having to worry about ram clearance

[Sintezza]

Well the H80i and the H100i are decent aio coolers, but you need to replace the stock fans.

The SP120L fans perform realy well, but the in terms of noice level they are rubbish.

You can get some Sp120 Quiet edition fans, but they perform less.

 

I was also in concideration of the H100i, but it was €17 more expensive +  €26 extra for a pair of SP120´s quiet editions. would have cost me an extra €43 for about the same performance.. price to perfomance...

I would definitely going with the H100i if they had included them with better fans, just paying €100 for an aio cooler with some rubbish fans included, just kinda pissing me off lol

[The_Strict_Nein]

Well, warranties work on the basis that most customers will never have to use them. So while the warranty is 5 years, the mean time to failure is usually around 1.5 to twice that.

[4960X]

There have been a lot of people with pump failure and leakage with their h100i so I would stay away from it. Go with the NH-D14.

[pbenologa]

Just wondering what cpu cooler i should get for my rig (i have the stock cooler atm), looking for a good cooler for a decent price and had the Corsair H100i in mind but my friend is trying to convince me to get a Noctua NH-D14 i dont know what to get, i was planning on getting 2 corsair SP120's or 2 NF-F12's to go along with the aio liquid cooler, (BTW im not sure why he wants me to get the Noctua cooler, he is also completly biast to AMD), what offers the best temps (i will consider coolers other than the 2 mentioned depending on the temps and price, budget of around $150-$160 max) Thought i should mention i have a intel i7 4770k along with a asus z87-c mobo and i get idle temps from 29-37 degrees in a Thermaltake Versa 2 with 3 fans

 

Thanks, all help appreciated

You are running at 29-37 at stock cooler means there is a good airflow in your case. I'd pick the noctua because AIR

[Faa]

Theres a zero performance difference between the two because the heat disappation bottleneck is below the HSP (grey metal cover) and not between the contactbase of your heatpipe & HSP.

I wouldn't get a H100i over a NH-d14, the pump alone is louder than the two noctua fans. The stock fans are loud at any speed even at 800rpm, they make an awful motor/grinding noise so spend another 40$ for proper fans. I've rma'ed a h100i like 10 times, with the money I spent for rma'ing it I could buy like 2 of them. They brick a lot, led light not working anymore and the fan control wasnt working either and ofc not detected by Corsair link anymore.

Anyways a NH-D14's size would be a headache if you frequently upgrade etc, so its a stupid choice too for a z87 build. You're better off getting a nh-u12s/nh-u14s that performs exactly the same and is even quieter.
 

 

The two SP120's on my H80i are at 500rpm, unnoticeable, 25° idle, 38° on load. I would say go liquid if you plan to OC but then it's also a matter of looks .. IMO aio's look better, i prefer having an aio than a big chunky piece of metal having to worry about ram clearance

Deaf people usually make Corsair rich..

[WoodenMarker]

They are both great cooler and close to equal in price to performance, In my opinion go h100i it cost a bit more but also performs a better. That said the Noctua will last longer as it's just a chunk of metal there's nothing really that can were out, break or leak.

Not really.. The h100i isn't that much better than the NH-D14 considering it can cost almost twice as much with aftermarket fans. 

[Guest Generallee]

 

Deaf people usually make Corsair rich..

 

 

because i don't notice the fan at 500rpm makes me "deaf" ? Oh okay 

[Faa]

because i don't notice the fan at 500rpm makes me "deaf" ? Oh okay 

But which sp's? SP120l's or the ones with the colored rings? If it's one of those sp120l's then I'd be wondering why you don't hear them..

[VSG]

The SP120L fans are specced between the SP120 QE and HPEs but irrespective of that, how does it matter which one it is if he is running at 500 rpm? At that RPM, any fan will be quiet.

 

The more I read your posts, the more I get a feeling that you don't really look up what you are posting about. I really hope I am wrong here though since forums are very influential to people coming in to get info.

[Guest Generallee]

But which sp's? SP120l's or the ones with the colored rings? If it's one of those sp120l's then I'd be wondering why you don't hear them..

 

SP 120l's

 

Because i set them to fixed 500 rpm on Corsair Link ? you know 500rpm won't make my ears bleed. Whats with the pump ? You make it look like it sounds like a highway, i can't even hear mine

 

I mean come on, if OP decided to go for a seidon 120v i would be like okay this guy needs to be rescued

 

i respect your opinion, you obviously prefer air coolers because it just works & the only thing to be replaced is the fan. I prefer Corsair's aio because of badass looks, & it's not fugly. In the end of the day nobody's cpu is on fire so

 

Peace 

 

oh and

 

http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/125782-oc3d-throws-dual-award-at-bequiet-dark-rock-pro-3/

[Faa]

SP 120l's

 

Because i set them to fixed 500 rpm on Corsair Link ? you know 500rpm won't make my ears bleed. Whats with the pump ? You make it look like it sounds like a highway, i can't even hear mine

 

I mean come on, if OP decided to go for a seidon 120v i would be like okay this guy needs to be rescued

 

i respect your opinion, you obviously prefer air coolers because it just works & the only thing to be replaced is the fan. I prefer Corsair's aio because of badass looks, & it's not fugly. In the end of the day nobody's cpu is on fire so

 

Peace 

Do you have the pwm ones or the 3pin? In my experience the 3pins were ok but with newer revisions they included pwm fans instead and theyre the ones making annoying noises. Im not going to deny that you don't hear any air noise at 500rpm, but every SP120l pwm I tried had that motor/grinding noise at any speed. Its very noticeable at lower speeds. This guy tested it (youtube.com/watch?v=cTf0Vq1j4Ec)

Just a simple nh-u12s is atleast twice as quiet, so I don't see any reason to go with an AIO other than looks and clearance. Heatsinks are far more reliable and rma free. His case doesnt have a window so personally I think a nh-u14s would suit him the best.

@Op if you're going with a H100i I would recommend getting a Swiftech H220 or wait for the new one H220x theyll be released soon. http://www.ocaholic.ch/modules/xcgal/albums/userpics/10674/normal_Swiftech_H220X-1.jpg

 

[Guest Generallee]

@Op if you're going with a H100i I would recommend getting a Swiftech H220 or wait for the new one H220x theyll be released soon. http://www.ocaholic.ch/modules/xcgal/albums/userpics/10674/normal_Swiftech_H220X-1.jpg

 

 

Now that's baddass

[VSG]

Do you have the pwm ones or the 3pin? In my experience the 3pins were ok but with newer revisions they included pwm fans instead and theyre the ones making annoying noises. Im not going to deny that you don't hear any air noise at 500rpm, but every SP120l pwm I tried had that motor/grinding noise at any speed. Its very noticeable at lower speeds. This guy tested it (youtube.com/watch?v=cTf0Vq1j4Ec)

 

 

Martin did this test before Swiftech (and everyone else) became aware of the issue of their PWM splitter not really being compatible with Corsair's implementation of PWM- thus the PWM click. It was not Swiftech's fault really, Corsair decided to use a different pulse implementation that worked great only with their Corsair Link controller. Notice his comment in the video:

 

I did pick up quite a bit of harmonic between the two fans though like you hear at 1:11, etc where the two RPMs fall off a bit and create that undulating harmonic sound.

 

That was also followed up on OCN and Corsair listened, thankfully. Since this video, I have tested the Corsair PWM fans (All versions) with various splitters and controllers and Corsair has toned down their PWM implementation to get closer to the standard that everyone else uses. 

[Faa]

Martin did this test before Swiftech (and everyone else) became aware of the issue of their PWM splitter not really being compatible with Corsair's implementation of PWM- thus the PWM click. It was not Swiftech's fault really, Corsair decided to use a different pulse implementation that worked great only with their Corsair Link controller. Notice his comment in the video:

Uh? Why would you use their pwm splitter anyways. Just get some y splitter for your fans and have the pump connected to the cpu_fan header and the fans to cpu_opt orsomething.

Corsair switched from 3 to 4pin to fix the buzzing noise issue of the fans: youtube.com/watch?v=Kg9Ni_3HhiE (start watching at 1:15)

The first firmware the pump was rattling when the fans were below 1400rpm so they updated the firmware making 1400rpm the minimum so the pump wouldnt rattle anymore but that created that buzzing issue and thats when they released again a new firmware and pwm versions of their sp120l. It literally took them more than 3 months to fix this.

 

[VSG]

The CPU_OPT is a mirror of the CPU_FAN and you can't independently control both headers. Also, I have 20 fans in my rig and I use an Aquaero 6 with 2 headers controlling 6 fans each using the Swiftech header. Corsair switched to PWM fans so they could market their Corsair Link controller- that's it. Even the Corsair reps have more or less said this and I don't blame them for it.

[Faa]

The CPU_OPT is a mirror of the CPU_FAN and you can't independently control both headers. Also, I have 20 fans in my rig and I use an Aquaero 6 with 2 headers controlling 6 fans each using the Swiftech header. Corsair switched to PWM fans so they could market their Corsair Link controller- that's it. Even the Corsair reps have more or less said this and I don't blame them for it.

From ramguy who works for corsair: http://forum.corsair.com/v2/showpost.php?p=636134&postcount=12

Uhm you can control the cpu_opt fan, although with my board you can: http://www.overclock3d.net/gfx/articles/2011/11/11164046174l.jpg

[VSG]

That picture only shows control over one cpu header, where is the cpu opt header? Those opt headers in there are the chassis headers.

[angrylemon]

So what are the noise levels for a H100i with SP120 quiet editions vs the noctua NH-D14 with the same fans