Noctura NH-D15 and NH-12A alternatives.

[NinthTurtle1034]

Hi, I'm looking for an noctura alternative to the NH-D15 and NH-12A because both appear to be too tall for my chasis, despite me measuring clearance heights.

I have a i5 10500 but might be upgrading to the i7 10700 or i7 11700 ranges at some point in the future.

 

I'm specifically looking for a Noctura alternative because it should make swapping out the coolers easier as they all use the same backplates meaning I won't need to take the mobo out

[OhioYJ]

6 minutes ago, NinthTurtle1034 said:

Hi, I'm looking for an noctura alternative to the NH-D15 and NH-12A because both appear to be too tall for my chasis, despite me measuring clearance heights.

What is your PC case, or your clearance limitation? You didn't list it?

[PDifolco]

10 minutes ago, NinthTurtle1034 said:

Hi, I'm looking for an noctura alternative to the NH-D15 and NH-12A because both appear to be too tall for my chasis, despite me measuring clearance heights.

I have a i5 10500 but might be upgrading to the i7 10700 or i7 11700 ranges at some point in the future.

 

I'm specifically looking for a Noctura alternative because it should make swapping out the coolers easier as they all use the same backplates meaning I won't need to take the mobo out

What's your clearance for cooler ?

Problem is that most 120mm tower coolers have samey height at 150mm approx, so either all or none fit, and you then have to use a 90mm one, they're 120mm tall, would that be ok ? They're worse at cooling, a 10500 isn't a hot chip, but I don't think it'll be enough for a 10700 or 11700, you'll have to go AIO on those

 

Noctua  NH-U9S for example

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/9pfFf7/noctua-nh-u9s-chromaxblack-464-cfm-cpu-cooler-nh-u9s-chromaxblack

 

 

 

 

[NinthTurtle1034]

55 minutes ago, OhioYJ said:

What is your PC case, or your clearance limitation? You didn't list it?

 

54 minutes ago, PDifolco said:

What's your clearance for cooler ?

Problem is that most 120mm tower coolers have samey height at 150mm approx, so either all or none fit, and you then have to use a 90mm one, they're 120mm tall, would that be ok ? They're worse at cooling, a 10500 isn't a hot chip, but I don't think it'll be enough for a 10700 or 11700, you'll have to go AIO on those

 

Noctua  NH-U9S for example

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/9pfFf7/noctua-nh-u9s-chromaxblack-464-cfm-cpu-cooler-nh-u9s-chromaxblack

 

 

 

 

My case is a Inter-Tech 4U IPC 4U-4724, I'm measuring a top-bottom height of about 160mm, the chasis has a strength plate under the mobo which is probably about 10mm-15mm, so lets so a rough height of 140mm

[PDifolco]

8 minutes ago, NinthTurtle1034 said:

 

My case is a Inter-Tech 4U IPC 4U-4724, I'm measuring a top-bottom height of about 160mm, the chasis has a strength plate under the mobo which is probably about 10mm-15mm, so lets so a rough height of 140mm

Ok

According to specs you've 155mm, just short 3mm for a NH-U12S

But a NH-D12L, which is a bit lower could fit 

 

https://ro.pcpartpicker.com/product/MvGbt6/noctua-nh-d12l-6009-cfm-cpu-cooler-nh-d12l

 

[NinthTurtle1034]

5 minutes ago, PDifolco said:

Ok

According to specs you've 155mm, just short 3mm for a NH-U12S

But a NH-D12L, which is a bit lower could fit 

 

https://ro.pcpartpicker.com/product/MvGbt6/noctua-nh-d12l-6009-cfm-cpu-cooler-nh-d12l

 

That's a decent shout, I'll order one. Do you happen to know what size the fan is? Could I tag my current fans from the NH-12A onto the sides for extra flow?

[PDifolco]

2 minutes ago, NinthTurtle1034 said:

That's a decent shout, I'll order one. Do you happen to know what size the fan is? Could I tag my current fans from the NH-12A onto the sides for extra flow?

As it's called "NH-D12" it's a 120mm standard fan  

Looks like you can add some fans on the side indeed, you just need additional clips

[NinthTurtle1034]

15 minutes ago, PDifolco said:

As it's called "NH-D12" it's a 120mm standard fan  

Looks like you can add some fans on the side indeed, you just need additional clips

Huh, that makes sense lol. I'll check in with an update on whether or not this cooler ends up working 

[RevGAM]

19 hours ago, PDifolco said:

What's your clearance for cooler ?

Problem is that most 120mm tower coolers have samey height at 150mm approx, so either all or none fit, and you then have to use a 90mm one, they're 120mm tall, would that be ok ? They're worse at cooling, a 10500 isn't a hot chip, but I don't think it'll be enough for a 10700 or 11700, you'll have to go AIO on those

 

Noctua  NH-U9S for example

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/9pfFf7/noctua-nh-u9s-chromaxblack-464-cfm-cpu-cooler-nh-u9s-chromaxblack

 

 

 

 

Are the 10700 and 11700 hotter than the 12700k?

19 hours ago, NinthTurtle1034 said:

Hi, I'm looking for an noctura alternative to the NH-D15 and NH-12A because both appear to be too tall for my chasis, despite me measuring clearance heights.

I have a i5 10500 but might be upgrading to the i7 10700 or i7 11700 ranges at some point in the future.

 

I'm specifically looking for a Noctura alternative because it should make swapping out the coolers easier as they all use the same backplates meaning I won't need to take the mobo out

Your best bet is to email Noctua, give them your measurements and build,  and ask what the best choice is. They'll ask their engineers. Their website compatibility tool, last I checked, is lame, and when I suggested that they improve it, they declined.

[PDifolco]

1 minute ago, RevGAM said:

Are the 10700 and 11700 hotter than the 12700k?

Your best bet is to email Noctua, give them your measurements and build,  and ask what the best choice is. They'll ask their engineers. Their website compatibility tool, last I checked, is lame, and when I suggested that they improve it, they declined.

My understanding was that OP planned to upgrade to some 10700K or 11700K, which are a bit cooler than a 12700k (no ecores) but still pretty hot

 

[RevGAM]

2 hours ago, PDifolco said:

My understanding was that OP planned to upgrade to some 10700K or 11700K, which are a bit cooler than a 12700k (no ecores) but still pretty hot

 

Well, if the Ks aren't as hot as the 12700k, I guarantee that the U12A is enough, since that's my CPU and cooler. 

[PDifolco]

3 minutes ago, RevGAM said:

Well, if the Ks aren't as hot as the 12700k, I guarantee that the U12A is enough, since that's my CPU and cooler. 

Maybe but they don't fit OP server case  

[RevGAM]

1 minute ago, PDifolco said:

Maybe but they don't fit OP server case  

Agreed. I don't remember why I asked you - I was half awake then.  

[NinthTurtle1034]

3 hours ago, PDifolco said:

My understanding was that OP planned to upgrade to some 10700K or 11700K, which are a bit cooler than a 12700k (no ecores) but still pretty hot

 

I wasn't specfically looking at getting a k skew CPU, As it's a virtualization server I'm more concerned about more cores. My 10500 is okay but I can only use 2/3 of my m.2 slots because the main one is gen 11 CPU's only. If I can get more cores and threads on a 11700 CPU than the 10700 then that's great but if not I'll probably move to the 10700 (unless the 11900 is a good option).
I've not done research into any of these CPU's in months so I'm not sure which would be best

[NinthTurtle1034]

3 hours ago, RevGAM said:

Your best bet is to email Noctua, give them your measurements and build,  and ask what the best choice is. They'll ask their engineers. Their website compatibility tool, last I checked, is lame, and when I suggested that they improve it, they declined.

That's not a bad idea, might do that this evening.