Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 vs AIO Cooler Master ML240L v2

[almog]

Hey guys. I need some help.

Some time ago I was in a quest for finding a pc cooler, ended up buying nothing at all...

Main focus here is silence and heat, the bundled factory cooler gets noisy and way too hot at peak cpu utilization. The city I live in is quite dusty, really hot (around 35ºC during summer months and around 25-28 winter time). PC is placed under my desk close to the wall.

 

Utilization is mainly architecture softwares (usually CPU image rendering) and light gaming.

Question is, I am in doubt what should I pick, unfortunatelly there aren't many options available in the price range (I live in Brazil).

I do have the option to buy the Peerless Assassin 120 but I'll have to run it 1 fan only (there's not enough space for 4 dimm sticks) and for what I've seen I would need to lift the front fan, and probably it would hit the glass panel. By Corsair's manual I have up to a 170mm cooler, the PA120 is 157 (plus the amount I would pull the fan out). If I opt for the PA120 (middle fan only) I would still need 1 more fan for the front of the case (I would run 3x120mm  at the front, PA120 in the middle, 1x120mm at the back). Would that provide sufficient airflow for the VRM and to effectively cool the cpu.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fLqqIVIGs8 I have fount this video so you can see how much I would need to raise the fan. Exactly the same memmory sticks, not the same MoBo but shouldn't make any difference.

If I opt for the CM ML240L v2 I would put it top front in the case, as CPU utilization is more important for me than GPU nowadays. In this case I'd keep the original case cooler at the bottom and one in the back, no coolers at the top panel.

What would you do?

 

Thank you all.
 

PC today is running like this:
AMD 3700x @stock - 65W TDP - Wraith Prism

AS Rock B450m Steel Legend
Gigabyte 2060S 8gb
4x XPG D41 3200mhz (tall with RGB that I don't care about)
WD SN770 2TB
Seagate Barracuda 2TB
Corsair Carbide 275r with 2x120mm fans (1 middle front - 1 top back)

Maybe I'll upgrade to a 5900x someday in the future (but it is not viable today and maybe in the future it will be better to just change everything).

Edited April 5 by almog
included YT video for reference.

[NorKris]

if ur cpu  is 65 watt, go air. 

you go AIO for:
- Looks
- Highwatt CPU

- Crazy overclocking 

- case restrictions 

[podkall]

get PA120 or PS120, as you've seen in the video it can get very quiet, and probably can be tuned to run even slower with a 65W CPU

 

10 minutes ago, NorKris said:

you go AIO for:

-Highwatt CPU

Yeah but not 240mm

 

 

[Somerandomtechyboi]

peerless assassin

should do fine even with 1 fan and you can probably relocate the front fan to the rear unless theres already a rear fan

 

5 minutes ago, NorKris said:

if ur cpu  is 65 watt, go air. 

you go AIO for:
- Looks
- Highwatt CPU

- Crazy overclocking 

- case restrictions 

btw the tdp is irrelevant as thats not what the chip actually draws, usually draws more than the tdp so that 3700x is probably more like 100w+ otherwise that wraith prism would have no issues

 

and id scratch overclocking from the list as you wont be getting that much extra headroom since aios arent gonna perform as well as custom loops and custom loops need direct die to be effective and not just an extra peice of overpriced bling that makes maintenence hell to do on the pc esp for any part swaps

 

biggest step up will be subzero cooling which will very noticably increase oc capabilities but good luck building a phase change system thats powerful and cold enough not to mention the even more hellish maintenence and also needing to deal with insulation, though id totally do this if i can pull off < -100c at all times since cpu power draw is reduced and you can clock the thing to the moon due to low temp

[almog]

5 minutes ago, Somerandomtechyboi said:

peerless assassin

should do fine even with 1 fan and you can probably relocate the front fan to the rear unless theres already a rear fan

 

btw the tdp is irrelevant as thats not what the chip actually draws, usually draws more than the tdp so that 3700x is probably more like 100w+ otherwise that wraith prism would have no issues

 

and id scratch overclocking from the list as you wont be getting that much extra headroom since aios arent gonna perform as well as custom loops and custom loops need direct die to be effective and not just an extra peice of overpriced bling that makes maintenence hell to do on the pc esp for any part swaps

 

biggest step up will be subzero cooling which will very noticably increase oc capabilities but good luck building a phase change system thats powerful and cold enough not to mention the even more hellish maintenence and also needing to deal with insulation, though id totally do this if i can pull off < -100c at all times since cpu power draw is reduced and you can clock the thing to the moon due to low temp

I do already have a rear fan... probably would mount the "spare" fan at top front to help cpu cooler.

Wraith is ok for CPU temps, but it allows the cpu to get hotter than my legs can bare and way too noisy when rendering images or in hot days.

 

OC is not a priority for me, I would even try to undervolt if I could keep same performance (but I lack all the knowledge to do so).

I worry about the weight of a big tower as well... as AIOs do not stress the motherboard.

Thanks.

[NorKris]

13 minutes ago, podkall said:

get PA120 or PS120, as you've seen in the video it can get very quiet, and probably can be tuned to run even slower with a 65W CPU

 

Yeah but not 240mm

 

 

higher than air was my point   

[NorKris]

17 minutes ago, Somerandomtechyboi said:

'and id scratch overclocking from the list as you wont be getting that much extra headroom since aios arent gonna perform as well as custom loops and custom loops need direct die to be effective and not just an extra peice of overpriced bling that makes maintenence hell to do on the pc esp for any part swaps

 

u would not get a arctic 3 360 or 420 for pushing 340-360w on a 13/4 900k?   

[almog]

3 minutes ago, NorKris said:

higher than air was my point   

to be fair, the PA120 is rated at 200w i think, the ML240L is 180... but I don't know how it would really perform.

Rendering times are around 5-8 hours straight for final images (I keep the renderings running at night, so noise is really an issue).

[podkall]

1 minute ago, almog said:

to be fair, the PA120 is rated at 200w i think, the ML240L is 180... but I don't know how it would really perform.

Rendering times are around 5-8 hours straight for final images (I keep the renderings running at night, so noise is really an issue).

do you have other fans running in your PC?

[NorKris]

1 minute ago, almog said:

to be fair, the PA120 is rated at 200w i think, the ML240L is 180... but I don't know how it would really perform.

Rendering times are around 5-8 hours straight for final images (I keep the renderings running at night, so noise is really an issue).

never trust rated. 

[almog]

2 minutes ago, podkall said:

do you have other fans running in your PC?

the ones that came with the case (1x120mm middle front and 1x120mm top rear as I mentioned in the original PC specs).

For the AIO I would put it top front + 1x120mm at the bottom and 1x120mm rear.
For the PA120 probably 2x120mm at the front, 1x120mm at the tower and 1x120mm rear fan.

[podkall]

3 minutes ago, NorKris said:

never trust rated. 

why not, unless you're an unnamed company it should be pretty approximately reliable

 

1 minute ago, almog said:

the ones that came with the case (1x120mm middle front and 1x120mm top rear as I mentioned in the original PC specs).

For the AIO I would put it top front + 1x120mm at the bottom and 1x120mm rear.
For the PA120 probably 2x120mm at the front, 1x120mm at the tower and 1x120mm rear fan.

PA120 comes with the 2 tower fans,

 

and the fans in case don't make noise or little bit?

[NorKris]

1 minute ago, podkall said:

why not, unless you're an unnamed company it should be pretty approximately reliable

no standard for doing that type of measurement

[almog]

2 minutes ago, podkall said:

why not, unless you're an unnamed company it should be pretty approximately reliable

 

PA120 comes with the 2 tower fans,

 

and the fans in case don't make noise or little bit?

case fans are not audible (top 1200rpm).

 

Wraith Prism fan goes up to 2300rpm. It's a jet turbine.

[Aleph256]

47 minutes ago, almog said:

there's not enough space for 4 dimm sticks

Are you running some particularly tall sticks?
My own PA120 does cover the first two slots but there's no clearance issue (Vengeance sticks)

[podkall]

Just now, almog said:

case fans are not audible (top 1200rpm).

 

Wraith Prism fan goes up to 2300rpm. It's a jet turbine.

"up to" is referring to maximum fan speed, not it's normal fan speed, it's one of the quieter Air Coolers

 

1 minute ago, Aleph256 said:

Are you running some particularly tall sticks?
My own PA120 does cover the first two slots but there's no clearance issue (Vengeance sticks)

there shouldn't be clearance issue, the fan can be mounted slightly higher to clear any tall RAM

[podkall]

4 minutes ago, NorKris said:

no standard for doing that type of measurement

I know, that's why you can only trust reputable bands' TDPs

[NorKris]

1 minute ago, podkall said:

I know, that's why you can only trust reputable bands' TDPs

abit, but only on the cpu side  

[podkall]

Just now, NorKris said:

abit, but only on the cpu side  

ND-D15 is roughly 200W TDP, Freezer esports 34 duo is roughly 200W TDP,

 

low and behold, they were not lying, they are within margain of error unless you really bring up the watts

[NorKris]

2 minutes ago, podkall said:

ND-D15 is roughly 200W TDP, Freezer esports 34 duo is roughly 200W TDP,

 

low and behold, they were not lying, they are within margain of error unless you really bring up the watts

 

105w has nohing to do with 200  

[podkall]

5 minutes ago, NorKris said:

105w has nohing to do with 200  

that's CPU TDP, but the coolers are both 200Wish TDP an they are within the margain of error

[Somerandomtechyboi]

42 minutes ago, almog said:

OC is not a priority for me, I would even try to undervolt if I could keep same performance (but I lack all the knowledge to do so).

in that case just undervolt

 

just look up some yt tutorial for zen2 undervolting or just make a new thread on these forums for undervolting cause tbh i dont trust yt vids too much with anything regarding tuning since most ppl do real stupid shit like taking absolutely fucking forever to do just a minor adjustment in uneccesarily small steps

 

37 minutes ago, NorKris said:

never trust rated.

goes for both cpu and coolers, just a nonsense figure that gives a rough estimation but thats about it, reviews will be alot more helpful

 

40 minutes ago, NorKris said:

u would not get a arctic 3 360 or 420 for pushing 340-360w on a 13/4 900k?   

not overclocking thats just running no powerlimit or whatever

 

and if i was pushing that kinda wattage or higher for an oc then id go buy a car radiator and build a cheap ~100$ custom loop with a direct die iceman block or something cause aios can only go so far, and if i had more budget then obviously go subzero phase change

[NorKris]

13 minutes ago, Somerandomtechyboi said:

 

not overclocking thats just running no powerlimit or whatever

 

that can be overclocking.

14 minutes ago, Somerandomtechyboi said:

 

and if i was pushing that kinda wattage or higher for an oc then id go buy a car radiator

riiiskyy   (the Ltt vid hint hint) 

[Somerandomtechyboi]

Just now, NorKris said:

that can be overclocking.

i think some boards run without powerlimit by default so someone can just end up with a no power limit setup without even intentionally getting rid of the power limit

 

2 minutes ago, NorKris said:

riiiskyy   (the Ltt vid hint hint) 

same thing for normal custom loops just that car radiator loops while they do perform better and dont cost much theyre alot more annoying to setup (ask me how i know) cause lots of diying and they also take up lots of space, mix metals wise as long as the block internals are nickel plated probably gonna be just fine

 

besides you wont get any decent ocs without risk or knowledge, but more emphasis on the latter as one with knowledge will already know the risks (which are basically non existent in the first place unless we are talking physical mods)

[Blue4130]

1 hour ago, almog said:

I worry about the weight of a big tower as well... as AIOs do not stress the motherboard.
 

This is not a worry that you should have. Millions of giant tower coolers are installed and work just fine long term.