Fans and Reference PCBs

Kieran C · November 28, 2014

Hey all,

I'm building a new system over the Christmas holidays and was looking for some advice regarding water cooling. I'm going with the NZXT H440, which I know doesn't have the cleanest airflow to radiators. Therefore I'm looking for fans with a high static pressure. What would you recommend as fans for this system? I'm looking for fans that are very quiet, have a high static pressure, and look clean. In regards to LED fans, I'd want either non-LED or white LED fans. Any suggestions regarding fans would be much appreciated. So far I've looked at the Corsair SP120 Quiet Editions, but I'm not too sure about their static pressure, and also the CoolerMaster SickleFlow X but from reviews I've read they don't quite meet their published specs.

My second question is regarding GPUs and in particular determining if a card has a reference PCB. I'm wanting to have full cover water blocks and so would need a reference PCB design, but I haven't found any information on the GTX 980s as to which are reference designs. I was looking at the EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Superclocked ACX 2.0 as I'd be able to run it on air while I save up the rest of the money for the loop, but I'm not sure if it is a reference PCB.

Any help with either of these would be very much appreciated.

Also I'm in Australia so I'm not sure everything available in the rest of the world is as easy to come by, especially water cooling parts.

Thank you all

ImBleu · November 28, 2014

Corsair's SP line of fans fit it perfectly.

And generally it's safest to buy a GPU with the reference design, it'll be guaranteed a reference PCB. and is generally cheaper due to the lack of aftermarket cooling (which isn't an issue if you're watercooling)

Leonard · November 28, 2014

@Kieran C

I suspect that black fans are ok as well.

Black fans

1 & 2 and this is the same thing just re-branded and at a better price 1 & 2.....the 140mm is a bit loud to me at 12v but around 1100rpm they are as quiet as the 120mm at 12v which is quiet quiet.

Now, according to the type of radiators you use you can run these fans at 1000rpm and have a silent build. The best radiators for this is Hardware Labs Nemesis GTX line.

The 980 blocks are few at the moment. EVGA sells a hydro copper 980 an it is your best bet to get a waterblock for a 980 at the moment. FYI, the block is made by EK.

For pumps you want a D5.

The availability of these parts in Australia is unknown to me but i hope you can find it.

Fragsa1 · November 28, 2014

@Kieran C

I suspect that black fans are ok as well.

Black fans

1 & 2 and this is the same thing just re-branded and at a better price 1 & 2.....the 140mm is a bit loud to me at 12v but around 1100rpm they are as quiet as the 120mm at 12v which is quiet quiet.

Now, according to the type of radiators you use you can run these fans at 1000rpm and have a silent build. The best radiators for this is Hardware Labs Nemesis GTX line.

The 980 blocks are few at the moment. EVGA sells a hydro copper 980 an it is your best bet to get a waterblock for a 980 at the moment. FYI, the block is made by EK.

For pumps you want a D5.

The availability of these parts in Australia is unknown to me but i hope you can find it.

The fans and the rad you listed are not available in Australia.

@Kieran C

Saying that, you can just order things from America. I've ordered things from FrozenCPU for only around $40 shipping. PC Case Gear is almost more expensive then that...

Are you dead set on the H440? I have Noctua NF-F12s 2000RPM fans which still have trouble pushing through 30mm rads and the H440's shrouds. I'd recommend something like the Define R5 or the Enthoo Pro.

Kieran C · November 28, 2014

@ThatCoolBlueKidd Thanks for you input on the gpu, and I agree it's probably best to get a completely reference 980 as I'll be water cooling it soon enough.

@Fragsa1 In regards to the airflow of the H440, I'm well aware of the difficulties with it, but I've fallen in love with the looks and design and it's a sacrifice I'm willing to make. To the point that for my birthday (early December) a few friends are getting together to get me a white one.

@Leonard My friends are also getting me a XSPC RX360 rad, which has a 13 fpi, compared with the Nemesis' 16fpi, so those fans you recommended should still be fine for that radiator I assume?

In terms of pricing, to get the Akasa Apaches from FrozenCPU and get them delivered here is going to be more expensive, but not by much. They work out to be similar in price but in USD rather than AUD. Purely from the spec sheets the SP120 perform slightly better but are noisier. The static pressure of the SP120s is 3.1 mmH20 compared with 2.64 mmH20. My question is how much of a difference is this likely to make with the H440 and XSPC rad?

Leonard · November 28, 2014

-snip-

@Leonard My friends are also getting me a XSPC RX360 rad, which has a 13 fpi, compared with the Nemesis' 16fpi, so those fans you recommended should still be fine for that radiator I assume?

In terms of pricing, to get the Akasa Apaches from FrozenCPU and get them delivered here is going to be more expensive, but not by much. They work out to be similar in price but in USD rather than AUD. Purely from the spec sheets the SP120 perform slightly better but are noisier. The static pressure of the SP120s is 3.1 mmH20 compared with 2.64 mmH20. My question is how much of a difference is this likely to make with the H440 and XSPC rad?

Your assumption is correct but while the Sp120 has a higher static pressure when compared to the Apache, it also has a higher decibel level than the Apache. The Apache will work well with the RX360. Now if you like the SP120 better you can go with that too and it should work well too but IMO, price to performance dictates i should use the Apache and i have both the 120mm and 140mm versions in my rig.

I would go with the Enthoo Pro because the stock fans are really good and the case is watercooling friendly and well constructed.....yes yes, i know the R5 is too.