Argon AR06 + Noctua NF-A9x14, is it worth it?

[Serath]

So, I had someone suggest to me to put a Noctua NF-A9x14 PWM on my Argon AR06, because it would give better performance, but, I could find no references anywhere so I figured I'd order the fan anyway and post the results here in hopes of providing a resource for future builds maybe. I guess I went a bit overboard on the info for what is ultimately 'just a fan', but maybe I'm making someone's day on this forum, who knows.

 

So, the situation: I made a rig using the Silverstone Raven RVZ02 with dust filters, a very slim mini-ITX case that can house beastly hardware, but keeping the bunch cool is tricky, as the CPU cooler clearance is only 58mm at most. In mine I put an Intel i7-6700K on an Asus Z170I Pro Gaming, although this almost seems useless as it can hardly overclock, at least if keeping the dust filters on, which I do prefer. But anyway, on top is an Argon AR06 for now, which is enough for 95 Watts TPD of cooling, the 6700K should be 91, though tests have shown that it can go as high 100 Watts TDP with its settings untouched. In my system it performs on the edge if the filters are on, it's a high temp, but I assume that as long as the CPU is not throttling to protect itself, it should be sort of fine. Lifespan may suffer, but how much is hard to tell.

 

Noctua vs Silverstone:

 

Both fans stand out in that they're extremely thin, the AR05/06 fan measures 15mm in thickness, and the Noctua is even 14mm, almost the thinnest fans on the market as that title goes to the Scythe Slip Stream Slim 120x120x12mm. They are as far as I'm aware the thinnest 92mm fans though. The standard AR05/6 fan feels pretty solid, but nothing too notable aside from its blue colour. It has a sleeved wire and PWM functionality, its fan is 11-bladed, each blade looking fairly narrow which may explain the results later on. Silverstone sadly doesn't state the static pressure performance of this fan.

 

The Noctua is a rediculously premium looking product, its package comes with a lot of flair, marketing text and accessoires. Included are some cables (Y-cable, extension cable and a Low Noise Adapter), some screws and some rubber mounting pins if you're like: "Screw the screws!" The fan has 9 blades in stead of 11 which may result in better static pressure as they're wider. The frame also has small rubber areas for extra dampening for when opting for screws (which is the only option if mounting it on top of the AR06) and the also sleeved cable is held in place with a rubber piece as well. They really did everything to they could to prevent unwanted vibrations.

 

Test setup:

 

During testing, the ambient temperature was 20°C in my room, I ran AIDA64 for 30 minutes for each fan tested, other parts were stressed too except for the drives and GPU. Dust filters were left on to create a worse case scenario.

 

Specs are:

 

PCPartPicker part list

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Silverstone AR06 40.2 CFM CPU Cooler
Motherboard: Asus Z170I PRO GAMING Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory
Storage: OCZ Vertex 3 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive 
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB Video Card
Case: Silverstone RVZ02B HTPC Case
Power Supply: Corsair SF 600W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular SFX Power Supply
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home Full (32/64-bit)

 

Results:

 

Silverstone DF0921512RFMN <- Model number stated on the fan's label.

• CPU, Load @ 30 minutes: 92°C recorded as highest.
• MOBO, Load @ 30 minutes: 50°C.
• Max. RPM: 2517.

Noctua NF-A9x14 PWM

• CPU, Load @ 30 minutes: 93°C recorded as highest.
• MOBO, Load @ 30 minutes: 49°C.
• Max. RPM: 2149.

My Thoughts:

 

Interestingly the performance, cooling-wise, seems roughly the same. Despite the Noctua having 300 RPM less, and slightly more in my test, and producing roughly 10 CFM less of airflow, it seems to be almost perfectly on par with the AR06's fan. This also results in 8 dB less on the noise levels if I have to believe the spec sheets, I have no equipment to measure this sadly. Now the person who recommended this fan said others swore on this fan being better, and I must say it might, but is it going to keep your 6700K cooler? No, but it'll be quieter than the Argon's stock fan. So whether this upgrade is worth it depends on how quiet you want your system be under load. Sadly in my system I have a blower style cooler on my GPU so during games it won't matter, but during rendering of videos it might have a slight edge, though for a €16.- pricetag on top of an already €40.- CPU cooler.

 

Next time I hope to test the Thermalright AXP-100 Muscle in this system, only need to make sure it'll fit over the RAM and other parts of the motherboard.

[WoodenMarker]

Nice post. Looking forward to results of the AXP-100 Muscle if you ever get the chance. 

[Francis85]

Pardon me for saying this, but the reviews I read, they are talking about positive pressure, negative pressure and neutral pressure, possible to test it out in real world based on your set up ????

[Serath]

7 hours ago, Francis85 said:

Pardon me for saying this, but the reviews I read, they are talking about positive pressure, negative pressure and neutral pressure, possible to test it out in real world based on your set up ????

I think I could using a method that JayzTwoCents used, with incense. Will have to get some today and will check what kind of pressures I'm getting.

 

I expect positive, the RVZ02 was designed to benefit from positive pressure, and the CPU fan is right underneath the opening in the side panel sucking in fresh air.

[Deli]

I had the same cooler and tried both fans. Same result as you have. I even tried the thicker NF-A9 with it. Surprisingly it didn't improve the cooling by much. So it seems at some point the cooler reaches the point of diminishing return of air flow.

 

Although my test was inside a roomier case. Now the cooler is residing in my brother's FTP server.

 

[Serath]

7 minutes ago, Deli said:

So it seems at some point the cooler reaches the point of diminishing return of air flow.

Hmm, honestly hope this won't happen when I'm going to test the AXP-100, else I'll be wasting another €40.

[Deli]

1 hour ago, Serath said:

Hmm, honestly hope this won't happen when I'm going to test the AXP-100, else I'll be wasting another €40.

I can't stand the noise when the fan max out. I eventually move the system to a slightly bigger case(EVGA Hadron Air). Which supports cooler up to 140mm tall. Now having a Noctua NH-U9S. The 4790K(no OC) only reaches high 60's C during stress test with the fans spinning at 950rpm.

[Serath]

4 hours ago, Deli said:

I can't stand the noise when the fan max out. I eventually move the system to a slightly bigger case(EVGA Hadron Air). Which supports cooler up to 140mm tall. Now having a Noctua NH-U9S. The 4790K(no OC) only reaches high 60's C during stress test with the fans spinning at 950rpm.

That's why I'm also quite glad with the Argon + Noctua fan, it is very quiet and since it's rare to ever hit 100% on all cores, I don't think I'll ever hear the CPU fan during normal use. Which is a bummer with the AXP-100 as I fear there is no Noctua replacement for the fan on that one, let's hope that fan is decent.

 

13 hours ago, Francis85 said:

Pardon me for saying this, but the reviews I read, they are talking about positive pressure, negative pressure and neutral pressure, possible to test it out in real world based on your set up ????

Got some incense and tested the airflow around the many in- and outtakes surrounding the CPU chamber. There is positive pressure, but not terribly much. Naturally this improves with the dust filters taken off.

[ThomasD]

An 8 dB difference should be easily audible.  If you couldn't hear any difference (might be slight to your ears) then that number is probably not real world.