Talk some sense into me... (Noctua NF-a14 ippc 3000 vs NF-A15 vs ml-140)

[SubLimation7]

Hello everyone!

Current Setup:

H115I w/ 2 noctua nf-a14 ippc 3000rpm fans on radiator mounted to top of case

Bottom intake fans: 2 Corsair ML-140 blue

Front intake: 2 Corsair SP-140 blue

Rear: noctua IPPC 3000 on EVGA 1080 ftw hybrid rad

 

So...  I'm having some inner conflicts when it comes to my cooling setup on my 6800k build.  I'm replacing my h115i with noctua dh-15, I'm in an air 740 case, usually I'd go for straight performance, but people have been telling me the ml-40 perform on the same level as noctuas, so I ordered 2 more of those to go on the top of my case as exhaust (currently using 2 as intake on bottom and I love the way it looks).  And I was gonna put the 2 ippc 3000 fans from my old radiator on the cpu cooler, however after reading more on the DH-15 it seems like it comes with some pretty custom fans (NF-a15).  So part of my question is should I use stock fans that come with noctua cooler or the ippc 3000 editions?  Priority number one is performance, but I care a lot more about looks on this build then I normally would, and I think the black of IPPC fans would look a lot better, but if I'm throwing away performance, then not worth it. 

 

Also, anyone have any concrete thoughts on the ml-140?  When I was handling them they seemed very high quality, but I haven't done any real testing, and all the "benchmarks" I can find on the web contradict each other, one will say the ml-140 is better than noctuas and the next says the opposite.

 

Part of me is thinking about ditching all of the LED fans and just running a blue led strip around the window and getting noctua IPPC fans everywhere, god I love those things.  But man are the LEDs sexy....

 

Heres a useless link to an incomplete statistical comparison https://pcpartpicker.com/products/compare/ycH48d,ntXfrH,znPfrH/

 

I'll also slap a horrible pic I just took of my PC.  In the picture I have (2) SP-140s on the bottom and (1) ML-140 up front because amazon shorted me an ml-140, but once I get it in the ml-140s are going down low and sp's up front.              (Looks 10x better in person lol...)

 

TLDR:

Noctua dh-15: NF-15 or NF-A14 IPPC 3000?

Case fans:  Stick with corsair ML-140 blue led fans or swap all to noctua and use blue LED strip to make up for it?

 

Note:  Price isn't really an issue, I want to get this PC just right.  If I have any criteria other then a blend of looks/performance favoring performance, it would be that I want the fans to move as much air as possible around ~1200rpm so I don't have to deal with tons of noise unless I'm stress testing.

 

Thanks!

 

UPDATE: Some good discussions going on but there are some great minds on LTT so I would appreciate you guys leave your opinions on what you would choose along with explaining why if possible.  Example:  I would use IPPC fans on cooler because " ". 

 

Thanks again to everyone helping me make this decision!  Idk why I'm having such a hard time making my mind up.  My most recent logic was I'm going to use IPPC on cooler because if the CPU does happen to be pushed a bit harder they can ramp up to 2000+ rpm if necessary, but I really am not sure how they compare overall to NF-a15s, and like I've mentioned the internet is being pretty useless, so hopefully some of you have some experience between the two.

 

UPDATE 11/1: So I've decided beyond a shadow of a doubt that I'm putting NF-a14 ipc 3000 fans everywhere (they will be at my door tomorrow), 2 bottom, 2 top, 2 on cpu cooler, and one of the 120mm variants on gpu radiator, keeping ML-140s in front b/c I want those fans to be weaker anyway to not blow the updraft out the back of case.

 

Basically I did some more googling and I guess I wasn't specific enough because I found a good bit of data comparing the fans, and the IPPCs basically outperform across the board while being water and dust resistant. They MIGHT be louder then non industrial noctuas but in my own testing and research I couldn't confirm it, and its definitely not enough of a difference to be worth the trade offs to me.  I will try and update this with more resources if/when I get time.  But I will definitely be updating with some pics and before and after temps.  Cosmetically speaking, I talked myself into thinking that the IPPC will look just as good on the bottom as ML-140s thanks to their sexy grill...  But I am still doing a blue LED strip around inside of window as well.

 

I'll be stacking references here, but so far all I've got is this, I looked at more reviews and benches then just this one but I don't remember exactly where...

http://www.relaxedtech.com/reviews/noctua/nf-a14-industrialppc/7

 

 

 

[WoodenMarker]

Why use 3000rpm fans when you're just going to run them at 1200rpm?

If noise isn't that much of an issue, it doesn't really matter which fans you use which you're looking at high rpm fans. 

A 280mm AIO would perform better if performance is what you're after. 

iPPC's are louder than Noctuas normal fans even at the same rpm--this applies when comparing the NF-A15 with any iPPC fan. 

[Gonio]

Well it depends on what soundlvl you compare. The ML are very good performers and for the 120mm variants at 30 decibel have more airflow (sadly have no straight comparison for 140), but the 3000rpm of the noctua gives it obviously a higher top limit. Make sure the ML's are pwn controlled, otherwise they don't perform as they should I saw in reviews.

 

[SubLimation7]

16 minutes ago, WoodenMarker said:

Why use 3000rpm fans when you're just going to run them at 1200rpm?

If noise isn't that much of an issue, it doesn't really matter which fans you use which you're looking at high rpm fans. 

A 280mm AIO would perform better if performance is what you're after. 

iPPC's are louder than Noctuas normal fans even at the same rpm--this applies when comparing the NF-A15 with any iPPC fan. 

I'm using a 280mm AIO, everything I've looked at shows that Noctua DH-15 outperforms without the issues of watercooling.  Like the fact that Corsair Link uses 1-14% of my 6800k at all times... (even if the AIO did outperform there goes the performance increase and then some!) and down the road I don't want pump failure or leaks.  I like the extra RPM range because if my fans do start getting that loud I know somethings wrong, and for things like benchmarks and stress tests you can push it that much further.  Kinda like a car that can go 140 and one that can go 100 with same acceleration, why not?  Also probably has more stable drivetrain.  But if ml-140s offer similar performance I'll just stick with them.  Idk maybe your right about the IPPC being louder, but I'm not new at all to noctua, and my IPPCS are pretty damn silent around 1200rpm.

[WoodenMarker]

6 minutes ago, SubLimation7 said:

I'm using a 280mm AIO, everything I've looked at shows that Noctua DH-15 outperforms without the issues of watercooling.  Like the fact that Corsair Link uses 1-14% of my 6800k at all times... (even if the AIO did outperform there goes the performance increase and then some!) and down the road I don't want pump failure or leaks.  I like the extra RPM range because if my fans do start getting that loud I know somethings wrong, and for Benchmarks stress test you can push it that much further.  Kinda like a car that can go 140 and one that can go 100 with same acceleration, why not?  Also probably has more stable drivetrain.  But if ml-140s offer similar performance I'll just stick with them.  Idk maybe your right about the IPPC being louder, but I'm not new at all to noctua, and my IPPCS are pretty damn silent around 1200rpm.

If you consider them silent at 1200rpm, I'm not entirely sure what to say. They aren't that quiet at all to me at that rpm. Corsair ML's easily get that quiet if that's what you want. 

I run my Noctuas up to 600rpm at load but they usually never get go above the usual 2-300rpm. They're too loud for my own taste beyond 650rpm since I start to hear them. 

[Sakkura]

14 minutes ago, WoodenMarker said:

iPPC's are louder than Noctuas normal fans even at the same rpm--this applies when comparing the NF-A15 with any iPPC fan. 

I don't believe that's the case.

[WoodenMarker]

7 minutes ago, Sakkura said:

I don't believe that's the case.

What makes you think that?

I have both and the iPPC's don't sound as quiet. I've brought it up several times in the past and others seem to agree. 

I don't remember where it was mentioned exactly but I remember reading either on one of Noctua's product pages or a Noctua Rep's response in another forum that iPPC's aren't as quiet as the standard line because they weren't designed to be.

[SubLimation7]

4 minutes ago, WoodenMarker said:

If you consider them silent at 1200rpm, I'm not entirely sure what to say. They aren't that quiet at all to me at that rpm. Corsair ML's easily get that quiet if that's what you want. 

I run my Noctuas up to 600rpm at load but they usually never get go above the usual 2-300rpm. They're too loud for my own taste beyond 650rpm since I start to hear them. 

Yes we obviously have different tolerances to fan noise, right now while playing battlefield 1 they are going around 1600rpm, and while audible, they are soo much quieter than the average case fan at that speed, they aren't bothering me at all.  I guess the fact I use 5.1 speakers doesn't hurt.

 

23 minutes ago, Gonio said:

Well it depends on what soundlvl you compare. The ML are very good performers and for the 120mm variants at 30 decibel have more airflow (sadly have no straight comparison for 140), but the 3000rpm of the noctua gives it obviously a higher top limit. Make sure the ML's are pwn controlled, otherwise they don't perform as they should I saw in reviews.

 

If this is true very good news for the ml140!

[Sakkura]

7 minutes ago, WoodenMarker said:

What makes you think that?

I have both and the iPPC's don't sound as quiet. I've brought it up several times in the past and others seem to agree. 

I don't remember where it was mentioned exactly but I remember reading either on one of Noctua's product pages or a Noctua Rep's response in another forum that iPPC's aren't as quiet as the standard line because they weren't designed to be.

To be fair, I don't have A15s. But my NF-F12's sound the same at similar RPM. And since they use the same bearings, fan shape and frame, I don't see what would change the noise level.

 

The rep might have been referring to the noise level at higher RPMs.

[WoodenMarker]

40 minutes ago, Sakkura said:

To be fair, I don't have A15s. But my NF-F12's sound the same at similar RPM. And since they use the same bearings, fan shape and frame, I don't see what would change the noise level.

The rep might have been referring to the noise level at higher RPMs.

They use different motors.

The reading I mentioned was referring to noise at the same rpm. 

[Sakkura]

9 minutes ago, WoodenMarker said:

They use different motors.

The reading I mentioned was referring to noise at the same rpm. 

Well yeah, the motor has to be different to hit higher RPMs (given the same voltage and other components). But AFAIK the motor makes less noise than the bearing, let alone the airflow.

[WoodenMarker]

21 minutes ago, Sakkura said:

Well yeah, the motor has to be different to hit higher RPMs (given the same voltage and other components). But AFAIK the motor makes less noise than the bearing, let alone the airflow.

I don't know which is louder but I'm pretty sure it's a combination of the two that results in the noise. The airflow usually isn't the loudest part and wouldn't be any different for fans with the same frame. 

[SubLimation7]

http://www.relaxedtech.com/reviews/noctua/nf-a14-industrialppc/7

 

Perfect... Definitely going with my NF-a14 IPPC 3000s, outperform at equivalent rpms, with the ability to ramp up even more if necessary.  I don't know how I missed this one.  So looks like I'm going with ML-140s top and bottom with IPPCs on heat sink. (note that even with them running at 3000 rpm they stay quieter then AIO while maintaining lower temps, LOL)

[SubLimation7]

Well.. I forgot to take before screens.  This post isn't meant to be the end all comparison but I figured I would update.

With the h115i I would idle around 25c on each core.  With D15 I sit around 21c in same 70f air-conditioned room.  Also, its much quieter, when I bench it gets ridiculously loud but for normal use and gaming its pretty dang quiet.

 

As far as case fans I now have 2 NF-a14 IPPC 3000s on bottom of case and 2 on top, I have 2 corsair ML-140s on the front (1 of which is bad and wobbles a lot, yes its hooked up PWM).  Noctua nf-f12 IPPC 3000 for rear exhaust which is sitting on my EVGA radiator.  I'm happy with my results, now just need to get my hands on a cablemod led strip.

 

Note: All pics below are after the swap to D15 and new case fan setup.  The pic with just occt and task manager is stock speeds (which is what I had it at with h115i) but this pic is under load.  The pic with just OCCT and CPUZ up is temps under load with turbo on and overclock to 4.2ghz on core 0 and 1.  The idle pic is with Pandora running, this browser window open, and a few other small programs running.