Quiet CPU coolers for OCing

[Heywhatsup]

Hey guys, I currently have a 3570k and a 212 Evo with a Noctua NF-F12 fan. My PC is very quiet when I'm not overclocking but I recently overclocked to 4.2ghz and 1.2V and my Noctua runs at 100% and 60 degrees Celcius whenever I do anything somewhat demanding like playing Counter strike. Although the Noctua is quieter than most fans, it's a bit too loud for my liking while OCing and running anything demanding.

 

So would getting a new CPU cooler such as a Noctua NH-D15 make a significant difference in quietness? Also I'd like to point out that I have 2 tall sticks of RAM so most coolers won't work. Aside from the NH-D15 which has RAM cutouts and liquid coolers, I don't think anything else will work. So should I go for the Noctua/liquid cooler/anything else or is my issue unavoidable with the noise while Overclocking? 

 

Thanks,

Tony

[Bcat00]

The NH-D15 will make a a big difference, but if you don't have the budget then change out those NF-F12 to another model in the Noctua Lineup.

I never understood why people love those fans, it's the loudest fan Noctua has and almost as loud as the case fan that came with my Define R5 case that costs 15 dollars.

[PCGeek]

I use a Noctua NH-U14S and I think it's pretty quiet.  It uses the NF-A15 PWM fan.  Alternative fans would be bequiet! Silent Wings or Corsair ML series fans.  I don't think AIO coolers would be quieter IMO since you still have fans.

[Heywhatsup]

4 minutes ago, Bcat00 said:

The NH-D15 will make a a big difference, but if you don't have the budget then change out those NF-F12 to another model in the Noctua Lineup.

I never understood why people love those fans, it's the loudest fan Noctua has and almost as loud as the case fan that came with my Define R5 case that costs 15 dollars.

I had the original 212 evo fan up until a month ago and EVERYONE was telling me to get the F12's or SP120s. I bought both and the F12 outperformed the sp120. And it's in my budget. So the D15 is differently worth the upgrade? I'm also open to any other coolers if you know anything better. 

 

4 minutes ago, PCGeek said:

I use a Noctua NH-U14S and I think it's pretty quiet.  It uses the NF-A15 PWM fan.  Alternative fans would be bequiet! Silent Wings or Corsair ML series fans.  I don't think AIO coolers would be quieter IMO since you still have fans.

At this point I'm wanting to just get a new cooler as a whole rather than just another fan since that clearly didn't work out. And yeah I figured AIO coolers wouldn't be quieter but because of my RAM height, I'm limited to AIO coolers or Air coolers that have cutouts

[PCGeek]

1 minute ago, heyitstony said:

I had the original 212 evo fan up until a month ago and EVERYONE was telling me to get the F12's or SP120s. I bought both and the F12 outperformed the sp120. And it's in my budget. So the D15 is differently worth the upgrade? I'm also open to any other coolers if you know anything better. 

 

At this point I'm wanting to just get a new cooler as a whole rather than just another fan since that clearly didn't work out. And yeah I figured AIO coolers wouldn't be quieter but because of my RAM height, I'm limited to AIO coolers or Air coolers that have cutouts

Then my recommendation would be the Noctua NH-U12S or NH-14S as both should be well suited for your ram height.  Noctua has dimensions to help determine RAM compatibility.  For AIO, Corsair H100i would be my choice.

[Heywhatsup]

1 minute ago, PCGeek said:

Then my recommendation would be the Noctua NH-U12S or NH-14S as both should be well suited for your ram height.  Noctua has dimensions to help determine RAM compatibility.  For AIO, Corsair H100i would be my choice.

Should I not go for the double radiator? The only reason I brought up Noctua is because the double radiator coolers(NH-D15) have cutouts for the ram: 

I'm wanting to just get the best possible cooler, something I won't have to upgrade for a while with max performance

[Delicieuxz]

I had a 212 Evo before, and the Noctua was a nice upgrade.

 

The Noctua NH-D15 is the only Noctua fan I've had, so I don't know how it compares to earlier Noctua fans. But, I use it with the low-power extension rails that are provided with the NH-D15, and it keeps my overclocked i7 2600K @ 1.416v under 62C while benchmarking in Prime 95, and is not very loud at all. While gaming, it's even quieter.

 

Without the low-power rail extensions, the NH-D15 will cool a CPU more for bettering OCing, but it will also be a bit louder. How much, I don't know, because I've only used my NH-D15 in the low-power configuration. With the low-power cables, the NH-D15 gives me lower temps than the 212 Evo, and is also a bit quieter than the 212 Evo.

[PCGeek]

4 minutes ago, heyitstony said:

Should I not go for the double radiator? The only reason I brought up Noctua is because the double radiator coolers(NH-D15) have cutouts for the ram: 

I'm wanting to just get the best possible cooler, something I won't have to upgrade for a while with max performance

I guess it depends on how aggressive you want to OC.  My 6800K runs at the low 30s with just an XMP 2.0 profile.  I'm using the NH-U14S.  Also ensure that it doesn't come too close to your GPU in your top slot.  I had to move mine down and run at x8 because it was too close for comfort.  Basically it was really difficult to access the PCIe release latch with the cooler installed.

[Heywhatsup]

8 minutes ago, Delicieuxz said:

I had a 212 Evo before, and the Noctua was a nice upgrade.

 

The Noctua NH-D15 is the only Noctua fan I've had, so I don't know how it compares to earlier Noctua fans. But, I use it with the low-power extension rails that are provided with the NH-D15, and it keeps my overclocked i7 2600K @ 1.416v under 62C while benchmarking in Prime 95, and is not very loud at all. While gaming, it's even quieter.

 

Without the low-power rail extensions, the NH-D15 will cool a CPU more for bettering OCing, but it will also be a bit louder. How much, I don't know, because I've only used my NH-D15 in the low-power configuration. With the low-power cables, the NH-D15 gives me lower temps than the 212 Evo, and is also a bit quieter than the 212 Evo.

Yeah I'm using the low power extension as well for my single Noctua fan. I don't plan on OCing by that much so I'll keep those connected

 

2 minutes ago, PCGeek said:

I guess it depends on how aggressive you want to OC.  My 6800K runs at the low 30s with just an XMP 2.0 profile.  I'm using the NH-U14S.  Also ensure that it doesn't come too close to your GPU in your top slot.  I had to move mine down and run at x8 because it was too close for comfort.  Basically it was really difficult to access the PCIe release latch with the cooler installed.

Won't be OCing that high and from what I've seen, it should fit fairly well without being too too close. 

 

Alright guess I'm going with the D15, thanks guys

[desertcomputer]

29 minutes ago, Bcat00 said:

The NH-D15 will make a a big difference, but if you don't have the budget then change out those NF-F12 to another model in the Noctua Lineup.

I never understood why people love those fans, it's the loudest fan Noctua has and almost as loud as the case fan that came with my Define R5 case that costs 15 dollars.

The fan itself is not loud, you don't need to run it 100% at load... al noctua fan is loud at full rpms .... but at lower rpm you can't hear shit ... the PSU hum is louder. I never needed to run my NH-D15 fan over 50% OC, I never get to hear the noise over in game volume and when it rendering stuff i usually out of the room or listening to music anyways. 

[PCGeek]

9 minutes ago, heyitstony said:

Yeah I'm using the low power extension as well for my single Noctua fan. I don't plan on OCing by that much so I'll keep those connected

 

Won't be OCing that high and from what I've seen, it should fit fairly well without being too too close. 

 

Alright guess I'm going with the D15, thanks guys

So I just whipped open my case to show how the U14S fits on my motherboard.  It doesn't hang over the DIMMs. I don't think you need the D15 since the cutouts are only applicable to that cooler.

[WoodenMarker]

Just lower your fan speed. You're fine up to 80-90c at load.