Silent Cooling Issues

[Ryuneak]

So, I am planning a build and I am trying to make a liquid cooling system that stays at quiet temperatures since I will be working heavily with audio and don't want background noise. 

(Digitally removing background noise from audio decreases fidelity, so, I don't want to do that either. Nor do I want to place my computer in another room due to cable issues that would arise from that solution.)

 

To give some preamble, I am cooling dual NVIDIA 1080 TIs and a Ryzen Threadripper 1920x (OC'd to 4ghz)

 

I am trying to choose between certain configurations, and I am also having problems with selecting a good fan (which I will explain further below)

 

First of all, I am trying to decide between:

A) a 420mm long, 45mm thick radiator (6 fans total since I will be using 2 radiators) or

B) a 560mm long, 36mm thick radiator (8 fans total)

 

I have heard that, the thinner the radiator, the less the fans need to work to keep temps low. I am more worried about noise than the

headroom I could use if I kept the fans on high with a thicker radiator. 

 

Also, I am trying to pick proper fans for these radiators to further keep temps low. I am currently selecting between the following fans:

A) Phanteks F140XP (85CFM, ~19dB, 1.52mm H2O)

B) Noctua A15 PWM (~52CFM, ~19.2dB, 1.51mm H2O)

C) And then there's this fan, which I am a little concerned about. I am wondering if I can even USE 8 of these with my PWM fan splitter (It's a silverstone BTW if anyone is wondering)

Apparently, compared to the other (.96 watt) fans, this sucker takes a whopping 2.16 watts and a little over DOUBLE the current of the aforementioned fans. So, would I still be able to use this fan? It has really good specs, but I am wondering if I can power them. It's the Noctua NF-A14 iPPC-2000 IP67 (107.4CFM, ~31.5dB, 4.18mm H2O)

 

I'd appreciate any input on all of this, as advice would really help me with this issue. 

Thanks in advance!

[W-L]

5 minutes ago, Ryuneak said:

-SNIP-

It depends on the rad, lower FPI rads and thinner rads lesser restriction and can allow for the fans to run slower. In terms of cooling potential more rads space would be better using two 420mm rads. 

[Ryuneak]

2 minutes ago, W-L said:

It depends on the rad, lower FPI rads and thinner rads lesser restriction and can allow for the fans to run slower. In terms of cooling potential more rads space would be better using two 420mm rads. 

Well, the 420 has an FPI of 16.

The 560 doesn't list it, here's a schematic of it it if that helps

[W-L]

6 minutes ago, Ryuneak said:

Well, the 420 has an FPI of 16.

The 560 doesn't list it, here's a schematic of it it if that helps

What rads are they exactly, your basically balancing rad thickness to the density of the FPI. 

[Ryuneak]

Just now, W-L said:

What rads are they exactly, your basically balancing rad thickness to the density of the FPI. 

The 420mm one is from EKWB (The CE edition.)

And the 560mm is from XSPC (The EX series)

 

Sorry about not specifying that earlier. 

 

[Jurrunio]

What cards are they? What case will you use?

 

[Ryuneak]

Just now, Jurrunio said:

What cards are they? What case will you use?

 

Cards: Zotac 1080 TI Arctic Storm edition (Pre-applied waterblocks)

Case: Thermaltake Tower 900

 

[W-L]

15 minutes ago, Ryuneak said:

The 420mm one is from EKWB (The CE edition.)

And the 560mm is from XSPC (The EX series)

 

Sorry about not specifying that earlier. 

 

The EKWB even though it's thicker has less restriction due to the double stacked fin array of the XSPC EX series rad. 

[Ryuneak]

Just now, W-L said:

The EKWB even though it's thicker has less restriction due to the double stacked fin array of the XSPC EX series rad. 

OK, so then the EKWB ones have less airflow restriction which means I can run my fans at a lower, quieter RPM. Got it. 

 

What about my fan selections? Can you look into that a bit? 

 

Thanks again for your replies.

[W-L]

1 minute ago, Ryuneak said:

OK, so then the EKWB ones have less airflow restriction which means I can run my fans at a lower, quieter RPM. Got it. 

What about my fan selections? Can you look into that a bit? 

Thanks again for your replies.

For fans the Noctua NF-A14 would be ideal as you want pressure optimized fans, being PWM controllable you can use the Swiftech or silverstone PWM splitter. 

[Ryuneak]

Just now, W-L said:

For fans the Noctua NF-A14 would be ideal as you want pressure optimized fans, being PWM controllable you can use the Swiftech or silverstone PWM splitter. 

My only concern there is the difference between the Noctua and the Phanteks. They both have the same amount of static pressure, but the Noctua has less CFM which is a bit concerning. 

 

What about RPM ranges? Wouldn't that also affect acoustics as well?

[W-L]

Just now, Ryuneak said:

My only concern there is the difference between the Noctua and the Phanteks. They both have the same amount of static pressure, but the Noctua has less CFM which is a bit concerning. 

 

What about RPM ranges? Wouldn't that also affect acoustics as well?

Fans specs cannot be directly compared as there is no standardized testing methodology between manufactures, the Noctua fans are near dead silent at idle and the NF-A15 wouldn't work on the rads the NF-A14 would be what your looking at. 

 

RPM is only a single factor in acoustics, there are many including fluid dynamics, motor design and such which all contribute. With PWM control you have quite a large range especially on the lower end for control. 

[Ryuneak]

32 minutes ago, W-L said:

Fans specs cannot be directly compared as there is no standardized testing methodology between manufactures, the Noctua fans are near dead silent at idle and the NF-A15 wouldn't work on the rads the NF-A14 would be what your looking at. 

 

RPM is only a single factor in acoustics, there are many including fluid dynamics, motor design and such which all contribute. With PWM control you have quite a large range especially on the lower end for control. 

Shouldn't I be a little concerned about the wattage and amperage of the a14 though? It is considerable higher than the other fans.

[W-L]

1 minute ago, Ryuneak said:

Shouldn't I be a little concerned about the wattage and amperage of the a14 though? It is considerable higher than the other fans.

The wattage isn't a worry even if you directly connected a few to your motherboard as long as it doesn't exceed it's 1 amp capacity. Since you are using a powered PWM splitter it takes power from the PSU and only a PWM control from the motherboard so there is no concern. 

[Ryuneak]

2 minutes ago, W-L said:

The wattage isn't a worry even if you directly connected a few to your motherboard as long as it doesn't exceed it's 1 amp capacity. Since you are using a powered PWM splitter it takes power from the PSU and only a PWM control from the motherboard so there is no concern. 

I'm most likely going to pick the regular version over industrial. 

>4.00mm H2O seems like overkill and considering the regular version of the fan has 1mm H2O more than the current fan I am considering, then it is a major improvement.

 

Right now, I am looking at it on amazon (https://www.amazon.com/Premium-Quality-Technology-NF-A14-PWM/dp/B00CP6QLY6/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1507362852&sr=8-2&keywords=noctua+nf-a14+pwm) And you were definitely right about it being quiet!

[W-L]

Just now, Ryuneak said:

I'm most likely going to pick the regular version over industrial. 

>4.00mm H2O seems like overkill and considering the regular version of the fan has 1mm H2O more than the current fan I am considering, then it is a major improvement.

 

Right now, I am looking at it on amazon (https://www.amazon.com/Premium-Quality-Technology-NF-A14-PWM/dp/B00CP6QLY6/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1507362852&sr=8-2&keywords=noctua+nf-a14+pwm) And you were definitely right about it being quiet!

Yeah the industrial versions are nice since they are all black but at 2K rpm even when turned down they aren't dead silent like the NF-A14's. 

[Ryuneak]

Just now, W-L said:

Yeah the industrial versions are nice since they are all black but at 2K rpm even when turned down they aren't dead silent like the NF-A14's. 

Yeah, I looked into it and a lot of the people commenting on the industrial version complained about sound, and lack of accessories like cables and proper screws. I am not going to pay 27+ per fan if that's what I'm going to get.

 

Thanks again for your help. I really appreciate it.