H115i Fan upgrade + Push/Pull results

[TahoeDust]

I recently upgraded my first gen Corsair H100 to a new H115i. Originally unhappy with the noise level of my H100 I replaced them with 4 Gentle Typhoon AP-15s. This was a killer quite setup. I moved into a new case and had room for a 280mm so I decided to see how the H115i did. In stock form, with the two Corsair SP140L PWM fans, the H115i was MUCH louder than my H100 with the GT AP-15s. Howver, it did almost match the performance of the upgraded push/pull H100. After an hour running my 2700k @ 4.9GHz in Prime95 "small fft" it held it to 84* max temp. The H100 holds it to 83*. Wanting to quite the H115i I ordered 4 Noiseblocker eLoop B14-PS PWM fans. They are 29mm thick compared to the usual 25mm. This ment I needed longer mounting crews, that were kind of a pain to find in black. With the new fans mounted on the H115i, it was much quiter. I don't think it it quite as quiet as the FT AP-15s on the H100, but close. However, it did perform 5* better. It held my CPU to 78*. The ability to control the system by software is also a nice upgrade. Overall, I'm very happy.

Plus it just looks pretty beastly...

 

[gradoman]

You might want to check to make sure the fan blades aren't contacting anything. Especially the fans in pull position on the rad. The blades stick out a bit and makes a whiny noise as a result. I used some washers on mine to get the right clearance. Couldn't tell you the size at the moment, but they aren't that thick.

 

[XavierMace]

The blades stick out a bit and makes a whiny noise as a result.

That's a terribly designed fan then.

 

[VirtualLarry]

That's a pretty sexy-looking rig, OP.

I hope that when I get my Phanteks P400 case in white with Tempered Glass, for my Ryzen 5 1600 rig, that it looks half as good.

 

[gradoman]

That's a terribly designed fan then.

They work very well in push configurations and are pretty quiet. One of these fans keeps an R9 290x ~80c with an H55 in a cramped case at 1100RPM. I had way more noise with AF120s and SP120s and in the case of the AFs, I needed two of them. Why are they designed with blades that stick out? No idea. A set of washers wouldn't break the bank, a proper rad gasket might cost a little more, but again, it's a pretty cheap solution.

https://www.amazon.com/XSPC-Radiato...rd_wg=Nt2sF&psc=1&refRID=J4W5BXXXT8PBEW2XDRZ1

 

[TahoeDust]

You might want to check to make sure the fan blades aren't contacting anything. Especially the fans in pull position on the rad. The blades stick out a bit and makes a whiny noise as a result. I used some washers on mine to get the right clearance. Couldn't tell you the size at the moment, but they aren't that thick.

I was aware of this before installation. The design of the radiator is such that there is clearance there. I also used so rubber washers. I have some 7mm spacers I'm going to put on next time the radiator comes out to see if it changes performance or sound.