Question i7-9700k quiet cooling - AIO or Noctua HSF?

[paperfist]

I just bought a i7-9700k which is going on a ITX (Asrock Z390) MB and I've been looking for a quiet HSF, but the Noctua's I've looked at are around $80 which is roughly the price of a NZXT Kraken M22. I'm not sure which will be quieter, but i'm guessing the Kralen? I'm not going to overclock anything.

The water cooling angle opens up the what about my 2070 super and custom water cooling?

 

[UsandThem]

Good quality air coolers are among the quietest you can get. Plus, they should last much longer than an AIO cooler (if the fan dies, you simply replace it). No pumps, no coolant.

Coolers like the Noctua NH-U14S or the NH-U12S are a good choice a balance of quiet and performance, but if your priority is the least amount of noise with a little less performance, the Be Quiet Dark Rock Slim is pretty impressive.
https://www.techpowerup.com/review/be-quiet-dark-rock-slim/7.html

 

[UsandThem]

Also, now that I noticed your're using an ITX motherboard, are you sure you even have the space for a fairly big cooler like a Noctua?

 

[ao_ika_red]

Also, now that I noticed your're using an ITX motherboard, are you sure you even have the space for a fairly big cooler like a Noctua?

There is still U9s and L9i for smaller form factor.

 

[UsandThem]

There is still U9s and L9i for smaller form factor.

True, but I think the OP was looking at larger Noctua models since they mentioned they were around $80.

 

[Fanatical Meat]

One thing to consider on the Kraken, people universally say the software to control it is junk. I just installed a Corsair H115i Pro and am very happy with it. Corsairs software is funky but functional.
You need to software to adjust pump & fan speeds. Not installing the software is not a smart option.

 

[paperfist]

True, but I think the OP was looking at larger Noctua models since they mentioned they were around $80.

I’m not sure 100% that they will fit, still in the research stage. The Noctua I was reading about was on the taller side, but claimed to not interfere with RAM as it didn’t overhang. I kind of screwed the build already as I bought an ATX PSU and most of the mini ITX cases I wanted only accommodate SFX size.

I noticed you mentioned performance, are the all the cores firing limited by lack of cooling? I wasn’t anticipating the CPU being loud as usually it’s the GPU And that’s why I was looking toward water. You’re right though I’m not sure I want to deal with it’s negatives.

 

[paperfist]

One thing to consider on the Kraken, people universally say the software to control it is junk. I just installed a Corsair H115i Pro and am very happy with it. Corsairs software is funky but functional.
You need to software to adjust pump & fan speeds. Not installing the software is not a smart option.

Yeah, I’ve heard the Kraken once the software is installed connects to their cloud to transmit data. How loud is the Corsair?

 

[Fanatical Meat]

Yeah, I’ve heard the Kraken once the software is installed connects to their cloud to transmit data. How loud is the Corsair?

Volume is very subjective, I have fans set to performance and pump set to balance. When it’s being worked hard the fans are on the loud side however it’s almost never worked hard. Only thing the fans consistently go into high power mode is in Conan Exiles otherwise it is very quiet to my ears.

The icue software is funny to use, when you install the pump everything is set to quiet which doesn’t cool that well. To change the pumps speed and/or fan speeds you need to check on the pump or fan icon in icue then to the right there is off, quiet, balanced or extreme. Pick the speed there. Hard to explain but each fan and the pump are all controlled separately and it is a two button push to change the speeds.
Once the speeds are set they stay that way.

 

[Fanatical Meat]

Yeah, I’ve heard the Kraken once the software is installed connects to their cloud to transmit data. How loud is the Corsair?

Here is a sound reading from an iphone app about one foot away. This reading was pump & fans on Quiet

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[paperfist]

Volume is very subjective, I have fans set to performance and pump set to balance. When it’s being worked hard the fans are on the loud side however it’s almost never worked hard. Only thing the fans consistently go into high power mode is in Conan Exiles otherwise it is very quiet to my ears.

The icue software is funny to use, when you install the pump everything is set to quiet which doesn’t cool that well. To change the pumps speed and/or fan speeds you need to check on the pump or fan icon in icue then to the right there is off, quiet, balanced or extreme. Pick the speed there. Hard to explain but each fan and the pump are all controlled separately and it is a two button push to change the speeds.
Once the speeds are set they stay that way.

Ah Conan, how's that game? I always wanted to try it as it looks awesome, but i heard punishing.

How would you compare the sound level to what a GPU typical puts out when it's in high? That's interesting that there's a pump speed.

I guess I'm a hoarder, just looking at my box of parts and I found a Corsair CW 9060021 ww that I bought from someone on here and never used. I'll have to see if it'll cool a 9700k and give it a try if so.

 

[Fanatical Meat]

Ah Conan, how's that game? I always wanted to try it as it looks awesome, but i heard punishing.

How would you compare the sound level to what a GPU typical puts out when it's in high? That's interesting that there's a pump speed.

I guess I'm a hoarder, just looking at my box of parts and I found a Corsair CW 9060021 ww that I bought from someone on here and never used. I'll have to see if it'll cool a 9700k and give it a try if so.

The pump part is barely audible even on extreme. The fans are what makes the majority of the noise when on max speed.
Conan Exiles is pretty good, definitely worth checking out. The game is challenging but not overly challenging however its not really an mmo. Does have the good and bad old school feel but that can be frustrating as in you can easily fall and die, I was set to complete the game last year but I rage quit after losing a ton of gear by falling into some lava.

 

[paperfist]

The pump part is barely audible even on extreme. The fans are what makes the majority of the noise when on max speed.
Conan Exiles is pretty good, definitely worth checking out. The game is challenging but not overly challenging however its not really an mmo. Does have the good and bad old school feel but that can be frustrating as in you can easily fall and die, I was set to complete the game last year but I rage quit after losing a ton of gear by falling into some lava.

Thats pretty quiet. I was just reading up on how important the case is to cooling so I’ll put more thought into that before buying.

so Conan is a bit like the old EQ where you can end up naked in the snow?

 

[Fanatical Meat]

Thats pretty quiet. I was just reading up on how important the case is to cooling so I’ll put more thought into that before buying.

so Conan is a bit like the old EQ where you can end up naked in the snow?

Sort of but your gear doesn't time out as fast and it is much easier to craft.
Thing I forgot to mention is buildings decay to prevent urban sprawl, simply put if you don’t play regularly the house or castle or base you built will disappear.

 

[paperfist]

Sort of but your gear doesn't time out as fast and it is much easier to craft.
Thing I forgot to mention is buildings decay to prevent urban sprawl, simply put if you don’t play regularly the house or castle or base you built will disappear.

Cool I'll have to check it out soon. The graphics and setting is what always caught my eye.