Having regrets on the Noctua NH-L9a-AM4 cooler

rod1105

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I'm in the process of beginning my new system build with the following components:

- Ryzen 3600x CPU
- MSI B450 Tomahawk Plus Motherboard
- Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro 16GB
- Fractal Design Define 7 case
- Noctua NH-L9a-AM4 cooler
- EVGA SuperNova 650 G+ 80 Plus Gold PSU
- WD_Black SN750 500GB NVMe Internal Gaming SSD/Heatsink
- NVidia GeForce GTX 1050Ti

I was reviewing some forum responses to cooling questions and was surprised to hear that the Noctua cooler I picked is not really recommended for the 3600x, which by some accounts is basically an overclocked version of the 3600 series. Its higher TDP (95w) is why the Wraith Spire was included with the CPU but apparently the noise level of the Spire is rather high under load. I don't intend to overclock but I feel like I need something more powerful than the NH-L9a. Anybody have thoughts/recommendations on this setup?
 
Anybody have thoughts/recommendations on this setup?
your case supports up to a 185mm heat sink so basically anything you want will fit. you could get something "cheap" like the cm 212 or arctic 34 or one of the big notuas like the u14s or even an 240/280 aio
 
your case supports up to a 185mm heat sink so basically anything you want will fit. you could get something "cheap" like the cm 212 or arctic 34 or one of the big notuas like the u14s or even an 240/280 aio
I decided to return the NH-L9a and ordered the NH-U12S chroma Black cooler. I just didn't want to chance seeing marginal temps and being forced to swap the smaller cooler out. I can also opt to attach a second NF-F12 fan should the need arise. I have to wait a few days before it arrives but the case is due around the same time so not a biggie.
 
U14s is what I use when I can't throw on a 280mm aio.
I do have 4x 120mm noctuas in my current case that I'd rather have 140s to limit noise but oh well.
Intake is key to keeping cooler rpms down.
Keep the low noise cables handy if you're going to let the cpu boost to it's temp limiter.
 
U14s is what I use when I can't throw on a 280mm aio.
I do have 4x 120mm noctuas in my current case that I'd rather have 140s to limit noise but oh well.
Intake is key to keeping cooler rpms down.
Keep the low noise cables handy if you're going to let the cpu boost to it's temp limiter.
I know the Fractal Design 7 comes with 3 140mm fans, two in front and one in the back. I bought an extra fan just in case but I'm debating on putting it in front with the other two fans or making it an intake add-on at the top of the case. I'll try both setups and see how the temps react.
 
I know the Fractal Design 7 comes with 3 140mm fans, two in front and one in the back. I bought an extra fan just in case but I'm debating on putting it in front with the other two fans or making it an intake add-on at the top of the case. I'll try both setups and see how the temps react.

Pop your front panel off and watch your temps dive.
I'm running my define C naked in front bc it's a +10deg drop depending on fan rpm.
 
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