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M1 Build complete; cooling question

M

multitud3

n00b
Joined
Nov 28, 2014
Messages
10
Howdy!


Recently finished my NCase M1 V3 build, and am really happy with it so far. Been using it for digital art creation and gaming. Shout out to all the Xeon users.

PCPartPicker part list
CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor (Purchased For $252.99)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-L9i 57.5 CFM CPU Cooler (Purchased For $41.99)
Motherboard: Asus H97I-PLUS Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard (Purchased For $113.99)
Memory: Kingston Fury Black Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (Purchased For $139.99)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (Purchased For $189.99)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (Purchased For $89.99)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 4GB Video Card (Purchased For $339.99)
Power Supply: Silverstone 600W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular SFX Power Supply (Purchased For $124.99)
Case Fan: Noctua NF-B9 PWM 37.9 CFM 92mm Fan ($23.99)
Case Fan: Noctua NF-F12 PWM 55.0 CFM 120mm Fan (Purchased For $27.99)
Case Fan: Noctua NF-F12 PWM 55.0 CFM 120mm Fan (Purchased For $27.99)
Other: NCASE M1 V3, Silver (Purchased For $185.00)

http://imgur.com/a/8XHg7 just a few photos, nothing glamorous.

As you can see, I've got the two 120mm's on the floor for my intakes, plus the one 92mm at the rear for exhaust. My temps stay in the high 30's, very low 40's while lightly using the rig, and have topped out during more heavy usage at ~60 for both the CPU and GPU. I'm wondering if tossing a Noctua NH-L12 or a Noctua NH-U12P SE2 on my CPU, instead of my Noctua NH-L9i will make that much of a difference. From what I've read, the NH-L12 will fit in my rig, and offer a bit more cooling... maybe 5-10 degrees max? I figure the NH-U12P would offer numbers marginally better than the NH-L12.

What does everyone think? Is it worth the upgrade? If only just to see some lower numbers?

I'd also like to replace all my internal power/data cables with those fancy cloth corded ones I've seen around. Does anyone have recommendations? Been considering the SilverStone PP07 series.


Thanks!
 
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Those temps are really good. For numbers, screw it. Not worth it. Upgrading your cooler could, however, make you able to loose the two 92mm fans replacing them with one 120mm fan. That in turn could improve noise characteristics. But i suspect the PSU and GPU are the noisiest parts of your build anyway, so even this is probably not worth it.

The ribbon cables supplied with the psu will get you a lot cleaner cable routing. Buying longer more bulky cables will hurt airflow, and in turn your temps, which kind of makes the cooling question obsolete:D No denying it looks good though, but with Noctua fans there's only so much you can do to make the internals beautiful anyway. With the really good GPU temps you are getting I wouldn't mess with the build too much at this point.

How is the noise BTW?
 
After much reading and comparing, I ordered a Noctua NH-U9B SE2 last night, if only just to test out and compare to the NH-L9i. Hooked on Noctua products now, for sure.

The ribbon cables supplied with the psu will get you a lot cleaner cable routing. Buying longer more bulky cables will hurt airflow, and in turn your temps, which kind of makes the cooling question obsolete No denying it looks good though, but with Noctua fans there's only so much you can do to make the internals beautiful anyway. With the really good GPU temps you are getting I wouldn't mess with the build too much at this point.
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Good call on bulk and cleanliness. Took me several goes to get the cables to my liking. Will probably stick with what I've got for now, with the exception of my sata cables; thinking about going with black SilverStone sata cables. I love me some Noctua products, but you've got a good point about their polarizing looks. Too bad they don't come in matte black :)

The noise is acceptable for me, but might bother others. Under light load, it's a low hum, and under heavy load (especially gaming), the 970 starts to chime in quite a bit. I'm prioritizing good airflow over noise. I almost always have some sort of audio going either via speakers or headphones, so the case fans aren't a bother.

Thanks for your input!
 
multitud3 said:
After much reading and comparing, I ordered a Noctua NH-U9B SE2 last night, if only just to test out and compare to the NH-L9i. Hooked on Noctua products now, for sure.


Good call on bulk and cleanliness. Took me several goes to get the cables to my liking. Will probably stick with what I've got for now, with the exception of my sata cables; thinking about going with black SilverStone sata cables. I love me some Noctua products, but you've got a good point about their polarizing looks. Too bad they don't come in matte black :)

The noise is acceptable for me, but might bother others. Under light load, it's a low hum, and under heavy load (especially gaming), the 970 starts to chime in quite a bit. I'm prioritizing good airflow over noise. I almost always have some sort of audio going either via speakers or headphones, so the case fans aren't a bother.

Thanks for your input!
Click to expand...

Any updates did you stick with the new heatsink or the old one? and I have a question if you install a air cooled set up does that mean you won't have enough room to install 2 x 120mm fans on the side of the case? are u still able to add 1 120mm fan on the side of the case since the heatsink isn't too long?
 
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