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recommendation for aio

S

Strange bird

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Feb 19, 2021
Messages
1,581
Which aio cooling would be best for intel i7 875k cpu,old lga 1156 socket?
i7 875k at 4ghz gets very hot.I somehow decided to go for an AIO because the air can't cool it, that CPU heats up more than today's modern ones because it shouldn't exceed 72 Celsius.

Can I install thermalright frozen edge 240 white on gigabyte p55 ud4 MBO? It doesn't have RGB and doesn't have a separate 4pin header for the pump.

RGB doesn't matter to me, what matters is the low price and good cooling.
 
the TR aios say "support 115x" so im assuming it would work on 1156. i would advise to get a 280, 360 or 420 if you can fit bigger...
 
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280 is better if it fits. Top mounting 280s (and 140s and 420s) in some cases can be a problem. They're wider than a 360/240/120 and more likely to crash into mainboard components.
 
zandor said:
280 is better if it fits. Top mounting 280s (and 140s and 420s) in some cases can be a problem. They're wider than a 360/240/120 and more likely to crash into mainboard components.
Click to expand...
I don't know if it will fit or not, that's why I'm asking, the case is an MS armor Q700, it says it supports 240-280mm.
I have very few or no 280mm AIOs and they are quite expensive.
MBO gigabyte p55-ud4.
IMG_20251208_094434212.jpg
 
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It seems like it wouldn't fit on the top of the case, there are MBO cables and MBO parts. But it seems to me that the 280 would fit on the front of the case. I have about 300mm in length, 160mm in width and 70mm in depth. And that's the problem because I would have to put the fans to pull air into the case.

In the front position I have 320mm from the very bottom of the case to the top, i.e. to the DVD player. I see that some 280mm AIO has a total of 317mm, would that fit inside or not?
 

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Does anyone know? At what distance are the holes, i.e. the screw locations for installing a 280mm AIO cooler on the case?
I don't know if the front slot in the case only accepts a 240mm AIO or if it can also accept a 280 AIO.
 
Each fan/mounting hole is spaced 130x130mm. There is a 10mm spacing between each fan, so 270mm x 130mm at the corners.
PXL_20251208_191654923~2[1].jpgPXL_20251208_191846415~2[1].jpg
For those not in-the-know, a 280mm radiator is 90% the surface area of a 360mm radiator. It also uses 2x 140mm fans (as opposed to 3x 120mm) which tend to move more air at lower RPMs. Also, depending on the AIO you need to take into consideration the ends that extend well past the mounting holes. Some AIOs are longer than others in that regard. Typically, the end with the tubing is the longer end.

General rule of thumb is if you can mount two 140mm fans side by side with a little room left over at one end, you can probably get a 280mm AIO to work.

I recently upgraded to a 360mm and can't tell the difference.

A brand new 280mm AIO would probably cost as much if not more than that old i7 875k system is worth. Something to think about.
 
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Absalom said:
Each fan/mounting hole is spaced 130x130mm. There is a 10mm spacing between each fan, so 270mm x 130mm at the corners.
View attachment 771409View attachment 771410
For those not in-the-know, a 280mm radiator is 90% the surface area of a 360mm radiator. It also uses 2x 140mm fans (as opposed to 3x 120mm) which tend to move more air at lower RPMs. Also, depending on the AIO you need to take into consideration the ends that extend well past the mounting holes. Some AIOs are longer than others in that regard. Typically, the end with the tubing is the longer end.

General rule of thumb is if you can mount two 140mm fans side by side with a little room left over at one end, you can probably get a 280mm AIO to work.

I recently upgraded to a 360mm and can't tell the difference.

A brand new 280mm AIO would probably cost as much if not more than that old i7 875k system is worth. Something to think about.
Click to expand...
thanks guy, now I have to measure it on the case.
And there is no other option for the i7 875k, that cpu gets very hot at 4GHz. I don't know if the royal knight from thermalright would cool it.
240mm as pendragon says is not enough.
 
Strange bird said:
thanks guy, now I have to measure it on the case.
And there is no other option for the i7 875k, that cpu gets very hot at 4GHz. I don't know if the royal knight from thermalright would cool it.
240mm as pendragon says is not enough.
Click to expand...

He suggested a 280mm at the low end.

pendragon1 said:
the TR aios say "support 115x" so im assuming it would work on 1156. i would advise to get a 280, 360 or 420 if you can fit bigger...
Click to expand...

I would also be on Ebay looking for a better system than throwing money at something even a Sandy Bridge would embarrass.
 
CAD4466HK said:
He suggested a 280mm at the low end.



I would also be on Ebay looking for a better system than throwing money at something even a Sandy Bridge would embarrass.
Click to expand...
If it can't even keep the AIO below 72 degrees Celsius then I won't buy anything.
i7 875k 4GHz is like a ryzen 1400 non OC, same performance.
 
Fits 280mm, the holes are at about 270mm and 130mm, I just have to move the DVD up more.
Now I don't know if a better choice would be maybe a thermalright royal knight, I could buy it for about 57 euros, it seems that both air and water coolers have gone up in price again
 
I wouldn’t overthink it for an 875K, man.

If a 280 fits, cool, but I’d honestly just grab the Royal Knight and be done. Big air on that old chip is gonna be plenty close to a 240/280 AIO, cheaper, quieter, and no pump to worry about later.

Also that 72c number is more of a spec sheet thing than “CPU dies at 73c”. If your cores are somewhere around 70–80c in heavy load you’re fine, especially on a chip that old. Clean the dust, new paste, decent cooler and send it.
 
Strange bird said:
Fits 280mm, the holes are at about 270mm and 130mm, I just have to move the DVD up more.
Now I don't know if a better choice would be maybe a thermalright royal knight, I could buy it for about 57 euros, it seems that both air and water coolers have gone up in price again
Click to expand...
Thermalright Royal Knight is air cooler.
Try finding something like Thermalright Frost Magic 280.
 
zoomrix said:
I wouldn’t overthink it for an 875K, man.

If a 280 fits, cool, but I’d honestly just grab the Royal Knight and be done. Big air on that old chip is gonna be plenty close to a 240/280 AIO, cheaper, quieter, and no pump to worry about later.

Also that 72c number is more of a spec sheet thing than “CPU dies at 73c”. If your cores are somewhere around 70–80c in heavy load you’re fine, especially on a chip that old. Clean the dust, new paste, decent cooler and send it.
Click to expand...
I won't buy anything then, I just bought some extra fans for the CPU and case on AliExpress. I bought some better ones so the case has better airflow.
 
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Absalom said:
Each fan/mounting hole is spaced 130x130mm. There is a 10mm spacing between each fan, so 270mm x 130mm at the corners.
View attachment 771409View attachment 771410
For those not in-the-know, a 280mm radiator is 90% the surface area of a 360mm radiator. It also uses 2x 140mm fans (as opposed to 3x 120mm) which tend to move more air at lower RPMs. Also, depending on the AIO you need to take into consideration the ends that extend well past the mounting holes. Some AIOs are longer than others in that regard. Typically, the end with the tubing is the longer end.

General rule of thumb is if you can mount two 140mm fans side by side with a little room left over at one end, you can probably get a 280mm AIO to work.

I recently upgraded to a 360mm and can't tell the difference.

A brand new 280mm AIO would probably cost as much if not more than that old i7 875k system is worth. Something to think about.
Click to expand...
The downside to 140mm fans is that there are very few that are good at dealing with resistance as most 140mm fans are made for case cooling and the larger blade area makes it harder to create static pressure. Static pressure is key when dealing with radiators as most are quite resistive. A 140mm fan will likely need higher RPM to get the same amount of air per surface area through a radiator than a 120mm fan.
 
evhvis said:
The downside to 140mm fans is that there are very few that are good at dealing with resistance as most 140mm fans are made for case cooling and the larger blade area makes it harder to create static pressure. Static pressure is key when dealing with radiators as most are quite resistive. A 140mm fan will likely need higher RPM to get the same amount of air per surface area through a radiator than a 120mm fan.
Click to expand...
I won't put a 140mm fan on the CPU, I'll put it on the case.I'd have to put the AIO on the front, which means the fans would have to pull air in, not blow through the radiator, which would probably reduce efficiency a bit.And that can have a negative impact on the heating of the interior and the GPU.Obviously nothing from aio.
 
evhvis said:
The downside to 140mm fans is that there are very few that are good at dealing with resistance as most 140mm fans are made for case cooling and the larger blade area makes it harder to create static pressure. Static pressure is key when dealing with radiators as most are quite resistive. A 140mm fan will likely need higher RPM to get the same amount of air per surface area through a radiator than a 120mm fan.
Click to expand...
Please explain to me why 'larger blade area makes it harder to create static pressure.' My understanding is the higher the impeller area to fan airflow area translates into more pressure. area taken up by blades be the small or big usually translated to fan making more pressure. Obviously blade design, pitch, etc. all come into play.

There are several higher pressure 140mm fans on the market now.
Phanteks has finally released their T30 140mm with 1.2mm H2O @ 1200rpm! That's plenty to overcome grill and filter resistance, and if you speed them on up they make 3.555mm @ 2000rpm and 5.334mm @ 2500rpm .. "resistance is futile."
Artic P14 are rated 2.19mm H2O @ 1600rpm,
Thermalright TL-B14 is 2.35mm H2O @ 1500rpm
Thermalright TL-C14 is 2.0mm H2O @ 1500rpm
Strange bird said:
I won't put a 140mm fan on the CPU, I'll put it on the case.I'd have to put the AIO on the front, which means the fans would have to pull air in, not blow through the radiator, which would probably reduce efficiency a bit.And that can have a negative impact on the heating of the interior and the GPU.Obviously nothing from aio.
Click to expand...
Fan size on CPU depends on size of cooler.
 
pendragon1 said:
yeah, there are flow fans and pressure fans in 140mm...
Click to expand...
Pressure fans are like Arctic, with very rounded blades, you can immediately tell by their appearance whether the fan is designed for greater airflow or for stronger air push.
 
doyll said:
Please explain to me why 'larger blade area makes it harder to create static pressure.' My understanding is the higher the impeller area to fan airflow area translates into more pressure. area taken up by blades be the small or big usually translated to fan making more pressure. Obviously blade design,
Click to expand...

When you are pushing against a radiator the air will try to escape back through the gaps between the fan blades. The gap between each blade gets larger the further out you get, due to the larger the distance becomes between each blade. This makes it harder to create fans with enough pressure to force the air through without air escaping the wrong way between the blades. Think of blowing compressed air into open space, then try to do the same against a radiator or other high resistance surface with airgaps. The surface will reflect a lot of the air backwards, which is what a fan has to deal with. The blade essentially tries to create a seal, by spinning and having tight tolerances to the edges, which is harder to do when the gaps between blades become bigger. There also has to be a balance between gaps towards the center vs gaps towards the edge or you risk dropping performance in one area vs the other. E.g. adding more blades will be beneficial for the pressure towards the edge, but can hinder performance towards the middle if there are too many blades.

Airflow measured against heavy resistance is more relevant, than airflow with low resistance, when it comes to radiator use. Static pressure becomes a huge factor in air flow through a dense radiator. There are some outlets that test with radiators and the airflow numbers change a lot more for the low pressure fans than for the the high pressure fans. You usually can have either high airflow or high static pressure for a given noise level, but rarely both, due to the how the fans need to be designed. A lot of fans tank their airflow when they meet a high resistance radiator, but some fans only drop their air flow a moderate amount.
 
Strange bird said:
Pressure fans are like Arctic, with very rounded blades, you can immediately tell by their appearance whether the fan is designed for greater airflow or for stronger air push.
Click to expand...
Strange bird said:
Yes, you can tell what the fan is for by the appearance of the blades, this one is very good for radiators and AIOs.
https://www.arctic.de/en/P14-Max/p14-max

This one is good for your case.
https://www.noctua.at/en/products/nf-s12a-pwm
you see how completely different they are
Click to expand...

I think that you are over-simplifying things in a way that could very easily steer people in the wrong direction if they followed your advice.

It's true that you can somewhat judge the static pressure potential of a fan by it's blade design, but that doesn't necessarily pidgin-hole it into a certain role. You tried to give an example of a static pressure vs airflow design, but the P14 Max in your example has greater static pressure AND more CFM, so how exactly is it worse at airflow? Maybe it's just a better fan overall? Also, many cases have thick grills, mesh panels, or dust filters that do benefit from using fans with higher static pressure as case fans. Conversely, a fan with relatively low static pressure can still work well on a radiator if it's used as a pull fan in a push-pull arrangement, or even as the 2nd fan in a dual-tower air cooler.
 
GotNoRice said:
I think that you are over-simplifying things in a way that could very easily steer people in the wrong direction if they followed your advice.

It's true that you can somewhat judge the static pressure potential of a fan by it's blade design, but that doesn't necessarily pidgin-hole it into a certain role. You tried to give an example of a static pressure vs airflow design, but the P14 Max in your example has greater static pressure AND more CFM, so how exactly is it worse at airflow? Maybe it's just a better fan overall? Also, many cases have thick grills, mesh panels, or dust filters that do benefit from using fans with higher static pressure as case fans. Conversely, a fan with relatively low static pressure can still work well on a radiator if it's used as a pull fan in a push-pull arrangement, or even as the 2nd fan in a dual-tower air cooler.
Click to expand...
I'm speaking generally, it doesn't have to be 100% like that, the Noctua in the example is a very quiet fan unlike the Arctic, the noise-performance ratio is important.
And I don't believe anyone follows my advice, everyone ultimately buys according to their taste and what their budget allows.
 
Strange bird said:
I have this fan as an exhaust fan on the rear, there is no better one for that purpose.
See how the blades are made
https://www.noctua.at/en/products/nf-s12b-redux-1200-pwm
Click to expand...
The irony is that Redux is the low quality budget line from Noctua. The regular version has tighter tolerances, higher airflow, more static pressure and lower noise level.

The Phanteks T30-120mm will absolutely stomp the NF-S12B Redux for case performance at a given noise level, and even worse if we take off the breaks and let them run full speed. The grill that is on exhaust may look like it has little resistance, but it actually takes a bit of pressure to overcome it.

The T30 is probably still the best 120mm fan for cases and 30mm or thinner radiators. For thicker radiators (40mm or more), the Noctua NF-A12x25PWM series (both original and G2) are superior to the T30 as they don't care all that much about resistance and will outperform the T30.

The older "air flow" fans from Noctua were amazing when they came out almost 20 years ago, but their older designs are now dated and there are better alternatives. Their newer designs generally fall somewhere between good and excellent though.
 
evhvis said:
The irony is that Redux is the low quality budget line from Noctua. The regular version has tighter tolerances, higher airflow, more static pressure and lower noise level.

The Phanteks T30-120mm will absolutely stomp the NF-S12B Redux for case performance at a given noise level, and even worse if we take off the breaks and let them run full speed. The grill that is on exhaust may look like it has little resistance, but it actually takes a bit of pressure to overcome it.

The T30 is probably still the best 120mm fan for cases and 30mm or thinner radiators. For thicker radiators (40mm or more), the Noctua NF-A12x25PWM series (both original and G2) are superior to the T30 as they don't care all that much about resistance and will outperform the T30.

The older "air flow" fans from Noctua were amazing when they came out almost 20 years ago, but their older designs are now dated and there are better alternatives. Their newer designs generally fall somewhere between good and excellent though.
Click to expand...
yes, and that low is expensive (around 15eur if I'm not mistaken), but I've had that fan for quite a while...otherwise I only buy quality Chinese fans now. For 10 euros or less I have top quality fans for the CPU and case.
That T30 costs 30 euros, I would never buy that.
 
I just got a Lian-Li GA Lite II 360, and this thing rocks, keeps my 5950x around mid 60c under full load
 
Strange bird said:
yes, and that low is expensive (around 15eur if I'm not mistaken), but I've had that fan for quite a while...otherwise I only buy quality Chinese fans now. For 10 euros or less I have top quality fans for the CPU and case.
That T30 costs 30 euros, I would never buy that.
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You need to separate what is low cost/performance and what is top quality/best. You keep saying the best and top quality when e.g. the Noctua fan you pointed to as "there is no better one for that purpose" has somewhere between 40-70% of the performance of a T30 at similar noise levels, when it is put on a realistic testbench. My experience in having tried a lot of fans, is that top quality/the best fans lets me run sub 30db at similar or better cooling levels than lower quality fans let me do at 33db.

I run the best fans I can get for the purpose, cost be damned, as my priority is very low noise and very low temps at the same time. By very low noise I mean barely audible and by very low temps I mean several degrees better than any AIO. No AIO with stock fans that I've tried can do that over time, as the water temps rise a lot if I try to keep the noise as low as I want and pump is audible unless throttled to the point of almost 0 flow rate. My CPU loop has terrible cost/performance ratio and weighs about 9kg, but it is what fulfils my needs so it is better value to me than something I'm not satisfied with and want to swap.

Value is perceived and subjective, what is best performance at certain noise levels is not. E.g. the Noctua fan you pointed to would never leave the box at my place so it is an expensive paper weight and poor value for me, while I love the NF-A12x25 PWM for radiators and the T30 case fans so they are good value for me as they get used and I don't feel the need to swap them. Feel free to write best value, as that is your subjective opinion, but don't confuse mediocre performing fans with the best or top quality fans, as that is measurably false.
 
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