Quietest CPU cooling - AIO / all in one water?

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#2623764 18-Dec-2020 11:26

rb99:

Don't know if this might help to compare how your fan sound to this, as in any significant difference in tone -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1M4SwRjwDE

Thanks, I'll have to have a listen later when my main computer is on, my tiny Elitebook fan is screaming like it's trying to reach orbit! I am working it hard though, I'm using the internet...

Initial thought is that one sounds like my old fan did, gets louder as fan speed goes up. My current one develops harmonics and extra noises once the fan speed goes over a certain level.

1101

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#2623766 18-Dec-2020 11:28

"I suspect my tinnitus reacts to that frequency / type of noise, which is maybe why it bugs me so much."

I know the feeling .
Im very sensititve to the high pitch noise from PC's : buzzing electronics and fan noise (being an ex-drummer, Ive damaged my inner ear)
Other a period of some hours it can start to hurt from the very high pitch PC noises . Old monitors are a nightmare with high pitch buzzing .

So now I have earplugs I often wear at home & work .
I built my home PC to be very quiet , and it is very quiet . The PC noise still effects the ear facing it .

It sounds silly, but earplugs will solve the issue . You get used to them .

SpartanVXL

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#2623785 18-Dec-2020 11:38

There are also corsair maglev fans which are quieter, usually go on sale for the two pack. I’d agree in saying that you’d probably need bigger than a 120 aio as it wouldn’t be much better than what you currently have.

timmmay

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#2623895 18-Dec-2020 12:55

I wear earplugs sometimes, but it's probably not quite bad enough for that.

SpartanVXL: There are also corsair maglev fans which are quieter, usually go on sale for the two pack. I’d agree in saying that you’d probably need bigger than a 120 aio as it wouldn’t be much better than what you currently have.

Might be worth trying another fan, see what Noctua says first. 2x120mm is probably a bit better than 1x120, I thought they were 140mm fans on water coolers but apparently not.

Jase2985

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#2624169 19-Dec-2020 07:05

timmmay:

Might be worth trying another fan, see what Noctua says first. 2x120mm is probably a bit better than 1x120, I thought they were 140mm fans on water coolers but apparently not.

you can get 120mm, 140mm, 240mm, 280mm, and 360mm aio's

2x 120mm fans will be 3dB louder than 1x 120mm fan

timmmay

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#2624214 19-Dec-2020 09:19

Jase2985:

you can get 120mm, 140mm, 240mm, 280mm, and 360mm aio's

2x 120mm fans will be 3dB louder than 1x 120mm fan

At full speed, yes, but they'll rarely reach full speed and if I'm working them 100% I expect noise.

I figure for standard operation 2x140mm fans will have larger heatsink surface area and slower fan speed, creating less noise.

I've changed my cooling profile so fans stay at about 20% fan until it hits 70C, then ramps up quickly to full speed. This has helped a lot with the noise, especially the constant fan speed changes. Noctua have given me instructions how to test the fan which I'll do later on:

"Once the fan starts to spin, please hold it in your hand vertically and horizontally and listen for odd noises such as grinding, whining or rattling and check the fan for excessive vibrations."

Jase2985

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#2624216 19-Dec-2020 09:31

no 2x 120mm fan will be 3dB louder at the same speed as 1x 120mm fan. that's how noise works.

1 fan makes 36dB noise, 2 fans make 36dB per fan but the total noise from the 2 fans is actually 39dB, this is double the sound intensity. This doubling of sound intensity increases loudness by 3 decibels.

timmmay

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#2624268 19-Dec-2020 10:19

Two fans will typically spin slower than one fan for the same level of heat dissipation, not sure where the noise will end up but suspect more fans spinning slowly will be quieter than one fan spinning faster.

Jase2985

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#2624376 19-Dec-2020 15:49

maybe, maybe not, you have set a fixed profile base on temp for your setup, its unlikely that the temp is going to vary much compared to what you have currently so its likely going to be louder.

the fans are not likely to spin much slower than 20% anyways.

networkn

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#2624917 21-Dec-2020 11:50

I've never really paid much attention to water cooling as the idea of water near my expensive electronics never seemed a good idea, and the last time I looked at it, admittedly a long long time ago, water leaks were not unheard of.

For some reason I thought water cooling did away with the need for fans, so I was surprised to read that that wasn't the case. Shame really, a silent PC would be something I'd be keen to get next time around, which will be when the next lot of price drops occur for either Intel or AMD.

5700x or 11th Gen Intel seem like the way to go, or a decent price drop on the 5800x would be ideal.

timmmay

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#2624918 21-Dec-2020 11:56

The 5600X seems to get hotter than the old 2700K, and is more peaky in temperature than the old CPU. New Intel may be exactly the same, but I'd probably say go with the Intel.

Water cooling can have more / larger fans, which can make it quieter, I think. It's more about keeping the chip well cooled I think.

elpenguino

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#2624922 21-Dec-2020 12:07

Water cooling could be done fanless but you'd need large radiator area to dissipate the heat and that won't fit in a pc case. It also needs to be far enough away to have a temperature differential to the hot components.
If you have a powerful rig, you are talking 500watts and up so imagine what size heater panel you need for that and that's your radiator's area

networkn

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#2624925 21-Dec-2020 12:14

elpenguino: Water cooling could be done fanless but you'd need large radiator area to dissipate the heat and that won't fit in a pc case. It also needs to be far enough away to have a temperature differential to the hot components.
If you have a powerful rig, you are talking 500watts and up so imagine what size heater panel you need for that and that's your radiator's area

Yeah. I guess it's just not really something I thought about specifically. Not sure I'll bother with water cooling, I've always had Noctua air coolers and they have done the job.

timmmay

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#2624926 21-Dec-2020 12:17

If you're just cooling a CPU then 100W capacity is plenty, maybe less. If you're cooling a big GPU then sure, can be high.

@networkn I'd suggest you try to get the 140mm fan cooler rather than the 120mm if you value quiet. My old one is a lot quieter than the newer one.

Fan speed settings can play a big part, it's improved. There's still a weird constantly frequency change / oscillation in the noise though that I find annoying though.

elpenguino

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#2624931 21-Dec-2020 12:53

Obviously the heat problem is accentuated if you go for the 'hot' stuff - hot in more than one way.

That extra little bit of performance comes at the cost of cooling and electricity too.

Not sure what you're running , just a general statement.

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