Hey guys,

Its been years since my last post. I'm building a new PC and I'm wondering what cooler to go with.

This is going to be a 6 core 3930k intel, sitting in an Asus P9X79 and 8x4gb sticks of crucial ballistix low profile. No tall heatsinks for memory. All inside an old Antec P182.

I've just ordered a Noctua NH-D 14 but I have an old TRUE 120 Black as well with all necessary stuff to make it fit on an LGA 2011. Yep I took my precautions.

Which one would you say is better in temps. Would a TRUE 120 be able to cool down that 6 core as good as the new gen Noctua?

To be honest I don't like the fact that the Noctua is huge compared to the TRUE 120.

I need advice. I would really appreciate it.

I assume this is the SE2011 version of the NH-D14 with the dual PWM fans. So all you need to do is install it and set the CPU fan control profile in the BIOS to Silent. Due to the low idle speed of the fans the minimum CPU fan speed setting in the BIOS needs to be set to Ignore. This idle speed should be around 350-400 rpm, in a system effectively silent. Given the size of the NH-D14 and the dual fans I would assume that it will cope with the stress from running games and even overclocking if required without excessive CPU temperatures or fan noise. Using the TRUE the fan idle speeds could probably be the same, if you used one of the Noctua PWM fans like the NF-F12 and the Silent profile. But performance under load could be a different matter.

Both coolers will be able to cope with the processor at stock speed, as well as with a reasonable overclocking.

Of course, the noctua will cool it better, and will be able to do so with less noise if you control the fans adequately, it is a beast. The True is quite good, too, and probably provides a better price/performance ratio. It is one of the better coolers at its typical price point, if not the best.

For SPCR review of the True, see http://www.silentpcreview.com/cogage-tr ... lman-quiet: this review is about the Cogage True, but Cogage used to be the "cheap name" for Thermalright, so it is mostly the same cooler. Check http://www.silentpcreview.com/Noctua_NH-D14 for the SPCR Noctua review, I think the SE is almost the same, just with PWM fans.

I own a Noctua DH-14 (non SE), and I'm quite happy with it. That said, if I had to buy a cooler rigth now, I would probably go with the Thermalright Macho HR-02, with two fans: it is a bit cheaper and it seems to be a bit better regarding cooling and noise levels.

If you have the money and want to get even better performance, you might consider using different fans: I've been using NoiseBlockers S2 for more than one year, and Scythe Gentle Typhoons as of lately, and they are both better than the fans Noctua provides. as attested by SPCR tests too. If you go with Gentle Typhoons, make sure you use the rubber thingies that come with the Noctua cooler, else there will be some vibration noise.

Wow thanks very much for that quick reply..i'd definetely try the Noctua and checkhow
It works!

Thanks a bunch again!

I didn't see that last post. Thank you! It the SE versionof the Noctua NH-D14. I plan to connect both fans to a Zalman RPM controller to tune it up or down.

Would you say the push/pull fan config is a must nowadays? I'm asking this for a TRUE 120

From xbitlabs (http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cooler ... html#sect0), where they tried a second fan:



That said, you might get the same temperature with less noise by using two slower fans, difficult to know.

Btw, remember that the True fan is not a very good fan regarding noise, see http://www.silentpcreview.com/article1037-page5.html

You can connect the heatsink fans directly to the motherboard, it will allow for automatic control with temperature curves, the NH-D14 comes with an Y splitter and it works pretty well even though you probably don't get exact rpm readings from that.

this thing is 900g, suppose you have dual CPU, that would be 1.8 KG or about 4 lb., do you feel comfortable that the joints on the motherboard can come off in the long run?