Devonavar wrote:The results of the constant airflow test on the Ninja also seems to show that the Noctua doesn't seem to be seriously affected by impedance.
Cool, so we know how to deal with exactly one heatsink (with one particular input temperature) - "Buy a Ninja".
Devonavar wrote:
I have no problem accepting that the Noctua has pressure issues with in high impedance situations, but instead of arguing about whether or not that is the case, why not take SPCR's results as demonstrating that there are situations where the Noctua's lower pressure is irrelevant? Obviously, that's not all situations.
So, the answer to your question just above there is obvious, and answered by the statement which I highlited.
Devonavar wrote:
I think if we let the results of this test guide our design approach, we should take home what Mike has been saying all along: Airflow design, specifically, low-impedance airflow design, is at least as important as the choice of fan. And, in a situation with good airflow, the choice of fan is more or less irrelevant.
The problem is, not everyone owns/wants/has-the-room-for a Ninja. I have no problem with the 'recommendation' for some particular airflow design (low-impedence), but that's just not a all-encompassing answer.
What's the best (quietest, highest performing) fan I can put on a
Ultra 120 that came in my computer (or that I already own for whatever reason) - without having to go out and buy a Ninja?
What's the best (quietest, highest performing) fan I can put on a
Scythe Infinity that came in my computer (or that I already own for whatever reason) - without having to go out and buy a Ninja?
What's the best (quietest, highest performing) fan I can put on a
Big Typhoon that came in my computer (or that I already own for whatever reason) - without having to go out and buy a Ninja?
...the list goes on.
I'm sure that there may be other heatsinks with similar airflow designs of the Ninja, but what about all the other heatsinks (
or temperatures) where that's not the case?
Show me temperature performance results of a Noctua fan and a Sharkoon 2000 Golfball (down-volt the golfball to the same
noise level as the Noctua) on a Big Typhoon/Ultra 120/Infinity. Let me hear comparitive recordings. If the Golfball performs better than the Noctua for the same amount of noise on some particular heatsink, isn't
that valuable information that your readers might want to know? If I can then turn that Golfball up a bit to get better cooling (while gaming or whatever) without a huge increase in noise, isn't
that valuable information?
Obviously there are hundreds of heatsinks and hundreds of fans, making thousands of combinations, so testing them ALL would be rediculous. Having said that, I think an interesting/enlightening article could be done with the following:
- pick 4-5 top/popular heatsinks with replaceable 120mm fans (Tuniq, Ultra 120, Ultra 120X, Ninja, Big Typhoon, Infinity, XP-120/128, Enzotech Ultra-X, etc).
- put a screaming delta fan on them and test at various voltages (1-2v steps, ideally) to determine the point of diminishing returns for airflow on both stock and hot/overclocked cpu...
...nevermind. I realize that I probably just lost my audience in this venue - "hot/overclocked cpu" is irrelevent here, only quiet matters - "there are plenty of other sites that cater to the enthusiast crowd".
Jmke, thanks for your review work as well! I think it better suits my needs (my only gripe is that you left out recordings when you did the Golfball reviews
).