CPU cooler for BitFenix Pandora Core? (maybe liquid AIO)

Got a shopping cart of parts that you want opinions on? Get advice from members on your planned or existing system (or upgrade).

Moderators: NeilBlanchard, Ralf Hutter, sthayashi, Lawrence Lee

Post Reply
shleepy
Friend of SPCR
Posts: 454
Joined: Tue Aug 02, 2005 3:32 am
Location: SF Bay Area, California

CPU cooler for BitFenix Pandora Core? (maybe liquid AIO)

Post by shleepy » Wed Jul 01, 2015 2:59 pm

Hi everyone! Long time no see...

I'm building a new system in a BitFenix Pandora Core case and wanted some advice about the CPU heatsink. The case is already purchased; I got it because if its fairly unique size, which is a blessing and a curse.

As the SPCR review mentioned, the clearance for the CPU heatsink is very limited, at 134mm. So, I'm wondering if it makes sense to stick with air cooling (probably using a Noctua NH-C12P, like the one used in the review), or go by the review's suggestion in the Conclusion and go with a 240mm liquid cooling all-in-one system... I'm leaning towards Corsair H100i. This would be my first time using liquid cooling, though, and I'm skeptical, but I see its appeal for this particular case.

Other relevant parts that will be in the system:
  • Motherboard: X99 mATX motherboard
  • CPU: Quad Core Haswell-E Xeon (135W TDP... should be fairly hot in real-life but probably not nearly as hot as a 6- or 8-core Haswell-E)
  • Video card: GTX 750 Ti (will probably upgrade to a GTX 970 or similar in the future)
  • Storage: 1 SSD and 1 HDD (both 2.5")
So, to reiterate my question:
What would be the best CPU cooling options for my system?
My top contenders now are Corsair H100i or a Noctua NH-C12P, and I'm leaning towards the former. Let's say that price is not a big issue and I can spend up to around $100.

Thanks for your suggestions!

quest_for_silence
Posts: 5275
Joined: Wed Jun 13, 2007 10:12 am
Location: ITALY

Re: CPU cooler for BitFenix Pandora Core? (maybe liquid AIO)

Post by quest_for_silence » Wed Jul 01, 2015 8:32 pm

The Corsair is rather noisy.

shleepy
Friend of SPCR
Posts: 454
Joined: Tue Aug 02, 2005 3:32 am
Location: SF Bay Area, California

Re: CPU cooler for BitFenix Pandora Core? (maybe liquid AIO)

Post by shleepy » Wed Jul 01, 2015 10:07 pm

Digging around some more (especially on SPCR reviews), I see that the best-rated top-down cooler now is the NH-C14 (and presumably the NH-C14S, which doesn't yet have its own review but is just slightly taller, if I'm not mistaken). So, that seems like a decent option.

Also, something like a NH-U9S, or a similar 92mm-fan-tower heatsink, might not be a bad idea... My thinking is that it could either be oriented up, to blow air towards the top 120mm fan, or towards the front of the case, with the front fan pointed to blow air OUT of the case.

And yeah, I see that the Corsair and similar AIO coolers don't sound like great options. Meanwhile, the two bigger NZXT water coolers (X61 and X41) are too big for the case, while the X31 is not too efficient. So, I'm not sure what my best options would be if sticking with the liquid cooling idea, but I'm certainly not opposed to abandoning it. I have strong doubts.

Thoughts?

quest_for_silence
Posts: 5275
Joined: Wed Jun 13, 2007 10:12 am
Location: ITALY

Re: CPU cooler for BitFenix Pandora Core? (maybe liquid AIO)

Post by quest_for_silence » Thu Jul 02, 2015 2:50 am

shleepy wrote:Thoughts?

Some personal rules of thumb.
  1. When silence is paramount, AIOs are not the best options.
  2. When opting for the LGA2011 platforms, cooling wise the largest AIOs should be preferred.
  3. When you need to cool an hot CPU silently, larger enclosures are almost mandatory.

You opted for a narrow enclosure with an LGA2011 CPU, but you want to cool it silently: do you see any contraddiction? I guess you won't overclock it.

Said that, personally I'd look for a custom water loop (lots of money, check the latest SPCR findings), or perhaps I'd give a try to something like the Swiftech H220-X, swapping the fans (whether it fits), as it should be more decent noise-wise than usual CM or Corsair offerings (given the SPCR H240-X review, 1dB and 3°C more than the NZXT X61 lowest result).

SebRad
Patron of SPCR
Posts: 1121
Joined: Sun Nov 09, 2003 7:18 am
Location: UK

Re: CPU cooler for BitFenix Pandora Core? (maybe liquid AIO)

Post by SebRad » Thu Jul 02, 2015 5:13 am

I use NH-C14 in a case just about the same width, cooling i7-2600K.
Your quad core Xeon shouldn't be that bad in use, only 4 cores and no overclocking (AFAIK on Xeons)
I can cool my 2600k quietly at stock and fairly quietly when overclocked so I think the NH-C14 could work for you.
I found it works better two fans vs one and sound better with the fans blowing away from the board as the case side is only 10~15mm from the top fan. When sucking against the side panel get unpleasant noise, which when blowing isn't present.

My NH-C14 came with 3 pin fans, that I haven't used, currently using 2x Thermalright TY-147A 4pin PWM fans that I'm very happy with. Min speed ~300rpm is fine for idle and light loads.
Additional fans does add to the cost of already expensive heatsink.

Originally I tried Arctic Cooling Freezer 13 as only 4 heatpipe 92mm fan cooler I could find, it wasn't bad and not out performed by as much as I'd have liked by the Noctua at 4x price!

Good luck, Seb

quest_for_silence
Posts: 5275
Joined: Wed Jun 13, 2007 10:12 am
Location: ITALY

Re: CPU cooler for BitFenix Pandora Core? (maybe liquid AIO)

Post by quest_for_silence » Thu Jul 02, 2015 9:11 am

SebRad wrote:I can cool my 2600k quietly at stock and fairly quietly when overclocked so I think the NH-C14 could work for you.

Just a side note.

Some months ago, while re-building a gaming rig, I have a chance to compare a Core i5 4690 against a 2600K and a 2320: long story short, that Haswell quad run way, way hotter than any of the Sandys under stress, no matter the Sandys overclock, though all three those CPUs were substantially undervolted.

That Haswell-E Xeon should have a far better TIM than my Haswell but, on the other hand, its TDP should be almost 60% higher, so that I guess the mileage may vary, with reference to a Sandy.

shleepy
Friend of SPCR
Posts: 454
Joined: Tue Aug 02, 2005 3:32 am
Location: SF Bay Area, California

Re: CPU cooler for BitFenix Pandora Core? (maybe liquid AIO)

Post by shleepy » Thu Jul 02, 2015 1:42 pm

I certainly understand that I created a challenge for myself by choosing a compact case and a high-TDP CPU. And while real silence (or even it being "very quiet by SPCR standards") isn't really the goal of this build, I do just want something that's a good balance of decent cooling and low noise. And no, I don't plan on overclocking.

I'm liking the two-fan NH-C14 idea now, assuming that I can fit the bottom fan above my motherboard. There's also NH-C14S, but it's 10mm taller, meaning that I can only fit the bottom fan in the case... and while that may be good enough, I'm worried that there might not be enough clearance under the fan for the motherboard heatsinks and the nearby RAM. Will need to do some measurements... The C14S seems to have an extra 3mm of clearance with the bottom fan mounted, but I'd definitely have to stick with one fan.

What about smaller but "chubbier" tower coolers, presumably with 92mm fans? Is it safe to assume that they would be worse than the top-down Noctuas?

quest_for_silence
Posts: 5275
Joined: Wed Jun 13, 2007 10:12 am
Location: ITALY

Re: CPU cooler for BitFenix Pandora Core? (maybe liquid AIO)

Post by quest_for_silence » Thu Jul 02, 2015 11:32 pm

shleepy wrote:The C14S seems to have an extra 3mm of clearance with the bottom fan mounted, but I'd definitely have to stick with one fan.

As far as I understand, the NH-C14S comes with just 1 fan, pre-mounted by Noctua in the bottom position.

From the first review I saw, from Coolingtechnique.com, it should be the best performer (or among the best ones) in the Noctua lineup with high TDP CPUs, though I've some doubts about the noise signature of its stock A14 PWM fan (though this mine is maybe sort of moot point/being nitpicky).

shleepy wrote:What about smaller but "chubbier" tower coolers, presumably with 92mm fans? Is it safe to assume that they would be worse than the top-down Noctuas?

It will best the smaller siblings for sure: by how much, it's a matter of boundary conditions.

shleepy
Friend of SPCR
Posts: 454
Joined: Tue Aug 02, 2005 3:32 am
Location: SF Bay Area, California

Re: CPU cooler for BitFenix Pandora Core? (maybe liquid AIO)

Post by shleepy » Thu Aug 20, 2015 11:12 pm

Just a quick update... I did end up with the NH-C14S in the Pandora case. I have the standard fan in the "default" position for a single fan - blowing up through the heatsink. Also in the case is a GTX980.

Unfortunately, the heatsink does not fit in the case if arranged in one of the two standard ways, at least with my motherboard. It would hit a "bar" at the top of the case if I didn't turn it 90-degrees (which doesn't seem ideal for catching the airflow from the front case fan). That said, the cooling seems adequate. I haven't done any serious stress testing or anything (and Core Temp freezes on me almost right away in Windows 10 on two computers, so I need to find another temperature monitoring tool that works), but I know that the CPU idles at around 40 C; that's not fantastic, but it also doesn't seem to heat up too much in the conditions in which I've been using it so far.

Overall, the build is relatively quiet, and good enough for my needs. :)

quest_for_silence
Posts: 5275
Joined: Wed Jun 13, 2007 10:12 am
Location: ITALY

Re: CPU cooler for BitFenix Pandora Core? (maybe liquid AIO)

Post by quest_for_silence » Fri Aug 21, 2015 2:31 am

shleepy wrote:which doesn't seem ideal for catching the airflow from the front case fan

Just try, there's more than a chance it work better (temperatures wise)

shleepy wrote:so I need to find another temperature monitoring tool that works

Real Temp, Hardware Monitor, Open Hardware Monitor, HWiNFO, SpeedFan may all be viable alternatives.

shleepy
Friend of SPCR
Posts: 454
Joined: Tue Aug 02, 2005 3:32 am
Location: SF Bay Area, California

Re: CPU cooler for BitFenix Pandora Core? (maybe liquid AIO)

Post by shleepy » Sat Aug 22, 2015 1:34 am

Sorry, I should have been more clear - I did try, and it definitely did not fit.

Have been using MSI Afterburner, and the CPU temp seems to go up to 70 C with some gaming, so not too bad.

quest_for_silence
Posts: 5275
Joined: Wed Jun 13, 2007 10:12 am
Location: ITALY

Re: CPU cooler for BitFenix Pandora Core? (maybe liquid AIO)

Post by quest_for_silence » Sat Aug 22, 2015 3:57 am

shleepy wrote:so not too bad.

I don't know how reliable AfterBurner is at measuring CPU temp (I'd rather RealTemp or Hardware Monitor), however, while just gaming those 70°C with a NH-C14S isn't such a good outcome, IMHO, unless the fan is spinning under 500rpm. What about CPU temp if side panels are removed?

samwc912
Posts: 54
Joined: Sun Dec 14, 2003 10:43 pm

Re: CPU cooler for BitFenix Pandora Core? (maybe liquid AIO)

Post by samwc912 » Thu Sep 03, 2015 12:02 pm

shleepy wrote:Just a quick update... I did end up with the NH-C14S in the Pandora case. I have the standard fan in the "default" position for a single fan - blowing up through the heatsink. Also in the case is a GTX980.

Unfortunately, the heatsink does not fit in the case if arranged in one of the two standard ways, at least with my motherboard. It would hit a "bar" at the top of the case if I didn't turn it 90-degrees (which doesn't seem ideal for catching the airflow from the front case fan). That said, the cooling seems adequate. I haven't done any serious stress testing or anything (and Core Temp freezes on me almost right away in Windows 10 on two computers, so I need to find another temperature monitoring tool that works), but I know that the CPU idles at around 40 C; that's not fantastic, but it also doesn't seem to heat up too much in the conditions in which I've been using it so far.

Overall, the build is relatively quiet, and good enough for my needs. :)
I'm also looking into building a new pc with the Bitfenix Pandora case. Where did you buy your Noctua NH-C14S? Can't find it at an online retailer.

Any chances of taking some pictures of the inside of your case?

Post Reply