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Hello everyone, this is a very brief review of my brand new Noctua CPU Cooler.
I always wanted a liquid cooling system for my computer...didn't care if it was risky, expensive or just plain stupid of me...to me liquid cooling was like the Everest of PC technology.
So when my motherboards cracked in half (a long, sad/funny story for the comedy section) and I had to buy new gear I decided to finally making that step and getting me a liquid cooling system.
Came across the H series from Corsair, seemed really cool and all, and so I got one.
The H80 looked really nice, and according to specs and reviews from people who know how to handle hardware correctly and not hit when it doesn't work, so I got it with the rest of the stuff I assembled (can be seen in my signature below).
However my excitement was short-lived, because when I got home and tried to install it, I couldn't!
I have a Xaser VI Thermaltake case, which is quite big (605 x 250 x 660 mm), and apparently the PSU is located at the top, not the bottom.
Because of that, the rails that hold the PSU prevented me from installing the radiator over the exhaust fan at the back - ruining the rest of my day.
Luckily the guys at the shop were understanding enough to let me trade it for something more conventional, such as an over-sized, multi-award winning air cooler...and I took the bait without asking twice - I was desperate.
Since I purchased an LGA2011 CPU they gave me the Noctua D14 LGA2011 special edition.
And I have to say that I am not regretting it in the least!
A buddy of mine showed me where to get a CPU temp monitoring program, I put it in the background, and went on to play several games in succession.
After about 4 hours I went back to the temp program and results were really impressive:
Core 1 - 40C
Core 2 - 41C
Core 3 - 38C
Core 4 - 40C
Maximum temperature - 51C (Core 2)
Now a bit about the product itself.
Aside from the insane amount of Styrofoam packing, the cooler comes neat and clean, the instructions are very clear - both verbal and visual, there are spare parts in an event you are nervous and things slip between your fingers (in the event you are an amateur idiot who drools over all things shiny, do us all a big favor and let a professional or a lab do it for you).
The only real trouble I had was with two spring screws that had to go in together, but me being a very physical guy I tend to be overly tender with all things electronic, expensive and new (the cooler is not that expensive - about 75$) so it might just be a problem for me.
The package comes with its own tube of thermal grease, so no need to panic if you don't have any.
The cooler by itself is very impressive, with a 120mm fan sandwiched between two massive heat-sinks and another 120mm in the front (with a net weight of just a little over 1000g).
I probably should point out that having an X79 chipset means I have a built-in back-plate, therefore I had considerably less work to do to install it, where as a user with any other socket will have to first remove the motherboard to install the back-plate.
Also important to mention is that the fans run between 400-900 RPM, meaning you never hear them (unless you have an open-case system, and even then they are pretty silent).
All in all, a very good cooler, compatible with any socket out there, both Intel and AMD.
Also read several post from people who have it and managed to achieve stable high-grade overclocking on CPUs like the i7 920 (2.6GHz to 4.2GHz).
Hope this review hold up to the standards of the forum.
If doesn't, tell me how to improve it.
If it does, then I will be posting reviews of the rest of my new hardware, piece by piece.
DRift, signing out
I always wanted a liquid cooling system for my computer...didn't care if it was risky, expensive or just plain stupid of me...to me liquid cooling was like the Everest of PC technology.
So when my motherboards cracked in half (a long, sad/funny story for the comedy section) and I had to buy new gear I decided to finally making that step and getting me a liquid cooling system.
Came across the H series from Corsair, seemed really cool and all, and so I got one.
The H80 looked really nice, and according to specs and reviews from people who know how to handle hardware correctly and not hit when it doesn't work, so I got it with the rest of the stuff I assembled (can be seen in my signature below).
However my excitement was short-lived, because when I got home and tried to install it, I couldn't!
I have a Xaser VI Thermaltake case, which is quite big (605 x 250 x 660 mm), and apparently the PSU is located at the top, not the bottom.
Because of that, the rails that hold the PSU prevented me from installing the radiator over the exhaust fan at the back - ruining the rest of my day.
Luckily the guys at the shop were understanding enough to let me trade it for something more conventional, such as an over-sized, multi-award winning air cooler...and I took the bait without asking twice - I was desperate.
Since I purchased an LGA2011 CPU they gave me the Noctua D14 LGA2011 special edition.
And I have to say that I am not regretting it in the least!
A buddy of mine showed me where to get a CPU temp monitoring program, I put it in the background, and went on to play several games in succession.
After about 4 hours I went back to the temp program and results were really impressive:
Core 1 - 40C
Core 2 - 41C
Core 3 - 38C
Core 4 - 40C
Maximum temperature - 51C (Core 2)
Now a bit about the product itself.
Aside from the insane amount of Styrofoam packing, the cooler comes neat and clean, the instructions are very clear - both verbal and visual, there are spare parts in an event you are nervous and things slip between your fingers (in the event you are an amateur idiot who drools over all things shiny, do us all a big favor and let a professional or a lab do it for you).
The only real trouble I had was with two spring screws that had to go in together, but me being a very physical guy I tend to be overly tender with all things electronic, expensive and new (the cooler is not that expensive - about 75$) so it might just be a problem for me.
The package comes with its own tube of thermal grease, so no need to panic if you don't have any.
The cooler by itself is very impressive, with a 120mm fan sandwiched between two massive heat-sinks and another 120mm in the front (with a net weight of just a little over 1000g).
I probably should point out that having an X79 chipset means I have a built-in back-plate, therefore I had considerably less work to do to install it, where as a user with any other socket will have to first remove the motherboard to install the back-plate.
Also important to mention is that the fans run between 400-900 RPM, meaning you never hear them (unless you have an open-case system, and even then they are pretty silent).
All in all, a very good cooler, compatible with any socket out there, both Intel and AMD.
Also read several post from people who have it and managed to achieve stable high-grade overclocking on CPUs like the i7 920 (2.6GHz to 4.2GHz).
Hope this review hold up to the standards of the forum.
If doesn't, tell me how to improve it.
If it does, then I will be posting reviews of the rest of my new hardware, piece by piece.
DRift, signing out
