Fractal R5 & Dual NZXT Kraken X41 possible for Xeon build?

Enclosures and acoustic damping to help quiet them.

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KuniD
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Joined: Fri Feb 25, 2005 6:49 am
Location: UK

Fractal R5 & Dual NZXT Kraken X41 possible for Xeon build?

Post by KuniD » Wed Dec 23, 2015 11:05 am

I'm building a dual Xeon workstation/NAS and I'm trying to minimise noise (appreciate that can be difficult with two CPU's and loads of drives!)

Right now the spec I have is:

Asus Z10PA-D8 dual CPU motherboard (Intel C612 chipset)
2 x E5 2630 V3 (8C/16T, 85w TDP) or E5 2670 V3 (12C/24T, 105w TDP each)
4 x Crucial 8GB DDR4 ECC/Reg
Fractal Design Define R5
PSU TBC
8 x SATA 4-6TB drives

I'm looking to watercool the the CPU's, which I am still sourcing. Max TDP will be 105w per CPU.

My question is:

1) The review for the NZXT Kraken X41 looks promising, is it a good match for a 105w Xeon E5?

2) Can I fit two X41's in a Fractal Design Define R5? If possible and keeping in mind the 8 hard drives (which rules out the front of case position), where would you recommend I mount the radiators? Is placing both of them at the top work, I'm guessing I'd need to remove the 5.25" cage?

3) Should I be considering a different setup to the X41's or AIO watercooling at all?
Thanks!

CA_Steve
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Re: Fractal R5 & Dual NZXT Kraken X41 possible for Xeon buil

Post by CA_Steve » Wed Dec 23, 2015 1:27 pm

These Xeon's are CPU-only. What gfx card is going in the case? low or high TDP gpu can skew our answers. :)

The X41 isn't particularly quiet: 20dB with the stock fan/pump at lowest setting. You'd probably be better off with either a custom pump/loop solution or with two air coolers.

quest_for_silence
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Re: Fractal R5 & Dual NZXT Kraken X41 possible for Xeon buil

Post by quest_for_silence » Wed Dec 23, 2015 3:23 pm

KuniD wrote:1) The review for the NZXT Kraken X41 looks promising, is it a good match for a 105w Xeon E5?

More probably that not it's just enough, I mean, it wouldn't be particularly quiet nor particularly performing. Maybe the Fractal AIOs (Kelvin) might be better suited, at least mechanical-wise.

KuniD wrote:2) Can I fit two X41's in a Fractal Design Define R5?

KuniD wrote:3) Should I be considering a different setup to the X41's or AIO watercooling at all?

A custom loop with low FPI radiator(s) and low restriction components.

KuniD
Posts: 78
Joined: Fri Feb 25, 2005 6:49 am
Location: UK

Re: Fractal R5 & Dual NZXT Kraken X41 possible for Xeon buil

Post by KuniD » Thu Dec 31, 2015 5:52 am

Thanks for coming back to me guys. After experiencing some problems sourcing the motherboard and CPU's I wanted I'm opting for a single Xeon system instead and sticking with aircooling!

Will create a new thread in that forum.

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