low noise cooler for I7 860 LGA1156

[sgeva2001]

I will use I7 860 cpu_case LGA1156 , RAM 4GBYTE , VIDEO CARD HD5670 , HD 2TBYTE, MB GigaByte P55A-UD3. case p182 or p183. PS of 500 watt.
case p182 or p183
looking for low noise HS and fans for cpu I7 860.
I will not do over clk.
Prefer HS which is fanless and can support my cpu without too much rise in temp.
what you think about :
Noctua NH-D14? or Noctua NH-U12P?
MUGEN 2?
Hyper Z600 ?
Scythe NINJA MINI 6Heat Pipes CPU Cooler?
Cooler Master V8 ?

thank you

[BlackWhizz]

The mugen or a Thermalright HR01.

[ces]

The mugen or a Thermalright HR01.

If fanless is important, I vote for the Hr-01 plus. Turn your case exhaust fan around and use the optional HR-01 air duct (red one is short the blue one is longer) to feed it cool external air)

If access to your motherboard is important, again it is the Hr-01.

If higher cooling capacity is important, then the Noctua NH-D14, though the Mugen is close enough so that there may not be that much difference between the two, provided you are using reasonably strong fans in both instances.

If cost is most important, than the Mugen.

[quest_for_silence]

IME no fanless heatsink may cool adequately an i7 on (really) high loads, right now.

If you will never load it, you may try the usual passive champions (but the different - from the old school LGA775 cpu - heatspreader may even interfere).

Anyway, several fanned Scythe (maybe except the Ninja Mini), Noctua or Thermalright may do the job fine (I mean cool it very quietly), while I don't know the bulkiest CM.

About fans, Scythe and Nexus (and perhaps some NMB) may have a slight advantage on Noctuas or other good brand (Akasa, Enermax, TR, et c.) ones, as inherent quietness, but motherboard has its importance, due to the ability to slow them down (as an example, I was able to run the same 12cm PWM Scythe at 380rpm on a MSI mb, while nothing less than 720rpm on a DFI one).

Regards,
Luca

[ces]

IME no fanless heatsink may cool adequately an i7 on (really) high loads, right now.

If you will never load it, you may try the usual passive champions (but the different - from the old school LGA775 cpu - heatspreader may even interfere).

Anyway, several fanned Scythe (maybe except the Ninja Mini), Noctua or Thermalright may do the job fine (I mean cool it very quietly), while I don't know the bulkiest CM.

About fans, Scythe and Nexus (and perhaps some NMB) may have a slight advantage on Noctuas or other good brand (Akasa, Enermax, TR, et c.) ones, as inherent quietness, but motherboard has its importance, due to the ability to slow them down (as an example, I was able to run the same 12cm PWM Scythe at 380rpm on a MSI mb, while nothing less than 720rpm on a DFI one).

Regards,
Luca

Are you sure an HR-01 plus using the optional air duct channeling air in from the case fan, can't handle an i7? With a low speed nexus and no duct, SPRC testing showed that it matched the performance of the Prolimatech (though admittedly it fell behind as the fan speed was increased).

[lodestar]

Looking at the system the OP is proposing, I would ask the question why an i7 860? The 860, like all i7s, is a performance CPU and its Turbo Boost feature means that even without overclocking it could be a challenge to keep cool. I am not sure that spending money on this type of CPU for a mid-range gaming system is worth it, since the main factor in terms of gaming performance will be the graphics card not the CPU. The Core i3 530 would be a better choice. And if, when, it is overclocked the 530 will go to 4.0Ghz fairly easily and will not consume too much power in the process.

The issue of which CPU cooler may also be a question of what's available. Here in the UK for example the HR-01 Plus is nowhere to be found. I agree with ces that in combination with the optional duct it should be an option because of its outstanding performance at low fan rpms. So I would suggest that the Mugen 2 Rev.B would be a good choice for either the 860 or 530. At idle, both of these CPUs downclock to 1.2 Ghz and underclock by default. So a large cooler like the Mugen 2 together with its PWM fan will give a very quiet idle. Under load, such as gaming the PWM fan will speed up in line with the increasing temperatures of the CPU cores.

It might also be worth looking at the Scythe Yasya, which should have a similar performance to the Mugen 2. It has a PWM fan with a manual Low/High switch which may help if you want enhanced cooling when gaming.

[ces]

It might also be worth looking at the Scythe Yasya, which should have a similar performance to the Mugen 2. It has a PWM fan with a manual Low/High switch which may help if you want enhanced cooling when gaming.

I was hoping that the Scythe Yasya would be a good performer. I found an early review and it was somewhat disappointing. Though its hard to form an early opinion until at least a few different reviews have been done.

[sgeva2001]

I7 8xx has lower power then other I7 900 family.
Max TDP 95 W
while I7 9xx Max TDP 130 W.
A great diff!!
But I want to undersatnd.
Can I control the temp point at which a fan cooler will start work? or even to disable it by a proper program.
If the answer is yes then is not better and safer to take a cooler with good HS and with a fan for safe with low noise?
which cooler is best along this thought?

thank you

[lodestar]

You can't just go on TDP with Core i7s. For example these are some figures from guru3D for normal and overclocked power consumption for a Core i7 870. Like the 860 the 870 has a TDP of 95w. (System consumption in watts measured at the wall):

Stock (2.93 GHz)
133x22
idle: 124
100% CPU load: 162

Overclocked (4.1 GHz)
188x22 1.425v
idle: 137
100% CPU load: 295

That's another 130w at the wall just for a fairly modest 4.1Ghz overclock. Even if you don't overclock Turbo Boost on the 860/870 is somewhat more aggressive than a Core i7 930. The 930 has just one bin for all four cores. The 860/870 have four bins i.e. for the 870 stock is 2.93Ghz and bin four is 3.6Ghz, involving varying numbers of cores. This will have implications for power consumption and cooling.

[lodestar]

But I want to undersatnd.
Can I control the temp point at which a fan cooler will start work? or even to disable it by a proper program.
If the answer is yes then is not better and safer to take a cooler with good HS and with a fan for safe with low noise?
which cooler is best along this thought?

I would say first of all make a choice of CPU cooler based on what you can afford, and what is available in your locality. Second if the cooler comes with a fan, like the Scythe Mugen 2, then use it. The Scythe Mugen 2 fan is PWM which is an automatic fan control system which your motherboard has. PWM fans require a four pin socket. You can buy CPU coolers without fans, but then you have to choose a fan yourself.

The fan with the Mugen 2 has a 300-1200 rpm range, and when your proposed new system is idling the CPU will be relatively cool, and the fan will run typically at around 300/400 rpm. That is quiet. Under load it might not go much above 1000 rpm. The PWM automatic fan control will be affected by the ambient temperature. In a hot room the PWM fan will run faster because the CPU is hotter.

To control a PWM fan there is software such as SpeedFan, see http://www.almico.com/speedfan.php.

[sgeva2001]

thank you for all I learned till now from you.
It is important for me the noise level and I do not have limit about how much it cost.
All the cooler mention till now are in my country.
The better the HS is , the more chance I have that the speed /noise of the fan will be lower.
So again we come to the question :
1. What is the best HS ?
2. What is the best fan for low noise & good air flow?
3. What is the best cooler which come along with a good fan?

thank you

[ces]

thank you for all I learned till now from you.
It is important for me the noise level and I do not have limit about how much it cost.
All the cooler mention till now are in my country.
The better the HS is , the more chance I have that the speed /noise of the fan will be lower.
So again we come to the question :
1. What is the best HS ?
2. What is the best fan for low noise & good air flow?
3. What is the best cooler which come along with a good fan?

thank you

Prolimatch Megahalem - as good as anyone could ask for (equal to to the HR-01 plus when running a single 7v Nexus fan - approaches the performance Noctua if both are using dual 12v Nexus fans) (nice petite size) It is good enough that some reviewers have rated it as better than the Noctua

ThermalRight Venomous X - as good as anyone could ask for (nice petite size) It is good enough that some reviewers have rated it as better than the Noctua

Noctua d14 - good cooling if you use strong fans - maybe the best - but you need strong fans to get performance out of it (comes with 2 fans but it works better if you replace them with Nexus fans). It has the largest fin array (in square centimeters) of any CPU cooler that I am aware of. BEST BET FOR EXTREME OVERCLOCKING USING 3 FANS

Mugen 2 - good cooling if you use strong fans (comes with a good fan)

Thermalright HR-01 plus with optional duct - low noise & good air flow BEST BET FOR QUIET BECAUSE YOU CAN USE IT WITHOUT ITS OWN FAN AND USE YOUR CASE FAN TO FEED IT FRESH AIR WITH THE DUCT (SO YOU HAVE ONE LESS FAN)

=============

None of these are bad. None of them are loud. You will likely be as happy with any one of them as with any other. Advice any more specific than this is advice that incorporates artificial accuracy.

[quest_for_silence]

The Scythe Mugen 2 fan is PWM which is an automatic fan control system which your motherboard has.

It also depends of the motherboard.

For example ASUS often do nice jobs with PWM fans, my DFI LP JR on the contrary don't (I was not able to disable the BIOS CPU fan control).

So, just take care of it.

Regards,
Luca

[sgeva2001]

ces

thank you very much for your time and very good review you give me.
thanks also to all other for your help.
I will go on Noctua d14 with 1 center fan.
I want to keep open option if I need over clk in the futur.
I hope it will be low noise . if not I will replace the fan as you suggest.
i understand that I can not work with HS of Noctua d14 and disable the center fan (without over clk mode) even if my MB GigaByte P55A-UD3 support it? (which I am not sure )

[ces]

i understand that I can not work with HS of Noctua d14 and disable the center fan (without over clk mode) even if my MB GigaByte P55A-UD3 support it? (which I am not sure )

If you are asking if you can use the Noctua without any fan. That is asking a lot with an I7 860. Your motherboard should permit you to try doing it though. Try it and see what happens. I bet it would work if you use a 500rpm Gentle Typhoon as a middle fan. I would experiment with either a 500rpm Gentle Typhoon as a middle fan or a Nexus fan operating under 7 volts as a middle fan.

[sgeva2001]

I can not try lower voltages with the fan of Noctua d14?

[quest_for_silence]

I can not try lower voltages with the fan of Noctua d14?

There's no a clear answer, according to me: it has a starting voltage of ~4.8V, which equals to just a bit less than ~500rpm.

But often you can't start so low with it, but reducing the voltage while the 14cm fan is already spinning at a higher speed.

Regards,
Luca

[Zorander]

Funny how people are saying that the i7 cannot be cooled passively as this is exactly what I'm doing with my i7-860 under a Megahalem. With just a 900rpm Glacialtech fan blowing out of my trusty P180, I am getting 30-35C idle and no more than 60C at load. I do have the top intake hole open/uninhabited so there is some cool air flowing down to the heatsink but I am nonetheless cooling the CPU passively.

Cheers!

[ilovejedd]

Funny how people are saying that the i7 cannot be cooled passively as this is exactly what I'm doing with my i7-860 under a Megahalem. With just a 900rpm Glacialtech fan blowing out of my trusty P180, I am getting 30-35C idle and no more than 60C at load. I do have the top intake hole open/uninhabited so there is some cool air flowing down to the heatsink but I am nonetheless cooling the CPU passively.

I think the problem is people automatically equate i7 to Bloomfields. I'm actually pleasantly surprised when I started reading reviews about Lynnfield and saw how much less power it used compared to Bloomfield. It seems to be on an even footing with Yorkfield. I reckon if a cooler can passively cool a Yorkfield, it should be able to handle a Lynnfield as well.

[quest_for_silence]

With just a 900rpm Glacialtech fan blowing out of my trusty P180, I am getting 30-35C idle and no more than 60C at load.

Which load, and how temperatures are recorded?

Regards,
Luca

[Zorander]

With just a 900rpm Glacialtech fan blowing out of my trusty P180, I am getting 30-35C idle and no more than 60C at load.

Which load, and how temperatures are recorded?

Regards,
Luca

I use readings from Speedfan. Ambient temperature hovers around 25C.

My typical loads are games, which currently are SupCom 1, SupCom 2 and Batman Arkham Asylum. All are run at maximum graphics settings.

Cheers!

[quest_for_silence]

My typical loads are games

May you kindly - whenever it's possible - perform a 15min session with 8 CPUBurn (or Prime95) and 1 FurMark 1.80 stability test at your typical games resolution?

It will be very much appreciated.

Regards,
Luca

[Zorander]

I did a 15min run with Prime95. All cores slowly heated up and peaked at 90C. There were 0 errors and 0 warnings.

I suppose this Prime95 is one of the 'worst' way you can heat up a CPU with?

[ilovejedd]

I did a 15min run with Prime95. All cores slowly heated up and peaked at 90C. There were 0 errors and 0 warnings.

I suppose this Prime95 is one of the 'worst' way you can heat up a CPU with?

Not necessarily. IntelBurnTest, in my experience, taxes the processor a bit more.

Apex DM-387 w/275 Flex PSU
ECS 945GCT-M/1333
Intel Pentium Dual-Core E6300 2.8GHz
Scythe Shuriken SCSK-1000
Kingston 2GB DDR2 SDRAM
Sapphire Radeon HD4550
Western Digital 320GB WD320AAKS
LG Blu-ray/HD-DVD combo drive

idle: 70W, 35C
Prime95: 110W, 48C
IntelBurnTest: 115W, 53C

[quest_for_silence]

I suppose this Prime95 is one of the 'worst' way you can heat up a CPU with?

First of all, thanks a lot for Your help, Zorander.

Then, when I previously said:

IME no fanless heatsink may cool adequately an i7 on (really) high loads, right now.

If you will never load it, you may try the usual passive champions

I've meant that it all depends on what the meaning of the word 'load' is.

Personally, when I do a "silent" build I try to obtain sort of a rock solid setting: the system has to stay cool even in the worst case scenario, while being as quiet as possible. Often it does mean I can't passively cool a CPU, or a GPU, at least if they are enough powerful.

Nevertheless it's just (part of) my own trade-off.

About the worst way to load a cpu, I don't know which is the one: I just use the usual SPCR analysis tools.
In my experience Prime95 is on par with CPUBurn P6 with Intel chips, and to be preferred when stressing AMD ones (but there are lots of dependable tools, such as Orthos).

Thank You again,

regards,
Luca

[Zirbmonkey]

I have a Hyper Z600 on my AMD PIIX4 810, and I initially had it as a completely passive cooler. I also have a passively cooled ATI 4670, in the case. Air flow is only from the 2 case fans (front bottom and top back) of a Sileo 500.

Then I started to transcode, and decided to put an 800RPM fan on it "just in case" since it made it run at full load for hours. I've never had an issue with overheating, and it can definetly run completely passive.

Downstairs is my OCed i7 920, with a Megahalems and Scythe PWM fan. It normally ides at about 500-800 RPM, and jumps to about 1100 RPM when trans coding. If I didn't have it OCed, I'd definetly be able to run the case with passive cooling. the 4 case fans in the Cosmos 1000 keep plenty of air flow moving.

...

If you want a completely passive system, I'd vote for the Mugen 2, Noctuas, or Hyper. I'd skip the V8 and be cautious of the ninja mini