I actually spent 4 hours last evening researching the new Corsair H100i GTX. At full blast it's an ear splitting 37+ dB. Saw a You Tube video and it was loud! I thought, no problem, I'll add Noctua fans and run it on Quiet mode. Except then I read that there is a problem with third party fans being detected.
![Sad :(](./images/smilies/icon_sad.gif)
I won't bother to list all if the CLC kits I have researched. I just read the Kraken x41 review posted here at SPCR. My local Micro Center has them in stock. But I have no idea if I can overclock on it.
Relevant specs:
Asus X99-A
i7 5820k
16GB Corsair Vengeance LPX 2666MHz DDR4 (NOT the weird ones with the spikes on the heat sinks). I'm just guessing, but maybe LPX means low profile something.
![Wink ;)](./images/smilies/icon_wink.gif)
Fractal Design Define 4
I want to front mount it as I do not want to open the ModuVents on the top. It will be quieter in the bottom too. Both drives cages are removed and it will be much easier to mount it there. I watched a video where a slim 240 slid right into the front fan bracket quite nicely including the dust screen. It was very, very slick. The Kraken X41 is a little chubby at 36mm and won't fit in the bracket, but there is enough room behind either front fan to mount it. I'm hoping to manage a push/pull to maybe wring a bit more performance out of it. I am grateful SPCR uses Noctua fans as reference fans. Lawrence commented in the review about the price. He'd probably be shocked adding one or two fans to that price. But I am feeling a little desperate and have run out of other options. The Kraken X61 looked great but the hole fastening space is too wide at 20 to fit my case.
I have done air cooling for close to 20 years and want to venture into water. So please no suggesting a big air cooler. I pulled an HR-02 Macho off of my Sandy Bridge when I swapped boards. I was able to do a modest OC easily. I see CLC as the bridge between it and someday building a custom loop. But I am not prepared to do that now.
So to get back to this thread title, is the Kraken X41 going to be enough to do a modest OC on this hot Haswell-E chip? Is it enough to keep it cool if I happened to get lucky in the chip binning lottery? Will a push/pull config add to the cooling enough?
Thanks in advance!