AIO Cooler Advice for M-ITX Build

[TY-1]

I'm currently building a Mini-ITX build to be use as part of my home office, gaming, and HD media viewing. I have most of the parts already picked out, ordered, or owned but i find myself going back and forth on the AIO Cooler. I'm using a Bitfenix Prodigy that I got on sale for $59.99 and I had thought to put the Corsair H80i in it because I was also putting in an optical drive for blu-ray and didin't have the space for a H100i. Another forum member suggested that I look at the NZXT Kraken X40 instead of the H80i, citing that the X40 performed better. The reviews I have found, both on AnandTech and other sites seem to show the X40 and H80i trading blows pretty equally with each other, with fan control software and noise level being the two points of major contention.

My plan for placing the H80i was to put it in the front of the Prodigy rather than in the back as exhaust so I could get nice fresh, cool air going through the rad. When I checked the Prodigy to see if I could mount the X40 I found that it would mount in back as exhaust but the front 140mm mount area buts up against he optical drive cage, so I had thought that had made my decision for me by eliminating the X40. However, upon further examination of the mounting area I suddenly had the realization that I could still fit the X40 as front intake by simply rotating 90 degrees on the 140mm mount area (meaning that rather than having the reservoir and tubes on the top/bottom they would be on the sides).

The issue I'm finding now is to go with the Corsair H80i or the NZXT Kraken X40. Which is the better AIO? If I go with the X40 will my mounting solution work and not cause a cooling issue because it will be mounted differently than usual? If I go with the X40 should I replace the included 140mm fan with a better fan (ie. Noctua NF-A14 FLX, Noctua NF-A14 ULN) as the included fan is cited as being a bit noisy in most reviews?

Any advice and recommendations that anyone can offer would be much appreciated as this is the last part of the build that I am still trying to decide upon.

 

[Mushkins]

They're both solid units, the choice comes down to what you are trying to do with this build. Is noise a concern for you? Are you planning to overclock and need the absolute best cooling possible?

As for the orientation of the pipes, turning the rad so it will fit is a non-issue, however depending on the design of the case switching from front intake > rear exhaust to rear intake > front exhaust might not be the most optimal airflow. Even so, it's typically the difference of a few degrees and will still work if you really need it to.

Also keep in mind if you're swapping fans that many of the "quiet" fans stay quiet by being designed to push less air or generally spin slower. Which means they may be quieter, but they may not be as efficient at actually displacing the heat from the heatsink. I remember the original H80 anandtech review said the stock fans are a really good balance of noise and power, and I haven't personally had any issues with them. Not sure if they use the same fans on the H80i.

 

[Topweasel]

They use even better fans on the H80i and the fan speeds are software adjustable. Kind of jealous of my brothers H80i versus my H80.

In the end I liked setting up both mine and my brothers H80's as an exhuast. Mainly because if you have proper air flow in the case, I would rather have the CPU heat immediately dumped outside. Seems like it would be an even worse idea in an itx setup (that said I will being exactly this with an H100 next year in the M1). In a perfect world you would have a Blower type GPU and the H80/X40 exhaust and have a nice good front inlet. But in the end I don't see this as a major issue as long as you understand that you are basically raising the GPU temp up by lowering the CPU temp that way. You decide which you would rather keep cooler.

As for which is better. I like the idea of easy control over fan speed.

 

[dma0991]

I vote for Corsair H80i. 120mm sized radiators have more choices when it comes to fans. Its mounting method is far superior to the ring styled mounting when it comes to ease of installation. Mounting at the back doesn't automatically make it an exhaust. Invert the fan position and you'll have it sucking in fresh air. Only mount it at the front if the double thickness radiator causes clearance issues or you're using a blower style GPU.

The Noctua isn't necessarily a better fan. For it to be silent, there's a performance tradeoff as the Corsair fans should outperform it. Both fans work fine but I'll take the faster one as fans are sufficiently quiet around the 1kRPM range.

 

[TY-1]

I've used both the Corsair H80i and the NZXT Kraken X40 in builds for other people before, usually because that is what they asked for o what they budgeted for. The Corsair fans are pretty decent so I don't think I would replace them, but the fan on the X40 gets loud when the cooler gets put in "Extreme" performance mode so I would probably only replace the fan on the X40 with two fans to do push pull on it. I've never had problems with either mount when it comes to attaching to the motherboard so that really isn't a concern. My plan for either is to have the rad (with push/pull config) in the front, repositioning one of the Bitfenix 120mm fans in the roof blowing right down onto the motherboard, and either keeping the other 120mm Bitfenix fan as exhaust or switching it out with another 140mm for exhaust in the back.

I've just been stuck on which option, H80i or X40, is the better solution for my build. I kind of like Corsair Link as the better control software, but the X40 performs about 5 degrees better when in a push/pull config once the fan is replaced.

 

[dma0991]

but the X40 performs about 5 degrees better when in a push/pull config once the fan is replaced.

If you're basing that assumption from reviews, it might not turn out the same. I'm thinking that Corsair H80i with its stock fan will equal the Kraken X40 with Noctua fans in push pull.

The Kraken X40 has a high FPI radiator and low FPI on the Corsair H80i. High FPI radiators will have better performance IF you have high static pressure fans that are fast(explains why stock NZXT fans are fast and loud). By replacing with fans that are slow and does not emphasize on static pressure, you'll unlikely to see that 5C improvement.