How lound are Corsair's watercoolers?

[dennilfloss]

I've never tried watercooling but I am interested in those self-contained units by Corsair (namely H60 & H80i) for my next build as they seem quite compact compared to an air cooler (I understand it's because the fan is displaced to a position against the case). Since they still have not only a fan but also a pump, are they louder than a similarly-performanced air cooler? Or is their fan running at a lower speed and their pump pretty silent? Reviews on NCIX seem mixed, with a grinding noise being mentioned.

Then again, I may decide to get a Noctua NH-D15.

Thanks in advance.

 

[dennilfloss]

OK. Just found a video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cga1NfqA5A

 

[Aikouka]

I still have an H50 and an H55 lying around, so I hooked them both up to a PSU to check their noise. I found the smaller H55 to be noisier than the H50, but both of them have that grinding noise (it sounds like air bubbles in the loop). They aren't terribly noisy, but as someone that has run a custom water loop, they're definitely noisier than I would prefer. That really just comes down to running a small (H50) and smaller (H55) pump at full-speed without the proper bleeding.

Of course, that's just considering the pump's noise, which I found to be the relatively worst aspect when I used it since you can easily reduce the voltage to the fans. However, if I remember correctly, Corsair advises against putting the pump on a controlled line.

 

[MongGrel]

NH-D14 IMHO, but knock yourself out.

Yeah, I guess the newer ones are out.

I'd say the 15, but have never used one.

 

[coffeejunkee]

Air coolers have a better perf/noise/price-ratio. AIO's can have better perf but it comes at the price of more noise. They work better with high rpm fans than air coolers. Just look at the fanspeeds, H80i: 2700rpm, NH-D14: 1300rpm.

Models like the H110 with 140mm fans do better on the noise front. But your case must be compatible.

 

[mistersprinkles]

I love my NHD14. I'll never buy AIO water. Ever.

 

[z1ggy]

IMO you either go custom water loop, or a beefy air cooler. No real reason to get AIO as the priceerf isn't really worth it.

You're probably fine on air with good cable management.

 

[ethebubbeth]

I got a refurb H100 from Newegg for $50. It's pretty quiet and I find it a worthwhile purchase. Note that I have not tried the stock fans, I replaced them with AP-15 Gentle Typhoons running at 7V. Temps dropped a ton over a cheap NZXT RC-RST20-01 120mm air cooler.

I have an H110 that I mounted on a video card with an NZXT G10 bracket, it's noisier because you can hear bubbles in the pump. However, the pump is mounted upside down horizontally on the vid card which might be the cause of the additional noise.

 

[coffeejunkee]

I got a refurb H100 from Newegg for $50. It's pretty quiet and I find it a worthwhile purchase. Note that I have not tried the stock fans, I replaced them with AP-15 Gentle Typhoons running at 7V. Temps dropped a ton over a cheap NZXT RC-RST20-01 120mm air cooler.

I have an H110 that I mounted on a video card with an NZXT G10 bracket, it's noisier because you can hear bubbles in the pump. However, the pump is mounted upside down horizontally on the vid card which might be the cause of the additional noise.

Not really a fair comparison eh? That's about as low-end an aircooler can be with just 3 heatpipes. If you had spent the $50 on a TR Macho you would have seen a huge improvement as well.

 

[Topweasel]

My H100i pump is whisper quiet. I had an issue that sounded like wheezing and I thought it was the pump, turned out to be electrical noise due to the fans. Side note make sure your fans don't require to much power to start spinning if you do they won't work plugged directly into the Corsair (which means no software management).

My H80 in my main computer though has a distinct pump sound, very light, but I can register it if I tried.

 

[aigomorla]

I love my NHD14. I'll never buy AIO water. Ever.

I said that also until I required it in a build where no air sink outside the stock heat sink could make clearance...

Then I had no choice but to use an AIO, so id say never say never, unless u NEVER will build an ITX build.

 

[CDC Mail Guy]

I love my NHD14. I'll never buy AIO water. Ever.

Ditto. Keeps my 8350 below 20C when idle, and around 33 - 35C when gaming

 

[lehtv]

Ditto. Keeps my 8350 below 20C when idle, and around 33 - 35C when gaming

Is your ambient temperature 15C?

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Ditto. Keeps my 8350 below 20C when idle, and around 33 - 35C when gaming

Ditto +1. You can ask Aigomorla: It's one of his key factors supporting water-cooling. In principle, AC is thermally-limited for an overclock; WC is voltage-limited.

But I don't feel thermally limited for the voltage range I choose as a target. Eventually, as I plan to build another serious machine, I may get a D15 just to see. . . . If the bench reviews show it favored by 6C against the D14, I can turn that into something between 6 and 10C better than the review shows it. Confidence is high, anyway . . .

 

[Essence_of_War]

Ditto. Keeps my 8350 below 20C when idle, and around 33 - 35C when gaming

Are you reading back HWInfo or something like that? AMD does not publish its offsets so those aren't the actual temperatures. Unless you're doing this in a room that's 10-15C or lower.