Need advice on a different CPU cooler for this spec

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CameronEL

Member
Hey all! I just made a long-overdue splurge on a brand new PC and I am not happy with the noise levels of the CPU cooler. The fans are a lot louder than I'd really like - between 38-42 decibels while idling. This is not something that came up while researching the parts but now after some more specific Googling, I've discovered that the pump on the Corsair iCUE H100i ELITE CAPELLIX cannot, will not, ever go below 2200 RPM even on quiet mode and there will be no firmware update to fix this. It IS white noise, so it's not terrible, but I don't really want to have spent this much money on a system I'm not 100% happy with.

I'm still within the 14 day cooling off period, so if I were to return it and reorder, what's a quieter cooling system you could recommend to go with this spec?

Usage: Work - professional design & marketing work with heavy use of Adobe Creative Suite and very large files. Play - I haven't had my own PC capable of decent gaming for a long time, but now that I do, nothing hardcore competitive but certainly the likes of Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Monster Hunter, bit of FFXIV and Overwatch.

Budget: The below came to £2642 - I'd prefer not to go over £2700 but have some wiggle room.

Other notes: I wouldn't mind changing the case if needed. She's a beauty but pretty big, so I would happily downsize if I could get away with a smaller cooling unit. Also, I'm not seeing this one listed as available anymore & until I can phone up, I'm not sure if I can return this for a partial swap or if it has to be a full return and re-order.

In both case and cooling system, good airflow and performance are more important to me than aesthetics - it sits under my desk so an RGB light show falls under "fun but not necessary".

Case
LIAN LI LANCOOL II GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 9 5950X 16 Core CPU (3.4GHz-4.9GHz/72MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF X570-PLUS GAMING WIFI (USB 3.2 Gen 2, PCIe 4.0, CrossFireX) - RGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3070 Ti - HDMI, DP, LHR
1st Storage Drive
500GB Samsung 870 EVO 2.5" SSD, SATA 6Gb/s (up to 560MB/sR | 530MB/sW)
1st Storage Drive
2TB Samsung 870 QVO 2.5" SSD, SATA 6Gb/s (up to 560MB/sR | 530MB/sW)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair iCUE H100i ELITE CAPELLIX RGB Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 11 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00003]

EDIT: Link to reconfigure https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/Jaegmz3Qjy/
 
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C

CameronEL

Member
Which Frostflow are you using?

I don't know too much about the ins & outs of cooling - having read the forums here, the Corsair H115I RGB PRO XT seems to come more recommended for this CPU, but I am not doing seriously heavy gaming so I'm unsure if it's needed. I'm also gathering that the case might factor more into noise levels as well.
 
G

gigachip

Member
CameronEL said:
Which Frostflow are you using?

I don't know too much about the ins & outs of cooling - having read the forums here, the Corsair H115I RGB PRO XT seems to come more recommended for this CPU, but I am not doing seriously heavy gaming so I'm unsure if it's needed. I'm also gathering that the case might factor more into noise levels as well.
Click to expand...
PCS FrostFlow 100 V3 Series High Performance CPU Cooler on an i5 11600kf chip. I have a PCS PRISM-X ARGB MID TOWER CASE with 5 fans which keeps everything nice and cool. Each build is different, I feel, when it comes to dealing with heat generated by chips and gpu's. I believe case choice and fans built into it play a vital part in making sure the cooling employed on chips and gpu's gets as much help possible.
I am sure others will be along to offer their knowledge and solid experience on these things.
 
C

CameronEL

Member
gigachip said:
PCS FrostFlow 100 V3 Series High Performance CPU Cooler on an i5 11600kf chip. I have a PCS PRISM-X ARGB MID TOWER CASE with 5 fans which keeps everything nice and cool. Each build is different, I feel, when it comes to dealing with heat generated by chips and gpu's. I believe case choice and fans built into it play a vital part in making sure the cooling employed on chips and gpu's gets as much help possible.
I am sure others will be along to offer their knowledge and solid experience on these things.
Click to expand...
That's a beautiful looking case! I'm eyeing up the white one in the event I can/should change cases as well.
 
C

CameronEL

Member
I should say I'm happy to hear any other feedback or suggestions as well? I am a bit gutted that this build has this one annoying flaw so if I am returning it, I want to get the next one spot on!
 
JUNI0R

JUNI0R

VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
CameronEL said:
I should say I'm happy to hear any other feedback or suggestions as well? I am a bit gutted that this build has this one annoying flaw so if I am returning it, I want to get the next one spot on!
Click to expand...
I have one of the PCS Frostfow AIO's (what you'd need for a 5950X) and it's not the quietest thing. It's not loud but it's noticable, I'd be very surprised if a Capellix is louder, the ML fans that come with them are meant to be pretty quiet.

Realistically, if you're finding the Capellix too loud, there's either an issue with the unit, or you'd be best looking outside the options PCS provides and fitting it yourself (which wouldn't void your warranty)
 
SpyderTracks

SpyderTracks

We love you Ukraine
The H100i isn't enough for the 5950x and will be running at full tilt constantly to handle temps.

You really need a minimum of the H115i on that processor.

The frostflow wouldn't be able to cope at all, it would keel over instantly, it's by no means powerful enough.
 
Scott

Scott

Behold The Ford Mondeo
Moderator
To add, I wouldn't recommend any of the PCS cases for a high end build either. Obviously everything is subjective but if you were to sit a PrismX with a 100V3 next to what you have, it would sound like a jet by comparison (only based on everything you have working as it should).

The H100i isn't ideal for your chip, as suggested, but it certainly shouldn't be loud enough to hear under a desk on idle. This suggests a potential issue to me. Could you record the noise that it's making? Even with my pump on Maximum, I need to have my head near the case to hear the pump on my H115i.

Not sure what the maximum size of cooler you can fit on the LianLi (excellent case btw) but if you can get the H150i on there it would definitely make a big difference to the speed the fans need to operate at. Not so much the pump though.

Now, there are other things to consider as well. Is it definitely the pump you are hearing and not another component? I would recommend taking of the side panel and zoning in on the exact issue that's causing the noise.
 
C

CameronEL

Member
Scott said:
To add, I wouldn't recommend any of the PCS cases for a high end build either. Obviously everything is subjective but if you were to sit a PrismX with a 100V3 next to what you have, it would sound like a jet by comparison (only based on everything you have working as it should).

The H100i isn't ideal for your chip, as suggested, but it certainly shouldn't be loud enough to hear under a desk on idle. This suggests a potential issue to me. Could you record the noise that it's making? Even with my pump on Maximum, I need to have my head near the case to hear the pump on my H115i.

Not sure what the maximum size of cooler you can fit on the LianLi (excellent case btw) but if you can get the H150i on there it would definitely make a big difference to the speed the fans need to operate at. Not so much the pump though.

Now, there are other things to consider as well. Is it definitely the pump you are hearing and not another component? I would recommend taking of the side panel and zoning in on the exact issue that's causing the noise.
Click to expand...

The case is actually from PCS, but it's out of stock now (which is annoying since I can't test how other components fit). It's a lot bigger than I'm used to but certainly looks good, and it's quite roomy so I think there's a chance the H150i might fit. We'll see. I didn't want the hassle of figuring out what fits and sending in my own case, as I'm not that savvy with home builds.

Regarding the noise, I can absolutely hear it sitting at my desk and from outside the room too. Attached a link to a couple of videos - quality isn't the best but you can hear it. I'm reasonably confident it's the AIO unit's fans as the noise seems louder from the top, but it's hard to distinguish one fan from the other when leaning in close.

https://imgur.com/a/05cERGs

It's bizarre because my mate's build has the same processor, (although the RTX 2060 for a GPU) and is using a Corsair H80i and it sits silent and happy around a cool 40-50 degrees. So I thought this would be fine. Mind you he doesn't really game on it, it's a photo editing workstation for him, but it's nearly silent on idle.
 
Scott

Scott

Behold The Ford Mondeo
Moderator
CameronEL said:
https://imgur.com/a/05cERGs
Click to expand...

Yeah that's definitely not right. Shouldn't sound anything like that. It needs some investigation to narrow down what's doing that.

That sounds like everything is on max fans, including the case. Can you take a screenshot of the iCue cooler configuration?

BTW, by PCS cases.... I meant PCS branded cases. The case you have is a good one, I was more referring to the PrismX type of thing.
 
C

CameronEL

Member
Had some help and yeah, I'm wrong - it's all the case fans combined, not the AIO fans. Had already set the case fans to silent in the BIOS so I didn't think that could be the issue. I'll have a crack at tweaking the fan settings more.

Sorry for the confusion, I'm squeezing looking into this between long work hours & not running on nearly enough sleep to troubleshoot this and the noise direction was tough to pinpoint!
 
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