Upgrade question

[marklcfc]

I received an email from PC Specialist earlier as its been a year since I ordered my first PC from them. It's been spot on and haven't had any problems with it. They mentioned in the email about upgrades and that led me to wonder about a few things. The only thing I wish I'd done was maybe have a slightly faster processor (I think the 3700x was suggested to me initially, and a better/quieter fan. I went with the Noctua fan but it's very noticeable and is always going off even when the computer isn't really doing a lot. Out of interest, what upgrades would be good for my setup?

Though I have to point out, I would need the upgrades carried out for me and it said in the email that a fee would be involved for that, any idea how much that is? I don't have the original packaging so I suppose that's another problem.

Send In Your Own Case (View Details)
Case Model:	Fractal Design Define 7 Compact
Case From:	Fractal Design Define 7 Compact Mid Tower Windowed PC Case Buy from Scan - Fractal Design Define 7 Compact, Mid Tower w/ Light Tint Tempered Glass Window, 120/140mm Fan, USB 3.1 C, ATX/mATX/mITX www.scan.co.uk
Processor (CPU)	AMD Ryzen 5 3600X Six Core CPU (3.8GHz-4.4GHz/36MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard	ASUS® TUF GAMING B550-PLUS (DDR4, USB 3.2, 6Gb/s) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)	16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3600MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card	8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 2060 SUPER - HDMI, DP - VR Ready!
1st Storage Drive	500GB Samsung 860 EVO 2.5" SSD, SATA 6Gb/s (up to 550MB/sR | 520MB/sW)
1st M.2 SSD Drive	500GB SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3500MB/R, 3200MB/W)
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	Noctua NH-U14S Ultra Quiet Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste	ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
LED Lighting	NONE
Sound Card	ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless Network Card	10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
USB/Thunderbolt Options	MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System	Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence
Operating System Language	United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media	Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software	FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus	NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser	Google Chrome™
Warranty	3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery	STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)

The only things changed above are I added a thunderbolt card myself and also upgraded the storage drive to a 1TB Samsung 860

 

[sck451]

Honestly that looks like a pretty solid build and if you're not experiencing any problems with it I doubt you'll need to do upgrades.

I'm surprised you're finding the Noctua fan noisy: it's very much not my experience or their reputation. Have you adjusted any settings in the BIOS? You want it on PWM mode; I have mine set to the "silent" preset (I think that's what it's called) which makes it very conservative at ramping up the fan. I'd give that a go and only put it on a noisier setting if your temperatures aren't ok.

 

[Steveyg]

I honestly wouldn't change anything, it's still a very solid build

You could look at getting a 1440p 144Hz GPU maybe but other than that I wouldn't change a thing

The 3600x is a very solid CPU

 

[Martinr36]

if you go to the order page, select the order, then select upgrade this order you can see all the possible upgrades and their costs, including the cost of having PCS do the upgrades for you, but i agree with both the comments above

 

[TonyCarter]

An upgrade to the 3700X wouldn't be worth it IMHO - it would have to be the 5600x or 5800x for me.

At the same time you could upgrade to an all-in-one Corsair Capellix cooler.

But if the machine is performance well enough for you, I'd hold on until prices have settled down and so you can upgrade the CPU/GPU/Cooler all at the same time.

Can't help with the PCS fee for doing the swap though.

 

[marklcfc]

Honestly that looks like a pretty solid build and if you're not experiencing any problems with it I doubt you'll need to do upgrades.

I'm surprised you're finding the Noctua fan noisy: it's very much not my experience or their reputation. Have you adjusted any settings in the BIOS? You want it on PWM mode; I have mine set to the "silent" preset (I think that's what it's called) which makes it very conservative at ramping up the fan. I'd give that a go and only put it on a noisier setting if your temperatures aren't ok.

Maybe I will keep it as it is then, as the upgrades wouldn't be that big to make it worthwhile. I do have it on PWM, I was fiddling with it for ages to get the right times it ramps up too for ages as it was worse than this when I first got the pc - it was ramping up sooner and more or less never being silent. These settings are ok but if there’s anything that looks wrong let me know.

 

[Scott]

I think the issue is the case. Compact cases rarely lend themselves well to airflow design or acoustics. The best thing you can do to get the noise down is fit a silent AIO. The H100i RGB Platinum or Capellix would be my choice. I think the case can take a 240mm radiator.

 

[marklcfc]

I think the issue is the case. Compact cases rarely lend themselves well to airflow design or acoustics. The best thing you can do to get the noise down is fit a silent AIO. The H100i RGB Platinum or Capellix would be my choice. I think the case can take a 240mm radiator.

I was going back and forth for weeks trying to decide to have a water cooler or air cooler it was the one thing I couldn't decide on. Just looking at what you suggested and reading this https://www.tomshardware.com/uk/reviews/corsair-h170i-elite-capellix-review/3 the Noctua fan seems quieter than the Capellix.

 

[sck451]

I'd make sure you have all your information sorted first though. Even in a non-ideal case the NH-U14 shouldn't be obtrusively noisy. I'd install some software to check on temperatures: probably Ryzen Master or HWMonitor are your best bets. See what your temperatures are and what is causing the fan to spike up.

One other thing: are you sure it's the CPU fan that's making the noise? Could it be the case fans? Particularly if they're DC fans as they seem to be from your BIOS pictures and from the spec for that case they may be noisier. I'd honestly be inclined to think you could do with a couple of 140mm fans, higher quality ones, to increase airflow through your case. A couple of Noctua NF-A14 fans would increase the airflow and be very quiet indeed, which should help your situation. I'd do that before I'd abandon the U14.

 

[Scott]

I was going back and forth for weeks trying to decide to have a water cooler or air cooler it was the one thing I couldn't decide on. Just looking at what you suggested and reading this https://www.tomshardware.com/uk/reviews/corsair-h170i-elite-capellix-review/3 the Noctua fan seems quieter than the Capellix.

Don't believe everything you read Also, the Noctua cooler referenced there is an entirely different beast.

The H100i will be effortless with such a processor, it'll rarely need to get anything past whisper mode to keep it in check. The main advantage of an AIO is that it exhausts or intakes through the case as well, this adds to the airflow rather than relying on additional fans to move the air. This means that either the CPU is being cooled by fresh air, or the entire case is having fresh air drawn in through it. Either scenario is a win win for the AIO.

The Noctua will have to work harder in such close quarters and thus will ramp up a little more than it would normally have to. Even on full whack it shouldn't be what I would consider noisy, but it will be audible. I'm coming from DTR laptops though so I know what real noise is

 

[marklcfc]

I'd honestly be inclined to think you could do with a couple of 140mm fans, higher quality ones, to increase airflow through your case. A couple of Noctua NF-A14 fans would increase the airflow and be very quiet indeed, which should help your situation. I'd do that before I'd abandon the U14.

It may be, it's hard for me to know. I did want the Noctua case fans, I even ask PCSpecialist if I could buy them and send them so they could install them instead of the case fans that came with the case but they didn't allow it.

 

[sck451]

Don't believe everything you read Also, the Noctua cooler referenced there is an entirely different beast.

The H100i will be effortless with such a processor, it'll rarely need to get anything past whisper mode to keep it in check. The main advantage of an AIO is that it exhausts or intakes through the case as well, this adds to the airflow rather than relying on additional fans to move the air. This means that either the CPU is being cooled by fresh air, or the entire case is having fresh air drawn in through it. Either scenario is a win win for the AIO.

The Noctua will have to work harder in such close quarters and thus will ramp up a little more than it would normally have to. Even on full whack it shouldn't be what I would consider noisy, but it will be audible. I'm coming from DTR laptops though so I know what real noise is

It's the same cooler with a different sized mount. I know what you're saying and don't entirely disagree with what you're saying about AIOs, but the Noctua ought to be enough for that CPU even in that case, but a single, cheap 120mm DC fan will not be sufficient as an intake.

 

[Scott]

It's the same cooler with a different sized mount.

It's not, I think you must have your coolers mixed up. The NH-D15 is a monster of a cooler. I don't think it would even fit in the OPs case.

The Noctua is more than enough for that CPU, the trouble is airflow and saturation. With minimal airflow and a reduced size chassis the heatsink will saturate quicker/easier and the fan will need to work harder bringing the noise.

AIO creates its own airflow and the saturation point is FAR higher, allowing it to run cooler/quieter even in enclosed spaces.

 

[sck451]

It's not, I think you must have your coolers mixed up. The NH-D15 is a monster of a cooler. I don't think it would even fit in the OPs case.

The Noctua is more than enough for that CPU, the trouble is airflow and saturation. With minimal airflow and a reduced size chassis the heatsink will saturate quicker/easier and the fan will need to work harder bringing the noise.

AIO creates its own airflow and the saturation point is FAR higher, allowing it to run cooler/quieter even in enclosed spaces.

The D15 is on the Intel system (also my own: I'm very familiar with the difference!): the U14 is on the Threadripper system halfway down the page.

 

[Scott]

The D15 is on the Intel system (also my own: I'm very familiar with the difference!): the U14 is on the Threadripper system halfway down the page.

I'm not going to sit and argue on the internet. If you type in both the NH-D15 and NH-U14s into google you will notice that one has 2 radiators and 2 fans, the other has only one of each.

I'll let you guess which one the op has and which one has similar burst cooling to a H115i.

 

[sck451]

I'm not going to sit and argue on the internet. If you type in both the NH-D15 and NH-U14s into google you will notice that one has 2 radiators and 2 fans, the other has only one of each.

I'll let you guess which one the op has and which one has similar burst cooling to a H115i.

As you like. I agree with you entirely, except for the fact that you're reading the linked page incorrectly.

Edit: here's the graph in question

 

[Scott]

As you like. I agree with you entirely, except for the fact that you're reading the linked page incorrectly.

Edit: here's the graph in question

View attachment 28052

Ahh apologies, that makes more sense now re-reading. I thought you were saying the D15 was the same as the U14S

Noise wise at max fans it'll always be quieter, there's only one of them vs the 3 fans on the H170i. Vs the 100i there's mixed reports on audio but I would accept that at max fans it's probably quieter (The Noctua that is).

The key difference is that the Noctua has to run a higher fan rate than the AIO once over the soak time, that's just the laws of physics (well, thermodynamics).

At a given load/temperature in a tight squeeze box, any AIO is going to perform effortlessly regardless. An air cooler will struggle more and have to work harder.

 

[marklcfc]

Do you think its worth just sticking with the Noctua then instead of paying for the water cooler and the fitting and whatever is costs to send back to PCSpecialist? It's not that bad, just I thought it would be less noticeable. But as others said, it may be the case fans and I don't know how to replace them, PCSpecialist wouldn't install the Noctua fans for me either at the time of the build.

 

[sck451]

Honestly that's what I'd do, and I'd stick with the silent curve on the BIOS rather than a custom one, unless you're sure it's better that way. Replacing the fan isn't a difficult task at all. It's probably a 20-minute task all told. Even if you were to replace the cooler in the end, that one piddling little fan in the front isn't ideal...

 

[Scott]

It really depends on whether you think it's worth the money. If you're OK with how it sounds then I would just stick with what you have. Try taking the side panel off to see if that helps with temps maybe?

The H100i will certainly run with ease, but how much more silent it will be is anyone's guess. On the 3600X I doubt it would be on much at all, in quiet mode I can't hear mine with an overclocked 9900k attached to it (That's the H115i though, but there's not a lot in it).

The limitation with your setup is going to be airflow IMO. If you can fit a better fan setup on there to get the air flowing through, the Noctua will operate far better.

Either option will provide a solution for you.