love seeing my U14S on here as well as D15 in comparison. however, my U14S has really made me prefer the noise profile of 140mm fans. also, any chance of reviewing any Scythe coolers?
Once you go Noctua, you don't go back to regular fans or coolers. They are just better, all around. And not in a flashy way. I've had Noctua fans running 24/7 since 2010, and they are still working, still silent.
I've had two air coolers in the last 15 years. They are both Noctua's, I still have them, and they are on modern platforms because Noctua sent out a kit to adapt my Socket 1366 cooler to Socket 1151, and recently sent the socket 1700 kit for my old D15. Free both times, no proof of purchase required (even though I had it.)
Then there are their fans. The only fans I've ever owned that last a long time. I love Silverstone but the fans (especially the 180mm) has bearing issues and once the shaft completely separated from the fan assembly on my FT01. Even those cheap Noctua redux fans have worked well in cheaper systems I've put together like my IP CAM DVR in the garage and the kids' PC.
Competition is great but I don't really know what it would take to get me to buy another brand of air cooler or fan.
Nidec and Sanyo make good motors and bearings, but their fan design isn't as well refined as Noctua's. Delta only sparks images of server rack fans that push a lot of air, but are super loud, and can't be quieted down, because they use a really loud double ball bearing for longevity.
For a person willing to do their research I feel there are better options available that yield better results per dollar in every metric.
The problem is, to much research needs to be done, and buying noctua is the safe easy choice.
as a result, I own a lot of noctua fans. :(. Trying to get away from them now that manufacturing has moved out of Taiwan into China. (look it up on the internet)
It's hard to take any product seriously that has the word ass in the name twice. Double the butt cheeks, double the cooling is probably the implication, but the "in" part...hmmmm....
It amazes me that none of these coolers with "direct-touch" heatpipes can approach the D15's performance. That just seems like such a superior technology.
It really makes me wonder how Noctua coolers manage to perform so well. Perhaps they just optimized every parameter of the heatpipes and manufactured the base and fin interfaces with extreme precision.
Direct touch heatpipes have their downsides.The heatpipes need to make even contact over all the hot spots to be most effective. On Anandtech's test bench, this downside is unlikely to show up. This is more likely to happen on AMD chiplet CPUs, where the hot-spot is off-center.
If AMD had brought their vapor chamber IHS to market, that should virtually eliminate hotspots, making direct-touch heatpipes ideal. It'd be just like we see in high-end GPUs that integrate vapor chambers, and we all know how much heat those can dissipate!
I have a Noctua on my 5950X. Very pleased with it.
Their customer service is out of this world, too!
At one point I wanted to add more memory to my system, only to find out the pipes from the cooler were in the way. So I emailed them.
They sent me a new bracket that would allow me to have the pipes a different direction. From Germany. Complete with shipping notification in German. For free!!!
I've had my D15 since ~2015 and recently had to have them send me the bracket for socket 1700. They did so 2-day mail for free. I still have the original 120mm fans on it too. I cleaned them when I rebuilt the PC with the new board\CPU and they still work perfect. The D15 and my PCP&C power supply are the oldest components (my PSU is even older - from 2008) and they still work.
"Modern, high-end CPUs will essentially will turbo as hard and as long as their cooling systems will allow, making sustaining those clockspeeds critical to getting the best performance out of a system."
Increase chances of a crash as well. Some being the silicon lottery.
One benefit you supposedly get from buying Xeon CPUs is that they are qualified with extra margins, to ensure stability.
Since I can no longer afford any of the Xeons or the platform they require, I will try to get by with running a mainstream Core-series CPU on a restricted power budget. And ECC RAM, of course.
You can always use an AMD CPU. In this generation, their CPUs use half the power. Intel is now playing the old AMD game of overclocking their own CPUs to ad absurdum just to keep up with their competitor.
Standard DDR5 has ECC on chip protecting from random 1bit per byte flips while data is at rest. It doesn't cover the signal integrity between CPU & RAM. Reg ECC DDR5 for servers provides the extra protection of data in transit in addition to protecting data at rest.
@tygrus, you mention "Reg ECC DDR5", but it's also available unbuffered.
The main downside of ECC DDR5 DIMMs is that you now need 25% more DRAM chips than non-ECC, due to the bifurcation of the DIMMs into 2 32-bit subchannels, yet each still having 8 bits of ECC.
pricing seems to be the main issue here vs budget competition, its not the best cooler, but its pretty neat and performing vs high end with low noise. The whole Be Quiet cooler line up is actually pretty good. In EU this cooler is priced 48eur which often is not the case where dollar=eur... is it cheap? NO but without the RGB walhalla this Pure Rock2 black can be bought for 39eur in EU, 10eur for a RGB fan with identical performance :) pick your choice.....
Good review. I like the testing methodology and a nice subset of coolers for comparison already.
As for Pure Rock 2 FX: fail on the pricing. The included (5v) RGB fan and black anodizing is not worth $20+ versus something like Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE which I've seen sell for less than $30 USD (~$33 CAD).
If you can get some Thermalright in your comparison it will put these other 120mm tower coolers to shame. They have $15 models that will perform similar as this $53 one.
We’ve updated our terms. By continuing to use the site and/or by logging into your account, you agree to the Site’s updated Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
32 Comments
Back to Article
plonk420 - Tuesday, August 8, 2023 - link
love seeing my U14S on here as well as D15 in comparison. however, my U14S has really made me prefer the noise profile of 140mm fans. also, any chance of reviewing any Scythe coolers?mode_13h - Tuesday, August 8, 2023 - link
I think Scythe has fallen behind, over the past decade or so. Not that I would mind more cooler reviews and more data on the subject.A5 - Tuesday, August 8, 2023 - link
Their latest stuff (Fuma 2/3, etc) are at least competitive.IlllI - Saturday, September 2, 2023 - link
naw, the Fuma 2 is a beastA5 - Tuesday, August 8, 2023 - link
Yeah the U14S is a great cooler. Would love to see some of the new Thermalright products too.andychow - Tuesday, August 8, 2023 - link
Once you go Noctua, you don't go back to regular fans or coolers. They are just better, all around. And not in a flashy way. I've had Noctua fans running 24/7 since 2010, and they are still working, still silent.Josh Mason - Wednesday, August 9, 2023 - link
Agree. I got a Noctua that year and it was the best buy ever.Jorgp2 - Wednesday, August 9, 2023 - link
Conversely I've had consistent issues with my noctuas.PWM just stops working if the cable isn't just right
Samus - Thursday, August 10, 2023 - link
I've had two air coolers in the last 15 years. They are both Noctua's, I still have them, and they are on modern platforms because Noctua sent out a kit to adapt my Socket 1366 cooler to Socket 1151, and recently sent the socket 1700 kit for my old D15. Free both times, no proof of purchase required (even though I had it.)Then there are their fans. The only fans I've ever owned that last a long time. I love Silverstone but the fans (especially the 180mm) has bearing issues and once the shaft completely separated from the fan assembly on my FT01. Even those cheap Noctua redux fans have worked well in cheaper systems I've put together like my IP CAM DVR in the garage and the kids' PC.
Competition is great but I don't really know what it would take to get me to buy another brand of air cooler or fan.
escksu - Friday, August 11, 2023 - link
Perhaps you have yet to seen brands like nidec, sanyo and delta....meacupla - Monday, August 14, 2023 - link
Nidec and Sanyo make good motors and bearings, but their fan design isn't as well refined as Noctua's.Delta only sparks images of server rack fans that push a lot of air, but are super loud, and can't be quieted down, because they use a really loud double ball bearing for longevity.
Silma - Monday, August 14, 2023 - link
I've been a fan of Arctic coolers ever since my first purchase there, an Arctic Freezer 33.Leeea - Wednesday, August 16, 2023 - link
I would disagree.For a person willing to do their research I feel there are better options available that yield better results per dollar in every metric.
The problem is, to much research needs to be done, and buying noctua is the safe easy choice.
as a result, I own a lot of noctua fans. :(. Trying to get away from them now that manufacturing has moved out of Taiwan into China. (look it up on the internet)
meacupla - Tuesday, August 8, 2023 - link
I hope you guys get a Deepcool Assassin IV and Noctua's LCP 140mm fan to test outPeachNCream - Thursday, August 10, 2023 - link
It's hard to take any product seriously that has the word ass in the name twice. Double the butt cheeks, double the cooling is probably the implication, but the "in" part...hmmmm....mode_13h - Monday, August 14, 2023 - link
I think that probably says more about you than the product. I've never seen the word assassin like you suggest.PeachNCream - Tuesday, August 22, 2023 - link
I'm not surprised you haven't heard that particular pun. Over the years you've demonstrated a dour life disposition.Sivar - Tuesday, August 8, 2023 - link
Noctua NH-D15: The only PC product released in 2014 that still leads the pack in 2023.meacupla - Tuesday, August 8, 2023 - link
Arguably, in the 120mm tower category, nothing has surpassed the Ultra 120 Extreme when paired with a noctua A12-25 sterroxmode_13h - Tuesday, August 8, 2023 - link
It amazes me that none of these coolers with "direct-touch" heatpipes can approach the D15's performance. That just seems like such a superior technology.It really makes me wonder how Noctua coolers manage to perform so well. Perhaps they just optimized every parameter of the heatpipes and manufactured the base and fin interfaces with extreme precision.
meacupla - Wednesday, August 9, 2023 - link
Direct touch heatpipes have their downsides.The heatpipes need to make even contact over all the hot spots to be most effective. On Anandtech's test bench, this downside is unlikely to show up. This is more likely to happen on AMD chiplet CPUs, where the hot-spot is off-center.mode_13h - Friday, August 11, 2023 - link
If AMD had brought their vapor chamber IHS to market, that should virtually eliminate hotspots, making direct-touch heatpipes ideal. It'd be just like we see in high-end GPUs that integrate vapor chambers, and we all know how much heat those can dissipate!charlesg - Wednesday, August 9, 2023 - link
I have a Noctua on my 5950X. Very pleased with it.Their customer service is out of this world, too!
At one point I wanted to add more memory to my system, only to find out the pipes from the cooler were in the way. So I emailed them.
They sent me a new bracket that would allow me to have the pipes a different direction. From Germany. Complete with shipping notification in German. For free!!!
Samus - Thursday, August 10, 2023 - link
I've had my D15 since ~2015 and recently had to have them send me the bracket for socket 1700. They did so 2-day mail for free. I still have the original 120mm fans on it too. I cleaned them when I rebuilt the PC with the new board\CPU and they still work perfect. The D15 and my PCP&C power supply are the oldest components (my PSU is even older - from 2008) and they still work.Threska - Tuesday, August 8, 2023 - link
"Modern, high-end CPUs will essentially will turbo as hard and as long as their cooling systems will allow, making sustaining those clockspeeds critical to getting the best performance out of a system."Increase chances of a crash as well. Some being the silicon lottery.
mode_13h - Tuesday, August 8, 2023 - link
One benefit you supposedly get from buying Xeon CPUs is that they are qualified with extra margins, to ensure stability.Since I can no longer afford any of the Xeons or the platform they require, I will try to get by with running a mainstream Core-series CPU on a restricted power budget. And ECC RAM, of course.
Sivar - Wednesday, August 9, 2023 - link
You can always use an AMD CPU. In this generation, their CPUs use half the power. Intel is now playing the old AMD game of overclocking their own CPUs to ad absurdum just to keep up with their competitor.blzd - Friday, August 18, 2023 - link
DDR5 has built in ECC on consumer level I believe.tygrus - Monday, August 21, 2023 - link
Standard DDR5 has ECC on chip protecting from random 1bit per byte flips while data is at rest. It doesn't cover the signal integrity between CPU & RAM.Reg ECC DDR5 for servers provides the extra protection of data in transit in addition to protecting data at rest.
mode_13h - Thursday, August 24, 2023 - link
@tygrus, you mention "Reg ECC DDR5", but it's also available unbuffered.The main downside of ECC DDR5 DIMMs is that you now need 25% more DRAM chips than non-ECC, due to the bifurcation of the DIMMs into 2 32-bit subchannels, yet each still having 8 bits of ECC.
duploxxx - Wednesday, August 9, 2023 - link
pricing seems to be the main issue here vs budget competition, its not the best cooler, but its pretty neat and performing vs high end with low noise. The whole Be Quiet cooler line up is actually pretty good. In EU this cooler is priced 48eur which often is not the case where dollar=eur... is it cheap? NO but without the RGB walhalla this Pure Rock2 black can be bought for 39eur in EU, 10eur for a RGB fan with identical performance :) pick your choice.....blzd - Friday, August 18, 2023 - link
Good review. I like the testing methodology and a nice subset of coolers for comparison already.As for Pure Rock 2 FX: fail on the pricing. The included (5v) RGB fan and black anodizing is not worth $20+ versus something like Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE which I've seen sell for less than $30 USD (~$33 CAD).
If you can get some Thermalright in your comparison it will put these other 120mm tower coolers to shame. They have $15 models that will perform similar as this $53 one.