Hi all, I'm contemplating a new build running either a Ryzen 3950X or possibly a Threadripper (depending on whether I can afford it). I won't be gaming on this system. It'll be my fileserver, Monte Carlo workstation and be used for Covid-19 calculations when idle. Now, the Monte Carlo calculations are fully parallelised, so can use all cores easily. The Covid-19 calcs (Rosetta@home) will occupy all cores when I'm not doing my calculations. My question really is what cooler should I get for 24/7 full load running? Do I go Noctua air or an AIO solution? The system will not be overclocked. I need reliability rather than insane speeds. Many thanks.
I'd go for a air cooler over an AIO, just becaulse pump failure will be your biggest failure point. Plus in my opinion, if you're not moving it an AIO doesn't have much over a top end air cooler and they'll be the same price. I think a Noctua D15 would do you well, its one of the best on the market! Just be sure to pair everything with a case with good airflow otherwise non of this will matter
Wow, quick replies. Thanks. I was considering Noctua, I was just a bit concerned about how it would cope with full load running. But, like you said, as long as the case has good airflow, then I shouldn't need to worry too much.
Noctua, and swap out the stock fans for the IndustrailPPC fans if you really want to go belt & braces. But the most important HSF component for long term reliability is your calendar. Regular reminders to clean out the filters and blow out dust beat any MTBF rating on a bit of paper.
Noctua are the only manufacturer the whole office agrees makes a flawless product every time. We use them in every PC we have that needs to be rock solid.
Thing with Noctua is that their QC is unparalleled, and that's what makes them so great (but you really pay the premium for it). I've had the pleasure of running two Noctua Coolers, the D14 and D15, and both were incredible. In both cases, however, they were only acquired for testing. I'm surprised that Thermalright has been out of the big leagues for so long, because their best coolers were fantastic and will still stand shoulder-to-shoulder with any other top-performing air cooler (I tested the Silver Arrow and TS140P against the D15). I've been running an old faithful TRUE on my work PC, and today I forgot to turn my CPU fan on (yes, it's manual, don't ask...) and after a full working day in Photoshop and Unreal Engine it didn't go over 50C. It's unreal how capable that old cooler is. Coolers today seem to be more about aesthetic add-ons and RGB LED fans (/rant) rather than raw performance, which I guess is where Noctua still shine, much like Thermalright did.
THe TRUE is a fantasic cooler! I think they just fell behind and didn't have the finances to catch back up in marketing.
Noctua does barely any marketing though. Bet you've never seen a noctua advert anywhere. They make top performing parts that also have unmatched reliability. Great customer support as well. Heck, they recently sent me one of their hoodies and even that is the best made hoodie I've ever worn. It's ridiculous. All this talk of "noctua killers" is silly as well. Their flagship is a few years old and is being refreshed soon.
I paid for my NHU-12P, I didn't pay for the AM4 mounting bracket Noctua are sending me in the post That's the best thing about them, I can't think of another company that would just send you hardware for a cooler you bought 9 years ago.
I only asked as so many online reviewers suggest them Edit: I realise I'm questioning your integrity and that really wasn't my intention!
A lot of them yes. I was even given a free corsair cooler for my mod and still purchased a noctua cooler. We do still have some free ones in the office from reviews but most of them we purchase as they just work. I/We pay for most of our noctua stuff. Just not the hoodie
I contacted Noctua when the D15 was released because I wanted to do a review/comparison, and they generously offered me a discount (it was at least 20%). I know that many vloggers are given hardware for free, but I'm not a vlogger and don't have "followers" to speak of, so it was mighty impressive for Noctua to offer me anything at all. They really care about their hardware and have full confidence in it, but they also care about their customers too. By contrast, at around the same time I contacted Thermalright as I wanted to obtain the spanner for the mounting kit they supply with the Venomous-X, and they charged me €5 for it
I didn't like Thermalright BITD. Not because they weren't good, but because they separated items meaning you needed to buy several things just to get your cooler working. Mounting kits for other CPUs were also very expensive. Obviously one "made of metals" cooler is going to be similar to others (in that it won't stop working like an AIO could), but the support and customer service of Noctua is unrivalled by any one IMO. The quality is as good as I have ever seen too. I've also had no issues at all getting replacement mounts and so on.
