As somebody who has just started looking into doing my first SFF build, thank you so much for taking the time to do the tests and compile the data. The timing of this video is insane.
Great video! This was exactly what I was looking for. IN the future it might be easier to read the benchmarks if you sort them in ascending or descending order.
Thank you so much for taking the time to do all these tests for this comparison video! Exactly what I was looking for as I'm currently building a SFF PC! :D
Another twin fan cooler for you to consider is the Noctua L12 Ghost Edition. Swap out the older included bottom fan for a Noctua A9x25 and add either an A12x15 or A12x25 fan on the top for dual downdraft operation. The L12GE is 4 mm lower in height than the L12S. Noctua will provide free top fan clips for the 25mm thick fan with proof of purchase. Thank you for all your work.
Thank you for this Very comprehensive test of LP coolers. I especially appreciated that you also tested the Dark Rock TF with just the lower fan, as I've found this no where else.
I've been thinking of switching to the Black Ridge but I'm glad to see that my trusty Dark Rock TF is kicking everybody's ass! Thanks for the review, thanks for your hard work, and keep it up!
Really appreciate it, thanks! This will be really helpful once its time to build a new system at the end of the year. Got my sights set on a Silverstone SG13, but I'll wait for gpu prices to return to msrp first.
TekTick checked all the boxes and made a great video, I got a lot of info from this video for my first mini-itx build😉. I’ll be using a i5 9600k with the alpenfohn in a formd t1 case👌🏼
Ok, so I was between Be Quiet!'s rocks, and I'm happy to get a nice comparison of the two. Honestly, Dark Rock doesn't seem to be work the extra cost over the Shadow Rock for such a minor gain so I'll probably get the Shadow.
Thank you for this awesome, well-thought-out and detailed video! I'm pretty much convinced with the be quiet! Dark Rock TF as the best choice for me. But I'll compare it with the Deepcool Assassin III (the latter looking quite overkill)'s performance.
You're missing much better-performing (for their height bracket) options well-known in SFF such as the Thermalright AXP90R/CU/FULL, Cryorig C7G/CU, Metalfish Z39, Asetek 645LT/545LC, Dynatron T318 Vapor etc. In the DA2 a 280mm AIO / Loop is the best option. You'd be surprised - I've tested a 3900x that can run stock on a C7G and a 3950x can run above stock on a 645LT.
Thanks for the feedback, those are some interesting options, will look into it! What's the most capable Thermalright's LP model? AXP-100RH looks really beefy. Yeah, 280 mm is a great option performance wise, I watched a couple of videos on Optimum Tech's channel about DA2, but I personally don't prefer WC options as I'm a complete noise freak and I can always hear something coming out of them. 😅
@@MattsPaddock That would be the AXP90R or the newer AXP90 FULL, the AXP100 is in a different size category and does not perform much better. Note: All these will perform slightly worse but have much better noise performance with an a9x14 HS (or in the AXP100's case a 100mm or 120mm fan w/ duct). For the 280mm water options in a DA2 a custom loop is much quieter than a 240/280 AIO due to the ability to use a D5 pump in the loop (as opposed to small DC units built into the block), which would be quieter than dual 140mm fans running at near idle.
Should add ID-cooling options as well. The IS-40X is more or less a competitor for the Noctua NH-L9i/a, IS-50X and IS-60X competes with the L12S, Big Shuriken 3, and the Shadow Rock LP, and their recent addition, the IS-47K, was touted to be the Alpenfohn Blackridge competitor. Would be interesting if you could include these coolers in your future testing as well. Just a note regarding the IS-47K on AMD systems; some users reported worse temps when using the cooler with the stock backplate, but swapping to the Noctua's backplate yielded better performance. Most claimed about 10C drop in CPU temps, and very few reported drops of about 20C.
@@arieltakom ID-Cooling makes good coolers when you get good QC, but there are reported temp variances of up to 10c (that's literally two different tiers of coolers) between identical IS-47K coolers, and I've had to dremel an IS-30 off my motherboard because the screw stripped - they should not be recommended, it's a lottery if you get a good cooler or a is-60 that is worse than a L9a.
@@jeffyjefferyjeff2848 hmm I'm not sure if that's the case because the general consensus within most SFF communities i.e SFF Network, r/sffpc, etc. is that ID-cooling coolers are reliable and works as intended, although not up to their claimed TDP ratings. But again, I do agree that this could happen, especially considering that the manufacturing of those coolers takes place in China (iirc) and the coolers might have been damaged during shipping and whatnot. I'm guessing that if you're not from anywhere near China, ID-cooling should probably be avoided unless you're really tight on budget. I wouldn't mind recommending them as even if the unit you got is a dud, chances are you've only spent like $18 on them (that's how much I paid for my IS-40X where I'm from). The Noctua's NH-L9a is like $40.
Doesn't Alpenföhn specifically say don't add two different fan sizes to the cooler, ie NF-A12 + A9, as it creates more turbulence? I noticed adding two fans lower the temperature by a few degree, but I wonder if the noise is much higher due to the two fans "fighting" each order.
Cheers for the video, really helpful. The bit near the end around 12:00 where you gave an overview and conclusion is handy. Gonna go with the Scythe Shuriken as I'm really limited with space inside a Silverstone Sugo SG13 case. It was between that and the Be Quiet Shadow Rock, however, the latter touches the RAM. Love the Charmeleon toy and the plant in the back 👍😉 What's the robot toy on the far left, is it Megatron? 🤔
If you're naming it an ITX tester, please use an itx motherboard to test it for it also matters wether the fan can physically fit in the motherboard or not.
Thank you for the review. I was lucky (or unlucky) enough to preorder the FormD T1 case. I'm saying unlucky because so far the search for which parts would actually fit in the case without cramming them in has brought more stress than excitement. And from what i've read so far air cooling a 5600x is not a good idea if you want to keep temps reasonable. Will have to cram an AIO inside it.
I used Scythe Shuriken 3, to be honest, the cooler is enough but the material of the product quality is not strong. After I put it on and remove it a few times the cooler, the fan connector material was broken. I could not find a spare part for a cooler that's why I am planning to buy a new cooler.
I received a corsair 380t case. Since I have them, I realized how bad my hp 160nz gaming pc was assembled 4 years ago. Now I wanna upgrade my system with this fancy case. honestly the best case out there even if it is 6 years old :D
THANK YOU!!! I was looking so god damn long for a modern video of top-blowers! I do have a question tho. How big is the noctua c14s when the fan is on the bottom?
I want to put the asrock mini 300 ryzen mobo inside an original xbox , need a really good tdp I can get or one that is at least high enough and test to be true to the tdp while still having room to cut a hole in the emblem ontop for an noctua redux 80mm that is close to or under 100 after tax , whould prefer a vapor chamber recommendation if any exist 😀 thanks in advance for any and all help 😀
I have a question, is it okay to use a low profile cooler for matx build.. will it make a big difference? Its only for aesthetic purposes that i want to go with low profile coolers
I don't understand dude, first let me say thank you, but only 2 of your coolers was really low profile, below 60mm height (motherboard mirror) others were just normal height coolers 70~80mm ish and some was really tall Coolers...
What is the best cooler that is under 135mm in height?This comparison of yours has a lot of very low profile coolers but coolers between 110-135 mm are too few.
Did you ever test either the Noctua NH-D9L or the NH-U9S with an additional fan? I understand that they both can add an additional fan to improve performance and would be curious what that would do
The Noctua NH-U9S should handle perfectly the i3 and i5, it's one of the best mid-tier cpu coolers and it's only 125mm height aprox. If you want to be overkill or have a cooler that will be future proof for any cpu, then the Be Quiet Dark Rock Tf is the way to go
Because the ITX market is really diverse with chassis and cooler configurations (some coolers here wouldn't fit in some chassis for example), so I think this makes it easier to compare them performance wise.
This. Was. A. LOT. Of. Data. 😂 But it was fun and well worth, now I know what to put in my DA2 build! Any ITX or SFF builders here?😬
As somebody who has just started looking into doing my first SFF build, thank you so much for taking the time to do the tests and compile the data. The timing of this video is insane.
I'm really glad to hear this! Thanks for watching! 😊
ITX builder here 😊 I use a H100i platinum SE though! I wouldn't trust an i9 to stay cool on any of these coolers...
@@MattsPaddock I really. Confused can you give comparison like rank temperature like the most cold and hot
@@MattsPaddock the coolest on the rank what it is I want to buy just performance
Thanks for all that work, this deserves more views
Thank you, much appreciated!
totally
Word
Great video! This was exactly what I was looking for. IN the future it might be easier to read the benchmarks if you sort them in ascending or descending order.
Thanks for the feedback! 🙂
Thank you so much for taking the time to do all these tests for this comparison video! Exactly what I was looking for as I'm currently building a SFF PC! :D
You're very welcome!
Another twin fan cooler for you to consider is the Noctua L12 Ghost Edition. Swap out the older included bottom fan for a Noctua A9x25 and add either an A12x15 or A12x25 fan on the top for dual downdraft operation. The L12GE is 4 mm lower in height than the L12S. Noctua will provide free top fan clips for the 25mm thick fan with proof of purchase. Thank you for all your work.
THANK YOU for including 3 different configuration for NH-L12S!!
Thank you for this Very comprehensive test of LP coolers. I especially appreciated that you also tested the Dark Rock TF with just the lower fan, as I've found this no where else.
This was a great series of tests. Closed Captioning would help...
I've been thinking of switching to the Black Ridge but I'm glad to see that my trusty Dark Rock TF is kicking everybody's ass!
Thanks for the review, thanks for your hard work, and keep it up!
Thanks!
Thank you, appreciate it! 🥰
Awesome review. Thank you for your hard work.
Thank you for watching!
Really appreciate it, thanks! This will be really helpful once its time to build a new system at the end of the year. Got my sights set on a Silverstone SG13, but I'll wait for gpu prices to return to msrp first.
Thanks for watching!
I wish you had tested the Pallas 140
Wow... thanks for all this work. It looks like, for those that will fit in the ncase m1, the be quiet TF is the winner.
No problem!
thanks for the info dude! helped a lot, subbed and liked keep up the good work!
Thank you, much appreciated!!
TekTick checked all the boxes and made a great video, I got a lot of info from this video for my first mini-itx build😉. I’ll be using a i5 9600k with the alpenfohn in a formd t1 case👌🏼
The best video ever about this topic! Thank you!
Glad it was helpful!
Ok, so I was between Be Quiet!'s rocks, and I'm happy to get a nice comparison of the two. Honestly, Dark Rock doesn't seem to be work the extra cost over the Shadow Rock for such a minor gain so I'll probably get the Shadow.
I don't have much space in my case, it's a small case... so I am going for the: Noctua NH-U9S
Thank you for this awesome, well-thought-out and detailed video! I'm pretty much convinced with the be quiet! Dark Rock TF as the best choice for me. But I'll compare it with the Deepcool Assassin III (the latter looking quite overkill)'s performance.
No problem, thanks for watching and sorry for the late reply 🤣
You're missing much better-performing (for their height bracket) options well-known in SFF such as the Thermalright AXP90R/CU/FULL, Cryorig C7G/CU, Metalfish Z39, Asetek 645LT/545LC, Dynatron T318 Vapor etc. In the DA2 a 280mm AIO / Loop is the best option. You'd be surprised - I've tested a 3900x that can run stock on a C7G and a 3950x can run above stock on a 645LT.
Thanks for the feedback, those are some interesting options, will look into it! What's the most capable Thermalright's LP model? AXP-100RH looks really beefy.
Yeah, 280 mm is a great option performance wise, I watched a couple of videos on Optimum Tech's channel about DA2, but I personally don't prefer WC options as I'm a complete noise freak and I can always hear something coming out of them. 😅
@@MattsPaddock That would be the AXP90R or the newer AXP90 FULL, the AXP100 is in a different size category and does not perform much better. Note: All these will perform slightly worse but have much better noise performance with an a9x14 HS (or in the AXP100's case a 100mm or 120mm fan w/ duct). For the 280mm water options in a DA2 a custom loop is much quieter than a 240/280 AIO due to the ability to use a D5 pump in the loop (as opposed to small DC units built into the block), which would be quieter than dual 140mm fans running at near idle.
Should add ID-cooling options as well. The IS-40X is more or less a competitor for the Noctua NH-L9i/a, IS-50X and IS-60X competes with the L12S, Big Shuriken 3, and the Shadow Rock LP, and their recent addition, the IS-47K, was touted to be the Alpenfohn Blackridge competitor. Would be interesting if you could include these coolers in your future testing as well.
Just a note regarding the IS-47K on AMD systems; some users reported worse temps when using the cooler with the stock backplate, but swapping to the Noctua's backplate yielded better performance. Most claimed about 10C drop in CPU temps, and very few reported drops of about 20C.
@@arieltakom ID-Cooling makes good coolers when you get good QC, but there are reported temp variances of up to 10c (that's literally two different tiers of coolers) between identical IS-47K coolers, and I've had to dremel an IS-30 off my motherboard because the screw stripped - they should not be recommended, it's a lottery if you get a good cooler or a is-60 that is worse than a L9a.
@@jeffyjefferyjeff2848 hmm I'm not sure if that's the case because the general consensus within most SFF communities i.e SFF Network, r/sffpc, etc. is that ID-cooling coolers are reliable and works as intended, although not up to their claimed TDP ratings.
But again, I do agree that this could happen, especially considering that the manufacturing of those coolers takes place in China (iirc) and the coolers might have been damaged during shipping and whatnot.
I'm guessing that if you're not from anywhere near China, ID-cooling should probably be avoided unless you're really tight on budget. I wouldn't mind recommending them as even if the unit you got is a dud, chances are you've only spent like $18 on them (that's how much I paid for my IS-40X where I'm from). The Noctua's NH-L9a is like $40.
Doesn't Alpenföhn specifically say don't add two different fan sizes to the cooler, ie NF-A12 + A9, as it creates more turbulence? I noticed adding two fans lower the temperature by a few degree, but I wonder if the noise is much higher due to the two fans "fighting" each order.
great content, I think you should give some pics about airflow up or down for more understandable.
Thanks, will keep that in mind!
Awesome bud! Many thanks
Thanks for watching!
Cheers for the video, really helpful. The bit near the end around 12:00 where you gave an overview and conclusion is handy. Gonna go with the Scythe Shuriken as I'm really limited with space inside a Silverstone Sugo SG13 case. It was between that and the Be Quiet Shadow Rock, however, the latter touches the RAM. Love the Charmeleon toy and the plant in the back 👍😉
What's the robot toy on the far left, is it Megatron? 🤔
EXCELLENT review! thanks a bunch
My pleasure!
Here after finding out that the L12S doesn't fit on the Vision D z590i. The D9L looks like a nice alternative.
this is what im looking for thank you very much :)
Thanks for watching!
unless the heatsink is twice the height of the fan then the performance may suffer. heatpipes might help.
If you're naming it an ITX tester, please use an itx motherboard to test it for it also matters wether the fan can physically fit in the motherboard or not.
UR the LEGEND! This is pure gold! 👏👏
Wish you would've sorted the charts by height size or thermal performance making comparisons easier since we wouldn't be shopping by brand typically.
Thank you for the review. I was lucky (or unlucky) enough to preorder the FormD T1 case.
I'm saying unlucky because so far the search for which parts would actually fit in the case without cramming them in has brought more stress than excitement.
And from what i've read so far air cooling a 5600x is not a good idea if you want to keep temps reasonable. Will have to cram an AIO inside it.
I would love to the try the FromD T1, but yes, it is a challenge to build in it!
I need the absolute lowest profile cooler possible, might take off the fan and use a blower it needs to be so low profile
This is amazing, thank you.
Glad you like it!
thx this is the best test on youtube !!
I used Scythe Shuriken 3, to be honest, the cooler is enough but the material of the product quality is not strong. After I put it on and remove it a few times the cooler, the fan connector material was broken. I could not find a spare part for a cooler that's why I am planning to buy a new cooler.
Thanks man, this is very helpful
Glad it helped!
The BeQuiet Dark Rock TF 2 really had its ass beaten by the cheaper and older NH-C14S
I received a corsair 380t case. Since I have them, I realized how bad my hp 160nz gaming pc was assembled 4 years ago. Now I wanna upgrade my system with this fancy case. honestly the best case out there even if it is 6 years old :D
Man MSIs UEFI bios hasn't changed much from my X370.
THANK YOU!!! I was looking so god damn long for a modern video of top-blowers! I do have a question tho. How big is the noctua c14s when the fan is on the bottom?
I think I list its height in the results table!
I want to put the asrock mini 300 ryzen mobo inside an original xbox , need a really good tdp I can get or one that is at least high enough and test to be true to the tdp while still having room to cut a hole in the emblem ontop for an noctua redux 80mm that is close to or under 100 after tax , whould prefer a vapor chamber recommendation if any exist 😀 thanks in advance for any and all help 😀
I have a question, is it okay to use a low profile cooler for matx build.. will it make a big difference? Its only for aesthetic purposes that i want to go with low profile coolers
Amazing work.
Thank you! Cheers!
I wonder how N9a would fare if its stock 14mm fan was replaced to 25 mm.
you should try noctua nh-l12s in push pull config ie two fans
I don't understand dude, first let me say thank you, but only 2 of your coolers was really low profile, below 60mm height (motherboard mirror) others were just normal height coolers 70~80mm ish and some was really tall Coolers...
i think the title should be itx cpu coolers
Which one is better for higher tdp CPUs? Noctua NH-C14S or Bequiet Dark Rock TF?
What is the best cooler that is under 135mm in height?This comparison of yours has a lot of very low profile coolers but coolers between 110-135 mm are too few.
Dark Rock TF for sure at 131 mm (which was in this test), I have it in my build
Did you ever test either the Noctua NH-D9L or the NH-U9S with an additional fan? I understand that they both can add an additional fan to improve performance and would be curious what that would do
Yes, you can add them, but I didn't test it like that
Does the weight of a tower cooler weaken the motherboard over time?
I'd like to see more of SilentiumPc. There is pretty much no fan comparison out there.
I have a couple of those with me as we speak, planning to do a few comparisons with them!
Which cooler for i7 10700 itx build ?
My nephew wants me to build him a slim PC with a 1650 in it.
Awesome content
Thanks!
like before watching the video , it seems that took you a lot of time and effort
This guy kinda sounds like hardware Canucks
thank you.
You're welcome!
whats the name of the cooler on 6.12
NH-C14S
I will build mini itx with i3 10100 rx 5500xt after i will upgrade to i5 10400 .... what cpu fan is better to this pc build?
The Noctua NH-U9S should handle perfectly the i3 and i5, it's one of the best mid-tier cpu coolers and it's only 125mm height aprox. If you want to be overkill or have a cooler that will be future proof for any cpu, then the Be Quiet Dark Rock Tf is the way to go
Just spend an extra 60 bucks now for the i5... itll have more longevity than the i3.
which would you recommend
why not test ITX coolers .... in ITX systems?
Because the ITX market is really diverse with chassis and cooler configurations (some coolers here wouldn't fit in some chassis for example), so I think this makes it easier to compare them performance wise.
Coment for the algorithm
I'm looking and thinking what fits 😂
What case do you have?
@@MattsPaddock nr200 think I'm swaying towards the nh c14s now
Hello, everyone ! 🌞😉👍
Very good !
I really like it !
Axp-90 Full is the best.
Yee
sick
be nice