Cooling Jonsbo makes some great low-profile coolers!

esplin2966

Cable-Tie Ninja
Original poster
Mar 2, 2015
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I have been looking for the best way to cool my i5-4590S in the tiny Minibox M350 case. I have tried the Silverstone AR05 and the Xigmatek Praeton LD964.

Recently, on a personal trip to Taiwan, I picked up 2 low profile CPU coolers: Id-Cooling IS-VC45 and the Jonsbo HP-400 Zone. I actually got the latter by mistake, since I read that it was 30mm tall while it was actually 36mm tall.

I almost didn't test the Jonsbo at all, since to me it was a no-name brand that I didn't even intend to get. Turns out the Jonsbo performed the best! It's the only cooler that doesn't exceed 85 deg in my super airflow-constricted case when I run Prime95. This is amazing because it's the smallest AND the cheapest cooler ($15 USD, really?). Here is the ranking of these 4 coolers in terms of performance:

1) Jonsbo HP-400 Zone - 36mm tall, rated for 110w TDP.

2) Silverstone AR05 - 37mm tall, rated for 65w TDP.

3) Id-Cooling IS-VC45 - 45mm tall, rated for 130w TDP.

4) Xigmatek Praeton LD964 - 45mm tall, rated for 115 TDP.

What I also found was that it didn't really matter how good the fans on the coolers are (changes the load temperature only by a few degrees). The heatsinks are the main differentiators. What I plan to do is get the quietest 92mmx25mm case fan I can find (it'll just barely fit in my case since the Jonsbo is so short) that still has fairly good air pressure and swap out the Jonsbo's loud fans.

Unfortunately, you can't buy the Jonsbo HP-400 Zone at all in the US. You can't even find it on Ebay... :(
 

jeshikat

Jessica. Wayward SFF.n Founder
Silver Supporter
Feb 22, 2015
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4,780
How much better was it than the AR05? Because they look very similar in design, maybe they're even from the same factory.
 

QinX

Master of Cramming
kees
Mar 2, 2015
541
374
Can you tell me a bit about the fans of these coolers?
For my H2O-Micro kits I'm probably going to fit a dual 92mm radiator, but guess what, Noctua is one of the only brands to sell a 92x92x15, or in their case 14mm thick fan. So I want to bundle a set of fans with the kit, so people have a stock option and don't have to spend another 30 bucks on fans.
 

esplin2966

Cable-Tie Ninja
Original poster
Mar 2, 2015
169
113
Can you tell me a bit about the fans of these coolers?
For my H2O-Micro kits I'm probably going to fit a dual 92mm radiator, but guess what, Noctua is one of the only brands to sell a 92x92x15, or in their case 14mm thick fan. So I want to bundle a set of fans with the kit, so people have a stock option and don't have to spend another 30 bucks on fans.

What do you want to know? Here's my general impression:

I would say that the fans of the Xigmatek, Jonsbo, and id-cooling are all pretty garbage. They're loud, but performs similarly or worse to the Silverstone AR05.

Unfortunately, I don't own the Noctua 92mmx14mm fan, so I can't do a direct comparison between the two. However, judging by the quality of both companies, my guess would be that Noctua is quieter but has worse performance while Silverstone is louder but has better performance.
 

QinX

Master of Cramming
kees
Mar 2, 2015
541
374
What do you want to know? Here's my general impression:

I would say that the fans of the Xigmatek, Jonsbo, and id-cooling are all pretty garbage. They're loud, but performs similarly or worse to the Silverstone AR05.

Unfortunately, I don't own the Noctua 92mmx14mm fan, so I can't do a direct comparison between the two. However, judging by the quality of both companies, my guess would be that Noctua is quieter but has worse performance while Silverstone is louder but has better performance.

Hmmm, interesting. I've contact ID-Cooling, Noctua and Silverstone. ID-Cooling is sending over 2 fans for me to test. They have to be quieter than the 80mm fans I'm using now. I expect the system under full load to make some noise, but under moderate loads it should stay quieter that what I'm currently running.

The Xigmatek I looked at and looking at the site mentions it as 90mm. Can you check that for me? because if it is I can't use it anyway, such a weird choice, the same as the 14mm noctua, but thinner is less annoying then a non-standard size.

The Jonsbo I've just emailed, no harming in trying it out if possible.
 

esplin2966

Cable-Tie Ninja
Original poster
Mar 2, 2015
169
113
Hmmm, interesting. I've contact ID-Cooling, Noctua and Silverstone. ID-Cooling is sending over 2 fans for me to test. They have to be quieter than the 80mm fans I'm using now. I expect the system under full load to make some noise, but under moderate loads it should stay quieter that what I'm currently running.

The Xigmatek I looked at and looking at the site mentions it as 90mm. Can you check that for me? because if it is I can't use it anyway, such a weird choice, the same as the 14mm noctua, but thinner is less annoying then a non-standard size.

The Jonsbo I've just emailed, no harming in trying it out if possible.

I believe the Jonsbo is 90mm. Not sure about the Xigmatek. I'll check for you when I get back home on Tuesday.
You should contact Silverstone as well. Their fan is the best imo.
 

rawr

SFF Lingo Aficionado
Mar 1, 2015
137
10
Hmmm, interesting. I've contact ID-Cooling, Noctua and Silverstone. ID-Cooling is sending over 2 fans for me to test. They have to be quieter than the 80mm fans I'm using now. I expect the system under full load to make some noise, but under moderate loads it should stay quieter that what I'm currently running.

The Xigmatek I looked at and looking at the site mentions it as 90mm. Can you check that for me? because if it is I can't use it anyway, such a weird choice, the same as the 14mm noctua, but thinner is less annoying then a non-standard size.

The Jonsbo I've just emailed, no harming in trying it out if possible.
Hey, I've also been looking for slim 92mm fans. However in my case it was mostly to see whether I could replace the ugly fan on the L9i...

Anyway, obviously the best consumer-brand fan is the Noctua. There are also options from ID-Cooling and Titan, which are cheap, so may be worth trying...

Have you considered industrial fans? If you get the right mix of airflow and noise, you can get some killer ones. Might want to look at some Delta fans, like this one:
http://www.delta.com.tw/product/cp/dcfans/download/pdf/AFB/AFB92x92x15mm.pdf

Let me know if you find a good one! :)
 

QinX

Master of Cramming
kees
Mar 2, 2015
541
374
I believe the Jonsbo is 90mm. Not sure about the Xigmatek. I'll check for you when I get back home on Tuesday.
You should contact Silverstone as well. Their fan is the best imo.

I've contacted Silverstone already, I'm in the mailbox of their EU office atm :p

Hey, I've also been looking for slim 92mm fans. However in my case it was mostly to see whether I could replace the ugly fan on the L9i...

Anyway, obviously the best consumer-brand fan is the Noctua. There are also options from ID-Cooling and Titan, which are cheap, so may be worth trying...

Have you considered industrial fans? If you get the right mix of airflow and noise, you can get some killer ones. Might want to look at some Delta fans, like this one:
http://www.delta.com.tw/product/cp/dcfans/download/pdf/AFB/AFB92x92x15mm.pdf

Let me know if you find a good one! :)

Doh, totally forget about that, going to get right on that.