Production Lazer3D LZ7 - Quiet Gaming Cube PC Case
- Thread starter K888D
- Start date
Looking at the MSI B150i motherboard and Corsair SF450 PSU and if you take all measurements at right angles (straight lines across and down for example) the following cable lengths should work:
- 20+4 pin ATX modular cable = 22cm
- 4+4 pin CPU/EPS modular cable = 20cm
- Dual 6+2 pin PCI-e modular cables = 20cm
This is based on estimations based on the SFX power supply being located centrally to the rear of the motherboard, with the underside of the of the SFX power supply being 70mm height above the motherboard.
Image from SFFN review of the SF600:
It is possible to route the SF450 cables neatly if you get a bunch of cable ties and really pull all your cables into tight bundles like this (photos from early prototype LZ7):
or this:
WHAT IS THE BEST CPU COOLER FOR THE LZ7?
The LZ7 is capable of running cool and quiet when paired with a 65W TDP CPU and suitable cooling, this includes high performance desktop grade processors such as Intel’s Core i7-7700 and AMD’s Ryzen 1700, both extremely powerful and will provide high quality smooth AAA gaming for many years to come.
If you want to go for even more CPU power, the LZ7 can handle higher TDP processors such as the 91W TDP i7-7700K and even has a little headroom for some light overclocking, but bear in mind that the system won’t run as quietly.
65W TDP is the sweet spot for this case, so which coolers when paired with a processor in this category will give you the best balance of temperature and noise for a pleasant gaming experience?
COMPACT COOLER SHOOT OUT
When using an SFX power supply the LZ7 has a maximum supported CPU cooler clearance of 67mm, this allows you to pick from quite a few different compact coolers. I’ve picked what I think are 2 of the best <67mm CPU coolers on the market, I’m also throwing Noctua’s latest Slim 120mm fan into the mix to see if it can improve temperatures further.
The Noctua NH-L12 on the left and Scythe Big Shuriken 2 Rev.B on the right:
NOCTUA NH-L12
The Noctua NH-L12 comes with 2 fans out the box, a 120mm fan on the top and a 92mm fan underneath the heatsink. The stock height of the cooler is 93mm, but if you remove the 120mm fan from the top the cooler reduces down to 66mm which makes it the perfect height for the LZ7. Many reviews have shown that even with just the 92mm bottom fan this cooler is very capable and very quiet, as we have come to expect from Noctua products.
The NH-L12 can be purchased for around £44 in the UK, it comes with plenty of accessories including high performance Thermal Paste and fan resistor cables. In bottom fan only configuration you even end up with a spare 120mm x 25mm fan to use in another build or future project.
Shown below the NH-L12 has around 3mm – 4mm clearance to the underside of the SFX power supply, but as the 92mm Noctua fan is mounted underneath the heatsink this small gap has minimal effect on its performance:
SCYTHE BIG SHURIKEN 2 – REV.B
The Shuriken has quite a unique design, it measures just 58mm in height yet packs a 120mm down draft fan and 10 heat pipes. The heatpipes form rings to support the large heatsink, also opening up a tall gap under the cooler allowing good airflow across and around the motherboard helping to keep overall system temps lower.
The Scythe Big Shuriken 2 can be bought for around £38 in the UK making it slightly cheaper than the NH-L12. Shown below there is around 10mm clearance to the underside of the SFX power supply which sits over around half of the fan:
NOCTUA A12X15-PWM 120MM SLIM FAN
These highly anticipated slim fans from Noctua could be the answer to ultra-quiet cooling for SFF systems. Could replacing the stock Scythe fan with one of these models create the ultimate low profile CPU cooler?
The Noctua A12x15-PWM fan can be purchased for around £17 in the UK, making the total cost for this fan + Big Shuriken 2 cooler combination around £55. Mounting the Noctua Fan was a bit awkward as Scythe mounting brackets do not work with this fan, I ended up using zip ties which do a pretty good job of holding it down securely.
The Noctua A12x15-PWM fan is 15mm thick compared to the 12mm of the Scythe 120mm Slipstream fan that comes bundled with the Big Shuriken 2, this takes the total cooler height up to around 61mm and leaving around a 7mm to 8mm gap to the under side of the SFX power supply:
SYSTEM SPECIFICATION
TEST SETUP
Each cooler setup was put through the same 3 tests each lasting 30 minutes to allow temperatures to settle:
COOLING SETUP
To keep the testing fair the same fan profiles were used for each cooler setup. For the CPU cooler the fan curve started at 0% at 0C, with a straight line up to 100% fan power at 80C.
CPU Cooler fan Curve used for each test:
The case/system fan was kept at a constant 50% power for test 1 and 2, and 100% power for test 3. MSI Command Center control software for the System Fan:
RESULTS
A brief overview of the temperature and noise results for the heavy load test with 100% system fan power can be seen below:
For more in depth results please see the table below:
CASE FAN
When the system was idle the Prolimatech Ultra Sleek Vortex fan was the loudest component in the system for each setup, at 50% fan power this case fan can be heard as a low humming noise. All the CPU coolers in this test were very quiet during idle and could not be heard over the case fan.
At 100% fan speed the Vortex fan becomes quite loud, in my opinion the few degrees lower temps are not worth the increased noise output, but the performance headroom is there if you need it. I would recommend running the Prolimatech fan under 50% power as it still outputs a lot of airflow even at low RPM’s.
The Big Shuriken is more susceptible to fan turbulence noise caused by the case fan blowing sideways across it, compared to the NH-L12 where the 92mm is sheltered by the heatsink. Lowering the case fan speed to less than 50% power would reduce overall system noise to much lower levels.
CPU TEMPERATURE PERFORMANCE
The Scythe Big Shuriken is the clear winner in terms of outright lowest CPU temperature results, with a max temperature of 60C at stock configuration the Shuriken is 9 degrees C lower than the NH-L12. Therefore if absolute lowest temps or most overclocking headroom is your goal, the Big Shuriken 2 is your winner.
Swapping the Scythe 120mm Slipstream fan out for the Noctua A12x15-PWM slim fan gave a surprise result, the temps were actually slightly higher by around 2 – 3 degrees C. I think this was due to 3 reasons, the first being that under the same fan power the Noctua spins slower creating less airflow, secondly the motor hub (central cylinder) on the Noctua is much larger which will create a bigger dead zone of zero airflow under the center of the fan, in other words the Noctua pushes air through less of the heatsink compared to the Scythe Slipstream fan. The third reason is that the Noctua fan is thicker and sits closer to the underside of the SFX power supply.
Temperature performance is only half of the picture in a well balanced system.
NOISE PERFORMANCE
Across all 3 cooler configurations the NH-L12 was the quietest during the high load testing when using the same fan power profiles. The Scythe Big Shuriken with its stock fan becomes quite audible as the fan RPM’s increase, I would describe it as being quite loud above 50% fan power, the fan tone is also quite annoying with a medium/high pitch whining type noise.
Even though the stock Scythe Slipstream fan gets the lowest temps, it is achieved at the cost of much higher fan noise, not only in pure dB terms, but also its annoying fan tone. Swapping it out to the Noctua A12x15 results in a much quieter/pleasent system as you would expect, all be it at the expense of a couple of degrees higher CPU temperature.
I think if you were to lower the fan curve a little for the Scythe Big Shuriken 2 + Noctua A12x15 combination, you could match the temperature results of the NH-L12 at a lower noise level.
CONCLUSION
The best performing cooler in terms of a balance between lowest noise and temperatures is the Scythe Big Shuriken 2 when paired with a Noctua A12x15-PWM.
Would I recommend this combination for all builds? I don’t think so, the achieved result is only slightly better than the out of the box NH-L12 in bottom fan only configuration. Whether the extra expense and hassle of adding a Noctua A12x15 slim fan to the Shuriken is worth it for a couple of degrees lower temperature is down to your own build priorities.
The Scythe Big Shuriken 2 is a noisy cooler in its stock configuration due to the included Scythe 120mm slipstream fan, I would not recommend this cooler if silence is your priority unless you swap out the fan. For absolute lowest temps though, this cooler should be your first choice.
TOP PICK
The Noctua NH-L12 in bottom fan only configuration is my top pick CPU cooler for the LZ7 case, it provides great out of the box performance with low temperature and noise levels, making it an ideal match for any 65W TDP CPU.
Excuse the cable management in this photo, I didn't have time to make it look pretty swapping all the coolers in and out, NH-L12 Bottom fan only configuration:
The LZ7 is capable of running cool and quiet when paired with a 65W TDP CPU and suitable cooling, this includes high performance desktop grade processors such as Intel’s Core i7-7700 and AMD’s Ryzen 1700, both extremely powerful and will provide high quality smooth AAA gaming for many years to come.
If you want to go for even more CPU power, the LZ7 can handle higher TDP processors such as the 91W TDP i7-7700K and even has a little headroom for some light overclocking, but bear in mind that the system won’t run as quietly.
65W TDP is the sweet spot for this case, so which coolers when paired with a processor in this category will give you the best balance of temperature and noise for a pleasant gaming experience?
COMPACT COOLER SHOOT OUT
When using an SFX power supply the LZ7 has a maximum supported CPU cooler clearance of 67mm, this allows you to pick from quite a few different compact coolers. I’ve picked what I think are 2 of the best <67mm CPU coolers on the market, I’m also throwing Noctua’s latest Slim 120mm fan into the mix to see if it can improve temperatures further.
The Noctua NH-L12 on the left and Scythe Big Shuriken 2 Rev.B on the right:
NOCTUA NH-L12
The Noctua NH-L12 comes with 2 fans out the box, a 120mm fan on the top and a 92mm fan underneath the heatsink. The stock height of the cooler is 93mm, but if you remove the 120mm fan from the top the cooler reduces down to 66mm which makes it the perfect height for the LZ7. Many reviews have shown that even with just the 92mm bottom fan this cooler is very capable and very quiet, as we have come to expect from Noctua products.
The NH-L12 can be purchased for around £44 in the UK, it comes with plenty of accessories including high performance Thermal Paste and fan resistor cables. In bottom fan only configuration you even end up with a spare 120mm x 25mm fan to use in another build or future project.
Shown below the NH-L12 has around 3mm – 4mm clearance to the underside of the SFX power supply, but as the 92mm Noctua fan is mounted underneath the heatsink this small gap has minimal effect on its performance:
SCYTHE BIG SHURIKEN 2 – REV.B
The Shuriken has quite a unique design, it measures just 58mm in height yet packs a 120mm down draft fan and 10 heat pipes. The heatpipes form rings to support the large heatsink, also opening up a tall gap under the cooler allowing good airflow across and around the motherboard helping to keep overall system temps lower.
The Scythe Big Shuriken 2 can be bought for around £38 in the UK making it slightly cheaper than the NH-L12. Shown below there is around 10mm clearance to the underside of the SFX power supply which sits over around half of the fan:
NOCTUA A12X15-PWM 120MM SLIM FAN
These highly anticipated slim fans from Noctua could be the answer to ultra-quiet cooling for SFF systems. Could replacing the stock Scythe fan with one of these models create the ultimate low profile CPU cooler?
The Noctua A12x15-PWM fan can be purchased for around £17 in the UK, making the total cost for this fan + Big Shuriken 2 cooler combination around £55. Mounting the Noctua Fan was a bit awkward as Scythe mounting brackets do not work with this fan, I ended up using zip ties which do a pretty good job of holding it down securely.
The Noctua A12x15-PWM fan is 15mm thick compared to the 12mm of the Scythe 120mm Slipstream fan that comes bundled with the Big Shuriken 2, this takes the total cooler height up to around 61mm and leaving around a 7mm to 8mm gap to the under side of the SFX power supply:
SYSTEM SPECIFICATION
- Case: LZ7 with Fan Guard side panels
- Case Fan: Prolimatech Ultra Sleek Vortex 14
- PSU: Corsair SF450 SFX
- Motherboard: MSI B250i Gaming AC
- CPU: Intel i7-7700 Quad Core 3.6Ghz (65W TDP)
- RAM: 16Gb Corsair Vengeance LPX
- Storage: 250Gb M.2 + 500Gb HDD
- Graphics: Gigabyte GTX 1070 ITX
TEST SETUP
Each cooler setup was put through the same 3 tests each lasting 30 minutes to allow temperatures to settle:
- Test 1: Cold boot into idle system, System Fan set to 50% power
- Test 2: Prime95 with 2 threads (max heat option) + Unigine Valley, System Fan set to 50% power
- Test 3: Prime95 with 2 threads (max heat option) + Unigine Valley, System Fan set to 100% power
COOLING SETUP
To keep the testing fair the same fan profiles were used for each cooler setup. For the CPU cooler the fan curve started at 0% at 0C, with a straight line up to 100% fan power at 80C.
CPU Cooler fan Curve used for each test:
The case/system fan was kept at a constant 50% power for test 1 and 2, and 100% power for test 3. MSI Command Center control software for the System Fan:
RESULTS
A brief overview of the temperature and noise results for the heavy load test with 100% system fan power can be seen below:
For more in depth results please see the table below:
CASE FAN
When the system was idle the Prolimatech Ultra Sleek Vortex fan was the loudest component in the system for each setup, at 50% fan power this case fan can be heard as a low humming noise. All the CPU coolers in this test were very quiet during idle and could not be heard over the case fan.
At 100% fan speed the Vortex fan becomes quite loud, in my opinion the few degrees lower temps are not worth the increased noise output, but the performance headroom is there if you need it. I would recommend running the Prolimatech fan under 50% power as it still outputs a lot of airflow even at low RPM’s.
The Big Shuriken is more susceptible to fan turbulence noise caused by the case fan blowing sideways across it, compared to the NH-L12 where the 92mm is sheltered by the heatsink. Lowering the case fan speed to less than 50% power would reduce overall system noise to much lower levels.
CPU TEMPERATURE PERFORMANCE
The Scythe Big Shuriken is the clear winner in terms of outright lowest CPU temperature results, with a max temperature of 60C at stock configuration the Shuriken is 9 degrees C lower than the NH-L12. Therefore if absolute lowest temps or most overclocking headroom is your goal, the Big Shuriken 2 is your winner.
Swapping the Scythe 120mm Slipstream fan out for the Noctua A12x15-PWM slim fan gave a surprise result, the temps were actually slightly higher by around 2 – 3 degrees C. I think this was due to 3 reasons, the first being that under the same fan power the Noctua spins slower creating less airflow, secondly the motor hub (central cylinder) on the Noctua is much larger which will create a bigger dead zone of zero airflow under the center of the fan, in other words the Noctua pushes air through less of the heatsink compared to the Scythe Slipstream fan. The third reason is that the Noctua fan is thicker and sits closer to the underside of the SFX power supply.
Temperature performance is only half of the picture in a well balanced system.
NOISE PERFORMANCE
Across all 3 cooler configurations the NH-L12 was the quietest during the high load testing when using the same fan power profiles. The Scythe Big Shuriken with its stock fan becomes quite audible as the fan RPM’s increase, I would describe it as being quite loud above 50% fan power, the fan tone is also quite annoying with a medium/high pitch whining type noise.
Even though the stock Scythe Slipstream fan gets the lowest temps, it is achieved at the cost of much higher fan noise, not only in pure dB terms, but also its annoying fan tone. Swapping it out to the Noctua A12x15 results in a much quieter/pleasent system as you would expect, all be it at the expense of a couple of degrees higher CPU temperature.
I think if you were to lower the fan curve a little for the Scythe Big Shuriken 2 + Noctua A12x15 combination, you could match the temperature results of the NH-L12 at a lower noise level.
CONCLUSION
The best performing cooler in terms of a balance between lowest noise and temperatures is the Scythe Big Shuriken 2 when paired with a Noctua A12x15-PWM.
Would I recommend this combination for all builds? I don’t think so, the achieved result is only slightly better than the out of the box NH-L12 in bottom fan only configuration. Whether the extra expense and hassle of adding a Noctua A12x15 slim fan to the Shuriken is worth it for a couple of degrees lower temperature is down to your own build priorities.
The Scythe Big Shuriken 2 is a noisy cooler in its stock configuration due to the included Scythe 120mm slipstream fan, I would not recommend this cooler if silence is your priority unless you swap out the fan. For absolute lowest temps though, this cooler should be your first choice.
TOP PICK
The Noctua NH-L12 in bottom fan only configuration is my top pick CPU cooler for the LZ7 case, it provides great out of the box performance with low temperature and noise levels, making it an ideal match for any 65W TDP CPU.
Excuse the cable management in this photo, I didn't have time to make it look pretty swapping all the coolers in and out, NH-L12 Bottom fan only configuration:
Does SFX-L psu fits in the LZ7?
I see thre is a lot of room with CM SFX installed.
I mean something like this:
http://www.silverstonetek.com/product.php?pid=527&area=en
Anyway it's seem this silverstone PSU has a lot of problems...
I see thre is a lot of room with CM SFX installed.
I mean something like this:
http://www.silverstonetek.com/product.php?pid=527&area=en
Anyway it's seem this silverstone PSU has a lot of problems...
Last edited:
It fits, but as you can see in the last picture of last post you need that space in front of the PSU for cable management, it would be extremely difficult with an SFX-L PSU and therefore they are not officially supported.
But perhaps with custom length cables it would be OK.
Thanks for this analysis. Indeed noctua a12x15 fan is a pretty good compromise.WHAT IS THE BEST CPU COOLER FOR THE LZ7?
The LZ7 is capable of running cool and quiet when paired with a 65W TDP CPU and suitable cooling, this includes high performance desktop grade processors such as Intel’s Core i7-7700 and AMD’s Ryzen 1700, both extremely powerful and will provide high quality smooth AAA gaming for many years to come.
If you want to go for even more CPU power, the LZ7 can handle higher TDP processors such as the 91W TDP i7-7700K and even has a little headroom for some light overclocking, but bear in mind that the system won’t run as quietly.
65W TDP is the sweet spot for this case, so which coolers when paired with a processor in this category will give you the best balance of temperature and noise for a pleasant gaming experience?
COMPACT COOLER SHOOT OUT
When using an SFX power supply the LZ7 has a maximum supported CPU cooler clearance of 67mm, this allows you to pick from quite a few different compact coolers. I’ve picked what I think are 2 of the best <67mm CPU coolers on the market, I’m also throwing Noctua’s latest Slim 120mm fan into the mix to see if it can improve temperatures further.
The Noctua NH-L12 on the left and Scythe Big Shuriken 2 Rev.B on the right:
NOCTUA NH-L12
The Noctua NH-L12 comes with 2 fans out the box, a 120mm fan on the top and a 92mm fan underneath the heatsink. The stock height of the cooler is 93mm, but if you remove the 120mm fan from the top the cooler reduces down to 66mm which makes it the perfect height for the LZ7. Many reviews have shown that even with just the 92mm bottom fan this cooler is very capable and very quiet, as we have come to expect from Noctua products.
The NH-L12 can be purchased for around £44 in the UK, it comes with plenty of accessories including high performance Thermal Paste and fan resistor cables. In bottom fan only configuration you even end up with a spare 120mm x 25mm fan to use in another build or future project.
Shown below the NH-L12 has around 3mm – 4mm clearance to the underside of the SFX power supply, but as the 92mm Noctua fan is mounted underneath the heatsink this small gap has minimal effect on its performance:
SCYTHE BIG SHURIKEN 2 – REV.B
The Shuriken has quite a unique design, it measures just 58mm in height yet packs a 120mm down draft fan and 10 heat pipes. The heatpipes form rings to support the large heatsink, also opening up a tall gap under the cooler allowing good airflow across and around the motherboard helping to keep overall system temps lower.
The Scythe Big Shuriken 2 can be bought for around £38 in the UK making it slightly cheaper than the NH-L12. Shown below there is around 10mm clearance to the underside of the SFX power supply which sits over around half of the fan:
NOCTUA A12X15-PWM 120MM SLIM FAN
These highly anticipated slim fans from Noctua could be the answer to ultra-quiet cooling for SFF systems. Could replacing the stock Scythe fan with one of these models create the ultimate low profile CPU cooler?
The Noctua A12x15-PWM fan can be purchased for around £17 in the UK, making the total cost for this fan + Big Shuriken 2 cooler combination around £55. Mounting the Noctua Fan was a bit awkward as Scythe mounting brackets do not work with this fan, I ended up using zip ties which do a pretty good job of holding it down securely.
The Noctua A12x15-PWM fan is 15mm thick compared to the 12mm of the Scythe 120mm Slipstream fan that comes bundled with the Big Shuriken 2, this takes the total cooler height up to around 61mm and leaving around a 7mm to 8mm gap to the under side of the SFX power supply:
SYSTEM SPECIFICATION
- Case: LZ7 with Fan Guard side panels
- Case Fan: Prolimatech Ultra Sleek Vortex 14
- PSU: Corsair SF450 SFX
- Motherboard: MSI B250i Gaming AC
- CPU: Intel i7-7700 Quad Core 3.6Ghz (65W TDP)
- RAM: 16Gb Corsair Vengeance LPX
- Storage: 250Gb M.2 + 500Gb HDD
- Graphics: Gigabyte GTX 1070 ITX
TEST SETUP
Each cooler setup was put through the same 3 tests each lasting 30 minutes to allow temperatures to settle:
Prime95 was run with 2 threads only to represent a more real world scenario, resulting in a steady CPU usage of around 55% which is close to a typical load for the i7-7700 while playing games. Unigine Valley stresses the GPU to achieve maximum frame rate possible, this results in a GPU usage of around 99%.
- Test 1: Cold boot into idle system, System Fan set to 50% power
- Test 2: Prime95 with 2 threads (max heat option) + Unigine Valley, System Fan set to 50% power
- Test 3: Prime95 with 2 threads (max heat option) + Unigine Valley, System Fan set to 100% power
COOLING SETUP
To keep the testing fair the same fan profiles were used for each cooler setup. For the CPU cooler the fan curve started at 0% at 0C, with a straight line up to 100% fan power at 80C.
CPU Cooler fan Curve used for each test:
The case/system fan was kept at a constant 50% power for test 1 and 2, and 100% power for test 3. MSI Command Center control software for the System Fan:
RESULTS
A brief overview of the temperature and noise results for the heavy load test with 100% system fan power can be seen below:
For more in depth results please see the table below:
CASE FAN
When the system was idle the Prolimatech Ultra Sleek Vortex fan was the loudest component in the system for each setup, at 50% fan power this case fan can be heard as a low humming noise. All the CPU coolers in this test were very quiet during idle and could not be heard over the case fan.
At 100% fan speed the Vortex fan becomes quite loud, in my opinion the few degrees lower temps are not worth the increased noise output, but the performance headroom is there if you need it. I would recommend running the Prolimatech fan under 50% power as it still outputs a lot of airflow even at low RPM’s.
The Big Shuriken is more susceptible to fan turbulence noise caused by the case fan blowing sideways across it, compared to the NH-L12 where the 92mm is sheltered by the heatsink. Lowering the case fan speed to less than 50% power would reduce overall system noise to much lower levels.
CPU TEMPERATURE PERFORMANCE
The Scythe Big Shuriken is the clear winner in terms of outright lowest CPU temperature results, with a max temperature of 60C at stock configuration the Shuriken is 9 degrees C lower than the NH-L12. Therefore if absolute lowest temps or most overclocking headroom is your goal, the Big Shuriken 2 is your winner.
Swapping the Scythe 120mm Slipstream fan out for the Noctua A12x15-PWM slim fan gave a surprise result, the temps were actually slightly higher by around 2 – 3 degrees C. I think this was due to 3 reasons, the first being that under the same fan power the Noctua spins slower creating less airflow, secondly the motor hub (central cylinder) on the Noctua is much larger which will create a bigger dead zone of zero airflow under the center of the fan, in other words the Noctua pushes air through less of the heatsink compared to the Scythe Slipstream fan. The third reason is that the Noctua fan is thicker and sits closer to the underside of the SFX power supply.
Temperature performance is only half of the picture in a well balanced system.
NOISE PERFORMANCE
Across all 3 cooler configurations the NH-L12 was the quietest during the high load testing when using the same fan power profiles. The Scythe Big Shuriken with its stock fan becomes quite audible as the fan RPM’s increase, I would describe it as being quite loud above 50% fan power, the fan tone is also quite annoying with a medium/high pitch whining type noise.
Even though the stock Scythe Slipstream fan gets the lowest temps, it is achieved at the cost of much higher fan noise, not only in pure dB terms, but also its annoying fan tone. Swapping it out to the Noctua A12x15 results in a much quieter/pleasent system as you would expect, all be it at the expense of a couple of degrees higher CPU temperature.
I think if you were to lower the fan curve a little for the Scythe Big Shuriken 2 + Noctua A12x15 combination, you could match the temperature results of the NH-L12 at a lower noise level.
CONCLUSION
The best performing cooler in terms of a balance between lowest noise and temperatures is the Scythe Big Shuriken 2 when paired with a Noctua A12x15-PWM.
Would I recommend this combination for all builds? I don’t think so, the achieved result is only slightly better than the out of the box NH-L12 in bottom fan only configuration. Whether the extra expense and hassle of adding a Noctua A12x15 slim fan to the Shuriken is worth it for a couple of degrees lower temperature is down to your own build priorities.
The Scythe Big Shuriken 2 is a noisy cooler in its stock configuration due to the included Scythe 120mm slipstream fan, I would not recommend this cooler if silence is your priority unless you swap out the fan. For absolute lowest temps though, this cooler should be your first choice.
TOP PICK
The Noctua NH-L12 in bottom fan only configuration is my top pick CPU cooler for the LZ7 case, it provides great out of the box performance with low temperature and noise levels, making it an ideal match for any 65W TDP CPU.
Excuse the cable management in this photo, I didn't have time to make it look pretty swapping all the coolers in and out, NH-L12 Bottom fan only configuration:
Just about your testing method, in what resolution are you running 3d application?
By experience, even if gpu is running at 99%, heat generation is mostly linked to screen resolution, framerate and effects requested by application.
For example, a gtx 1070, in 1080p 60fps are pretty quiet..
after you can unleash framerate till cpu bottleneck.. and unigine valley is not, by far, the most demanding benchmark. 3d mark time spy is clearly more demanding, and requests by default 1440p.All that to come at the end that top down cpu like nh-l12 with dual fan put ins exhaust fan and top panel fan to exhaust should work really, really well..
(with dc-dc unit of course..)
Thanks for this analysis. Indeed noctua a12x15 fan is a pretty good compromise.
Just about your testing method, in what resolution are you running 3d application?
By experience, even if gpu is running at 99%, heat generation is mostly linked to screen resolution, framerate and effects requested by application.
For example, a gtx 1070, in 1080p 60fps are pretty quiet..
All that to come at the end that top down cpu like nh-l12 with dual fan put ins exhaust fan and top panel fan to exhaust should work really, really well..
The testing was completed at 1080p, unfortunately I don't have access to any higher resolution displays, looking to change that soon though
Bare in mind that the purpose of this testing was to compare how different CPU coolers affect overall system temp and noise performance when using a realistic and constant load. If I used applications that were to stress the GPU beyond what you would see in real world applications then my testing would have been criticized for that also, you can't please everyone!
I take your point about the GPU not being stressed to its absolute maximum, but it should also be noted that Unigine Valley has an uncapped frame-rate and pushes the GPU as far as it can go for that application, the frame-rate hovers between 150 fps and 70 fps depending on the scene its rendering. It should also be noted that when the CPU is also being stressed to 100% it becomes a bottleneck for the GPU and the GPU temperatures actually drop, not increase because the GPU is not fully utilised. Therefore I would argue that pushing your CPU to the point where it becomes a bottleneck is not the most effective way to stress your GPU to its maximum.
To back up these comments, here is some testing I did a while ago with practically the same hardware setup (i7-7700 + Gigabyte GTX 1070) with the Noctua NH-L12 bottom fan only, only difference to the system being the side vents were Cyclone rather than Fan Guards:
You are right that in some games/software when the frame-rate is capped to 60 FPS such as in Battlefield 1 and Witcher 3, the GPU is not 100% utilised and GPU temps are lower and boost clocks remain higher.
Battlefield 1 being the most obvious example with a GPU usage of only 70% to maintain 60 FPS at 1080p in maxed out detail settings, the GPU temperature only reached 77C and boost clocks were maintained at my cards max of 1835 MHz.
Compared to Unigine Valley which utilises 98% of the GPU for an uncapped frame-rate at 1080p, temps hit the cards thermal target of 82C and you can see the GPU boost clock is having to back off slightly down to 1747 MHz in order to maintain this temp of 82C.
Don't worry @K888D I do not want to criticize you by any mean..
I want mostly to highlight how gpu load is working, and how difficult to benchmark it with all parameters (resolution, framerate, cpu bottleneck, effects in application, etc...)
A good example of free game with high end graphics is armored warfare. Based on my setup and gaming experience, it's using a lot of power and generating good heat...i will look at numbers closely...and possibly make some videos. It could be also easily benchmarked..
Currently game that is my pinnacle for gpu load is Mass Effect Andromeda 4K@60 fps in specific area (havarl, tempest also), doom 4K with uncapped fps, in special area is pretty neat..
To give you some hints :
)
I want mostly to highlight how gpu load is working, and how difficult to benchmark it with all parameters (resolution, framerate, cpu bottleneck, effects in application, etc...)
A good example of free game with high end graphics is armored warfare. Based on my setup and gaming experience, it's using a lot of power and generating good heat...i will look at numbers closely...and possibly make some videos. It could be also easily benchmarked..
Currently game that is my pinnacle for gpu load is Mass Effect Andromeda 4K@60 fps in specific area (havarl, tempest also), doom 4K with uncapped fps, in special area is pretty neat..
To give you some hints :
- On Mass effect andromeda, in most demanding arear, with my setup (Cerberus-X), in 1080p@60fps...my GTX 1080ti fans are staying @0rpm..
- On World of Tanks, in 4K@60fps, in standard area, my GTX 1080 ti are whisper quiet (600-700rpm or even passive)..
)
99% is 99% though. Heat is generated by the voltage and frequency, and the 99% means just that.
Benchmark tools use synthetic loads that ask almost 100% of the gpu, even at low resolutions. For instance, Furmark 720p stresses a gpu just as much as Furmark 4k. The only difference is the framerate.
Games are generally not good to use as comparison tool, because the load fluctuates too much.
We're getting off-topic though
@K888D Very impressive work! I've made the choice between those exact two coolers as well so it's very nice to see some numbers
well, well, that's why now I'm monitoring power used by GPU..99% is 99% though. Heat is generated by the voltage and frequency, and the 99% means just that.
Benchmark tools use synthetic loads that ask almost 100% of the gpu, even at low resolutions. For instance, Furmark 720p stresses a gpu just as much as Furmark 4k. The only difference is the framerate.
Games are generally not good to use as comparison tool, because the load fluctuates too much.
We're getting off-topic though
@K888D Very impressive work! I've made the choice between those exact two coolers as well so it's very nice to see some numbers
Gpu load remains indication.
No question about GPU load...when I see my GTX 1080ti power usage reaching 320w+...I know that I'm at around maximum power..
A few updates on the progress made this week:
Here is the new XL-Vent Top Panel, it uses a series of cutouts that are spaced for compatibility with 80mm, 92mm, 120mm and 140mm fans:
The case has up to 130mm in CPU cooler height clearance when using DC-DC power supplies such as the HDPLEX 400W HiFi DC-ATX which can be mounted to the new storage mount panel with dedicated standoffs:
Rear panel with 92mm fan mount and alternative mounting position for HDPLEX 400W PSU. The power input hole is a work in progress, I am looking into ideas for making a swappable small panel for all the common DC input power connection types, but space is tight so not sure if its feasible, the input shown below is for the HDPLEX:
First look at a Solid Oak front panel, I'm still evaluating the material as it's tricky to cut, let me know what you think:
Here is the new XL-Vent Top Panel, it uses a series of cutouts that are spaced for compatibility with 80mm, 92mm, 120mm and 140mm fans:
The case has up to 130mm in CPU cooler height clearance when using DC-DC power supplies such as the HDPLEX 400W HiFi DC-ATX which can be mounted to the new storage mount panel with dedicated standoffs:
Rear panel with 92mm fan mount and alternative mounting position for HDPLEX 400W PSU. The power input hole is a work in progress, I am looking into ideas for making a swappable small panel for all the common DC input power connection types, but space is tight so not sure if its feasible, the input shown below is for the HDPLEX:
First look at a Solid Oak front panel, I'm still evaluating the material as it's tricky to cut, let me know what you think:
K888D, Prolimatech makes a "static booster" adapter for 140mm fans that extend a fan width by 10mm to provide more static pressure. I wish they had a 120mm version, which could be used with the Scythe Big Shuriken 2 to fill the 10mm gap between it and the power supply and provide more airflow/pressure without having the issue of the fan blade right up against the power supply.
It'd be interesting to see if there was a way to fit Prolimatech's 140mm fan on the Scythe Big Shuriken 2 heatsink and still have that 10mm gap.
It'd be interesting to see if there was a way to fit Prolimatech's 140mm fan on the Scythe Big Shuriken 2 heatsink and still have that 10mm gap.
Also, this above, I need this. I need an option to buy a panel or two, and the power supply, when it's ready. I love this idea.
Your top panel makes me think of infinite vents of cerberus...so they share the same modularity..awesome!A few updates on the progress made this week:
Here is the new XL-Vent Top Panel, it uses a series of cutouts that are spaced for compatibility with 80mm, 92mm, 120mm and 140mm fans:
The case has up to 130mm in CPU cooler height clearance when using DC-DC power supplies such as the HDPLEX 400W HiFi DC-ATX which can be mounted to the new storage mount panel with dedicated standoffs:
Rear panel with 92mm fan mount and alternative mounting position for HDPLEX 400W PSU. The power input hole is a work in progress, I am looking into ideas for making a swappable small panel for all the common DC input power connection types, but space is tight so not sure if its feasible, the input shown below is for the HDPLEX:
First look at a Solid Oak front panel, I'm still evaluating the material as it's tricky to cut, let me know what you think:
Rear panel with 92mm fan mount and alternative mounting position for HDPLEX 400W PSU. The power input hole is a work in progress, I am looking into ideas for making a swappable small panel for all the common DC input power connection types, but space is tight so not sure if its feasible, the input shown below is for the HDPLEX:
What about using a C14 compatible cutout? That would allow compatibility for any sort of configuration, even the G-Unique PSUs with an 8-pin Mini Fit connector.
WHAT IS THE BEST CPU COOLER FOR THE LZ7?
The LZ7 is capable of running cool and quiet when paired with a 65W TDP CPU and suitable cooling, this includes high performance desktop grade processors such as Intel’s Core i7-7700 and AMD’s Ryzen 1700, both extremely powerful and will provide high quality smooth AAA gaming for many years to come.
If you want to go for even more CPU power, the LZ7 can handle higher TDP processors such as the 91W TDP i7-7700K and even has a little headroom for some light overclocking, but bear in mind that the system won’t run as quietly.
65W TDP is the sweet spot for this case, so which coolers when paired with a processor in this category will give you the best balance of temperature and noise for a pleasant gaming experience?
COMPACT COOLER SHOOT OUT
When using an SFX power supply the LZ7 has a maximum supported CPU cooler clearance of 67mm, this allows you to pick from quite a few different compact coolers. I’ve picked what I think are 2 of the best <67mm CPU coolers on the market, I’m also throwing Noctua’s latest Slim 120mm fan into the mix to see if it can improve temperatures further.
The Noctua NH-L12 on the left and Scythe Big Shuriken 2 Rev.B on the right:
NOCTUA NH-L12
The Noctua NH-L12 comes with 2 fans out the box, a 120mm fan on the top and a 92mm fan underneath the heatsink. The stock height of the cooler is 93mm, but if you remove the 120mm fan from the top the cooler reduces down to 66mm which makes it the perfect height for the LZ7. Many reviews have shown that even with just the 92mm bottom fan this cooler is very capable and very quiet, as we have come to expect from Noctua products.
The NH-L12 can be purchased for around £44 in the UK, it comes with plenty of accessories including high performance Thermal Paste and fan resistor cables. In bottom fan only configuration you even end up with a spare 120mm x 25mm fan to use in another build or future project.
Shown below the NH-L12 has around 3mm – 4mm clearance to the underside of the SFX power supply, but as the 92mm Noctua fan is mounted underneath the heatsink this small gap has minimal effect on its performance:
SCYTHE BIG SHURIKEN 2 – REV.B
The Shuriken has quite a unique design, it measures just 58mm in height yet packs a 120mm down draft fan and 10 heat pipes. The heatpipes form rings to support the large heatsink, also opening up a tall gap under the cooler allowing good airflow across and around the motherboard helping to keep overall system temps lower.
The Scythe Big Shuriken 2 can be bought for around £38 in the UK making it slightly cheaper than the NH-L12. Shown below there is around 10mm clearance to the underside of the SFX power supply which sits over around half of the fan:
NOCTUA A12X15-PWM 120MM SLIM FAN
These highly anticipated slim fans from Noctua could be the answer to ultra-quiet cooling for SFF systems. Could replacing the stock Scythe fan with one of these models create the ultimate low profile CPU cooler?
The Noctua A12x15-PWM fan can be purchased for around £17 in the UK, making the total cost for this fan + Big Shuriken 2 cooler combination around £55. Mounting the Noctua Fan was a bit awkward as Scythe mounting brackets do not work with this fan, I ended up using zip ties which do a pretty good job of holding it down securely.
The Noctua A12x15-PWM fan is 15mm thick compared to the 12mm of the Scythe 120mm Slipstream fan that comes bundled with the Big Shuriken 2, this takes the total cooler height up to around 61mm and leaving around a 7mm to 8mm gap to the under side of the SFX power supply:
SYSTEM SPECIFICATION
- Case: LZ7 with Fan Guard side panels
- Case Fan: Prolimatech Ultra Sleek Vortex 14
- PSU: Corsair SF450 SFX
- Motherboard: MSI B250i Gaming AC
- CPU: Intel i7-7700 Quad Core 3.6Ghz (65W TDP)
- RAM: 16Gb Corsair Vengeance LPX
- Storage: 250Gb M.2 + 500Gb HDD
- Graphics: Gigabyte GTX 1070 ITX
TEST SETUP
Each cooler setup was put through the same 3 tests each lasting 30 minutes to allow temperatures to settle:
Prime95 was run with 2 threads only to represent a more real world scenario, resulting in a steady CPU usage of around 55% which is close to a typical load for the i7-7700 while playing games. Unigine Valley stresses the GPU to achieve maximum frame rate possible, this results in a GPU usage of around 99%.
- Test 1: Cold boot into idle system, System Fan set to 50% power
- Test 2: Prime95 with 2 threads (max heat option) + Unigine Valley, System Fan set to 50% power
- Test 3: Prime95 with 2 threads (max heat option) + Unigine Valley, System Fan set to 100% power
COOLING SETUP
To keep the testing fair the same fan profiles were used for each cooler setup. For the CPU cooler the fan curve started at 0% at 0C, with a straight line up to 100% fan power at 80C.
CPU Cooler fan Curve used for each test:
The case/system fan was kept at a constant 50% power for test 1 and 2, and 100% power for test 3. MSI Command Center control software for the System Fan:
RESULTS
A brief overview of the temperature and noise results for the heavy load test with 100% system fan power can be seen below:
For more in depth results please see the table below:
CASE FAN
When the system was idle the Prolimatech Ultra Sleek Vortex fan was the loudest component in the system for each setup, at 50% fan power this case fan can be heard as a low humming noise. All the CPU coolers in this test were very quiet during idle and could not be heard over the case fan.
At 100% fan speed the Vortex fan becomes quite loud, in my opinion the few degrees lower temps are not worth the increased noise output, but the performance headroom is there if you need it. I would recommend running the Prolimatech fan under 50% power as it still outputs a lot of airflow even at low RPM’s.
The Big Shuriken is more susceptible to fan turbulence noise caused by the case fan blowing sideways across it, compared to the NH-L12 where the 92mm is sheltered by the heatsink. Lowering the case fan speed to less than 50% power would reduce overall system noise to much lower levels.
CPU TEMPERATURE PERFORMANCE
The Scythe Big Shuriken is the clear winner in terms of outright lowest CPU temperature results, with a max temperature of 60C at stock configuration the Shuriken is 9 degrees C lower than the NH-L12. Therefore if absolute lowest temps or most overclocking headroom is your goal, the Big Shuriken 2 is your winner.
Swapping the Scythe 120mm Slipstream fan out for the Noctua A12x15-PWM slim fan gave a surprise result, the temps were actually slightly higher by around 2 – 3 degrees C. I think this was due to 3 reasons, the first being that under the same fan power the Noctua spins slower creating less airflow, secondly the motor hub (central cylinder) on the Noctua is much larger which will create a bigger dead zone of zero airflow under the center of the fan, in other words the Noctua pushes air through less of the heatsink compared to the Scythe Slipstream fan. The third reason is that the Noctua fan is thicker and sits closer to the underside of the SFX power supply.
Temperature performance is only half of the picture in a well balanced system.
NOISE PERFORMANCE
Across all 3 cooler configurations the NH-L12 was the quietest during the high load testing when using the same fan power profiles. The Scythe Big Shuriken with its stock fan becomes quite audible as the fan RPM’s increase, I would describe it as being quite loud above 50% fan power, the fan tone is also quite annoying with a medium/high pitch whining type noise.
Even though the stock Scythe Slipstream fan gets the lowest temps, it is achieved at the cost of much higher fan noise, not only in pure dB terms, but also its annoying fan tone. Swapping it out to the Noctua A12x15 results in a much quieter/pleasent system as you would expect, all be it at the expense of a couple of degrees higher CPU temperature.
I think if you were to lower the fan curve a little for the Scythe Big Shuriken 2 + Noctua A12x15 combination, you could match the temperature results of the NH-L12 at a lower noise level.
CONCLUSION
The best performing cooler in terms of a balance between lowest noise and temperatures is the Scythe Big Shuriken 2 when paired with a Noctua A12x15-PWM.
Would I recommend this combination for all builds? I don’t think so, the achieved result is only slightly better than the out of the box NH-L12 in bottom fan only configuration. Whether the extra expense and hassle of adding a Noctua A12x15 slim fan to the Shuriken is worth it for a couple of degrees lower temperature is down to your own build priorities.
The Scythe Big Shuriken 2 is a noisy cooler in its stock configuration due to the included Scythe 120mm slipstream fan, I would not recommend this cooler if silence is your priority unless you swap out the fan. For absolute lowest temps though, this cooler should be your first choice.
TOP PICK
The Noctua NH-L12 in bottom fan only configuration is my top pick CPU cooler for the LZ7 case, it provides great out of the box performance with low temperature and noise levels, making it an ideal match for any 65W TDP CPU.
Excuse the cable management in this photo, I didn't have time to make it look pretty swapping all the coolers in and out, NH-L12 Bottom fan only configuration:
Are your also considering doing a test like this with the PSU fan facing inward? I have my screen sitting on the LZ7, and that configuration does get a bit noisy with the NH-L9i. I contemplated getting an NH-L12 and turning the fan around to blow into the PSU.
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Can provideA few updates on the progress made this week:
Here is the new XL-Vent Top Panel, it uses a series of cutouts that are spaced for compatibility with 80mm, 92mm, 120mm and 140mm fans:
The case has up to 130mm in CPU cooler height clearance when using DC-DC power supplies such as the HDPLEX 400W HiFi DC-ATX which can be mounted to the new storage mount panel with dedicated standoffs:
Rear panel with 92mm fan mount and alternative mounting position for HDPLEX 400W PSU. The power input hole is a work in progress, I am looking into ideas for making a swappable small panel for all the common DC input power connection types, but space is tight so not sure if its feasible, the input shown below is for the HDPLEX:
First look at a Solid Oak front panel, I'm still evaluating the material as it's tricky to cut, let me know what you think:
A few updates on the progress made this week:
Here is the new XL-Vent Top Panel, it uses a series of cutouts that are spaced for compatibility with 80mm, 92mm, 120mm and 140mm fans:
The case has up to 130mm in CPU cooler height clearance when using DC-DC power supplies such as the HDPLEX 400W HiFi DC-ATX which can be mounted to the new storage mount panel with dedicated standoffs:
Rear panel with 92mm fan mount and alternative mounting position for HDPLEX 400W PSU. The power input hole is a work in progress, I am looking into ideas for making a swappable small panel for all the common DC input power connection types, but space is tight so not sure if its feasible, the input shown below is for the HDPLEX:
First look at a Solid Oak front panel, I'm still evaluating the material as it's tricky to cut, let me know what you think:
Can you provide the clearance with HDPLEX installed? With a 125mm CPU cooler it will be possible to install a 20/25mm fan on top?
New top panel is functional but I don't like the holes pattern, I think it's not matching with other holes pattern.
I like the new push-button, very clean.
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That would be the ideal solution, I measured the C14 connector on the HDPLEX 300W AC-DC unit and the hole centres were something like 50mm, but looking into the standard C14 measurements it looks like it should be 40mm.
Other issue is that the C14 connector needs to occupy quite a bit of the rear panel making it difficult to position if you want to mount the HDPLEX 400w to the rear panel.
If I get a spare bit of time I'll see what can be done.
The HDPLEX 400W HiFi DC-ATX is positioned near to the top panel with maybe 5 -10mm gap, not enough space for a fan above it.
Fair point about the XL-Vent slot pattern, aesthetics are subjective, so if anyone else has an opinion it would be good to hear?
Bear in mind that the hole pattern has a functional aspect as well as aesthetics.
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