It's not so different from a noctua nh-l9i in every review but C7 is louder.
You should tell your setup to evaluate the benefit of the cryorig.
Have you tried to run the fan at max rpm?
-
Save 15% on ALL SFF Network merch, until Dec 31st! Use code SFF2024 at checkout. Click here!
Production Lazer3D LZ7 - Quiet Gaming Cube PC Case
- Thread starter K888D
- Start date
It's not so different from a noctua nh-l9i in every review but C7 is louder.
You should tell your setup to evaluate the benefit of the cryorig.
Have you tried to run the fan at max rpm?
Hi there,
Simple question... Does overclockers.co.uk ship to Spain? I can't for the live of me find it in their website. And a few users from a spanish forum are interested in your case after I showed it to them as they wanted a "different" case and had a decent budget.
Thanks for the support!
Overclockers UK cannot ship to Spain or Italy, something to do with VAT, seems strange but that's the reason they've given me.
The case may soon be available at Caseking.de and they can deliver to Spain and Italy, I don't know an exact date when this will be happening.
In the meantime if you live in a country that Overclockers UK cannot ship to you can order the case through the Lazer3D website HERE. Please bare in mind that I make the cases to order and the lead time is currently around 3 weeks + shipping.
This case is really awesome and after seeing it, other cases look big/bulky... So really great work. 
The case is too expensive for me since I am in Europe and I also have VAT, and I was wondering if there are any similar cases (in terms of size) that offer good temperatures?
The case is too expensive for me since I am in Europe and I also have VAT, and I was wondering if there are any similar cases (in terms of size) that offer good temperatures?
Quick update:
I've tested the Noctua NH-L12S and it fits, it sits with literally 0mm to spare under the SFX PSU.
I am impressed with the coolers performance exceeding its predecessor, when I get a chance I'll post a full write up.
I've tested the Noctua NH-L12S and it fits, it sits with literally 0mm to spare under the SFX PSU.
I am impressed with the coolers performance exceeding its predecessor, when I get a chance I'll post a full write up.
Looking forward to see the results, the 0mm gap I presume is with the fan in the bottom part, right?
NOCTUA NH-L12S
Noctua recently released an updated version of the NH-L12, replacing the dual fans (92x25mm + 120x25mm) with a single 120x15mm fan. Other changes include an increase in height of the heatsink up to 70mm (was 66mm) to allow fan clearance above standard height RAM.
I ordered one for 2 reasons, firstly to see if it would fit inside the LZ7 when using an SFX PSU, and secondly how well it performs against its predecessor and other popular coolers such as the Scythe Big Shuriken 2 (SBS2).
Let's take a look at the cooler fitted to the MSI B250i Gaming Pro:
First point to make about the NH-L12S is the included fan clears standard height RAM, this allows it to be fitted in any orientation so long as the heatpipes don't interfere with other components. For instance the heatpipes interfere with the RAM on this motherboard, but it can be fitted in any of the other 3 orientations. I selected this setup so the heatsink fins were parallel with the airflow from the case fan.
Here you can see the heatpipes which clear the motherboard rear IO:
With the Corsair Vengeance LPX RAM the rubber pads on the included Noctua NF A12x15 PWM fan rest on top of the RAM module heatsink, there is no distortion of the heatsink, it is literally the perfect fit:
The next interesting point is that the Noctua fan comes installed as standard to push the air up through the heatsink rather than pull down through the heatsink like its predecessor. This is an important point with motherboard airflow which I will talk about more in a bit:
So onto the first important question, does it fit in the LZ7 when using an SFX PSU? Yes it does!
It fits with 0mm to spare, the SFX power supply rests on top of the heatsink, which in turn rests on top of the RAM, perfect. In this particular cooler orientation the PSU sits over around 40% of the heatsink:
Moving onto performance, has replacing the 92x25mm fan with a 120x15mm fan made any difference to temperatures and noise? Can it compete with the Scythe Big Shuriken 2?
TEST SYSTEM
TEST SETUP
The system was put through exactly the same tests the previous coolers were tested with for a direct comparison. This included setting the CPU fan curve for 0% @ 0C straight line up to 100% @ 80C. The System fan was tested at a set 50% and 100% speed.
For testing Prime95 was used with 2 threads (maximum heat test) and Unigine Valley @ 1080p max settings resulting in a steady 55% CPU usage.
RESULTS
Here are the max temp and average noise results with the case fan set to 50%:
Here are the results with the case fan set to 100%:
The full test data can be seen below, comparing fan speeds, system/CPU/GPU temps, noise, gpu clocks, etc:
CONCLUSION
With the case fan set to 50% the NH-L12S matched the NH-L12 with a noise level of 32 dB but at 6C cooler under the same test conditions.
The NH-L12S also matched the temperature of the Big Shuriken 2 when using the same fan (Noctua A12x15 PWM), but not quite when compared against Scythe's own fan, although it should be noted that Scythe's fan achieves this at much louder noise levels.
It was mentioned earlier in this post that the fan pushes air up through the cooler, my initial concern with this was that the exhaust heat from the CPU could heat up the PSU and cause the fan to start spinning up, but this did not happen with the PSU fan remaining off during all tests.
The second point about the fan pushing air upwards is the affect it has on motherboard/system cooling. The VRM's on some motherboards benefit from airflow across their heatsinks, with the downdraft coolers such as the NH-L12 and Big Shuriken 2 they help to keep VRM temperatures nice and low. However with the NH-L12S the air is blown upwards away from the motherboard and this is reflected in higher system temperatures with the NH-L12 recording 46C, the SBS2 recording 42C and the NH-L12S recording 49C for the same test.
SILENCE TUNED
You may have noticed in the full results table was a "Silence Tuned" section for the NH-L12S, for this I decided to see what was the quietest I could get the system to run the Prime 2 threads + Unigine Valley test whilst maintaining a CPU temp of 70C.
Tweaking the fan curves resulted in a CPU fan speed of 917 rpm and case fan speed of 540 rpm, at these speeds the fans were very quiet, resulting in 27 dB sound level.
With the silence tuned fan curves, at idle the CPU fan completely stopped, GPU fan completely stopped, SFX fan completely stopped, the only fan spinning being the case fan at 393 rpm which was pretty much silent at this speed. The recorded sound was 22 dB which was the same sounds level recorded as the system turned off.
Testing this out with an actual game I played a few rounds of PUBG at 4K resolution with low settings for a resulting frame rate of about 50 fps, when paired with my G-Sync monitor it gives a really nice smooth and crisp experience, for this game I prefer detail over frame-rate. The CPU temp topped out at 61C during gaming, at this point the GPU was the loudest component resulting in a sound level of 25dB, i would describe it as a quiet low level hum coming from the GPU side of the case. Not bad at all for a heavy 4K gaming session.
CLOSING THOUGHTS
The extra cooling performance over its predecessor whilst maintaining the same quiet operation makes the Noctua NH-L12S the complete package and in my opinion the top choice CPU cooler for the LZ7 when using an SFX PSU.
Noctua recently released an updated version of the NH-L12, replacing the dual fans (92x25mm + 120x25mm) with a single 120x15mm fan. Other changes include an increase in height of the heatsink up to 70mm (was 66mm) to allow fan clearance above standard height RAM.
I ordered one for 2 reasons, firstly to see if it would fit inside the LZ7 when using an SFX PSU, and secondly how well it performs against its predecessor and other popular coolers such as the Scythe Big Shuriken 2 (SBS2).
Let's take a look at the cooler fitted to the MSI B250i Gaming Pro:
First point to make about the NH-L12S is the included fan clears standard height RAM, this allows it to be fitted in any orientation so long as the heatpipes don't interfere with other components. For instance the heatpipes interfere with the RAM on this motherboard, but it can be fitted in any of the other 3 orientations. I selected this setup so the heatsink fins were parallel with the airflow from the case fan.
Here you can see the heatpipes which clear the motherboard rear IO:
With the Corsair Vengeance LPX RAM the rubber pads on the included Noctua NF A12x15 PWM fan rest on top of the RAM module heatsink, there is no distortion of the heatsink, it is literally the perfect fit:
The next interesting point is that the Noctua fan comes installed as standard to push the air up through the heatsink rather than pull down through the heatsink like its predecessor. This is an important point with motherboard airflow which I will talk about more in a bit:
So onto the first important question, does it fit in the LZ7 when using an SFX PSU? Yes it does!
It fits with 0mm to spare, the SFX power supply rests on top of the heatsink, which in turn rests on top of the RAM, perfect. In this particular cooler orientation the PSU sits over around 40% of the heatsink:
Moving onto performance, has replacing the 92x25mm fan with a 120x15mm fan made any difference to temperatures and noise? Can it compete with the Scythe Big Shuriken 2?
TEST SYSTEM
- Intel i7-7700
- MSI B250i
- Corsair Vengeance LPX RAM
- Corsair SF450 SFX PSU
- Gigabyte GTX 1070 ITX
- 140x15mm Prolimatech Ultra Sleek Vortex Case Fan
- Open Fan Vent with Fan Guard
- GPU Slotted Vents
TEST SETUP
The system was put through exactly the same tests the previous coolers were tested with for a direct comparison. This included setting the CPU fan curve for 0% @ 0C straight line up to 100% @ 80C. The System fan was tested at a set 50% and 100% speed.
For testing Prime95 was used with 2 threads (maximum heat test) and Unigine Valley @ 1080p max settings resulting in a steady 55% CPU usage.
RESULTS
Here are the max temp and average noise results with the case fan set to 50%:
Here are the results with the case fan set to 100%:
The full test data can be seen below, comparing fan speeds, system/CPU/GPU temps, noise, gpu clocks, etc:
CONCLUSION
With the case fan set to 50% the NH-L12S matched the NH-L12 with a noise level of 32 dB but at 6C cooler under the same test conditions.
The NH-L12S also matched the temperature of the Big Shuriken 2 when using the same fan (Noctua A12x15 PWM), but not quite when compared against Scythe's own fan, although it should be noted that Scythe's fan achieves this at much louder noise levels.
It was mentioned earlier in this post that the fan pushes air up through the cooler, my initial concern with this was that the exhaust heat from the CPU could heat up the PSU and cause the fan to start spinning up, but this did not happen with the PSU fan remaining off during all tests.
The second point about the fan pushing air upwards is the affect it has on motherboard/system cooling. The VRM's on some motherboards benefit from airflow across their heatsinks, with the downdraft coolers such as the NH-L12 and Big Shuriken 2 they help to keep VRM temperatures nice and low. However with the NH-L12S the air is blown upwards away from the motherboard and this is reflected in higher system temperatures with the NH-L12 recording 46C, the SBS2 recording 42C and the NH-L12S recording 49C for the same test.
SILENCE TUNED
You may have noticed in the full results table was a "Silence Tuned" section for the NH-L12S, for this I decided to see what was the quietest I could get the system to run the Prime 2 threads + Unigine Valley test whilst maintaining a CPU temp of 70C.
Tweaking the fan curves resulted in a CPU fan speed of 917 rpm and case fan speed of 540 rpm, at these speeds the fans were very quiet, resulting in 27 dB sound level.
With the silence tuned fan curves, at idle the CPU fan completely stopped, GPU fan completely stopped, SFX fan completely stopped, the only fan spinning being the case fan at 393 rpm which was pretty much silent at this speed. The recorded sound was 22 dB which was the same sounds level recorded as the system turned off.
Testing this out with an actual game I played a few rounds of PUBG at 4K resolution with low settings for a resulting frame rate of about 50 fps, when paired with my G-Sync monitor it gives a really nice smooth and crisp experience, for this game I prefer detail over frame-rate. The CPU temp topped out at 61C during gaming, at this point the GPU was the loudest component resulting in a sound level of 25dB, i would describe it as a quiet low level hum coming from the GPU side of the case. Not bad at all for a heavy 4K gaming session.
CLOSING THOUGHTS
The extra cooling performance over its predecessor whilst maintaining the same quiet operation makes the Noctua NH-L12S the complete package and in my opinion the top choice CPU cooler for the LZ7 when using an SFX PSU.
Thanks for the test results, very informative. Question. You list cooler clearance at 67mm when using a SFX PSU, is there actually 70mm or is the Noctua less than the listed 70mm?
The exact clearance is about 69.5mm, the SFX PSU rests on top of the heatsink and you may be able to see in the photos is at a very slight angle.
I list 67mm as the cooler clearance because if you were to fit a cooler which is 70mm tall with a fan on top the fan blades would be touching the underside of the PSU, so I've given a couple of mm clearance. This is why the specs also say under 60mm recommended, to give you at least a 10mm gap.
There's just something amazing about components stacked on top of eachother in an as tight as possible case. Can't get much more efficient than this ! Love the work you've done with the NH-L12S, giving people confidence in a good cooling solution in the LZ7 case !
Yeah it felt awesome putting it together, the exact fitment was soooo satisfying!
Also a big thank you to @Tek Everything for the mention in his latest awesome YouTube video:
I must say though, I was very surprised by those temps your seeing on the i7-8700 with the H55 AIO considering its 65w TDP rating. Coffee Lake seems to be a whole new thermal level!
Coffee Lake is not really suitable for a SFF configuration.
How can a theoretical 65W CPU heats so much, plus with an AIO?!
How can a theoretical 65W CPU heats so much, plus with an AIO?!
The temperatures in that video were taken from his Phanteks Evolve Shift build and a Corsair H55 AIO cooler, I'm not sure how the same setup would perform in the LZ7. Although Jay did mention in the video that the same setup ran cooler in the LZ7 when using the Noctua NH-L9x65. I believe he is releasing another video in the next couple of weeks with more detailed testing.
I just received the Lazer3d LZ7 in the mail, but i can't seem to find the wiring instructions for the Vandal switch. Which cables go to what on the motherboard?
I have noticed a bunch of reviews on just about all intel processors pointing to TDP as the measurement of power consumption.
This is inherently wrong, TDP (thermal design power) refers to the heat dissipation from the processor, not power use.
To measure power consumption, you can use "Intel Power Gadget", software written by a development team at Intel for windows, mac and surprisingly linux. The software was written specifically to measure real time power consumption on supported intel CPUs.
Using Intel Power Gadget, I measured the idle power consumption at just 14 Watts, and under full load during a Handbrake transcoding it reached a peak of 111 Watts of power consumption.
Got that from another forum, I had heard the same thing about the 8700, you can't use the 65W as an actual measurement of how much power the CPU will use.
Have you ever wired up your front panel header? Check your motherboard manual about what goes where
Welcome to the forum!
There is a little printed piece of paper with the Lazer3D branding on it in the bag with a diagram showing which coloured wire is which.
Similar threads
