Cooling Noctua NH-L9 Easy $10 100mm fan upgrade.

[Smallform Gaming]

Parts needed:
1. Noctua NH-L9a or NH-L9i cooler
2. $9.50 Kaze-Jyu Slim 100mm fan
3. $0.40 silicon washer pack from Home Depot (optional)
4. Stock Noctua NH-L9 screws
Tools required:
Phillips screwdriver

The Kaze-Jyu slim fan is 12mm high instead of 14mm. The small silicon washers add a tiny bit of rise and also provide vibration dampening.
The fan blades will hang slightly over the stock heatsink providing steady cooling at 2000rpm.
The fan is slightly louder than the Noctua and because it hangs over you must make sure that there is clearance for the fan to mount. As a bonus, the fan is black so it matches more systems. The 100mm fan can be installed easily with no extra mounting gear thanks to the inclusion of 90/92mm mounting holes.

 

[Smallform Gaming]

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[Smallform Gaming]

 

[jeshikat]

Any difference in temps?

 

[Smallform Gaming]

*The problem is that I don't have very good ventilation.

Closed case testing with the Scythe 100 12mm vs 92 Noctua 14mm.
Low load/idle: -8c average
Moderate Gaming: no change (47-48c)

 

[Smallform Gaming]

Open case (well ventilated) testing.
Low load/idle: -5c (average)
Moderate Gaming: -5c
*I pushed my CPU to 105% and raised the voltage from 1.35 to 1.5 on my RAM and was still -2-3c from the standard Noctua operating temps.
Edited after longer gaming.
It's still a slight improvement though.

 

[jeshikat]

Any thoughts on the noise level and quality compared to the Noctua?

 

[Smallform Gaming]

Quality seems on par.
It is noticeably louder but not obnoxiously so. It also runs at a constant 2000-2180 as it isn't PWM.

 

[Phuncz]

I have one of those Scythe Kaze-Jyu Slim fans from the time I had a Core 2 Quad Q6600 and Silverstone SG02 (I'd guess over 5 years ago) but it's the 1000rpm one. After retiring the case after few years of use, I used the fan to circulate air in a part of a room with some moisture buildup for a few years, so dusty and 24/7 usage. Still it performs like new. It's also inaudible to me, which amazes me for the amount of air it can move and it's tiny size. These are good slim fans in my opinion.

 

[Smallform Gaming]

Quality is nice. It also looks nice.
At 29.22DBA the highest speed version of the 100mm is quieter than the highest speed version of their 120mm fan. I am planning on pairing this fan with the 28.89DBA Kaze Jiuni 1600RPM fan and using it in the S4 mini case. They seem like a logical pairing. The fan is still super super quiet but in all fairness the Noctua fan is nearly silent.