Recommended fans for S4 (or "Why is it always Noctua?")

[SiG]

It seems people can't recommend the NH-L9i enough (even though there's the NH-L12), but I was wondering what would be considered better alternatives to Noctua's fans?

I tend to trust the all-copper construction of the Zalman CNPS8900 Quiet on my current rig, so I thought for a while the Zalman CNPS2X was the only alternative given its smaller profile, but then along comes the Cryorig C7 Cu, which seems very much like the NH-L9i but is all copper.

I guess one of my main questions too would be why hasn't Noctua created their own all-copper low-profile coolers given its better thermal performance? As it stands, I trust copper coolers more due to their thermal conductibility.

 

[Kmpkt]

While on a materials basis copper is universally better at heat transfer and dissipation, there are a multitude of factors that can determine heatsink efficacy. The short answer to your question is that the fins are probably not the rate limiting factor in the L9i's design hence their decision to retain a copper base with copper heat pipes and aluminum fins. Because the aluminum fins in the current configuration are adequate to dissipate all of the heat that reaches them from the IHS, swapping them to copper would add significant cost and weight with little to no performance benefit.

 

[Biowarejak]

Are you asking about fans, too? The copper part of this was answered by one of the few people around here with real experience in that market Noctua does have redux variant but it's a fair bit thicker than the stock fan on that cooler as I recall. Won't fit with the side panel on.

 

[Ghost]

Are you asking about fans, too? The copper part of this was answered by one of the few people around here with real experience in that market Noctua does have redux variant but it's a fair bit thicker than the stock fan on that cooler as I recall. Won't fit with the side panel on.

Yea hopefully they will have a thin redux before long. They are blacking out a bunch of their coolers including the L9 so we will have that option prob this year or early next at the latest I hope. I know people always wanna try something else cuz of the coolers but honestly Noctua is the best for a reason. They just work and most times are silent.

 

[SiG]

How do the Zalman coolers compare to Noctua, or in this case, vice versa? It feel the preference for Noctua might be a bit overblown, sort of like nVidia GPU cards...

 

[Nanook]

The main reason I pick Noctua is for performance vs noise. Probably one of the best, if not the best, fans in terms of performance to noise ratio.

 

[SiG]

The main reason I pick Noctua is for performance vs noise. Probably one of the best, if not the best, fans in terms of performance to noise ratio.

My only qualm is them not having a copper solution in terms of heat-sink options.

I've seen people pair up the Cryorig C7 Cu with one of Noctua's fans, and wondered if this would be a viable solution. At this rate, I probably don't want to trust anything less than copper seeing how Coffee Lake can run really hot, and that's not even to mention the need for delidding...
Credit goes to Hudzzy for posting his setup.

 

[Nanook]

My only qualm is them not having a copper solution in terms of heat-sink options.

I've seen people pair up the Cryorig C7 Cu with one of Noctua's fans, and wondered if this would be a viable solution. At this rate, I probably don't want to trust anything less than copper seeing how Coffee Lake can run really hot, and that's not even to mention the need for delidding...
Credit goes to Hudzzy for posting his setup.

Or you can say that your qualm is Cryorig not having a better fan...

Btw, I have tried just about every popular cooling solution for the S4M and A4-SFX. Personally I haven’t seen a significant performance improvement with the C7 Cu over the C7.

 

[Ghost]

My only qualm is them not having a copper solution in terms of heat-sink options.

I've seen people pair up the Cryorig C7 Cu with one of Noctua's fans, and wondered if this would be a viable solution. At this rate, I probably don't want to trust anything less than copper seeing how Coffee Lake can run really hot, and that's not even to mention the need for delidding...
Credit goes to Hudzzy for posting his setup.

Hey where did you get the blackedout C7 and does it fit in the s4m with the noctua fan? thanks

 

[Biowarejak]

Hey where did you get the blackedout C7 and does it fit in the s4m with the noctua fan? thanks

It's not blacked out, it's copper, and also not his build

 

[Ghost]

It's not blacked out, it's copper, and also not his build

Saw the cold plate but the fins looked black in the picture. O well looked cool