Cooling Thicker fan on Noctua nh-l9i

Thauner

Average Stuffer
Original poster
Oct 5, 2017
63
26
I currently use my noctua nh-l9i as cpu fan. And no surprise, it's very silent.

I saw that I can get 25mm fans that fits the cooler both in the beige color and in the grey redux one.
can actually fit it in my case and still have 10mm before I hit the plate.

Will they perform better than the 14mm stock fan?
 

Josh | NFC

Not From Concentrate
NFC Systems
Jun 12, 2015
1,869
4,466
www.nfc-systems.com
I currently use my noctua nh-l9i as cpu fan. And no surprise, it's very silent.

I saw that I can get 25mm fans that fits the cooler both in the beige color and in the grey redux one.
can actually fit it in my case and still have 10mm before I hit the plate.

Will they perform better than the 14mm stock fan?

Noctua has different fans for different purposes. Their redux fan is not designed for high pressure so I wouldn't choose that for my cooler even though many people prefer the color. The NF-A9 PWM might perform better and if I had the room I would give it a shot.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Thauner

Thauner

Average Stuffer
Original poster
Oct 5, 2017
63
26
just barely (tested in DAN A4-SFX)
Wich fan did you test?

Noctua has different fans for different purposes. Their redux fan is not designed for high pressure so I wouldn't choose that for my cooler even though many people prefer the color. The NF-A9 PWM might perform better and if I had the room I would give it a shot.
Thanks, then I can rule out the redux fan! Don't care much about the color, kinda like the brown one. But if the 1cm thicker fan can give me better temps like 5-10c down, then it's well spend I think.
 
Last edited:

Thauner

Average Stuffer
Original poster
Oct 5, 2017
63
26
It won't give you anywhere near that. I tested both the 25mm and 14mm noctua fans on a similar cooler and only got 1c difference.
Thank you, what about noise level? Also the same?

If you want to see a 5-10C drop then buy a Delta and some earplugs. :)
Haha, then I'll stick with the noctua fan!

Tested with the redux fan, and I actually got a ~8c worse results on full cpu load. Looks great, performs worse.
Okay, worse like Josh said ^^ thanks
 

IntoxicatedPuma

Customizer of Titles
SFFn Staff
Feb 26, 2016
992
1,272
I couldn't tell much difference in noise. The thicker fan was pulled from an NH-U9S which is also pretty quiet.
 

bledha

Airflow Optimizer
Feb 22, 2017
307
268
Be Quiet has the Silent Wings 92mm PWM fan. Checks all my boxes over the stock L9i fan. Careful, they also have the Shadow Wings with nearly identical specs but the rifle bearing, it isn't bad either however.I have used both with the L9i and it worked well in my tests. the redux does look great on it but I saw no improvement either.

Silent wings has (vs NF-A9x14 PWM):

-Fluid dynamic bearing
-Lower dB values
-Higher airflow
-Better air pressure
-Rubber mounting
 
Last edited:

Thauner

Average Stuffer
Original poster
Oct 5, 2017
63
26
I couldn't tell much difference in noise. The thicker fan was pulled from an NH-U9S which is also pretty quiet.
Okay, I feel more and more that there's no need to change the fan.

silent wings has (vs NF-A9x14 PWM):

-Fluid dynamic bearing
-Lower dB values
-Higher airflow
-Better air pressure
-Rubber mounting

Sounds like that's the one I should try then.
Did you see better temps with this fan over the noctua?
 

bledha

Airflow Optimizer
Feb 22, 2017
307
268
Okay, I feel more and more that there's no need to change the fan.



Sounds like that's the one I should try then.
Did you see better temps with this fan over the noctua?

I saw better temps with many different fans over the noctua one, however the be quiet ones were, well...quieter. I have also used the NF A9 PWM (on the U9S and D9L stock) on the L9i and there is a better performance there for sure. As for noise, at idle, it is quieter than the NF-A9x14, however when the CPU is loaded it is louder. This isn't a surprise however, it is rated louder on Noctua's specs (3 dB).
 

Thauner

Average Stuffer
Original poster
Oct 5, 2017
63
26
I saw better temps with many different fans over the noctua one, however the be quiet ones were, well...quieter. I have also used the NF A9 PWM (on the U9S and D9L stock) on the L9i and there is a better performance there for sure. As for noise, at idle, it is quieter than the NF-A9x14, however when the CPU is loaded it is louder. This isn't a surprise however, it is rated louder on Noctua's specs (3 dB).

Thank you again for the info. But now I'm confused :) wich fan would you suggest for best temps under load?
 

bledha

Airflow Optimizer
Feb 22, 2017
307
268
If you don't like the look of the Noctua fans, and silence is a concern for you, go with either the Shadow Wings or Silent Wings fans from Be Quiet! They share almost identical specs save for the difference in bearing used. They are still both quieter than the Noctua fans. The thicker Noctua fan performs the best statically but is considerably louder.

Anyway, as per your original question - all 3 of these fans mentioned perform better than the stock thin L9i fan.
 

Thauner

Average Stuffer
Original poster
Oct 5, 2017
63
26
Anyway, as per your original question - all 3 of these fans mentioned perform better than the stock thin L9i fan.

Perfect!!
Then I have to buy the wings fan. Have to find it at a Danish shop :)
I can't find silent Wings 2 or 3, is there one I should go for compared to another?
 
Last edited:

bledha

Airflow Optimizer
Feb 22, 2017
307
268
Perfect!!
Then I have to buy the wings fan. Have to find it at a Danish shop :)
I can't find silent Wings 2 or 3, is there one I should go for compared to another?

The Be Quiet fans are a little pricey in Europe right now, just ordered some myself. Buy whichever are in your price bracket. Silent Wings 2 (92mm) is available in Amazon EU supply chain, but so are the Shadow Wings. Again, you will be fine with either. There are no Silent wings 3 92mm fans, check the Be Quiet website for all the details.

Good luck.
 

Thauner

Average Stuffer
Original poster
Oct 5, 2017
63
26
The Be Quiet fans are a little pricey in Europe right now, just ordered some myself. Buy whichever are in your price bracket. Silent Wings 2 (92mm) is available in Amazon EU supply chain, but so are the Shadow Wings. Again, you will be fine with either. There are no Silent wings 3 92mm fans, check the Be Quiet website for all the details.

Good luck.

Guess what, you're right! The one called wings 3 was another size. I think I might buy it from Amazon or ebay, I can wait the ekstra days :)

Again thank you for you help!
 

bakakiba

Chassis Packer
Oct 13, 2017
18
5
It would be interesting to see how the mounting will be. Please post pics later! :)

I specifically ordered my custom Mod Mini to be able to have 25mm fan
 

McTeags

SFF Lingo Aficionado
Feb 18, 2017
130
148
It won't give you anywhere near that. I tested both the 25mm and 14mm noctua fans on a similar cooler and only got 1c difference.
I just tried a similar test with a similar result. I’m probably going to just stick the 14nm fan back on the heat sink and use the 25mm fan for a different project.
 

Thauner

Average Stuffer
Original poster
Oct 5, 2017
63
26
I just tried a similar test with a similar result. I’m probably going to just stick the 14nm fan back on the heat sink and use the 25mm fan for a different project.

But he tried with the redux 25mm fan.
Bledha is talking about be quiet fans.

What 25mm fan did you try?