Is extra cooling required for my build

Hercules Smith · 26 Nov 2018 at 17:11

New HTPC build so far:

Ryzen 5 2400G
Noctua NH L9x65 AM4 CPU fan
MSI B450M Mortar
2 x 8GB Corsair Vengeance 3000mhz
Crucial MX500 500GB SSD
Silverstone ML04 case
be quiet Straight Power 450W

The power supply is has more W than needed but was the lowest in that range - I'm going for quiet running.

I will need to overclock the memory slightly to get 3000 mhz.

Will I need an extra fan in the case? I imagine the most taxing thing it will do is play 4k movies while maybe downloading stuff. Thanks

mattyfez · 26 Nov 2018 at 19:43

I'd say no, you also don't need 16gb ram for playing videos and downloading files 8gb is plenty.

Hercules Smith · 26 Nov 2018 at 21:09

mattyfez said:
I'd say no, you also don't need 16gb ram for playing videos and downloading files 8gb is plenty.

Thanks.

Yes, I did have 8GB in there to start with but I've upped it to 16GB just to future proof it a bit - it's about £45 more. My last HTPC build back in 2005 was given way more oomph than it needed at the time and it lasted for 13 years. Maybe that extra memory will get used by 2031

mattyfez · 26 Nov 2018 at 21:28

If you are wanting a silent build, a motherboard with fan profiles in the bios would be a good way to keep noise down.
Letting fans do what they want can certainly result in extra humming or other reverberation. If you have the option to set custom fan curves in bios then I would say that's a must.

Hercules Smith · 26 Nov 2018 at 21:43

On my previous build I used a bit of software called Speedfan. It started as part of start up and the % usage of each fan was set to be quiet unless a certain temperature was exceeded.

mattyfez · 26 Nov 2018 at 21:49

Yeh similar thing but a lot of new motherboards have a similar feature built into bios.

Jamin280672 · 27 Nov 2018 at 03:44

Hercules Smith said:
On my previous build I used a bit of software called Speedfan. It started as part of start up and the % usage of each fan was set to be quiet unless a certain temperature was exceeded.

Don't worry, that MSI motherboard has the option to set custom fan profiles in the bios, dead easy to do too, and you can hear it working on the fly, so as you adjust it, you'll hear your fans slow down etc etc.

Hercules Smith · 27 Nov 2018 at 07:36

Thanks mattyfez, Jamin. That's all good then.

So I don't need an extra fan on the side of the case. Brill

doyll · 27 Nov 2018 at 11:52

Try it without a top intake and see. It will most likely be fine. You can always add a fan if needed. Case only has 80mm CPU clearance and NH-L9x65 is 65 with fan. That leave only 15mm for intake fan .. and while there are some fans 13mm thick, having 2 fans that close together often makes a lot of noise.

I suggest you experiment with fan on cooler mounted pulling air out of cooler as well as pushing air into cooler. I've found most of the time with this kind of small coolers fan pulling almost always gives lower temps.

Hercules Smith · 27 Nov 2018 at 14:44

doyll said:
Try it without a top intake and see. It will most likely be fine. You can always add a fan if needed. Case only has 80mm CPU clearance and NH-L9x65 is 65 with fan. That leave only 15mm for intake fan .. and while there are some fans 13mm thick, having 2 fans that close together often makes a lot of noise.

I suggest you experiment with fan on cooler mounted pulling air out of cooler as well as pushing air into cooler. I've found most of the time with this kind of small coolers fan pulling almost always gives lower temps.

I'm not sure what you mean. Are you suggesting putting a fan on top of the CPU fan? Pulling air out as well as pushing in - not sure how you mean

doyll · 27 Nov 2018 at 18:56

Hercules Smith said:
I'm not sure what you mean. Are you suggesting putting a fan on top of the CPU fan? Pulling air out as well as pushing in - not sure how you mean

Turn the cooler fan over so it is pulling air out of cooler instead of pushing air into the cooler.

Hercules Smith · 27 Nov 2018 at 19:20

Oh right, I see. I would have thought it did it that way anyway.

doyll · 27 Nov 2018 at 19:33

The below image shows what I'm talking about

Hercules Smith · 27 Nov 2018 at 19:57

Quite. I just assumed the fan pulled the heat away from the cooler like the pics on the right. I assume I'll be able to choose which way round the fan goes then?

doyll · 27 Nov 2018 at 20:04

Hercules Smith said:
Quite. I just assumed the fan pulled the heat away from the cooler like the pics on the right. I assume I'll be able to choose which way round the fan goes then?

Noctua fan can be mounted either way. The side of fan with the mounting frame for motor on it is the exhaust side of fan.