H115i PRO v.s. H115i RGB Platinum?

Trying to decide between the two, what are the pros and cons of each? Which one has newer tech?

https://www.newegg.ca/Product/Productcompare.aspx?CompareItemList=575%7C35-181-152%5E35-181-152%2C35-181-138%5E35-181-138

It's a pump and radiator. The technology is ancient -- or at least not new.

The H115i Pro is Astek OEM. It has an additional 1100 rpm Quiet pump mode the Platinum series does not (Plat. min pump speed 2000). This is good for quiet desktop work, but does result in a measurable performance penalty for heavy or prolonged loads. You need to put it in Balanced mode if you are going to be doing some more substantial work. I have this one. It is quiet and there have been very few complaints in the 18 months or so since release. The pump is RGB, the fans that come with it are not. They are a quiet variant of the ML, plain grey.

H115i Platinum - CoolIT OEM partner. More RGB standard features. Pump ring has D-RGB like settings. The included fans are RGB and they run faster for those that think they need it. You obviously will pay more for those things. Supposedly there is a cold plate improvement on this model, but I have not tested it and those are the kinds of things you put in a marketing statement. There are some notable issues to be aware of with this cooler, all of which you find on the front page of the cooling forum. One if hopefully fixed (USB disconnect). The fluctuating temperature probe, is not resolved and variable in its effect.

If you don't have a favorite (or enemy) in the CoolIT vs Asetek thing, then it really comes down to what you need. If you have no RGB stuff in your case and would like to get into it, the Platinum lets you bolt in a self contained RGB system without the need for additional controllers that will be required with every other type of RGB system. On the other hand, if you are thinking of an extensive RGB fan/strip set-up with Corsair, then you are going to need those things anyway and you won't use the Platinum's controller. The money is better saved by going with the more Spartan Pro, then bolting on your RGB fan of choice. Obviously if you have no interest in RGB and want the quietest set up, the Pro is the way to go.

**I'll pick up the other question here. 240 vs 280mm on a 9900K - All radiators can handle the heat from a 9900K, including a tiny 120mm. The difference is going to be a matter of degrees based on the wattage the CPU puts out. Based on what others have reported and in accordance with typical wattage dissipation, max CPU loads on the 9900K come back at +8C coolant temperature, H115i Pro or Platinum about the same, and 240mm coolers vary from +10-12C depending on the load type. Someone did x264 test for me and reported back a +10C on H100i Plat. SE, which is very good for a 240mm. The difference in all of these is fan speed. You can let the fans on the 360 waddle along and it makes no difference. The 280mm need moderate fan speed to keep up with the 360mm. The 240mm will need heavy 120mm fan speeds to make that 10C mark. I don't know any one who likes high fan speed, so generally you get the biggest you can to keep speeds down. Where the +8/10/12 stuff fits in this is how much worse the CPU temp will get after starting a load. If you room is 20C and the processor idling at 27C, you will get an instant +40-50C rise in CPU temp when you initiate a full 100% load. That additional temp value is determined by voltage and processor design, but it is constant for each voltage step. Where things get tricky is when room and coolant temp changes. So if it's +50C at 27C, then 77C max at 100% is not so bad. But then the coolant creeps up 12C and now that is 89C. Then the room/case warm up 5C more and you are in trouble now. Based on all the various user data I have seen, you don't have a lot of extra room on a 900K if you overclock all cores to 5.0GHz or more and run maximum loads. For that scenario, I would want the biggest cooler available.