Choosing between H115i RGB Platinum and H150i PRO

Hello guys ! Now I am building my PC and as you probably noticed, I have already a H115i RGB Platinum AIO cooler, but I still have many doubts about its capacity to cool my I9 9900k CPU overclocked to 5.0 Gb, installed on a Gigabyte Z390 Aorus Master in a Corsair Obsidian 500D SE RGB case, compared to a H150i PRO.

Of course, the H115i will be mounted in the top of the case, but in this scenario, the radiator fans will pull hot air from the inside. From the other point of view, the 150i PRO must to be mounted in the front of my case, eventually in a push-pull configuration, and this way, will pull cold air from outside the case. I consider the push-pull config will be better than only a push config, both for the CPU and the GPU temps.

If I have to choose again, I will choose the H150i PRO, but now I can’t do anything, because the returning time of my H115i RGB Platinum has expired.

I am still willing to buy a H150i PRO, but with the regret that my H115i will be useless and already paid.

Now, what is your advise, should I buy the 150i PRO, or you think my 115i will be enough for my goal ? I want to use my PC for gaming ( 4-6 hours per day). Thank you.

Skip it unless there is a compelling other reason.

Generally speaking, the cooling capacity of a 280mm cooler vs 360mm is extremely close to non-existent at moderate or higher speeds and heat levels around 200-235W. That is about where your 9900K would be at full tilt in a heavy professional program. You need to get up to the 300W mark before a 360mm has a slim 2-3C advantage at medium speeds, again less at higher fan levels.

I am not sure anyone has done a critical evaluation of push-pull on the H150i with serious testing hardware. However, if you pull up any review of custom cooling loop 360mm radaitors in the 27-45mm depth category, you'll find fractional differences with single sided push vs push-pull. You don't get a lot of return on this in terms of coolant temp reduction. In contrast, you do see measured improvements with push-pull on 140mm fans and 280mm radiators, typically an extra 50W or so at 1000-1200 rpm. In short, a 280mm in push-pull is about equal to a similar 360mm radiator in single sided push. At worst, a 1-2C difference for constant loads. For gaming with much more variable CPU load, I would not expect you to see any difference in temperature. You likely can get away with slightly less fan speed on the 360mm vs 280mm, but I still don't think that is meaningful. You can park those ML140s at 900 rpm and not loose a thing. I am doing it right now on a double 280mm custom system with about 500W running through.

We have had some people do some coolant temp data at full throttle AVX style programs for the 9900K. Coolant delta is about +8C. If you want to run a CPU stress test for 15 min and note the beginning and ending coolant temps, you can make a comparison. However, if the primary function is gaming, I would use that as the measuring stick, strictly scientific or not. The top mount will absorb some of the GPU waste heat and if you are being penalized for that, it should show in the coolant temps.

Here is a recent discussion regarding differences between the various products.

http://forum.corsair.com/v3/showthread.php?t=187348

Thank you very much for your competent answer and for your time to write it. I knew already some details you revealed, like about the same temps between them, and many others not. Should I understand from your answer, that the H115i is good too for my purpose, unless the noise ?

Shoud I use it without doubts ?

Sadly, is impossible to build a push-pull configuration on 280 mm into my case, due to the dimension limitation above the motherboard.

No, I didn't think you would be able to use push-pull on the 500D nor do I think you are missing out. I have run this test a ridiculous number of times over the last several months trying to sort out this build. That push-pull is worth about 2C at 330W on my 280mm x 1. At the 105-175W you are likely to produce while gaming, that is going to be about 1C. Not worth the trade off in noise for a second set of fans.

I think the only reason to consider the H150i would be: 1) You are taking a temp penalty from the GPU and front mounting offers cooler temperatures. However, you may be able to front mount the 280mm as well and the gain would be the same. 2) There is something about the Platinum you don't like or really wanted in the H150i Pro. The only real key difference is the 1100 RPM quiet pump mode. Not really recommended for gaming, but if you are having a hard time with minimum pump speed/noise on the Plat., that is a definite difference. 3) You simply prefer the look of a 360mm radiator on the front or want more top clearance. A lot of new cases use this shallow top design. I don't like it and might do it for that.

I can confirm that the H115i Pro (not RGB), when front mounted, easily cools the i9-9900K @5.1GHz when running AIDA64 stress tests (for hours on end). 80C is about average on all cores. Obviously, the fans are quite loud in this scenario, however, under normal operating conditions, you can barely hear them.

I have the same Aorus Master mobo, but a different case. Note that my setup is push/pull, but this is to create better airflow through the case, for the other components, rather than to enhance the CPU radiator performance, which is perfectly fine just with the stock fans.