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H115i + be quiet Dark Base Pro 900


skxc

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I'm getting pretty bad results with cooling on this case and h115i. Idle sitting somewhere between 35-40, and I think that's a bit high. Fans start and stop like mad, even on the quiet profile. And god they're LOUD.

 

The case has 3 x 140mm fans, very silent. Currently mounted - two front (intake), one on the back (exhaust). The H115i is set on the top of the case as exhaust, radiator outside the case metal skeleton in the plastic enclosure and fans inside the metal case.

 

The dark base pro has side vents and I'm pretty sure this is the issue. So the whole top is solid apart from a few lines in the back and then the lateral areas have airways (see pictures).

 

Any clue how I can set this up better? Should I reverse the fans and the radiator?

 

http://imgur.com/a/l8L2d

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I've inversed the position of the radiator and fans (radiator inside, fans outside) and I'm getting better results, base temperatures are somewhere around 28-33C and in high loads 40-45C.

 

Also setup a custom profile for the H115i Fans, as they were still loud in the Quiet preset.

 

Would it be worth it to modify the case with these kind of temperatures?

cl.thumb.jpg.6825377360166480173cb3a2eb61644e.jpg

cl_conf.thumb.jpg.9676aa6650cc82415a9ec7573753e3dd.jpg

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I have same setup and case with same results. I am using a Z270 MSI Gaming 5 mobo. It has a pump header on the mobo. Can I attach the fan/pump header forum the H100i V2 to the pump header? Alsu you say you made the fans intake instead of out flow? I may try that. Any other info or advice you may have appreciated before I do this. Think I will also change Corsair's thermal paste with some Artic Silver. Thanks
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Unfortunately, it is likely the case design is always going to create higher than expected coolant temperatures. I don't think we have seen anyone with a DB900 complain, but there have been several Silent Base 800 owners with the same issue. That case has a theoretically better "dome top" that has a bit more air space. Ultimately, it is the same problem of the waste heat being trapped around the radiator until pushed out. I am not sure anyone has tried modding any of these cases yet.

 

This was the most recent one I can remember. Is it possible to front mount the H115i in that case?

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I have same setup and case with same results. I am using a Z270 MSI Gaming 5 mobo. It has a pump header on the mobo. Can I attach the fan/pump header forum the H100i V2 to the pump header? Alsu you say you made the fans intake instead of out flow? I may try that. Any other info or advice you may have appreciated before I do this. Think I will also change Corsair's thermal paste with some Artic Silver. Thanks

 

It's still set as exhaust, but now the radiator is inside the case and the fans outside (in the top area) - see attachment. It works better for me in this setup.

 

Is it possible to front mount the H115i in that case?

 

It is, but it would leave you with a single drive bay, you'd have to dismount all the others to make room.

h115i.thumb.jpg.9b116cf1a9a78a773cf55facfa56adc2.jpg

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Yes that's how I have mine but Im still getting readings near 40 in BIOS. Very hard to get exact temps as MSI software temps fluctuate all over. Guess the true test is to check temp in bios. Right now my room is 72F and my temp is 40C at idle. Still too high. My old Antec 900 with a Corsair Hyper 212 with a i7-3770K would go down to 29-30C at idle. Also in regards to front mount you are correct. It only leaves room for 1 drive bay. Fortunately that's all I need as I have 2 M.2 drives installed but not sure I want to disassemble everything, Would you mind doing the test at idle with the top cover removed being you are working on your PC now and let me now if there is a significant temperature drop? Thanks a lot.
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At some point, you both might want to try turning the fans to intake. Normally, I would not choose this option as the 'external cooler air' isn't worth much. However, it is probable the limitation is the getting the waste heat out of the area versus actual airflow across the fins. This puts the waste heat in the case, but with some strong rear exhaust you might be able to offset that penalty.

 

Whether the fans are above or below the radiator shouldn't matter from a resistance standpoint, however the tone is often different. This is something you can decide on your own. More often unique case features or materials make one or the other more appealing.

 

The other thing to keep in mind is this not a fatal obstacle. You can go on as your are without compromising your normal use. The real nuisance is the loud fans. That can be addressed by shifting the entire water curve up from its designed 20-40C range to something that reflects your baseline coolant temperature, perhaps 30-50C or whatever. Also, in any case full Be Quiet fans, the grey SP140L's will always be the loudest thing going. You may want to consider replacing them with a fan designed for a lower noise profile. You don't want or need to run speeds above 1500 rpm for the total power draw you can get from these CPUs and can keep the any fan below that.

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Yes that's how I have mine but Im still getting readings near 40 in BIOS. Very hard to get exact temps as MSI software temps fluctuate all over. Guess the true test is to check temp in bios. Right now my room is 72F and my temp is 40C at idle. Still too high. My old Antec 900 with a Corsair Hyper 212 with a i7-3770K would go down to 29-30C at idle. Also in regards to front mount you are correct. It only leaves room for 1 drive bay. Fortunately that's all I need as I have 2 M.2 drives installed but not sure I want to disassemble everything, Would you mind doing the test at idle with the top cover removed being you are working on your PC now and let me now if there is a significant temperature drop? Thanks a lot.

 

Focus on the difference between room temperature and the coolant temperature (H100i v2 Temp/H115i Temp) at idle or load. There are a number of reasons for higher than expected CPU temps and who knows what state the CPU is kept in while in the BIOS. If the problem is environmental as expected, you will see a noticeable difference between the room temperature and the coolant temperature at idle. A normal difference might be 4-7C. I suspect you are on the higher end of that. At idle, it may be able to stay close to expectations, but at load is where the problem may worsen. When it actually has some more substantial heat to dissipate, it the coolant temps may again go higher than expected.

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Would you mind doing the test at idle with the top cover removed being you are working on your PC now and let me now if there is a significant temperature drop? Thanks a lot.

 

Case top off, everything else mounted

 

@idle

30~32C Package temp

24~30C Core Temp

 

in load temps go to around 40-45C

 

I'd say temperatures are a bit more stable, they don't vary as much, but honestly there's not much of a difference, even though I thought it would be.

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Any suggestions of a test I can run to observe peak temps and how the cooler responds. Never that big into over clocking but know there are programs (Prime95) that test these things. Just need a short one to test CPU temp. Would 5 minutes at Intel Extreme software do the trick.? Thanks.
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Case top off, everything else mounted

 

@idle

30~32C Package temp

24~30C Core Temp

 

in load temps go to around 40-45C

 

I'd say temperatures are a bit more stable, they don't vary as much, but honestly there's not much of a difference, even though I thought it would be.

Thanks for doing that for me. That's pretty significant I think. It went down about 10 degrees for you if I am correct?. If that is the case I may convert mine to front intake and see what I get. It will take me a couple of hours but if I do I will get back to you with my results. I guess with your build thats not an option but as I have only one 4TB HDD and 2 M.2 drives I can do it. Thanks.

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Case top off, everything else mounted

 

@idle

30~32C Package temp

24~30C Core Temp

 

in load temps go to around 40-45C

 

I'd say temperatures are a bit more stable, they don't vary as much, but honestly there's not much of a difference, even though I thought it would be.

 

I would not expect any better than that, regardless of case or cooler. In your screen shot, you had a H115i Temp (coolant temp) of 37C. That is on the upper end of load coolant temps for normal room temperature and certainly not acceptable for idle. If the coolant temp is 37C, than your baseline CPU core temps will also be around 37C. That puts you into a disadvantageous starting position and your then identical load temps would be in the upper 50's.

 

 

Don't run Prime95. Use AIDA or Intel XTU to start. They are both milder and serve the general purpose. However, in this situation I don't think there is a problem with either cooler and while you can certainly run CPU benchmarks, the more meaningful coolant temp data may come from actual use, whether that is gaming, rendering, encoding, or whatever you do. The GPU will affect the coolant temperature to some degree and that will need to be factored into any decision about where to put it and exhaust vs intake.

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It went down about 10 degrees for you if I am correct?.

 

Nope, temps went down for me after I inversed the fans and radiator (their position in the case, not the air flow). After I removed the top there wasn't much of a difference.

 

Did you have case sides on or off? And also are the fans now intake or exhaust?

 

Case sides on, front fans intake, back fan exhaust.

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If this is the actual temp we should judge the pumps effectiveness how does this look at in a 72F room at idle. Some minor programs running Utorrent, internet, etc)

 

Coolant temperature (H100i v2 or H115i Temp) is one of the data points to consider. When you spin the fans up, you can't cool the CPU directly. That is done at the cold plate and the ability to transfer heat from the CPU is down to the conductivity of the materials (CPU/TIM/Cold plate). The coolant then transports the heat to the radiator where it is expelled (hopefully). However, heat travels both ways across the cold plate, so your coolant temperature effectively determines your minimum CPU temperature. If performing action "X" causes your CPU temp to rise +20C, the lower the coolant temp, the lower the final CPU temp (25+20C vs 35+20C). Your coolant temp cannot be below the room temperature and that (although more specifically local case ambient temperature) determines its baseline. You will always be 8C warmer for everything in a 28C room compared to a 20C room.

 

29C is certainly not a terrible coolant temp, unless it is 18C in your room. However, I am still more interested in how your actual use temps work out. In stock CPU settings and with C-states/EIST enabled, you will only put out a trickle of heat at idle. The temps should be good regardless. Whether they stay way when stressed and if the coolant is able to come down in temp after are more telling questions. In the original screen shot, the coolant temp was 37C and that is much different.

 

SKXC had his radiator above the frame. I have not looked at the case manual nor do I have it for inspection. Is it necessary to put the fans or radiator above the frame? From the pictures, it looks like both would fit underneath, but that is often misleading.

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I would not expect any better than that, regardless of case or cooler. In your screen shot, you had a H115i Temp (coolant temp) of 37C. That is on the upper end of load coolant temps for normal room temperature and certainly not acceptable for idle. If the coolant temp is 37C, than your baseline CPU core temps will also be around 37C. That puts you into a disadvantageous starting position and your then identical load temps would be in the upper 50's.

 

 

Don't run Prime95. Use AIDA or Intel XTU to start. They are both milder and serve the general purpose. However, in this situation I don't think there is a problem with either cooler and while you can certainly run CPU benchmarks, the more meaningful coolant temp data may come from actual use, whether that is gaming, rendering, encoding, or whatever you do. The GPU will affect the coolant temperature to some degree and that will need to be factored into any decision about where to put it and exhaust vs intake.

 

Looks like a 75C is kind of high is it not?

806379788_Screenshot(8).thumb.png.5c658541bb412fba7df3845ba103bf05.png

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Two stress tests with Intel XTU, 5 min each:

 

Test1

CL4 - custom fan speed config

33% @30C

40% @40C

50% @50C

65% @66C

CPU Package Temp - 53C max.

 

---

 

Test2

CL4 - performance config preset

100% @40C

CPU Package Temp - 53C max.

 

In both tests H115i temp was ~34C.

 

I'm pleased with these results as now I can keep the PC pretty quiet, fans running @ 33-50%.

 

SKXC had his radiator above the frame. I have not looked at the case manual nor do I have it for inspection. Is it necessary to put the fans or radiator above the frame? From the pictures, it looks like both would fit underneath, but that is often misleading.

 

The radiator above the frame is what caused the high coolant temperature for me, after I moved it inside the frame (with fans mounted above the frame) it dropped, it's now usually close to the CPU temp +/- 2-3 degrees.

 

Both do not fit underneath unfortunately they push into a motherboard cooler plate. The case is very modular though and I could move the motherboard down 5-10CM, but that would really squish my cable management setup.

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