Kaby Lake i7-7700k + H100i v2 ?s

Hi there,

Just got a new build put together...been using AMD for quite some time now, before that Intel, now back to Intel. It has been many generations since I ran Intel so I am not too familiar with temps and all...I know the 7700k runs warm but I have a few questions about my setup currently. See below.

- Firstly, I mounted radiator to front due to my open shroud GPU, bringing cold air from front instead of exhausting hot air from radiator and a good portion of the GPU's hot air through top

- I have 3 Noctua 140mm fans, 2 on top and 1 at back all exhausting...this may be an issue with -/+ air pressure? Maybe switch to a H115i to help with this?

- For front mounted radiators is push or pull better? I also may have mounted it improperly, see pics, fans are on one side of mounting bracket and radiator is the other

- Ambient temp is 23-25C, idling temps hover between 31-33C, when running Prime95 I can hear the H100i fans turn up and feel air being pushed through radiator however temps hover between 72-78 and sometimes skyrocket to 89ish, but only for a breif moment before dropping down back to the 75C range. Are these temps right? I feel I may have over tightened my CPU screws and maybe used a tad too much thermal compound....or maybe I'm just over thinking this whole thing.

https://1drv.ms/f/s!AqOCHQW1MOLxsynI5KQ2Yxj9Kkqv - this is a full link, it keeps breaking though. Images of build and setup in here.

Any advice/guidance would be greatly appreciated!

Hi!

- Heat Spreader TIM on the 7700K is horrid. There are reports all over the internet about major temperature fluctuations. Hitting 90 under Prime95 with a Really Good Cooler is not unusual. Hitting 80 under Prime95 even with LN2 is not unusual. Sad, but not unusual.

- Interior air pressure generates a lot of controversy. One bit of physics indicates that compressed air is hotter. However the amount of heat generated by the very minimal compression of the air is not really an issue. To counter this as well, higher pressure of air has more heat conducting capacity and thus can carry more heat away from components. But again, the difference is too small to count. The next item is the fact that fans are working harder to push against that. Unless a horrible fan is installed, This Is Fine. The third thing: Negative air pressure will pull air (and dust) in through every possible nook and cranny. This means that dust gets everywhere. Got an optical drive? Expect it to die a dusty death of doom. Positive pressure keeps all intake limited to the fans which is much more controlled. End result: Dust is the deciding factor. Stay positive.

- Push vs Pull: Aesthetics is one consideration. Do the fans need to display outside the front of the case? Then you might need push with case-fan-radiator. Cleaning is the other consideration. The air flow will cause dust to collect on the radiator and fans. It will collect mostly on the output side of the fans. "Push" puts the fan dust facing the radiator (making it harder to clean) and puts the radiator dust under the fans (making it harder to clean). "Pull" puts the radiator dust opposite the fans (making it relatively easy to peel off like a dustybunny-fur coat) and the fan blade dust collected away from the radiator, making it easy to cotton-ball or cotton-swab off.

Want lower temps? You'd have to delid the 7700K (voided warranty and maybe broken CPU) and replace the TIM. I figure if the CPU is reaching 60+ at stock clocks with LN2 keeping the spreader surface at negative temps, Intel just did a reeeeally bad job with this.

Hi!

 

- Heat Spreader TIM on the 7700K is horrid. There are reports all over the internet about major temperature fluctuations. Hitting 90 under Prime95 with a Really Good Cooler is not unusual. Hitting 80 under Prime95 even with LN2 is not unusual. Sad, but not unusual.

- Interior air pressure generates a lot of controversy. One bit of physics indicates that compressed air is hotter. However the amount of heat generated by the very minimal compression of the air is not really an issue. To counter this as well, higher pressure of air has more heat conducting capacity and thus can carry more heat away from components. But again, the difference is too small to count. The next item is the fact that fans are working harder to push against that. Unless a horrible fan is installed, This Is Fine. The third thing: Negative air pressure will pull air (and dust) in through every possible nook and cranny. This means that dust gets everywhere. Got an optical drive? Expect it to die a dusty death of doom. Positive pressure keeps all intake limited to the fans which is much more controlled. End result: Dust is the deciding factor. Stay positive.

- Push vs Pull: Aesthetics is one consideration. Do the fans need to display outside the front of the case? Then you might need push with case-fan-radiator. Cleaning is the other consideration. The air flow will cause dust to collect on the radiator and fans. It will collect mostly on the output side of the fans. "Push" puts the fan dust facing the radiator (making it harder to clean) and puts the radiator dust under the fans (making it harder to clean). "Pull" puts the radiator dust opposite the fans (making it relatively easy to peel off like a dustybunny-fur coat) and the fan blade dust collected away from the radiator, making it easy to cotton-ball or cotton-swab off.

 

Want lower temps? You'd have to delid the 7700K (voided warranty and maybe broken CPU) and replace the TIM. I figure if the CPU is reaching 60+ at stock clocks with LN2 keeping the spreader surface at negative temps, Intel just did a reeeeally bad job with this.

Thank you for this incredibly helpful post!

- I am considering deliding but don't want to jump right in just yet...I have read temps get really high with this CPU even with decent coolers. I know there is a nifty little deliding tool that makes it very easy but hanging tight for now.

- I'd like to get to positive pressure...I realized what I have going on, 3 powerful 140mm fans working against just 2 120mm intake fans that sit on the other side of the radiator. How can I achieve this with the fans I have and/or moving to a 280mm rad? The only way I can think of right now would be to move rad to top as an intake and 140mms to front as intake OR just flip the 140mm at top to draw cool air in as intake?

- I have a filter sitting in front of the intake fans on the radiator (see pic) I am considering moving them to a pull config but want to wait to see how I fix the air pressure first. Did you view the pics in my OneDrive link? I am worried I have the mounted the rad and fans improperly? https://1drv.ms/i/s!AqOCHQW1MOLxsyqrcJohUwU5Sr29

Thanks for your help here....I have no issues buying a H115i or another 120/140mm fan or 2 if that will help with pressure but I am really trying to nail it down! Thanks for all your help!

Delidding: If you're prepared to put something better TIM-wise in there, -and- willing to take a good risk of killing the CPU, go ahead.

Airflow: If you don't have anything inside the case blowing upward, you can reverse the top fan to pull in. You can reduce the speed (and thus flow) of the back fans to help make them just guidance fans. You can test the pressure in a generic manner by looking for a non-fan-bearing opening and using light plastic to see whether it's blown away from the case (Yay!) or sucked against the case (Awww).

Filter and Dust: One of these days filters will get alllll the dust. <.< Unless you plan to use lighted fans -and- there is a well-displayed pretty front to the case, use pull. Case -> Radiator -> Fans. Dusting and lifespan maintenance will make you happier.

Mounted wrong: Can't see if the hoses are down. If they are not, they are wrong. If they are, they are fine.

Remember: Bigger fan radius can move more air with less noise. But more fans will always be more noise. Fans will only ever help the system to remain n degrees offset above ambient. So something like a 115 would just mean more potential cooling capability with less sound. Do you plan to overclock (a lot)? If not, you're already in "Overkill Land" ^.^ Example: I am running a 7700K at 4.6GHz (for some insane reason the mobo won't let it go any lower) and an H100 V2 (240mm radiator). Because I have RGB fans, I have the radiator at the top with fans drawing in and in push config. So I actually have five fans in and one out as a "guidance" fan (I smoke-tested the airflow. It's shockingly beautiful despite the massive imbalance). I keep the room below 75F (24C) at all times, so I keep the fans at 1200RPM and everything is keen. The CPU tj jumps to 82C instantly under load, but the coolant stays below 35C after it's stabilized after two hours of high load and the CPU never breaches 80. But I can also turn off all three front fans and the only effect is that system temps in the case increase by 3C. And they don't look as nice. <.<

Delidding: If you're prepared to put something better TIM-wise in there, -and- willing to take a good risk of killing the CPU, go ahead.

Airflow: If you don't have anything inside the case blowing upward, you can reverse the top fan to pull in. You can reduce the speed (and thus flow) of the back fans to help make them just guidance fans. You can test the pressure in a generic manner by looking for a non-fan-bearing opening and using light plastic to see whether it's blown away from the case (Yay!) or sucked against the case (Awww).

Filter and Dust: One of these days filters will get alllll the dust. <.< Unless you plan to use lighted fans -and- there is a well-displayed pretty front to the case, use pull. Case -> Radiator -> Fans. Dusting and lifespan maintenance will make you happier.

Mounted wrong: Can't see if the hoses are down. If they are not, they are wrong. If they are, they are fine.

 

Remember: Bigger fan radius can move more air with less noise. But more fans will always be more noise. Fans will only ever help the system to remain n degrees offset above ambient. So something like a 115 would just mean more potential cooling capability with less sound. Do you plan to overclock (a lot)? If not, you're already in "Overkill Land" ^.^ Example: I am running a 7700K at 4.6GHz (for some insane reason the mobo won't let it go any lower) and an H100 V2 (240mm radiator). Because I have RGB fans, I have the radiator at the top with fans drawing in and in push config. So I actually have five fans in and one out as a "guidance" fan (I smoke-tested the airflow. It's shockingly beautiful despite the massive imbalance). I keep the room below 75F (24C) at all times, so I keep the fans at 1200RPM and everything is keen. The CPU tj jumps to 82C instantly under load, but the coolant stays below 35C after it's stabilized after two hours of high load and the CPU never breaches 80. But I can also turn off all three front fans and the only effect is that system temps in the case increase by 3C. And they don't look as nice. <.<

- Passing on the delidding for no.

- I have nothing in the case that blows upwards so considering drawing in cool air from the top. I see what you are saying about slowing down the back fans to use them more as guidance than anything else.

- The case is a Phantek Enthoo Evolv Tempered Glass edition and I do not have LED fans so I can switch to pull config on rad in front (if I keep it there)

- The rad hoses are at top of casing, point "down". I'm more concerned with the fan mounting bracket between the rad and the fans. If you click the first OneDrive link (please let me knwo if it is broken) I have a snapped a few pics of the fans and the rad.

- Don't plan to overclock much at all. I like the sounds of your build. Are your other 3 fans 140mms or 120mms? May just flip my 140mms to mimic something similar to you have. Curious do you have a blower style or open shroud GPU? Mine is an open shroud, not sure how much this affects things but may have to test out your setup to see if I can get similar results.

One other good reason to not want inward top fans is cats, mind you. If they get on top of the case, it can make for trouble unless there is solid material between them and the fans.

Closed loop radiator hoses should be at the bottom of the radiator when possible (This is usually indicated in the installation directions) for a lower chance for premature failure due to eventual coolant evap and air. <.< If the radiator is mounted horizontally (top of the case) this is easy. If vertically (back or front) the radiator should be above the inlet of the hoses. But in this case, hose length prohibits that, so monitor things more closely after a year or two.

Found the first post's link. GPU is fine (Same one I have). I would surmise that inward top fans will put more direct air flow against the GPU's backplate and force more front-fan airflow out below the GPU which will help it run cooler.

Front fans to radiator are, as you noted, not-optimal. Lots of room for airflow between the fan and radiator that reduces air going through the radiator. Get that to pull and it will resolve it. Looks like the case is plenty big enough.

One other good reason to not want inward top fans is cats, mind you. If they get on top of the case, it can make for trouble unless there is solid material between them and the fans.

 

Closed loop radiator hoses should be at the bottom of the radiator when possible (This is usually indicated in the installation directions) for a lower chance for premature failure due to eventual coolant evap and air. <.< If the radiator is mounted horizontally (top of the case) this is easy. If vertically (back or front) the radiator should be above the inlet of the hoses. But in this case, hose length prohibits that, so monitor things more closely after a year or two.

 

Found the first post's link. GPU is fine (Same one I have). I would surmise that inward top fans will put more direct air flow against the GPU's backplate and force more front-fan airflow out below the GPU which will help it run cooler.

 

Front fans to radiator are, as you noted, not-optimal. Lots of room for airflow between the fan and radiator that reduces air going through the radiator. Get that to pull and it will resolve it. Looks like the case is plenty big enough.

No cats here so we are good there.

I did not know this....I have seen a ton of videos of people installing (or people that have them installed) front mounted radiators like the way I have it; however, I do see what you are saying which concerns me but the only other option would be to move it to the top as an exhaust...I suppose I could do an intake but then I'm blowing hot air down onto the GPU, the opposite to your point about intake fans at top blowing cooler air from outside onto backplate. I like that idea.

I will be replacing the rad fans and moving those to a pull config (maybe even push/pull) mounted inside of the cage mounting bracket. I was concerned about airflow from the small font vents if fans were mounted inside the cage but I don't see it being an issue.

Thanks for your help.

The issue you and most other Kaby Lake owners are facing is the CPU physically retains more heat than you would like. Changing cooler configurations has very little effect on this process. You need to take an initial/peak reading of your coolant temperature while under load/gaming to see how much potential there is for CPU reduction. If your coolant temp (H100i v2 Temp) only goes up 4C, then the most you can ever reduce the CPU temps through any fan settings is 4C. Since 100% efficiency is usually not possible, this may not be an effective way to target your issue.

I am not quick to recommend people start stacking fans in push-pull, but if you insist on using that front filter and since the radiator is blocking the only intake pathway, I might consider it. However, there is a fairly substantial obstacle to deal with. The H100i v2 and all your motherboard headers are limited to a 1.0A maximum. Since current is not a steady variable, this is not something where you can run at a theoretical 0.95A and be guaranteed safe. Four SP120L fans on the H100iv2 pump controller or any single motherboard header is risky. You would need to split them over two headers or in in combination across the pump and motherboard. If I were going to pursue this path, I would likely change fan types to a lower current (and likely lower RPM) PWM radiator fan that would allow me to run all four from the H100i v2. This is another reason to take a good look at your coolant temp behavior first, before starting down that road.

You should always experiment, especially the easy no hassle kind of changes. Does the front filter make a difference? Take it off and see. Rather than try and chart very dynamic CPU core temps, measure the coolant temperature delta (idle/peak values) and any other motherboard sensor data you have.

Same thing for top fan arrangement, although my recommendation is you leave it as is. The H100iv2 dumps waste heat into the case. The 1080 when under load dumps waste heat into the case. You want to get all of that out as quickly as possible. In your current configuration, you have three fans to do that. By turning the top around to intake, you now have one. Sure some air will be pushed out your vents, but put your hand down there. Does it feel like the same amount of air that is coming out of the exhaust fan above? Not even close. The purpose of your case fans is to remove the air inside the case and replace it with (hopefully) cooler air from somewhere else. With one exhaust fan, your case exchange rate will always be limited by whatever that one fan can remove. That is likely to be evident in your case internal temperature which in turn affects all of your hardware.

This positive/negative pressure stuff is one of the most virulent internet disasters of all time. Rather than debate the point yet again, if you want to maintain "positive pressure" within your case, keep control over the fan speeds. You certainly don't need to blast them at idle or likely even at load. It is still the volume of air in vs out that determines the "pressure balance". The airflow and speed of the fans matter in that regard. You shouldn't need more than moderate top and rear fan speed when gaming I would be happier with lower fan speeds when possible. (3 slow turning exhaust fans vs 2 slow intake fans and 1 rear at maximum)

You are also welcome to flip-flop your front H100iv2 fans back and forth from front to back side of the radiator. It will not change the resistance the fan faces from the radiator and dust filter. It does not matter which side of the fan faces the resistance. It is cumulative along the pathway. However, what might change is the sound of the fan. Acoustics are a little different the fan is not the same on both sides. Remember you are evaluating based on the difference in coolant temperature and I don't think there will be much to talk about there. So, if you prefer one side or the other for acoustics or aesthetics. by all means switch.

The issue you and most other Kaby Lake owners are facing is the CPU physically retains more heat than you would like. Changing cooler configurations has very little effect on this process. You need to take an initial/peak reading of your coolant temperature while under load/gaming to see how much potential there is for CPU reduction. If your coolant temp (H100i v2 Temp) only goes up 4C, then the most you can ever reduce the CPU temps through any fan settings is 4C. Since 100% efficiency is usually not possible, this may not be an effective way to target your issue.

 

I am not quick to recommend people start stacking fans in push-pull, but if you insist on using that front filter and since the radiator is blocking the only intake pathway, I might consider it. However, there is a fairly substantial obstacle to deal with. The H100i v2 and all your motherboard headers are limited to a 1.0A maximum. Since current is not a steady variable, this is not something where you can run at a theoretical 0.95A and be guaranteed safe. Four SP120L fans on the H100iv2 pump controller or any single motherboard header is risky. You would need to split them over two headers or in in combination across the pump and motherboard. If I were going to pursue this path, I would likely change fan types to a lower current (and likely lower RPM) PWM radiator fan that would allow me to run all four from the H100i v2. This is another reason to take a good look at your coolant temp behavior first, before starting down that road.

 

You should always experiment, especially the easy no hassle kind of changes. Does the front filter make a difference? Take it off and see. Rather than try and chart very dynamic CPU core temps, measure the coolant temperature delta (idle/peak values) and any other motherboard sensor data you have.

 

Same thing for top fan arrangement, although my recommendation is you leave it as is. The H100iv2 dumps waste heat into the case. The 1080 when under load dumps waste heat into the case. You want to get all of that out as quickly as possible. In your current configuration, you have three fans to do that. By turning the top around to intake, you now have one. Sure some air will be pushed out your vents, but put your hand down there. Does it feel like the same amount of air that is coming out of the exhaust fan above? Not even close. The purpose of your case fans is to remove the air inside the case and replace it with (hopefully) cooler air from somewhere else. With one exhaust fan, your case exchange rate will always be limited by whatever that one fan can remove. That is likely to be evident in your case internal temperature which in turn affects all of your hardware.

 

This positive/negative pressure stuff is one of the most virulent internet disasters of all time. Rather than debate the point yet again, if you want to maintain "positive pressure" within your case, keep control over the top and rear fan speeds. You certainly don't need to blast them at idle or likely even at load. It is still the volume of air in vs out that determines the "pressure balance". The airflow and speed of the fans matter in that regard. You shouldn't need more than moderate top and rear fan speed when gaming I would be happier with lower fan speeds when possible. (3 slow turning exhaust fans vs 2 slow intake fans and 1 rear at maximum)

 

You are also welcome to flip-flop your front H100iv2 fans back and forth from front to back side of the radiator. It will not change the resistance the fan faces from the radiator and dust filter. It does not matter which side of the fan faces the resistance. It is cumulative along the pathway. However, what might change is the sound of the fan. Acoustics are a little different the fan is not the same on both sides. Remember you are evaluating based on the difference in coolant temperature and I don't think there will be much to talk about there. So, if you prefer one side or the other for acoustics or aesthetics. by all means switch.

- Yes I realize I am using no base to start with so it is very hard to tell what is or isn't going on. Thanks for this.

- I have been thinking about this. I have a 4-pin Y-splitter and an open 4-pin pump header on the mobo so I can certainly do this if I'd like. I don't necessarily need to use the filter but with the tempered glass case I'd prefer to pull as little dust in as possible. I just ordered a new set of fans for the rad but can easily order another 2; however, I ordered these https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608052 . Still thinking this part through, rad at top is another option I suppose?

- Yes, I need to be more precise with this instead of just setting up, recording nothing and then just setting it to load/letting it idle for a bit. again, thank you for this.

- Yes, I have thought about this as well. Just need to continue to test things. I've had quite a few people tell me or show me cages with 4 or 5 intakes and just 1 exhaust that run fairly cool and have little to no dust in them but I completely understand what you are saying as well. I know there is info all over the place out there that will say one thing or next but it is nice to hear different people's thorough responses like yours here. Thank you.

- Reading this point after the last...now what you are saying makes much more sense. I may just flip them back and turn them way down and the exhaust up slightly. Adding my new Noctuas on the rad will help pull slightly more air in front.

- First things first I need to mount the fans to the radiator, I wanted the fans so close to the air filter that I completed neglected that the fan mounting bracket was in between the fans and rad. Silly of me....but my new fans are on the way and I will swap them out for those and fix this. I'll then do some testing with and without the air filter, different speeds, fans flipped, etc.

All in all, your responses were incredibly thorough and very insightful. Thank you for that, let me know if you have any thoughts on my comments. Cheers!

Yikes, the 3000 RPM NF-F12 industrial is beyond overkill. First, that 2000-3000 RPM range is intolerable, no matter how insensitive you are. Second, it won't make a bit of difference for your CPU cooling. The problem is not getting the heat out of the coolant stream (that's what the fans do). The root of the issue is the thermal conductivity at the CPU/heat spreader/cold plate junction, in combination with CPU voltage. At least the 120mm version can go down to 700 RPM or so, unlike its bigger brother, but the 2000 rpm would have been overkill and a solved the other issue.

You cannot put 4 x NF-F12 (3K), 4 x SP120L fans, or any combination of these on a 4 way splitter and then connect them to the H100i v2 or your motherboard. The NF-F12 (3K) is 0.30A per fan and the SP120L is 0.36A per fan. Any combination of four will blow either the H100i v2, your board header, or both. A 1.0A limit is still standard for motherboard headers unless you have one of the High Current headers on some high end boards. If you are going to do this, use the 2000 rpm industrial PWM version with its ridiculously low 0.10A current draw. You can put four of those on anything, although I would still not recommend combining two of them with 2xSP120L fans on the same header. The NF-F12 is certianly effective, although the most common reason to use push-pull is so you can use a quieter, slower, or prettier fan without giving up performance. A single pair of NF-F12 (2000) would be more than enough for any loads.

The simplest solution for a number of your problems would be to move the H100i v2 up to the top as exhaust. You can flip it around to intake from there if you want, but that would not be my first choice. I just don't see any reason to stick the radiator on the front, choke off your intake, and then push all the waste heat into the case. Any notion of using "cooler" air to keep your temps down is not a factor in your situation. Take a look at your coolant temp deltas. That is the amount of potential CPU reduction available.

Yikes, the 3000 RPM NF-F12 industrial is beyond overkill. First, that 2000-3000 RPM range is intolerable, no matter how insensitive you are. Second, it won't make a bit of difference for your CPU cooling. The problem is not getting the heat out of the coolant stream (that's what the fans do). The root of the issue is the thermal conductivity at the CPU/heat spreader/cold plate junction, in combination with CPU voltage. At least the 120mm version can go down to 700 RPM or so, unlike its bigger brother, but the 2000 rpm would have been overkill and a solved the other issue.

 

You cannot put 4 x NF-F12 (3K), 4 x SP120L fans, or any combination of these on a 4 way splitter and then connect them to the H100i v2 or your motherboard. The NF-F12 (3K) is 0.30A per fan and the SP120L is 0.36A per fan. Any combination of four will blow either the H100i v2, your board header, or both. A 1.0A limit is still standard for motherboard headers unless you have one of the High Current headers on some high end boards. If you are going to do this, use the 2000 rpm industrial PWM version with its ridiculously low 0.10A current draw. You can put four of those on anything, although I would still not recommend combining two of them with 2xSP120L fans on the same header. The NF-F12 is certianly effective, although the most common reason to use push-pull is so you can use a quieter, slower, or prettier fan without giving up performance. A single pair of NF-F12 (2000) would be more than enough for any loads.

 

The simplest solution for a number of your problems would be to move the H100i v2 up to the top as exhaust. You can flip it around to intake from there if you want, but that would not be my first choice. I just don't see any reason to stick the radiator on the front, choke off your intake, and then push all the waste heat into the case. Any notion of using "cooler" air to keep your temps down is not a factor in your situation. Take a look at your coolant temp deltas. That is the amount of potential CPU reduction available.

A few folks have suggested them to me as they use them on their H100is with great success and say they are relatively quiet. I'm sure under max load they will ramp up and become very loud but don't plan on doing much work under load.

No that is not was I planning on doing. 2 fans hooked up to H100i and then to CPU header and other 2 hooked via splitter to PUMP header on MoBo. Another reason to get the 3k version is because of the color scheme. It matches my theme, the brown and tan do not. I planned on dialing em back anyhow. I suppose I can move to lower RPM fans that would match my color scheme and use 4 of them in push-pull or see how the 3ks do and go from there. I prefer quiet over a few extra degrees on CPU so maybe the 3ks aren't great idea unless I can build a nice smart curve for them to use.

I can easily move rad to top and set to exhaust, flip the 140mm to front and set to intake but feel this may cause negative air pressure within the case unless I really turned up the 140mms? Maybe I just need to test a bunch of scenarios out and go from there....need to start with coolant temp deltas first !

I do think it's time you got in there and did some testing. You are not going to damage anything, regardless of your configuration -- unless of course you do hook all the greedy fans onto one header.

I am going to again suggest you try and cancel the 3K's and get 4 x NF-F12 industrial 2000 rpm PWM version instead. It is the same fan you are looking at, but with a better operating range 400-2000, and you could put all four on the pump header saving yourself some trouble with balancing two sets of fans running from two different control variables. You can also get yourself some nice Chromax color corners to replace the brown that come with the Industrial line. I have a few boxes of white and black. I have owned the 3000 rpm models and I still regularly use 6-8 of the 2000 rpm versions. The 3K 140mm is the only Noctua fan I ever gave away. It is purpose built and there are some negative consequences to using it. I also think there is genuine acoustic benefit to eliminating the SP120L from your system entirely.

I've been testing another brand of water cooler all evening. I was hoping for some improvement, but there isn't much to be found. I am running some relatively weak (but pretty) fans that have a rather irritating LED control box that gates their speed at 450-1000 or 800-1400. Coolant delta at 900 rpm? +7C. At 1400? +7C. This is on a 5930K at 4.5 and with a cache overclock to 4.0. It pulls between 205-215 watts at full throttle. You will have significantly less wattage to dissipate and a smaller coolant delta. Don't overvalue the fans too much. I have hundreds of them and change monthly. It just doesn't make much difference from a performance point of view.

On the offchance that you haven't already sorted it I would add 2 things.

1) Stope using Prime95 to test your system

2) Consider the Corsair ML120 fans.