Dec 2020 Reader Review time :) - need some volunteers please!

[spacein_vader]

Could borrow Zak's chainsaw?

I'm hoping there's a software option, but if not I have some wire cutters.

Given the time of year I could string it up outside my house and leave them on.

[kompukare]

Hey... you might be IDEAL for this tbf..you know what you want, and you understand it. AND.. it will fit your next upgrade in future........

Don't bow out... you're a hardcore regular

Thanks, but it appears my 60 litre monster* is not big enough.
Guess 360mm radiators are simply huge.
*Aerocool DS200. Plus points: sound dampening mats for sidepanels and a fan controller is 0/1/2/3 when not many can turn a case fan off; minus point: the plastic bits have soft-touch feel which I know will eventually be impossible to clean

And I'll find out if its possible to turn the RGB off!

That's the spirit: get in with the first most important aesthetic question!
Luckily I have no window on my case so aside from wasting energy I doubt I'd care!

[Saracen999]

I'm hoping there's a software option, but if not I have some wire cutters.

Given the time of year I could string it up outside my house and leave them on.

Might look a bit daft come next summer, though, with 'christmas' lights still on.

[ik9000]

Hi Zak, if no other takers I can do a test on a 3900x MSi x570 ACE in a massive Shinobi XL and compare this new AIO to the noctua NH-U14s. (no other AIO to compare it to though). If it has the right s775(?) brackets I can also stick it on an old pentium D I have kicking around in the loft as those things ran hot hot hot.

However, I don't actually want one of these so I don't mind if it goes to someone else. I use my machines for sound recording as well as the usual stuff and AIO coolers can often come with too much pump noise compared to controlled air cooling - and the latter is usually easier to edit out even if it gets picked up as it's a more constant and subtle pitch.

So if no better options I can do a comparison with this focus if that's of interest but tbh I'd prefer not to have the hassle of removing my current cooler as I imagine I'll end up prefering the Noctua at the end of it - I'm happy to be pleasantly surprised though

I won't do too much OC with it though - not if it needs to be a Decemeber turn-around as mrs ik9000 will swing for me if I don't get the decorating finished.

Also my graphics card - it's on 1GB GTX460 so no dx12. If you need gpu benches I might need to borrow a 1660/R570 or something similar/better otherwise it's not really a modern test I guess.

I doubt i will be able to limit it to 160 words however. That doesn't sound enough to go into any depth.

While we're on the subject of forum reviews:

I'm currently doing a comparison of fan combinations and using pwm adjustments using the noctua pwm controller and also an asetek voltage controller (not together) to see what the noise: performance sweet spot is for various fans on the NH-U14s and in the case, attempting to take sound recordings, dB measurements etc as well as running the usual (basic) bench tests.

Fans currently in the line up are
cooler fans:
Noctua NF-a15
Noctua Chromax NF-a15 HS
Akasa Viper 140mm

(and combinations of the above)

case fans:
Noctua NF-a14
Akasa Apache 120mm
Akasa Apache 140mm
bitfenix spectre 230mm
bitfenix spectre pro 230mm

others:
Silverstone 96mm and 120mm fans (noise comparison only)
Bitfenix 120mm, 200mm spectre (noise comparison only)


If anyone wants other fans in there let me know but you'll need to supply and post them over. I'm happy to test a few more but I can't afford to buy any more than I already have. This will be a Christmas holiday project most likely to get the clips edited and posted online etc.

[Saracen999]

....

Luckily I have no window on my case so aside from wasting energy I doubt I'd care!

True enough. But that's partly what annoys me - it irks me paying for stuff to be built in when all I want to do is disable it.

Years ago, I approached my new BMW dealer about a new M3. Among the spec was built-in air-con. I wanted to know how much it would save without it? But it's free, says the salesman. "Oh great", I said, "I'll pop my existing car in next week and you can fit it".

Turns out that by "free" he meant it's now standard spec, and included in the massive price rise since the previous version. "Free", my rear end. Oh, and ditto, for their stereo. It's "standard", allegedly. Yeah, but the personally chosen aftermarket system, which cost me about 10% of the cost of the whole damn car, blew it into a cocked hat. Their "standard" was well below mine.

I don't want to pay for banks of coloured LEDs and especially not for a fancy rotating doodad in the middle of a cooler, just to turn them off. So I'd buy something else.

[Saracen999]

....

I doubt i will be able to limit it to 160 words however. That doesn't sound enough to go into any depth.

...

It's not. A standard magazine full page was around 900 words (max, 1000) and a half-page, which still doesn't give much detail, was typically 450 (plus one photo/screenshot). A "reader" review is really just a quick personal impression, at 150. It did say, of course, "MINIMUM of".

All just my "IMHO", of course.

[Zak33]

Hi Zak, if no other takers I can do a test on a 3900x MSi x570 ACE in a massive Shinobi XL and compare this new AIO to the noctua NH-U14s. (no other AIO to compare it to though). If it has the right s775(?) brackets I can also stick it on an old pentium D I have kicking around in the loft as those things ran hot hot hot.

However, I don't actually want one of these so I don't mind if it goes to someone else. I use my machines for sound recording as well as the usual stuff and AIO coolers can often come with too much pump noise compared to controlled air cooling - and the latter is usually easier to edit out even if it gets picked up as it's a more constant and subtle pitch.

So if no better options I can do a comparison with this focus if that's of interest but tbh I'd prefer not to have the hassle of removing my current cooler as I imagine I'll end up prefering the Noctua at the end of it - I'm happy to be pleasantly surprised though

I won't do too much OC with it though - not if it needs to be a Decemeber turn-around as mrs ik9000 will swing for me if I don't get the decorating finished.

Also my graphics card - it's on 1GB GTX460 so no dx12. If you need gpu benches I might need to borrow a 1660/R570 or something similar/better otherwise it's not really a modern test I guess.

I doubt i will be able to limit it to 160 words however. That doesn't sound enough to go into any depth..

Well, you're another ideal candidate tbh. You might be suprised by it

How you review and test it is up to you - this is a proper open honest get stuck in kinda job.
Genuinely... you test it and tell everyone what it's like

MInimum 150 words,. so you are VERY welcome to expand

[Zak33]

It's not. A standard magazine full page was around 900 words (max, 1000) and a half-page, which still doesn't give much detail, was typically 450 (plus one photo/screenshot). A "reader" review is really just a quick personal impression, at 150. It did say, of course, "MINIMUM of".

All just my "IMHO", of course.

you're exactly right... he can do a good few pages if he fancies!

[Saracen999]

you're exactly right... he can do a good few pages if he fancies!

Now that's a green light to indulge, ik.

That muttered cursing in the background is the poor sub-editor.

[wazzickle]

I'm not far from the perfect candidate.

I'm looking to get into benchmarking and testing, am also a writer and proofreader, and I have three separate systems with which to test any kit. I've been getting more into overclocking and undervolting and have been watching basically everything Optimum Tech has put out (and Linus tech, when I can still get something from the video despite muting him) and have some grand ideas and designs for my own unique way to enter this market.

I have a couple of pieces of kit I still need, such as professional sound-recording equipment, a temperature sensor and wall power meter, but with what I do have, I'm fairly certain I could turn out a professional-looking review, and I'd certainly enjoy it a lot.

My current main rig is a 10500 with a 1070, but I also have a 3570k that will be perfect, and also a 6600k that may or may not be bricked (yet to get round to testing it. I also recently purchased a AIO corsair watercooling solution which can act as a baseline if nothing else.

[Zak33]

I'm not far from the perfect candidate.

I'm looking to get into benchmarking and testing, am also a writer and proofreader, and I have three separate systems with which to test any kit. I've been getting more into overclocking and undervolting and have been watching basically everything Optimum Tech has put out (and Linus tech, when I can still get something from the video despite muting him) and have some grand ideas and designs for my own unique way to enter this market.

I have a couple of pieces of kit I still need, such as professional sound-recording equipment, a temperature sensor and wall power meter, but with what I do have, I'm fairly certain I could turn out a professional-looking review, and I'd certainly enjoy it a lot.

My current main rig is a 10500 with a 1070, but I also have a 3570k that will be perfect, and also a 6600k that may or may not be bricked (yet to get round to testing it. I also recently purchased a AIO corsair watercooling solution which can act as a baseline if nothing else.

You... are blummin ideal

Next victim signed up right here

[Zak33]

So far then:

Proper victims:

spacein-vader
wazzickle

Trying to dodge the bullet but likely to stumble into it
ik9000
kompucare

[Jonj1611]

Be good to see the results. I used to have an AIO before and found the pump quite noisy, now using a dark rock pro 4 and its virtually silent and cools well!

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Be good to see the results. I used to have an AIO before and found the pump quite noisy, now using a dark rock pro 4 and its virtually silent and cools well!

The 360R is unusual as it has the pump in the radiator! It is actually one of the few not made by Asetek or CoolIT.

[ik9000]

The 360R is unusual as it has the pump in the radiator! It is actually one of the few not made by Asetek or CoolIT.

well how have they managed that? Does it have separate pump and fan connectors to go onto the two mobo headers or is everything off one header? There will still be pump noise thuogh - location of pump less important than the issue that it has to pump something around presumably?

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

well how have they managed that? Does it have separate pump and fan connectors to go onto the two mobo headers or is everything off one header? There will still be pump noise thuogh - location of pump less important than the issue that it has to pump something around presumably?

Its the same OEM behind this pump:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTXYKaf949Y