A while back we already did a small preview on the new Corsair H5-SF All In One cooling solution. Here's a small recap on the aforementioned article.

 

 

 

This is what Corsair claims at the product page of the Hydro series H5 SF:

Quiet, powerful low-profile liquid CPU cooling for high-performance Mini-ITX PCs. The Hydro Series H5 SF is a low profile liquid CPU cooler that provides efficient cooling for small form factor Mini-ITX systems. Building a small form factor system shouldn't have to mean compromising on processor speed, and with the H5 SF you can provide reliable cooling for your system's high performance CPU.

Not really much to add as indeed when unboxing the unit has similar dimensions comparable to our mITX motherboard, so at first glance a pretty oversized cooling unit for such a tiny setup. Due to the blower fan the H5 SF not only blows air through the radiator fins but also expels the hot air around the CPU socket. Looking at the picture set below you will notice the radiator's dimensions inside the shroud are less than what most people would imagine.

Main features:

• Liquid closed CPU High Performance cooling solution
• Silent Blower type fan, pulls air over the vital motherboard components
• Intel LGA1150, 1151, 1155, 1156, 2011(V3) & LGA1366 compatible
• AMD AM3(+), AM2(+), FM1, FM2(+) compatible, requires original back plate
• 5 years Warranty

 

 

 

 

 

Noctua is one of them brands that has established itself in the world of PC cooling. High performance, yet silent cooling solutions are what one pays for; austrian engineering for the win! Today we have a look at one of their latest Small Form factor solutions the NH L9x65. The main focus for Noctua is to warrant decent cooling performance yet ensuring maximum compatibility in regards of motherboard, enclosure and memory support. Not an easy mission to achieve, though never underestimate them Noctua engineers.

 

 

Main features:

• 65mm low profile cooler, this with the included 14mm thin 9CM fan. Excellent for limited clearance compact HTPCs or Small Form Factor cases
• NF-A9x14 PWM premium fan
• 100% Memory and PCIe card compatibility
• Low Noise Adaptor included (LNA)
• Intel LGA 1150, 1151, 1155, 1156 and LGA 2011 compatible. LGA1366 requires optional NM-I3 kit
• AMD AM3(+), AM2(+), FM1, FM2(+) compatible, requires original back plate
• NT-H1 Thermal compound included
• 6 year warranty

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Cryorig M9i might be not 100% designed with Small Form Factors enclosures in mind, though due to its low total height (including the 92mm Fan) of 124.6mm and the memory compatible slanted design, it can still be that high performance option to cool down your favorite processor. The general build quality is pretty good in regards of its low retail price of 33 euros.

Main features:

• Small size Tower CPU cooler with silent 92mm Fan
• True Copper base plate design with 6 aluminum heat pipes.
• Memory compatible design
• M9I is Intel LGA 1150, 1151, 1155, 1156 compatible.
• M9A is AMD AM3(+), AM2(+), FM1, FM2(+) compatible
• 3 Years Warranty

 

 

 

Corsair H5-SF:

Like mentioned in the preview article installing this Hydro is not as straightforward as its big brethren. The mounting bracket has to be installed at the same time as the motherboard inside the case; also due to the length of the tubing one has to really push down the radiator/blower to get it sort off installed on the radiator stands-off. Really wondering how long it will function without any leaks, the pressure on both sides of the tubing seems a bit too much too my taste, especially noting the shorter tubing on the model shown at the Corsair website. Secondly the H5-SF was not compatible with the ROG Impact VII/VIII boards due to the vertical PWM/heat sink daughter-board. Thirdly one needs to use low profile memory modules as the space is limited. Last but not least the cooler's performance depends a lot on the utilized case as it vents the hot air out via the aft of the radiator/blower setup.

 

 

 

 

Noctua NH L9x65:

Air coolers are in general way easier to install than their AIO counterparts. The little Noctua NH L9x65 shares the typical Noctua Secufirm mounting system, similar to the flagship models. Why change a working concept? Due to its limited dimensions this cooler is compatible with any motherboard or enclosure, also it does not interfere with the memory modules. What can one say, the Noctua engineers did their homework. No installation woes here, top job Noctua engineers!

 

 

 

 

 

Cryorig M9i:

The Cryorig M9i medium sized tower cooler, installs like the Noctua competitor in a matter of minutes. Thanks to a well designed plastic back plate and a minimalistic component usage. Cryorig also ensures memory compatibility as the tower is mounted at an offset/slanted position. The total height of the unit is 124.6mm so pick your favorite enclosure accordingly.

 

 

 

 

 

Time to put the dynamic trio to the test. We OC'ed all the cores of the Intel core i7-4770K at the speed of 4GHz. This is more than plenty of power for any Small Form Factor PC, no matter the purpose of the build.

The testing method comprises of stressing the CPU during 30 minutes with Prime 95 Small FFT set. Temperatures are monitored by the freeware Realtemp software. The Idle test were conducted during first boot with the PC idling in Windows 7 during 15 mins. All tests were conducted 3 times with enough cool down to have a stable output. Ambient room temperature was 20°C.

 

 

Performance wise both the Corsair H5 SF and the single tower Cryorig M9i go head to head and keep the core temperatures well within the safe limit. We stress again these are core temperatures being listed, these are hotter than the CPU temperature read out by e.g. the motherboard's bios. We included the Corsair H80i results as reference, however these results were obtained when conducting tests in a full blown mid-tower chassis. The little Noctua NH-L9x65 is really a good performer when taking its size into account, easily outperforming the boxed Intel solution. Now Noctua has a little guide on TDP which can be found here: basically our i7-4770K Haswell is already stretching it as we conducted our tests with a mild overclock to all the cores that are being hammered by the Prime95 stressing tool. Nevertheless it held up without breaking a sweat! Now using this cooler on a LG2011 platform is really pushing things out of the envelope, although Noctua says the NH-L9x65 can handle it I remain skeptical. To be honest I'm not even keen on testing such a mini cooler on them expensive processors.

The cooling performance is pretty solid for all tested coolers. But there is a big but, the Corsair needs the blower fan to pick up some serious speeds to achieve the above results, thus the generated noise also goes up exponentially. This is one of the big differences between the Corsair H5 SF and the two other air coolers in the round-up. The two air coolers remain very enjoyable to the ears, even during the stress testing. I think the below chart says it all...

 

 

 

For a living room experience, I would recommend only the two air coolers here, the Corsair H5 SF would remain way quieter if it was paired by a lower specced processor. Again our test bed is pretty powerful, this even for modern standards. It yields way more heat than an I3 or even an I5 processor CPU will do. Time to wrap it up!

Today we have tested three diverse cooling solutions for a small form factor build. Each cooler has its own strengths and weaknesses. Lets break it down cooler per cooler:

 

 

The Corsair H5-SF is the same cooler as we have spotted in the Corsair "Bulldog" gaming enclosure, finally it has become available as a retail unit. The concept of this cooler looks really nice on paper. The silent labeled blower fan serving a dual function: first is to push enough airflow through the radiator fins, second function is to remove the heat from the hot area of the socket area. While it performs quite well it has some major drawbacks: the HF-S5 is not compatible with all motherboards as we have noticed during our preview. Secondly its cooling performance is also dependent on the enclosure being used. To get rid of the heat via the aft, the case has to have plenty of ventilation holes, this to avoid the heat being reflected and dumped again inside the case, Memory compatibility is also a limiting factor as only low profile DIMMs will fit underneath the H5-SF blower shroud. One, has to do his homework properly as this unit is quite large and it takes up quite some room inside your favorite enclosure. Installation is also less straightforward than previous AIO units we have tested from Corsair. Besides all the criticism we still have to applaud the Corsair team for daring to develop this unit. It will not be one of their high selling products in its current shape, but it is a novelty for sure.

 

PROS:

• Good cooling perfomance
• 5 years of warranty

 

CONS:

• Hardware compatibility (niche product)
  
• Installation woes
• Noisy at full speed
• Price: 75 euros

 

 

 

 

The Cryorig M9i tower cooler is a pretty solid product, being able to keep your processor well within safe operating temperatures. Best of all is that it manages to maintain the noise at a very acceptable level, even while stressing the CPU heavily. The installation is a breeze, mainly thanks to a simple design and the low amount of components used. The slanted design allows for perfect clearance with any installed memory module. Only thing one has to be verified here which is  the total height of the unit. We know it will not fit in all enclosures, though it performs as good as the Corsair H5. However being  way cheaper, easier to install and having a lower noise output. If the dimensions are no issue this is by far the better and cheapest solution to opt for. 

 

PROS:

• Great cooling performance
• Easy installation
• Quiet in operation
• Price (33 euros)

 

 

Last but not least the miniscule Noctua NH9Lx65 is a solid replacement for the Intel  boxed coolers. Being very small in size means its dimensions have an impact on its cooling potential. It beats the boxed 4770K cooler not only in cooling but also remains more silent. Noctua is playing open cards about the performance and is clearly listing the limitations on their product page. Installation wise it shares the proven Secufirm mounting system. Compatibility wise it will snuggly blend in with all of your hardware. The memory clearance was on the edge though there is no low profile heatspreader limitation as with the Corsair H5-SF. At 45 euros it is not cheap, but it is a solid balance between hardware compatibility, cooling performance and noise. All this backed up by a 6 year warranty from Noctua.

 

PROS:

• Superb hardware compatibility
• Cooling performance versus dimensions
• Silent in operation
• 6 year warranty
  

 

CONS:

• Verify TDP list at Noctua site for processor compatibility

 

 

As you can see all of these coolers have their advantages and disadvantages. If you want maximum compatibility, no fuzz installation and just want decent cooling than the Noctua NH9Lx65 is a proper cooling alternative versus the boxed cooler. If a high end setup and above average cooling is on your wish list than both the Cryorig M9i or the  Corsair H5-SF provide a better performing cooling solution. The Cryorig M9i has as only limitation the height of the tower cooler, requiring 124.6 mm of clearance. The Corsair AIO H5 SF is in my book a more niche product with too many limitations, which in fact out scale the great cooling performance it can deliver, especially compatibility with hardware needs to be verified, being it motherboard, memory or even enclosure related. Last but not least the Corsair H5 SF is the most expensive of the three tested.

 

We hope to test more low profile coolers in the near future as this is a booming market. Users want high performance small form factors without making any compromises on processor type nor speed. I wish to thank Jacob from Noctua and Pascal from Corsair for the provision of the samples, Sven from ASUS for the mITX motherboard samples, and finally Tones.be for the years of endless support to the Madshrimps website and OC team.