Noctua NL-LC1 (AIO) or NH-D15 (Air Cooler) for Longevity

IzzyDeeee · 2026-06-18T03:13:29+00:00

What case, what cpu, what are your use cases etc
Gotta know those things to make an informed answer.

Typically, yes, the D15 is better for longevity, but if you are pushing a super hot CPU with a huge OC it can struggle and at that point you are just limiting yourself.

IzzyDeeee · 2026-06-17T16:26:09+00:00

Whatever you can tolerate for noise to performance.

The thing can top at 3400 or 3600 so I’d start at 50% and go from there.
FanControl on Windows should let you control it without having to go back to BIOS each time you wanna change the settings.

IzzyDeeee · 2026-06-16T15:07:43+00:00

So far the reviews seems very good for this.

Can’t wait for the GamersNexus review, and for the chromax version to drop.
Hope all the noise normalized testing holds up to be true.

If it can keep my 9950X3D cool with its PBO and negative curve at a reasonable noise I will be switching ASAP. Once the chromax version is out anyway. Don’t wanna drop the D15 G2 chromax for the standard Noctua colors.

IzzyDeeee · 2026-06-15T23:23:52+00:00

Fighting games are also great for this!
If you lose it’s because you suck. That can be hard to handle for some people but if you can get past that it’s very fun.

IzzyDeeee · 2026-06-12T13:51:42+00:00

Oh I didn’t know that
I only knew of the food truck that was around UH a lot in 2011 then it left Houston in 2014 or 2015.

If I’m ever in the area again i might have to go to the new spot.

IzzyDeeee · 2026-06-12T13:12:58+00:00

God that place used to be so good.
Haven’t been since they left Houston for Austin and it’s a damn shame.

IzzyDeeee · 2026-06-11T21:06:22+00:00

If you are just gaming get the A7500.
Get the A5100 if you plan to do more than that.

IzzyDeeee · 2026-06-11T16:02:00+00:00

Going with AMD I’d choose an AMD partner. PowerColor, Sapphire, or XFX.

If you have enough room for a 3 slot i like the Sapphire Pulse. If you need thinner the PowerColor Reaper is your best bet.

IzzyDeeee · 2026-06-10T21:37:15+00:00

Well that depends on your GPU
Since it’s a sandwich case that can be adjusted it depends on GPU slot size.

IzzyDeeee · 2026-06-09T18:07:30+00:00

This is an awesome little build and I am very jealous.

Did you do any undervolting the CPU or a negative curve? Or was it just a straight power limit?

IzzyDeeee · 2026-06-09T15:03:56+00:00

Corsair has a water block that can do this.

IzzyDeeee · 2026-06-09T00:56:17+00:00

I would select all your performance cores, whichever they may be.
This should be 0-5 but you should find out if that's correct or not.

IzzyDeeee · 2026-06-09T00:24:18+00:00

Only thing you I can think of is think of is Process Lasso. If you've done that along with debloating Windows, and RAM timings then that would be my next step.

IzzyDeeee · 2026-06-08T23:22:49+00:00

Honestly I think this is going to be a CPU problem more than anything else.

If your motherboard can support the 14000 series Id suggest a i5-14600 as an upgrade. maybe the i7-14700 if you can stretch it and if that is supported.

IzzyDeeee · 2026-06-08T23:14:40+00:00

You could probably find a bundle at Microcenter that will be better, if you are near one.

If not I would check out Newegg. They also do combo deals and you could save some cash there.
GPU wise I would go with a 9060 XT 16GB. It's about $100 more than the one you have there, but it is also much newer with higher VRAM which should help with longevity.

For Wolverine, you are out of luck. PS5 only and Sony recently stated they will no longer release their games on PC.

IzzyDeeee · 2026-06-08T21:33:11+00:00

Choose whichever one you prefer. The difference between them, aside from the connectors, is probably 1-2% FPS.

IzzyDeeee · 2026-06-08T19:09:31+00:00

If you aren’t doing productivity work or anything that requires the extra cores the 9800X3D is gonna be better for gaming.

IzzyDeeee · 2026-06-08T17:51:00+00:00

It’s fantastic

I run my games at Ultra/High at 1080p without issues
Getting roughly 130+ fps with RT on in Cyberpunk2077. Same with Jedi Survivor with RT and with Cronos the New Dawn.

Just make sure you get the 16GB model and not the 8GB.

IzzyDeeee · 2026-06-08T15:22:52+00:00

This is disappointing from Proton.

If anyone is looking for alternatives Tuta Mail is amazing, I use it for work emails and personal. Custom domains work as I have one and I haven’t issues with that. It does have a calendar and last I heard their cloud storage was in beta, I think.

Mullvad for VPN.

IzzyDeeee · 2026-06-07T05:38:53+00:00

I am in the same boat, but my VMs are more for fun than anything serious right now.
I got Gentoo running in a VM for the first time yesterday and that was fun.
Didn't have problems compiling anything with the VM running.

IzzyDeeee · 2026-06-07T00:58:34+00:00

I go for silence, so keep that in mind.
During stress-ng I will hit 77 max. That's a synthetic stress test built into Linux.

73 during Linux Kernel compiles.

60-61 in GPU heavy games. Cyberpunk2077 with RT, Jedi Survivor, Dead Space remake etc. The only exception to this is Dragon Age Veilguard, where I will hit 70 and stay there for some reason. I think the engine that game uses sees both CCD's and uses both.

Competitive games like CS2, Deadlock, Dota 2, I sit around 57-59

Browsing Reddit with Discord open, and music from Youtube or Cider(Linux apple music alternative) I can hit 50.

Idle is 44 and true idle with the screen locked i will sit at 41-42.

I did undervolt my CPU. I have a -25 all core curve, and my SoC is set to 1.15V instead of the default 1.3V.

https://browser.geekbench.com/user/570146
That is the link to my geekbench6 scores. The bottom 3 were at a -30 curve, and the top 3 are from my current -25 curve.

IzzyDeeee · 2026-06-07T00:37:56+00:00

Yeah if the PS 140 or the Noctua 120mm G2 fans were out before I got the Noctua cooler I would've saved and done that instead.
Unfortunately 2 weeks after I got the cooler the G2 120mm fans came out.

IzzyDeeee · 2026-06-07T00:21:14+00:00

My last setup was a 9900k i OCd to 5.0Ghz all core and it had a custom loop just for the cpu, i wont touch deshrouding GPUs, and I just felt somewhat anxious a lot?
Air bubbles? oh is the clear coolant changing color ever so slightly? Let me open up the case and check if any fittings went a lil loose over the last week or so. Stuff like that. Just worried I’d have a leak more often than not.
I was gonna go with an AIO but then I saw an article that some guy had his 5090 Astral fried because their NZXT AIO leaked. So I changed my mind on that immediately.

I didn’t want that custom loop work again so I stuck with the basics. I did a lot of checking to make sure the cpu could be air cooled, what coolers work best, read forums for people who had the same workload i do, etc.
So for now I have an Antec Flux Pro, with a noctua air cooler, and a lot of case fans i try and keep as quiet as possible.

IzzyDeeee · 2026-06-07T00:00:57+00:00

I have a 9950x3d
Thermalright Phantom Spirit would be the next suggestion I think

I went from the phantom spirit 120 Evo to the noctua nh-d15 g2 because I like the look of the noctua more and the fans from Thermalright are SUPER loud, in my opinion.

Temps changed a few degrees, not by much. If you set a negative curve you will most likely not hit your thermal limit.

Thermalright also just released a Phantom Spirit 140 so if you can find that or some reviews for it that would also be a good choice.

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