# recommendation for silent AIO water cooler



## elijahk33 (May 19, 2014)

Hello guys

I'm planning to build a mini-ITX pc inside a CM Elite 130.
I'm looking for a cheap but silent all-in-one water-cooler with 120mm radiator.

So far the options seem to be the CM 120V, the 120M, and the Corsair H55.
What I'm worried of is not the fan noise (I'm going to replace it anyway), but the pump noise. Do you know anything about how noisy the pumps are? On youtube there are only videos showing defective pumps, and I couldn't find any objective measurement of pump sound level.
Are they silent enough to be defined silent? Which one do you recommend?


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## Vario (May 21, 2014)

They are pretty quiet, its the fan that makes the most noise, my experience is with the Asetek "H50 type" and Corsair H100i.  Its a whir noise.  The older style Asetek are better than the H100i style, the H100i makes noises when I turn the case sideways.


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## MxPhenom 216 (May 21, 2014)

Cooler reviewer report!

@crazyeyesreaper


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## LAN_deRf_HA (May 21, 2014)

Even when I ran my fans at 600 rpm for awhile I couldn't distinguish any pump noise from the Corsair units I've had during that time (H60, H110.) Only times I've heard pumps is when they were defective. There's some people that swear they hear the pumps all the time, I just don't see how. I mean I ran my fans that low because I can hear every little noise in my system and the pumps just don't stand out to me.


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## R00kie (May 21, 2014)

The CM 120V has some ridiculous pump noise at lower rpm, not sure about the other ones. My H100i pump is whisper quiet, it's the fans that make the most noise.


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## crazyeyesreaper (May 21, 2014)

Doesnt matter what AIO you run either limit the fan speed. or replace the fans. Better yet buy one that DOESNT have a fan and buy a fan that fits your needs.

Honestly The Corsair H55 will be fine 1700 is bit high for my tastes but its not like its gonna be ear shattering loud


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## Deleted member 24505 (May 22, 2014)

I'm using a H55 on my 2500k, fine cooler imo.


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## elijahk33 (May 22, 2014)

thanks for you answers
my conclusions are:
- AIO liquid cooler pumps are generally very quiet (but not always)
- pumps should be quieter in horizontal position (which is good for me because in the CM Elite130 the motherboard is installed in horizontal position)

I have just another question: do you think that a budget closed-loop cooler is the best choice of my system? Or should I stay on air coolers such as the GeminII M4 or the Big Shuriken 2?


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## Potatoking (May 22, 2014)

My experience: corsair H60 - pump running at 12v is quiet, not silent, parasitic noises when undervolting.
                          CM 120m - noisier than h60 but can be undervolted with no issues, dead silent at 5v.
                          CM nepton 280l - very noisy at all voltages past 3.3v, 7000rpm at 12v...
BTW fans are crappy in all of those - just saying


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## Potatoking (May 22, 2014)

elijahk33 said:


> I have just another question: do you think that a budget closed-loop cooler is the best choice of my system? Or should I stay on air coolers such as the GeminII M4 or the Big Shuriken 2?



air coolers don't get enough air in this case because PSU is sitting right on top of them. GeminII usually blocks pcie slot, nut sure about shuriken. Even cheapest AIO will perform better in this situation - if you have good place for the radiator. 
I was researching similar system for mini gaming rig


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## Vario (May 22, 2014)

I have a similar case (elite 120), my cooler works fine, the h50 style Asetek.


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## elijahk33 (May 22, 2014)

thank you for you opinions. The H60 seems to be a very decent cooler.
I think I'll go for that, and I'll replace the stock fan with a 1000rpm Spectre becaues it seems that the 9-blade design works particularly well at low rpms, while most stock fans bundled with closed-loop coolers are made for maximum performance at around 2000rpm.


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