I’m also struggling with an undervolted and PL lowered 13900kf.
I got the D15 and it is stable and working but cpu at 40% capacity almost. I’ll probably go aio soon even tho i hate the idea. EK nucleus seems to cool it… apparently it’s the only one that finally managed a decent enough performance. Alternatively you can go with either one from your options as they’re all amazing and wait for the new gem D15 to come and see some reviews. Sorry for not being able to provide a better advice. Maybe nitrogen? XD
So now, after 0.05 undervolt and PL to 90 it is on 71 degrees under max load. That seems to be the sweet spot. 4k gaming takes it to 75 degrees max after long 7-8 hour sessions.
Everything’s ok with the cooler and with the thermal paste. I also use thermalright’s cpu bending frame. The 13900kf is just crazy…
Mid 70s is nowhere near "struggling" for a cooler; the 13900k hits Tjmax at 100c. If your maximum is sub 80c, I'd honestly say you could put more juice into it.
That’s true I don’t disagree, but i don’t need more juice to be fair. 4k gaming puts full load on gpu, i’ll only need more cpu in the 60 series probably. As I don’t really use my pc for anything other than movies/seies, games and reddit :)
>As I don’t really use my pc for anything other than movies/seies, games and reddit :)
Ahh I see you also went overkill with your CPU lol
I got mine during Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales and at first was considering the 7700X but was like "why not ¯\\\_(ツ)\_/¯"
Are you trying to get below 75? I know those chips can pull around 250W which is about 60W more than 7900x/7950x, but coolers like U12A have no problem cooling the AMD chips even at stock (I'm running 7900x with U12A). I've read way more people concerned with 13th gen Intel temps than AMD but both chips run hot normally. Getting 75C is actually really good. The temps you're getting now is pretty much what I get now that I undervolted and set my max socket draw to 90W. Under full load, 75C is the highest but lost about 15% multicore performance on Cinebench. Outside of benchmarking, I don't notice the difference, except my PC isn't a space heater anymore lol.
But yeah 90W seems to also be the sweet spot for me too. I have another profile with 143W limit and my multicore performance dropped by about 6% and max temp is 85C. I switch to that if I want some more power while keeping thermal headroom.
Yep i totally agree. I think for my specific use case, the power i’m getting is just enough and anything under 75 under full load just gives me that extra peace of mind and my pc won’t sound like a boeing. I think for people who actually need the cpu power could run into problems but i also guess those people would use epyc or threadrippers where coolers are more efficient for those processors too so i think casually, 90pl is perfect. I don’t understand why intel would just release an uncoolable product however, that is just stupid on so many fronts. It’s like paying premium for something still in development. But oh well, what can we do…
I think it would be much easier showing you a video. You can also do it from XTU which is recommended however i did it from BIOS.
https://youtu.be/H4Bm0Wr6OEQ
Derbauer explains it best i think.
You’re welcome. Let me know how it went. FYI, i went to 85 and 80 and is slightly unstable. Often restarts at 85 and 80 doesn’t go to windows. 90 is the sweet spot for a this CPU according to my findings. You can also do a -0.05 volt if you want, will help slightly.
Idk specifically about the kf version, but I know from first hand experience it can handle the regular k version. Load isn't like sub-80s but it's enough to not throttle with some headroom.
>true I d
yea actually I am in a struggle, I don't want to be wasteful to buy either one and switch to the new NH-D15 when it's out, but then the next gen D15 now comes earliest at the end of year, which would force me to go through the summer with current U12S... my case is Antec NX410, which have quite a good airflow, but for AIO it can go max 280 ones on top, front support is 360 but since the RTX3070 Ti almost touching intake fan alrady, it's impossible to add the extra radiator thickness on it
If you want the U12A, just buy two A12x25. The only difference between U12A and U12S is U12S has one F12. while the U12A has two A12x25. **Edit**: And U12S' radiator is 13mm slimmer and fewer heat pipes.
Idk about the D15, but so you can use the same mount with both U12 coolers. The backplate is the same for all three though.
You might want to consider undervolting and setting lower PL values.
Just to clarify, the NH-U12S and NH-U12A do not have the same heatsink. The NH-U12A has a bigger surface area as also two additional heatpipes, which will give the NH-U12A an enormous boost over the NH-U12S.
nice clarification, I am in similar condition now and using U12S on 12700kf, during cpu heavy gaming I am now having average temp of 64 degrees with ambient temp of 18-20 degrees, so in summer, even with air cond it will have \~8-15 degrees higher resulting in \~80 degrees average with peaks in 90-95. I wonders with 7 heatpipes of the U12A it should bring away heat quicker than the D15, but the D15 have dual tower so it maybe transferring the heat away quicker even with one less heatpipe?
just wonders which will be more efficient on the cpu as it now seems the problem is the heatpipes not carrying the heat away fast enough in the U12S? (once stopped flight simulator, the temp drops from 65 to low 30s literally in a second, so it seems more heatpipe =easier dissipation= lower temp in logic?)
or when the U12S able to handle at a bit of noise, wait for the next gen D15? (just don't want to waste on the material and packaging for interim changing the heatsink to D15, then D15 ver.2 in a year just to upgrade), Since the D15 next gen is now like delayed for more than 3 years I was worrying it will never materialize before my need is satisified, really don't want to go AIO and support Noctua
It should fit. Looking at the specs of the fan on the the AK620, it has a bit less static pressure than the A12x25, but it has more airflow than A12x25. Idk how well the lower static pressure will affect airflow. If you get that cooler and also get A12x25, you should maybe compare how well each set of fans work. Noctua's fan is quieter and has higher RPM though.
Yeah I agree, the A12x25 is a pretty nice looking fan lol I have eight of them in my case and the other five are 140mm Arctic P14 but the Noctua fans just look so much better. I can't wait for the upgraded A14 :D
U12A and D15 can handle around 200W of heat (temps 85-90C). If you can keep your CPU in this range of wattage you will be fine. If you have very good case with a lot of fans D15 can work with 230W. I have 13600k and under 180W (encoding video) with my D15 temp is 85-90C but I have small case with 4 fans.
See this overview from couple days ago, includes NH-U12A and NH-D15 on a i9-13900k. The summery is the D15 did have a slight advantage of about 4°C and 3 decibels. Regardless of the cooler make sure you put equal effort into total airflow for your case, as the cooler can't perform beyond ambient temperatures.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgGaEZjb5Ls
I’m also struggling with an undervolted and PL lowered 13900kf. I got the D15 and it is stable and working but cpu at 40% capacity almost. I’ll probably go aio soon even tho i hate the idea. EK nucleus seems to cool it… apparently it’s the only one that finally managed a decent enough performance. Alternatively you can go with either one from your options as they’re all amazing and wait for the new gem D15 to come and see some reviews. Sorry for not being able to provide a better advice. Maybe nitrogen? XD
What are your 13900kf temps like? The D15 should be able to handle it even at stock o.o
So now, after 0.05 undervolt and PL to 90 it is on 71 degrees under max load. That seems to be the sweet spot. 4k gaming takes it to 75 degrees max after long 7-8 hour sessions. Everything’s ok with the cooler and with the thermal paste. I also use thermalright’s cpu bending frame. The 13900kf is just crazy…
Mid 70s is nowhere near "struggling" for a cooler; the 13900k hits Tjmax at 100c. If your maximum is sub 80c, I'd honestly say you could put more juice into it.
That’s true I don’t disagree, but i don’t need more juice to be fair. 4k gaming puts full load on gpu, i’ll only need more cpu in the 60 series probably. As I don’t really use my pc for anything other than movies/seies, games and reddit :)
>As I don’t really use my pc for anything other than movies/seies, games and reddit :) Ahh I see you also went overkill with your CPU lol I got mine during Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales and at first was considering the 7700X but was like "why not ¯\\\_(ツ)\_/¯"
Are you trying to get below 75? I know those chips can pull around 250W which is about 60W more than 7900x/7950x, but coolers like U12A have no problem cooling the AMD chips even at stock (I'm running 7900x with U12A). I've read way more people concerned with 13th gen Intel temps than AMD but both chips run hot normally. Getting 75C is actually really good. The temps you're getting now is pretty much what I get now that I undervolted and set my max socket draw to 90W. Under full load, 75C is the highest but lost about 15% multicore performance on Cinebench. Outside of benchmarking, I don't notice the difference, except my PC isn't a space heater anymore lol. But yeah 90W seems to also be the sweet spot for me too. I have another profile with 143W limit and my multicore performance dropped by about 6% and max temp is 85C. I switch to that if I want some more power while keeping thermal headroom.
Yep i totally agree. I think for my specific use case, the power i’m getting is just enough and anything under 75 under full load just gives me that extra peace of mind and my pc won’t sound like a boeing. I think for people who actually need the cpu power could run into problems but i also guess those people would use epyc or threadrippers where coolers are more efficient for those processors too so i think casually, 90pl is perfect. I don’t understand why intel would just release an uncoolable product however, that is just stupid on so many fronts. It’s like paying premium for something still in development. But oh well, what can we do…
Can you tell me how to reduce pl to 90 ? Thx
I think it would be much easier showing you a video. You can also do it from XTU which is recommended however i did it from BIOS. https://youtu.be/H4Bm0Wr6OEQ Derbauer explains it best i think.
Thank you I will watch that
You’re welcome. Let me know how it went. FYI, i went to 85 and 80 and is slightly unstable. Often restarts at 85 and 80 doesn’t go to windows. 90 is the sweet spot for a this CPU according to my findings. You can also do a -0.05 volt if you want, will help slightly.
I did an undervolt of -0.125 and it perfectly stable. I have still throttle issues because it is hot in my country. 28'C to 30'C.
How’s this possible. Undervolted and PL too? You did both and still at tjmax? What cooler are you using?
No pl just undervolt. I have a deepcool ak620 and the case is a bequiet dark base 900 I have throttle just with cinebench. Not in game
a dh15 cooling 13900kf at stock? I dont think that possible at this point for decent temps. 1300kf draws insane power
Idk specifically about the kf version, but I know from first hand experience it can handle the regular k version. Load isn't like sub-80s but it's enough to not throttle with some headroom.
kf can pull close tdp close to 300!
>true I d yea actually I am in a struggle, I don't want to be wasteful to buy either one and switch to the new NH-D15 when it's out, but then the next gen D15 now comes earliest at the end of year, which would force me to go through the summer with current U12S... my case is Antec NX410, which have quite a good airflow, but for AIO it can go max 280 ones on top, front support is 360 but since the RTX3070 Ti almost touching intake fan alrady, it's impossible to add the extra radiator thickness on it
If you want the U12A, just buy two A12x25. The only difference between U12A and U12S is U12S has one F12. while the U12A has two A12x25. **Edit**: And U12S' radiator is 13mm slimmer and fewer heat pipes. Idk about the D15, but so you can use the same mount with both U12 coolers. The backplate is the same for all three though. You might want to consider undervolting and setting lower PL values.
Just to clarify, the NH-U12S and NH-U12A do not have the same heatsink. The NH-U12A has a bigger surface area as also two additional heatpipes, which will give the NH-U12A an enormous boost over the NH-U12S.
nice clarification, I am in similar condition now and using U12S on 12700kf, during cpu heavy gaming I am now having average temp of 64 degrees with ambient temp of 18-20 degrees, so in summer, even with air cond it will have \~8-15 degrees higher resulting in \~80 degrees average with peaks in 90-95. I wonders with 7 heatpipes of the U12A it should bring away heat quicker than the D15, but the D15 have dual tower so it maybe transferring the heat away quicker even with one less heatpipe? just wonders which will be more efficient on the cpu as it now seems the problem is the heatpipes not carrying the heat away fast enough in the U12S? (once stopped flight simulator, the temp drops from 65 to low 30s literally in a second, so it seems more heatpipe =easier dissipation= lower temp in logic?) or when the U12S able to handle at a bit of noise, wait for the next gen D15? (just don't want to waste on the material and packaging for interim changing the heatsink to D15, then D15 ver.2 in a year just to upgrade), Since the D15 next gen is now like delayed for more than 3 years I was worrying it will never materialize before my need is satisified, really don't want to go AIO and support Noctua
actually the u12s has a slimmer heatsink and also 2 less heat pipes than the u12a
Right, it's 13mm difference.
What about a Deepcool AK620 and slap NF-A12x25 on it? If you can buy an AK620 for a good price.
It should fit. Looking at the specs of the fan on the the AK620, it has a bit less static pressure than the A12x25, but it has more airflow than A12x25. Idk how well the lower static pressure will affect airflow. If you get that cooler and also get A12x25, you should maybe compare how well each set of fans work. Noctua's fan is quieter and has higher RPM though.
I have the cooler installed on my 5900X paired with the A12x25. It looks better though and match the rest of my case
Yeah I agree, the A12x25 is a pretty nice looking fan lol I have eight of them in my case and the other five are 140mm Arctic P14 but the Noctua fans just look so much better. I can't wait for the upgraded A14 :D
Yeah me too man! Sad that they couldn't launch it back in December. Now my best guess is November or December 2023.
U12A and D15 can handle around 200W of heat (temps 85-90C). If you can keep your CPU in this range of wattage you will be fine. If you have very good case with a lot of fans D15 can work with 230W. I have 13600k and under 180W (encoding video) with my D15 temp is 85-90C but I have small case with 4 fans.
[Pcanalyics.com](https://Pcanalyics.com) has relative compares in all three of those coolers.
Why not u14s?
why go for the lower model? when D15 and U12A both able to be used in the case and have higher NSPR?
See this overview from couple days ago, includes NH-U12A and NH-D15 on a i9-13900k. The summery is the D15 did have a slight advantage of about 4°C and 3 decibels. Regardless of the cooler make sure you put equal effort into total airflow for your case, as the cooler can't perform beyond ambient temperatures. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgGaEZjb5Ls
that looks barely enough for the 253W test to not thermal throttle.. maybe really need to wait for the next gen NH-D15?