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Recently we have changed our method of measuring noise levels. Ambient noise in the room is around 20dBa. We measure from a distance of around 1 meter from the chassis and 4 foot from the ground with our Extech digital sound level meter to mirror a real world situation.
KitGuru noise guide
10dBA – Normal Breathing/Rustling Leaves
20-25dBA – Whisper
30dBA – High Quality Computer fan
40dBA – A Bubbling Brook, or a Refridgerator
50dBA – Normal Conversation
60dBA – Laughter
70dBA – Vacuum Cleaner or Hairdryer
80dBA – City Traffic or a Garbage Disposal
90dBA – Motorcycle or Lawnmower
100dBA – MP3 player at maximum output
110dBA – Orchestra
120dBA – Front row rock concert/Jet Engine
130dBA – Threshold of Pain
140dBA – Military Jet takeoff/Gunshot (close range)
160dBA – Instant Perforation of eardrum
With both fans cranked to the extreme setting, we measured around 47 dBa from the 920, which is much louder than the 620. To be fair however, the 920 is generally much quieter than this, especially if you take time to configure a custom fan/liquid profile. The scores above are strictly a worst case scenario and quite often the cooler would be emitting between 32 and 36 dBa of noise.
very good cooler, but the 620 seems better value, its under 40 quid.
That looks like my next cooler ! The D14 is great, but its a nightmare for moving things once I system is built. Cant get access to memory with it in 🙁
Reviews ive read say this is pretty much as good as it gets. Im interested myself, as my current cooler is very loud. id like this on the quiet mode.
The only issue I have is the hoses they use can cause evaporation over a long period of time. the smaller metal style hoses stop this. I dont know why Antec have ditched them with Asetek.
What do you mean they cause evaporation?
They are using the older soft style hoses. when the water heats up and cools, there is slight evaporation. its not the best system. this is why some of the other coolers use the harder hoses, to stop this. its not just for appearance.
Read a few reviews of this last week and just ordered one today. I almost crapped myself when I saw a review here. I hate buying stuff that people say sucks, so thank god it was a good review.
@ Roger, why would Antec sell something thats worse than a previous design>? I think you must have the facts wrong.
First of all – thanks Kit Guru for a great review.
For the KG community – with regards to evaporation, Asetek did a considerable amount of testing on rubberized vs corrugated tubing and found there to be no impact on the longevity of the product when comparing the two. They address this in a recent blog post.
http://www.asetek.com/blog/243-questions-of-the-month-may-2011.html
If you’ve got any other questions, I’ll keep my eye on the thread.
Thanks jessie. Good info. I had read on forums that people were concerned about evaporation after a few years.
What is the rated life? Any ideas?
I like these, its like an evolution of the excellemt corsair designs.
I just ordered one in uk, noctua d14 is great but its too big
Is it possible to use better fans in this? Like high grade ones? How does the control system work?
My friend had a corsair unit and it was awesome, but it was a nightmare to fit. I dont like the locking system and the tight little tubes, not very flexible.
This is quite expensive compared to 620. The double sized radiator has added a lot of money. I love the software idea, coolits vantage was a stupid idea if you wanted to change settings.
Any plans for linux software?
@roger – In the same testing mentioned above, Asetek concluded that the KUHLER would last greater than 50,000 hours.
@Eric – you can use other fans if you like. Keep in mind that the thickness of the fans does matter. If you go with thicker fans, you’ll need longer screws. The control system will work the same, but the decibel data will be incrrect as it’s calculated for the included fans.
That is great looking. I might get one myself for the sandybridge system im building. I do like the D14 from Noctua, but the size has always put me off. I like getting access to the memory without having to remove the cooler.
I was using a Noctua U12P SE2 on my OC I7 930 (4ghz, 1.38v) and in hot summer days I kept hitting Max Temp (100!) under load (that’s with 3 case fans + 2 fans on the heatsink).
Replaced it by the Antec H20 920… and I am more than pleased. It does get a bit noisy under load, but CPU temp rarely goes above 80.