AMD Threadripper 7970x cooler

[Marijan]

Hi, can you please suggest cooling solutions for Threadripper 7970x.
I was thinking to go with Noctua NH-U14S TR5-SP6 but not sure if some AIO liquid solution is better.

Thanks for help!

[Nejc Kilar]

I'm a little hesitant to be replying here because I don't have any experience with Zen 4 based CPUs but since there aren't any replies yet...

I personally like to opt for air coolers, I really don't want to risk leaks or pump failures on such expensive systems.

That said I completely get why you'd want an AIO on the 7970x. Based on die layout it is much like the 3970x (which I do own) so I wouldn't at all be surprised if it has the similar thermal behavior where you have less cores but those are clocked higher which then means you're dealing with a lot more of a heat output in a less spread out area compared to say a 64 core Threadripper. Plus these are Zen 4 chips which I assume will be more toasty than anything before it.

Personally I opted for a U14s on my 3970x. It spikes up to 86c when there is a combined load and certain cores boost super high and other are sort of mid clocked. My impression is that this is normal behavior. Most of the time the temps are ~68c.

The 7970x has a TDP of 350W compared to 280W on the 3970x so it should be more difficult for the U14s to cool.

I'm thinking a really high quality AIO will net you lower temperatures and slightly higher boost clocks. My experience is that you probably don't have to worry about clocks as 100mhz more is something you won't notice anyway. But that said you then got the fear of leaks and pump failures :)

So yeah, wall of text but then I haven't really said anything too useful lol. I guess I just hope my impression helps you make the right decision for your needs.

Do we have any 7970x owners here?

[Marijan]

Thanks for reply Nejc.
I also have one 3970x with U14s in the office, it works great for a few years now.
I had some bad experiences with AIO liquid cooling in some previous configurations I built so I'm really hesistant to go down that road again :).
Having stable and reliable workstation that I can safely leave to render overnight is more important to me than squezzing a few mhz more.

[Nejc Kilar]

Ugh, yeah, looking at it again the U14s is "ok" for the 3970x but you need to add 80Ws more to the thing and then... Who knows where we get.

Scouring reddit I've come across a user with the 7970x and a U14s and they reported a max CPU package power of 88c.

So I don't know, still seems doable to me but if you go air I'd be, just in case, prepared to switch to AIO if need be.

I mean Zen 4 on the consumer side is known to be "fine" at a bit above 80c - according to AMD if I'm not mistaken. So it could very well be it is much the same with Threadrippers.

[Juraj]

I would like to point out that one reason ProSiphon scores often well is its stock configuration compared to competition.

It comes with two high-pressure high-rpm fans stuck to very dense "radiator", making it quite loud. When noise-normalized (measuring how each cooler does for example with 50dB noise output), it didn't actually even beat Noctua UH-14s sTRX (remembering KitGuru or Guru3D charts).

Put two 3000RPM fans onto UH-14s and you will see some improvement there as well :- ). Although less since the fin density is optimized for lower pressure/higher airflow, so even adding second fan doesn't do that much (and increases turbulence. There is reason why Noctua by stock adds two fans onto thicker, high-density heatsinks like the U12A series).

There are only few fitting AIOs, Enermax (Liqtech and Toughliquid) and Silverstone IceGem for example. I believe they are manufactured by same OEM, chinese Apaltec, infamous for poor quality control. People still use them and some successfully for years if you keep replacing (often from day-1 ideally) the coolant inside. That is kind of hassle since the point of AIO is simplicity and avoiding the use of building custom open-loop. But that's it.
Looks like Eisbaer Pro Aurora might be something to look into. I know nothing about that one. Eisbaer has fairly good reputation.

There are few air-cooler variants on market meant for 4U racks, but they will offer poor performance/noise ratio compared to U14s (i.e same performance but 50perc. worse noise).

That leaves us here: It's been what..6 years with Threadripper on market? And there really is only single goldilocks cooler, U14s. It's strange... but it is what it is.

[Marijan]

I decided to go with U14.
I just hope it shows it is still goldilocks for new Threadrippers :)