Comparison: Phanteks PH-TC14PE vs LEPA AquaChanger 240

[jordan1794]

Hello all!
(Scroll down to bolded text to skip story time)
During a recent venture I decided to overclock my wife's computer, which was my old computer, which was my brother's old computer. Her i7 920 has been a trooper at stock clock of 2.66 Ghz, but just wasn't cutting it anymore.
I did a very mild overclock to 3.0 Ghz, with no voltage increase. This put her temperatures in the mid 80's. Meanwhile my brand new computer was running about the same temperatures with my i7-4790K overclocked to 4.7 Ghz with a Vcore of 1.225 with a Phanteks PH-TC14PE.
I decided to swap my cooler to her system, and buy a liquid cooler.
You can see my original post here:

http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/threads/suggestions-for-liquid-cooling.211300/

Anyways,to the important stuff.
Firstly, the technical specifications(At least, the three things I care to list, you can google if you want more )
Phanteks PH-TC14PE
Noise: 20 dB (Mine was slightly noisier, as I was running 3 fans on it)
Price: $95 (Can usually be found on "sale" for $60-$75)
Fan CFM: 78.1(with a 3 fan set-up I'm sure I was getting more, but it's hard to say how much)

LEPA AquaChanger 240
Noise: 35 dB
Price: $95 (Can usually be found on "sale" for $60-$75)
Fan CFM: 103 (2 fans on a rad. side by side means effectively 206 CFM of cooling)

Temperature performance:
I'm not a scientist, so my exact ambient temperatures are not recorded...sorry.
(Although I can guarantee the Phanteks was tested with an ambient temperature that was LOWER by 2-5 degrees than the LEPA was tested at.)
i7 4790K Overclocked to 4.7 Ghz, Vcore of 1.225

Phanteks:
Core 0 = 82
Core 1 = 84
Core 2 = 84
Core 3 = 75

LEPA:
Core 0 = 73
Core 1 = 75
Core 2 = 74
Core 3 = 67

Average Difference = 9 Degrees Lower

Comparison:
(Caution, opinions ahead!)

Noise

Idle: The Phanteks always had a slight breeze sound, but was not audible unless I had everything else turned off (TV, music, my house's central air, etc.).
By comparison, when I first turned on my computer after installing the LEPA the fans spun up, then went to idle and I honestly thought that thing had stopped working, despite being inches from it...I had to stick my hand under the fan to feel the air blowing before I was convinced it was still running...this thing is whisper quite under no/light load.

Load: The Phanteks was quite audible when at load, but was not too loud, my graphics card (EVGA GTX 980 SC w/ ACX 2.0 cooling) easily drowned it out, and it could barely be heard over my central air when it was on.

The LEPA on the other hand...well...I mean...it is loud. It's easily bare-able though, I don't mind it as I know the only time I'm really going to hear it spun up that fast is during stress testing. You can see between the specifications that the LEPA fans are rated to be 57% louder, so what can you expect? I definitely would not suggest against it because of the noise...as stated prior, the idle and light load noise is not even audible.

Price
Price is completely negligible, you can get either of these cooling solutions for the same price, and depending on when you want to purchase/how long you are willing to wait for a sale you can get them for around $60

Performance
You can see from my temperatures that the LEPA is better. I guess your determination will be based upon the noise to performance ratio, as the price point is quite literally the same. Again, the LEPA is louder, but in my opinion the 9 degree drop in temperatures is well worth it, especially given that you won't be hearing the full force of this cooler unless you are stress testing.


Also, in case anyone is interested, installing the Phanteks cooler on my wife's i7 920 took her overclocked temperatures from 85 to 65. The Phanteks cooler is EXCELLENT for air, but the LEPA just beats it. I guess it comes down to a few factors that work against the Phanteks.

1.The Phanteks fans are lined up, although it does have 2 large heatsinks, the fans are still only able to push somewhere around 80-90 CFM. By comparison, the rad. on the LEPA fits the two fans side by side, effectively doubling it's cooling potential, plus the fans have a higher output.

2. Liquid cooling it inherently more efficient than air cooling.(AFAIK)



Questions, comments, concerns, corrections? Let me know!
I'll be working with this set-up to improve my temperatures further.
Currently using the third Phanteks fan as a case fan to help exhaust the massive intake from the rad, and I don't think it's running at max speed.

 

[ThE_MaD_ShOt]

We want pics, we want pics,

 

[jordan1794]

Alright, give me a few.

 

[jordan1794]

Firstly, a picture of the old set-up(unfortunately without the third fan)

Next, pictures with the new cooler:

 

[ThE_MaD_ShOt]

ooohhhh that looks nice.

 

[krusha03]

Glad to hear you are happy with the LEPA And it sure looks nice. The fans you can always change to different ones but I personally like fans with wide RPM range so I set them to what i need

 

[Devon68]

How are the wife's temps with the Phanteks cooler?
Edit: I am the one that voted phanteks and it's not because I think it is better, I just dont trust all in one coolers.

 

[jordan1794]

How are the wife's temps with the Phanteks cooler?

From the OP:

"Also, in case anyone is interested, installing the Phanteks cooler on my wife's i7 920 took her overclocked temperatures from 85 to 65. The Phanteks cooler is EXCELLENT for air, but the LEPA just beats it. I guess it comes down to a few factors that work against the Phanteks."

It's ok, I know I wrote a wall of words, and there are a lot of things that are probably not needed haha.

 

[Devon68]

From the OP:

My bad I thought those were the temps from your 4790k

 

[jordan1794]

Glad to hear you are happy with the LEPA And it sure looks nice. The fans you can always change to different ones but I personally like fans with wide RPM range so I set them to what i need

Yeah, I'm happy with the LEPA fans. Fan noise just does not bother me at all, maybe it's because my wife and I game downstairs, where the tv is usually on, as well as my central air intake right near us, as well as my cats constantly running around and doing random things.

It could probably be argued that the LEPA fans are making the difference, but I guess that comes down to a measure of CFM that the Phanteks was pushing with the 3 fans, which I do not have the equipment to measure. Regardless, being that the two are the same price I don't see a reason for someone to purchase the Phanteks, as long as they don't mind a little fan noise.

Furthermore, the actual price of my Phanteks was around 100$, as I had to purchase the third fan separately.

 

[m0nt3]

I went Phanteks, mostly because I heard of pump failures (not with any particular model, just in general). There isn't enough surface area to dissipate heat if the pump failed causing it to reach shutdown temp. The Phanteks can have the fans die and be OK as long as its not being stressed, and since I leave mine on, I feel safer with air.

 

[jordan1794]

I went Phanteks, mostly because I heard of pump failures (not with any particular model, just in general). There isn't enough surface area to dissipate heat if the pump failed causing it to reach shutdown temp. The Phanteks can have the fans die and be OK as long as its not being stressed, and since I leave mine on, I feel safer with air.

A fair argument, but so long as your processor does what it's supposed to it will shut down, pretty much immediately. While damage can be done without a heat sink attached, due to temperatures exceeding 100 before the processor can even shut-down, I think the thick metal plate, along with the liquid behind it, would be enough to keep damage from being done. I think the processor would have enough time to shut-down once it reached 90-100 degrees without going over. I'm no expert though, it'd be interesting to test the theory.
If it weren't such a hassle I'd hook it up to a really old computer I have sitting around without the pump on and see what happens.

It's worth mentioning the LEPA does have a 2 year warranty.

 

[buildzoid]

I have a PH-TC14PE on my FX6350 rig. I wasn't pleased with the cooling since it could only handle 1.475V core. I strapped some 3K noctua fans to it and now it can handle 1.55V even with reduced fans speeds and 1.65V at full 3K. I really wish aircoolers came with more powerful fans.

 

[m0nt3]

I have a PH-TC14PE on my FX6350 rig. I wasn't pleased with the cooling since it could only handle 1.475V core. I strapped some 3K noctua fans to it and now it can handle 1.55V even with reduced fans speeds and 1.65V at full 3K. I really wish aircoolers came with more powerful fans.

Mine about 1.4V after that the socket temp starts to ramp past 72C under prime95. Core temp will fine, my socket temp is usually about 15C higher than core. By 3K noctua fans, do you mean 3000 RPM?. Bet that makes a nice humm noise.

 

[buildzoid]

Mine about 1.4V after that the socket temp starts to ramp past 72C under prime95. Core temp will fine, my socket temp is usually about 15C higher than core. By 3K noctua fans, do you mean 3000 RPM?. Bet that makes a nice humm noise.

Yeah 3000 RPM. They get the PC all the way up to 55dB(in my chair) when I run them at full speed. I bought a cheap fan controller for them and I run them at what I believe is about 2000RPM but their still really loud at that point even when compared to my main machine which runs a mix of 2000 1850 and 2400 RPM fans.

 

[jordan1794]

What do you guys think.
I thought I needed to remove my two 200mm fans from the top of my case to mount the rad. but it turns out I didn't, as the rad mounted on the bottom side.
Would I get better temps with the fans replaced?
I'll probably try it out.

 

[m0nt3]

Ideally get two more identical fans for a push/pull config on the radiator.

 

[jordan1794]

Temperatures stayed the same, I know that the two 200mm fans have a slightly higher output than the LEPA fans (should be 106 CFM)
I wanted to add 2 more fans of the same kind, but LEPA doesn't sell them by themselves(as far as I've been able to find)

I'll probably leave the 200mms on though, as I don't have any other use for them and it did slightly lower my idle temperatures.

 

[jordan1794]

How are the wife's temps with the Phanteks cooler?
Edit: I am the one that voted phanteks and it's not because I think it is better, I just dont trust all in one coolers.

You aren't alone anymore haha!
In fact, you have just as many fellow voters as I do at this point.

 

[R-T-B]

I have that Phanteks. It's awesome. No, it won't beat water but it also won't burn out on me and be unable to cool like a watercooling pump going out.

I voted for it for that reason alone.

 

[jordan1794]

I have that Phanteks. It's awesome. No, it won't beat water but it also won't burn out on me and be unable to cool like a watercooling pump going out.

I voted for it for that reason alone.

Pump is rated for 50,000 hours. Which is nearly 6 years assuming 24/7 usage.
In 6 years I'll be ready to buy a new cooler.

Not saying your point isn't valid, it certainly is something to consider when making a purchase. I guess it all comes down to risk/reward. The risk is somewhat small, and so is the reward haha.

 

[R-T-B]

Pump is rated for 50,000 hours. Which is nearly 6 years assuming 24/7 usage.
In 6 years I'll be ready to buy a new cooler.

Not saying your point isn't valid, it certainly is something to consider when making a purchase. I guess it all comes down to risk/reward. The risk is somewhat small, and so is the reward haha.

Oh I understand completely. I am just paranoid personally about MTBF figures on pumps... had a bad experience years back.

It means I'm pretty biased.

 

[jordan1794]

Oh I understand completely. I am just paranoid personally about MTBF figures on pumps... had a bad experience years back.

It means I'm pretty biased.

Well for my situation, if the pump goes out, I can rip the Phanteks back out of my wife's computer and stick the LEPA fans on it lol.
Honestly the cooler master heatsink/fan that I took off of hers was doing a good job, and it was COMPLETELY clogged with dust in the middle. I make a habit of taking an air can to the computers every 3 months or so, but I guess the dust got caught between the fan and heatsink in such a way that I couldn't get it. Perhaps her cooler didn't need replacing after all.
Oh well, I have no regrets.

 

[R-T-B]

Well for my situation, if the pump goes out, I can rip the Phanteks back out of my wife's computer and stick the LEPA fans on it lol.
Honestly the cooler master heatsink/fan that I took off of hers was doing a good job, and it was COMPLETELY clogged with dust in the middle. I make a habit of taking an air can to the computers every 3 months or so, but I guess the dust got caught between the fan and heatsink in such a way that I couldn't get it. Perhaps her cooler didn't need replacing after all.
Oh well, I have no regrets.

No reason to have regrets! I'd just be watching the temps semi-regularly if I was on water but there's no denying it works awesome and it far quieter. Also, the odds of it giving you an issue are almost nothing compared to several things we already for the most part accept, such as say an HD failure.. I voted purely based on preference more than logic TBH.

 

[doyll]

I am staying with air . or go with a good AIO like the Swiftech H220-X or better still the H240-X .. as they are not CLC. Coolant can be topped / changed and components can be replaced as needed. Pump move way more water than CLC pumps, radiator is copper, etc. Much better quality and life expectancy .. and they are quiet too.

I'm running 2x PH-TC14PE coolers, with TY-143 fans on the red one. The TY-143 fans normally stay below 1100rpm, but when testing can reach 2200+ rpm and be rather loud, but give another 5-7c of cooling when needed. I changed the fans on the black one to TY-147 fans for an all black appearance (with white fan blades).