Cooling Performance vs Acoustics: What's More Important?

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Cooling Performance vs Acoustics

  • Cooling Performance (fans full speed)

    Votes: 7 87.5%
  • Acoustics (ssshhhhh...)

    Votes: 1 12.5%

  • Total voters
    8
Sure you don't mean Speedfan? I used to use it on Intel 10 years ago but it hasn't been updated in years and has no idea what Ryzen was


Jay when he was younger

I stopped using Fan Control last year as one of its drivers has ring0 access and it also conflicts with HWINFO with regard to sensor temps. It kept reading my CPU as cooler than it really was.
No it was definitely Fan Control I was using, I hated Speed Fan when I tried it and never went back to it, it was awful 10 years ago, but probably improved since then.
 
Jul 17, 2025
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Thank you for all the explanations. Personally, I only have 1 fan in my whole system so would not use it on this one, but good to know that there are different controlling software's out there that can pretty much give you the best of both worlds.
 
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Fan Control only came out in Sept 2020 so it might have been early on and its way better now.
Speedfan hasn't changed since 2016 so no, it hasn't got any better.
I started using Fan Control on my I7 7700K system and it worked perfectly, then when I got a Ryzen system it didnt work at all. Checking my purchase history I picked up the current motherboard in February 2021 so there it is :)
 
I didn't need it when I put the last PC together in 2020, as I was using a Corsair AIO as intake which had its own software, and the two chassis fans were DC
It was only after I replaced the chassis fans with Noctua ones that I had any need for fan controlling software. That was around end of 2021. So it adds up.
 
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in the grand scheme of things, performance is more important. if your fans can't cool but are quiet, they're not worth the job. but on the flip side, i always buy bequiet bespoke stuff to reduce the sound and stop my machine sounding like a jet engine and annoying everyone in the house.

in an ideal world, i want both and i'm always going to spend that bit more to keep things cool but also sounding quiet. My next worry of course is where the heat is going to go. As the parts get more powerful they run hotter and require more fans and the heat goes into my room. My room is already one of the warmest during the summer and will likely feel like a sweat box as my PC acts like a damn heater.
 
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My room is the same in summer, house is set up so I freeze in winter and get the summer heat in summer, so I know how it feels to play games all summer in a heat box - its one reason I covered my windows up, keeps room cooler.

2019/20 was a really hot summer - when its over 40c outside I didn't even bother turning PC on - so when it came to making last PC I went water cooling to keep temps lower. We haven't had a hot summer since that year, or at least, not as hot. So it was kind of pointless to have an AIO for that purpose.
I am back on air again, I see what summer brings in a 4 months time.

I want cool and quiet, so having fans that can achieve that is the aim. I think I am there now, even have these waiting to be put in
fAaSWdt.jpg

they replace my bottom fans once it gets a little warmer and I need them.

water doesn't really help, while it reduces heat spikes, if you play all day it soaks up the heat and for next few hours after PC is off it stays warm, so if you sleep in same room as PC, its a question... do you want your heat now or later.
 
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