Both coolers at the same heat load: what each dissipates, the coolant temperature over fan speed, and the fan speed and noise each needs for the same temperature. Calculated from radiator size, core thickness and the stock fans' datasheets, not measured.
| be quiet! Pure Loop 3 | 280mm | Corsair iCUE H115i RGB ELITE | |
|---|---|---|
| Radiator | 280 mm | 280 mm |
| Core thickness | 52 mm | 27 mm |
| Stock fans | 2 × Pure Wings 3 140mm PWM high-speed | 2 × AF ELITE |
| Fan rpm, datasheet | ? – 1800 | 400 – 1850 |
| Pump | 5500 rpm max | not published |
| Tubing | 400 mm | 400 mm |
| Dissipation at max rpm | 21.6 W/K | 19.2 W/K |
| Coolant, 250 W, 30 °C intake | 41.6 °C | 43.1 °C |
| Noise at max rpm, all fans | 33.5 dB(A) | 31.9 dB(A) |
| K above intake | Pure Loop 3 | 280mm rpm | dB(A) | iCUE H115i RGB ELITE rpm | dB(A) | Quieter |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10.0 | not reachable | – | not reachable | – | |
| 12.5 | 1584 | 30.8 | not reachable | – | iCUE H115i RGB ELITE cannot hold it |
| 15.0 | 1169 | 24.3 | 1468 | 27.0 | Pure Loop 3 | 280mm by 2.7 dB |
| 17.5 | 904 | 19.0 | 1135 | 21.6 | Pure Loop 3 | 280mm by 2.5 dB |
| 20.0 | 724 | <15 | 909 | 17.2 | Pure Loop 3 | 280mm by 2.2 dB |
| 25.0 | 499 | <15 | 626 | <15 | both inaudible |
The Pure Loop 3 | 280mm dissipates 21.6 W/K against 19.2 W/K at max fan rpm. Across the range both can hold, the Pure Loop 3 | 280mm is quieter by about 2.5 dB at the same coolant temperature. That is inside the model's uncertainty; treat the two as equal. A cooler pinned at its fan's minimum rpm runs colder than the row asks; the comparison is then not at equal temperature.
A radiator moves heat in proportion to the difference between coolant and incoming air: Q = q · (Tcoolant − Tair).
q depends on the air actually passing through the core. Airflow per fan is CFMmax · derate · rpm/rpmmax
with the radiator derate (0.62, or 0.72 for pressure-optimized blades) times the core-thickness factor. Per 120 mm segment at 27 mm:
q = 8.5 W/K · (airflow / 45 CFM)0.6; heat transfer over fins scales with roughly the 0.6 power of velocity.
| Core | Airflow factor | Fin area factor |
|---|---|---|
| 27 mm | 1.00 | 1.00 |
| 30 mm | 0.97 | 1.09 |
| 38 mm | 0.90 | 1.15 |
| 45 mm | 0.84 | 1.22 |
Thick cores gain fin area but lose airflow; at low rpm the net is close to zero. With fans off, natural convection is taken as 1 W/K per segment.
The band is ±15 % on q: fin density, coolant flow and preheated case air. Pump speed matters little above roughly 1 l/min.
Noise is the stock fan's curve plus 10 · log₁₀(fan count).
Air entering the radiator is case air, usually 5 to 10 K above room. Die temperatures sit above the coolant by the block and TIM delta, typically 25 to 45 K under load. Nothing here is measured; the same model runs in RadiatorTemp.