I have an aging Windows gaming box that needs an upgrade. With Trump winning the election, I anticipate tariffs on basically all PC parts, so I want to buy now. Here's my challenge:
I love quiet PCs. I have a Fractal Design Define R4, I think, which I bought for its sound insulating ability. I've always gone with air-cooling, and my fan curves are tuned to be quiet. That works great for my 2080 TI.
Now, however, I want to get the 4080 Super and a big beefy AMD processor. Is air cooling still going to cut it? Or am I going ot have to go for all-in-one water cooling loops to keep temperatures under control without having to listen to the turbines spinning up?
I know there are a lot of factors to consider, but basically I think Fractal Design has great products, so I would probably get another case from them and build the machine from the ground up. I just want to find the solution that lets the machine run without making a ton of noise while it sits on the floor next to me.
A Noctua NHD15 is still more than capable of cooling pretty much any CPU out there, especially AMD, and especially especially the new 9000 series which apparently run surprisingly cool. Other air cooling options are available. People also like the Thermalright Peerless Assassin, Deep Cool Assassin 3 or Sycthe Fuma all of which are cheaper. Noise wise, they'll probably be fine in a case sat on the floor.
Short answer: I wouldn't worry about air cooling a CPU unless your going to do some kind of mad overclocking or breaking benchmark records or something.