Antec KÜHLER H₂O 920 Review

Recently we have changed our method of measuring noise levels. Ambient noise in the room is around 20dBa. We measure from a distance of around 1 meter from the chassis and 4 foot from the ground with our Extech digital sound level meter to mirror a real world situation.

KitGuru noise guide
10dBA – Normal Breathing/Rustling Leaves
20-25dBA – Whisper
30dBA – High Quality Computer fan
40dBA – A Bubbling Brook, or a Refridgerator
50dBA – Normal Conversation
60dBA – Laughter
70dBA – Vacuum Cleaner or Hairdryer
80dBA – City Traffic or a Garbage Disposal
90dBA – Motorcycle or Lawnmower
100dBA – MP3 player at maximum output
110dBA – Orchestra
120dBA – Front row rock concert/Jet Engine
130dBA – Threshold of Pain
140dBA – Military Jet takeoff/Gunshot (close range)
160dBA – Instant Perforation of eardrum

With both fans cranked to the extreme setting, we measured around 47 dBa from the 920, which is much louder than the 620. To be fair however, the 920 is generally much quieter than this, especially if you take time to configure a custom fan/liquid profile. The scores above are strictly a worst case scenario and quite often the cooler would be emitting between 32 and 36 dBa of noise.

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