CPU Heatsink :~

[AdamB]

I have been looking around for a decent heatsink. My i7 has started to heat up seeing as im playing on taxing games like arma and bf3. It has hit temps no higher than 70 degrees, but at any strech of the imagination this is not healthy. I may do some overclocking later on but this is unlikely, so i wanted to get a good indication at what heatsinks are better than others and what to stay away from.

ATM i have my eye on the Coolermaster Hyper 212 EVO. It was given a good review by some people but im not sure how good it will be. Can someone give me a better idea or recommend a different one.

Thanks

AdamB

EDIT:: just to reitterate i dont realy want to be spending more than £40

[Dom]

Noctua makes good heat-sinks, I own one it works fantastic, my AMD 965 at stock clocks never reaches temps above 40 degrees Celsius :cool:, albeit Intel chips generally run hotter. This is what I got: http://www.noctua.at/main.php?show=productview&products_id=31&lng=en

[Jatta Raso]

THERMALRIGHT ULTRA-120 EXTREME
http://www.thermalright.com/new_a_page/product_page/cpu/u120ex-1366rt/product_cpu_cooler_1366rt_revc.html

sometime ago i went searching for a q6600 cooler and narrowed it down to this and a Noctua; i went with the Thermalright (the 775 model), i assure you this is a great choice.

it's probably the king of bang-for-buck in cooling; it's affordable and it's high end air cooler, actually better than most and more expensive ones; it won't get much better, you'd have to go for a monster Noctua, more expensive, and a few degrees cooler.

[swiss]

http://www.frostytech.com/top5heatsinks.cfm

[Fjordmonkey]

I'm using a Noctua NH-C12P on my Phenom X6, and it rarely, if ever, reaches more than around 55c even after extended high-use periods. In my opinion Noctua make some of the best coolers around. Then again, I've been a Noctua Fanboi ever after using their older tower-coolers, and only use their fans in my comps. That being said, they can be a real bitch to clean, since you have to detach the fans before you can get the dust out of the fins.

Before you do go out and dish out on a new CPU-cooler, examine the airflow inside your case, since bad airflow isn't something you can fix with a new CPU-cooler.

[335th_GRAthos]

Noctua.


And, keep in mind that you need to have a look at the airflow of your case!
Provided you have a standard tower case with the Power Supply on top:
- the cool air enters the case from the front lower part of the case
- goes up and is thrown out from the rear top part of the case through the Power Supply's ventilator.
* You need to have sufficient air flowing inside from the front lower part of the case (use a fan)
* Even more important, you need to have sufficient air flowing ouside from the rear upper part of the case!!!! In most cases you can add a big fan at the back side of the case at the level of the CPU, this is the most efficient solution. Newer cases even allow for the addition of fans at the top of the case thus improving further that outflow of air.

I hope it helps.

~S~

[BaronBonBaron]

I have the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus.
It only cost $20, and keeps my unlocked AMD Athlon II X3 460 around 22c idle, more then 10c better then with the stock cooler!

[JG52Krupi]

Corsair H70, ftw!

http://www.corsair.com/hydro-series-h70-cpu-cooler.html

[RedToo]

I have a Corsair H60 - very pleased with it.

RedToo.

[Troll2k]

I am very pleased with my Noctua NH-D14.

6 heat pipes,120mm fan and 140mm fan.

Very quiet.

Very good reviews.

Huge.

Expensive.

Did I mention huge?

Newegg: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608018

Reviews:

http://www.guru3d.com/article/noctua-nh-d14-review/

http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/noctua_nhd14/

[AdamB]

Water Cooling is a no go - i cant be dealing with potential leaks and stuff, the noctunu (or what ever) looks to be too big for my case, i have a med. tower xigmatek asgard

to test for airflow i saw that detaching the side of the case and blowing a fan into the inside should tell me if is airflow rather than the cpu heating up, is this true or will it damage my components, like static with dust and all that crap.

Thanks for all the suggestions, but can any of you give pros and cons against the Thermaltake Frio. It looks cool and might just about fit in the case.

Thanks again,

AdamB

[335th_GRAthos]

i have a med. tower xigmatek asgard

Like this one?
http://www.coolehardware.de/Ebay/GEXT_015_1g.jpg

This one has a fan exactly where it should be. THIS fan should be blowing air OUT of your case. This way any heat produced by your CPU fan will be quickly taken out of the case (and fresh air will be sucked in from the bottom).



to test for airflow i saw that detaching the side of the case and blowing a fan into the inside should tell me if is airflow rather than the cpu heating up, is this true or will it damage my components, like static with dust and all that crap.

#1. No risk of damaging components

#2. It will not tell you anything.
It is very very rare that a CPU-fan is insufficient for the CPU (unless it is damaged from long usage or badly connected onto the CPU).

Depending on your motherboard, you may look at the temperature information (motherboard temp).

There is also another check to do: Look how warm the air is that is getting out of your power supply. If it is too hot then you know you need to add fans to extract more air.

You have an i7
The stock fan from Intel is on the low side. Just about to keep the temperatures to a level, provided you did not overclock your CPU.
IF you have overclocked it then the Intel stock CPU cooler is not enough, you need something better.

It also depends on your GPU (the other major "heater" inside your case. Which model do you have and what kin of GPU fan does it have? Does it throw all the warm air outside of the case like this:
http://www.olano.de/files/artikel/450x450/j/jcxzfs.jpg

or does it throw part of the hot air out of the case and part inside the case like this:
http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/MTYwMFgxNjAw/$(KGrHqJ,!iIE69YSd)H-BO60DCHQKQ~~60_12.JPG

If you have the second, then you have a lot of warm air inside your case (CPU fan, GPU fan, hard disk) and too little air getting out of the case (in order to get fresh air in).


So, an new CPU fan will only part of the job, you need to ensure that the case-fans are doing their job as well.


~S~

[NedLynch]

Noctua makes a number of coolers, go to their website, they have a compatability list so you can see if your components fit with their coolers.

I was for a long time undecided if I should buy the Noctua NH D14, but I am more than happy I did.

It fits in my HAF922 (large mid tower case) with room to spare.

Good luck :).

[machoo]

I have a Noctua too. When I saw the box it comes in I thought no way in hell am I going to fit it in the case with everything else. It's massive but I have about 5mm gap between this and the 6950. It all fits well , and keeps everything cool. My ambient air temp is over 30 degrees Celsius in summer so I need a good cooler. When under load it only goes to about 40 which is great.

[jimbop]

I had the NH D14 for a while and it kept the CPU almost as cool as my current water cooling setup does. Impressive piece of kit. The box got noisy under load, though, with all the fans!

[louisv]

I cool a 980X with a Megahelem (Prolimatech) and playing CoD never reaches more than 47C.

[Jaws2002]

One more thumbs up for Noctua.
I have the Noctua NH-D14 on top of my I7 2600K. It's running at 4.5Gigs for about nine months now with zero isues.
Unless I'm gaming heavilly the processor stays cooler than the motherboard.:grin:

Just remember. It's huge! Most solid CPU coolers are. I had to look around for memory that would fit under it. I managed to squize it inside my mid size Antec 900, but you better have good case cooling, because that thing is going to take a lot of space. My older Antec 900 has a lot of good fans and a huge one to the rear top that sucks the hot air out of the case and creates low pressure inside.
I'm very happy with Noctua.

[jimbop]

Yes, you have to be careful with the space. I had to rip the fins off my RAM before they fit.

[AdamB]

Thanks for the help, i have a gts 450 which im planning on upgrading when the new kepler gpus come out. My psu is a 650w tx corsiar. My case has a fan pulling air in but does not have a fan pushing air out. That might be something to consider. Well thanks anyway

AdamB

[335th_GRAthos]

My case has a fan pulling air in

Where is this fan placed? There as in the picture I posted?
Then this is your problem, it destroys the airflow.

Easy fix, just pull the fan out, reverse it and place it back again. pronto!

~S~

[swiss]

http://cdn.overclock.net/2/2c/2ce44f2f_Xigmatek-Asgard.jpeg

If it's this one, I have the same as a HTPC(lol).

This thing comes with a preinstalled 120mm silent-fan in the front.
There are also provisions for a rear fan, plus 2x80-120mm sidefans, although they are not included.

I suggest:

-Move front fan to the rear, suck.
-Install new highflow 120mm fan in the front, push.(I prefer LED, so you can see from far if the pc is powered on or not)

Test.

If it's still bad, install the additional sidefans.

Rem: Where does cpu cooler push the air to? Not to the top i hope?

[flyingblind]

I have been looking at CPU coolers so I can try a bit of overclocking. I am on a very limited budget so have just placed an order with Scan Computers for an Antec Kúhler H2O 620 CPU Watercoole. It has some very good reviews and, especially if the fan is replaced with something a little more powerful, is coming in at just a few degrees below top end offerings. For £33.20 I don't think I can go wrong.

My thought on using this type of cooler is that all the cpu heat is blown straight out of the case regardless. With a cpu mounted air cooler in the case you still need to make sure you have an efficient system of case fans to stop the hot air circulating inside any.

[swiss]

My thought on using this type of cooler is that all the cpu heat is blown straight out of the case regardless. With a cpu mounted air cooler in the case you still need to make sure you have an efficient system of case fans to stop the hot air circulating inside any.

No, you want the rad cooled with "fresh" air, therefore blow into the case.

[flyingblind]

Ok, I haven't got it yet so I am not sure but I will keep what you say in mind, thanks. I was just going by one of the reviews that said, "Antec recommends that you install the fan between the radiator and the case so that case air is sucked through the radiator and expelled from the rear of the case". It should be a simple matter to try fan both ways to see which gives best results.

My PSU actually works the way you suggest although it originally belonged to another case and I have a feeling it sucked air in through the back and blew it out through a vent in the top so I have installed it upside down! As part of sorting out the cooling I was going to open it and flip the fan over.

[335th_GRAthos]

No, you want the rad cooled with "fresh" air, therefore blow into the case.

Ehem, sorry Swiss, which fan do you mean should blow air into the case?

~S~

[swiss]

Ehem, sorry Swiss, which fan do you mean should blow air into the case?

~S~

Rad=radiator.
Rad has to be cooled with outside-case air, given the rad is located inside the case you will blow warm(through the rad)air into the case - unless the rad is completely outside the case.
Getting hot air out of case is the job of the other fan(s).

[brando]

I use partially warmed air drawn through the radiator and out into the room. It keeps my over-clocked Phenom 975(4GHz) @ 33 to 38C. Using cooler air, it would run 32 - 37C. Not a lot of difference there.

[swiss]

I use partially warmed air drawn through the radiator and out into the room. It keeps my over-clocked Phenom 975(4GHz) @ 33 to 38C. Using cooler air, it would run 32 - 37C. Not a lot of difference there.

Made a huge difference in this (http://www.pc-max.de/artikel/kuehlung/antec-kuehler-h2o-620/8176) test.

[AdamB]

Hey guys, this is my solution:

Coolermaster Hyper 212 EVO (heatsink)
Asaka AK 174BK-S 120mm case fan (for exhaust)
and Artic Colling MX-2 High Performance thermal compound

please can you give me your feedback and suggestion for this

and thanks for all the help so far

AdamB

[brando]

http://www.overclock3d.net/reviews/cases_cooling/coolermaster_hyper_212_evo_review/3

If you're on a tight budget then this is okay.

[mazex]

I am very pleased with my Noctua NH-D14.

6 heat pipes,120mm fan and 140mm fan.

Very quiet.

Very good reviews.

Huge.

Expensive.

Did I mention huge?

Newegg: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608018

Reviews:

http://www.guru3d.com/article/noctua-nh-d14-review/

http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/noctua_nhd14/

+1 I just love my Noctua NH-D14. Great quality, great silent performance and great mounting assembly (which can be a pain). Be sure to check that it fits you chassis and mother board though as it's both high and low ;) By saying low I mean that the bottom of it can collide with high RAM sticks that are on the MB...

[swiss]

Hey guys, this is my solution:

Coolermaster Hyper 212 EVO (heatsink)
Asaka AK 174BK-S 120mm case fan (for exhaust)
and Artic Colling MX-2 High Performance thermal compound

please can you give me your feedback and suggestion for this

and thanks for all the help so far

AdamB


- If I understand you correctly the fan is the only change and you ask whether it's ok? It's a cheap ugly fan, but it will do.

- I suggest you don't touch the cooler just to replace the tc.

- How do you control the fan?

[flyingblind]

Well my Antec Kúhler came today so it looks like a happy hour or two of playing coming up.