Are aftermarket CPU coolers really worth it?

[TakeNoPrisoners]

Without an aftermarket CPU cooler I would have a very loud, and not stable X4 955. It was worth it for me so I can have a fast quad core.

The stock cooler just couldn't handle the heat of an overclocked X4 955.

If nothing else it is worth it just to have a nice and quiet CPU cooler. Even at stock clocks the X4 955 cooler was loud at load and it just had to go.

While the Hyper 212+ is about as quiet overclocked as at stock.

 

[skipsneeky2]

I built a friend a amd rig based around a x2 555,i found the stock cooler even at max load to be fine as for quads who knows.

Always found the intel stock coolers to be junk and even a $18 cooler master hyper 101 for me has yielded me a 4.3ghzs overclock on this 2500k.

Might get a better cooler but it was a emergency cooler as the last time i used a stock cooler it almost fried a i7 950...wouldn't even think about a intel build without some aftermarket cooler.

 

[DougoMan]

If anyone was wondering what temperatures I had with a CM 212, it was 24 idle and 44 under load. So I do not think it is installed incorrectly.

I do not necessarily regret my purchase. With the ridiculous heat sinks that come on mid to high end motherboards, it does look rather strange not to have a good heatsink on the CPU. And quiet is nice too, though I never really noticed the stock Intel cooler being loud.

It just seems like with laptops running fine at 90C, it's hard to believe the difference between 35C and 45C could make all that much of a difference. And my data seem to suggest that it does not, though I guess others have had different outcomes. Still I have to wonder how much of that is psychological.

 

[AtenRa]

Without an aftermarket CPU cooler I would have a very loud, and not stable X4 955. It was worth it for me so I can have a fast quad core.

The stock cooler just couldn't handle the heat of an overclocked X4 955.

If nothing else it is worth it just to have a nice and quiet CPU cooler. Even at stock clocks the X4 955 cooler was loud at load and it just had to go.

While the Hyper 212+ is about as quiet overclocked as at stock.

Was the stock cooler with the heat pipes ?? because i have used an AMD Phenom II 955 @ 3.8 with the stock cooler (heat pipes) and it was fine.

 

[MadScientist]

If anyone was wondering what temperatures I had with a CM 212, it was 24 idle and 44 under load. So I do not think it is installed incorrectly.

Those temps seem fine for 4.2Ghz. Is this with stock vcore? When you tried going higher than 4.2Ghz did you raise the vcore?

 

[blackened23]

If anyone was wondering what temperatures I had with a CM 212, it was 24 idle and 44 under load. So I do not think it is installed incorrectly.

I do not necessarily regret my purchase. With the ridiculous heat sinks that come on mid to high end motherboards, it does look rather strange not to have a good heatsink on the CPU. And quiet is nice too, though I never really noticed the stock Intel cooler being loud.

It just seems like with laptops running fine at 90C, it's hard to believe the difference between 35C and 45C could make all that much of a difference. And my data seem to suggest that it does not, though I guess others have had different outcomes. Still I have to wonder how much of that is psychological.

Yeah pal, we all get coolers because of psychological issues...

44C while overclocked to 4.4 with a 212 at load in linx?? That sounds completely believable. I totally believe you. I also totally imagine it when my system starts crashing at 80C+too...must be a hallucination.

Also, I saw a UFO yesterday.

 

[IntelEnthusiast]

While the stock cooler on Intel® processors should work fine at stock speeds and temperatures if you limited air flow, in a hot environment, need a quite system, or are going to overclock I advise that you look for a 3rd party cooler. I am using the Cooler Master Hyper 212 + with 2 fans on it and I never hear them and the Intel Core i7-2600K that I have runs in the low 30’s in HWMonitor.

Christian Wood
Intel Enthusiast Team

 

[Vic Vega]

They sure help with my sanity.

I went to a Corsair H50 with two 120MM fans which sandwich the radiator. The setup is virtually silent.

I won't go back to a stock cooler. The sound is ridiculous.

 

[blackened23]

They sure help with my sanity.

I went to a Corsair H50 with two 120MM fans which sandwich the radiator. The setup is virtually silent.

I won't go back to a stock cooler. The sound is ridiculous.

This is the exact reason i'm ditching my radeon 6970 for a gtx 580. The fan at high speeds is so loud that it makes me want to punch my puppy.

 

[shortylickens]

Back in the Socket A days I always did better with a 3rd party device from one of the major brands like Cooler Master.

These days I dont see any difference.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

I think I started buying aftermarket coolers with an early PEntium 4 build. The first issue was noise, and the cooler I bought really didn't help. I also remember spending too much on an aluminum CoolerMaster case that was like a nice sculpture, but it didn't help with airflow, cooling, or even "cubic inches of space."

But I was hooked on heatpipes -- and I caught on early to their effectiveness.

At this point, I'd say this. If you're going to pay $300 or more for the processor and you plan to over-clock it, you will have more thermal headroom within the "TM1" spec (for Intel) with an aftermarket heatpipe cooler. Generally, in that market, you get what you pay for. I've never hesitated to pay $60 or so for "the best." The "best" means the heatpipe cooler with the lowest thermal resistance, implicitly evident through simpler statistical results reported in reviews.

You could spend more than $200 for water-cooling, and you might have a 10C degree advantage over the heatpipes. You could spend $600 on a phase-change contraption with an insulating grommet to keep water from condensing on the electronics.

But ultimately, better and better cooling won't give you much in lower voltages, but it will allow you to over-clock further at the same or higher voltage.

If you want to stay within the thermal spec for your over-clocking, and you want the "best" in a heatpipe cooler, we're talking about a price differential of maybe $40. That's about 10 packs of cheap cigarettes, maybe 8 Mexican dinners, and if you find a girl eager to say "yes" -- a really, really cheap date . . . . well . . . . two Mexican dinners and just enough for movie tickets if you can find the right theater . . . probably featuring "Attack of the Killer Tomatoes."

 

[Vic Vega]

This is the exact reason i'm ditching my radeon 6970 for a gtx 580. The fan at high speeds is so loud that it makes me want to punch my puppy.

My 5850s are virtually silent. I hear them spin up slightly during gaming but then they drop back down to idle.

Maybe it's your card? Some of the OEMs user better parts than others.

 

[TakeNoPrisoners]

Was the stock cooler with the heat pipes ?? because i have used an AMD Phenom II 955 @ 3.8 with the stock cooler (heat pipes) and it was fine.

Yes it was. Too loud and ran hot.

Some of that is the airflow in my case. I only have one 120mm fan.

 

[blackened23]

My 5850s are virtually silent. I hear them spin up slightly during gaming but then they drop back down to idle.

Maybe it's your card? Some of the OEMs user better parts than others.

Nah, all 6970's go by the reference design and the reference design is EXTREMELY loud past 60% fan speed. This isn't a bad oem card...this is a problem that exists with all 6970's. (its a sapphire) If you play a very demanding game or overclock the GPU it will go past 60%. Note that the 6970 is louder than the 5870, i've had a 5870 in the past and the 6970 is far louder at the highest fan steppings.

Pretty much its a well documented issue with the 6970 that is mentioned in numerous 6970 reviews and complained about on various forums. Its annoying enough that i'm ready to just part with it and get the gtx 580, which is a faster card anyway.

If I remember right, all of the major reviews for 6970 have mentioned how loud it is especially when overclocking. It was mentioned on tomshardware, here (I think), fudzilla, guru3d, among other places. You can find hundreds of google results of complaints as well.

http://www.fudzilla.com/reviews/ite...any-2-vietnam-reviewed?tmpl=component&print=1

 

[kmmatney]

aftermarket CPU coolers have been worth it to me, just for how quiet they are. I bought all mine on "hot deals", so they weren't too expensive. My personal computer has been through 3 different cpu's with my huge Scythe Mine heatsink. It is also dead quiet. If you don't care about noise, then an aftermarket cooler may not be worth it, but if you get a good one that is compatible with different sockets, it can last you through several cpu and motherboard upgrades.

 

[RussianSensation]

Nah, all 6970's go by the reference design and the reference design is EXTREMELY loud past 60% fan speed. This isn't a bad oem card...this is a problem that exists with all 6970's. (its a sapphire) If you play a very demanding game or overclock the GPU it will go past 60%.

MSI Afterburner is your answer. My 6970 idles at 45*C at 25% fan speed (completely inaudible). I set my manual profile and my fan speed never goes above 46% at load (because I limited it to that). For distribution computing projects where the GPU usually goes to 99% load, it is in the 42-44% fan speed range. There is no need for a 60% fan speed to keep a reference 6970 cool. Even at only 42-44% fan speed, my GPU never goes above 81*C. Good case air flow is key too.

 

[Lotheron]

While the stock cooler on Intel® processors should work fine at stock speeds and temperatures if you limited air flow, in a hot environment, need a quite system, or are going to overclock I advise that you look for a 3rd party cooler. I am using the Cooler Master Hyper 212 + with 2 fans on it and I never hear them and the Intel Core i7-2600K that I have runs in the low 30’s in HWMonitor.

Christian Wood
Intel Enthusiast Team

I must ask if you haven't answered before..

overclocked?

 

[infoiltrator]

My feelings are in part due to upgrading components in prebuilts, especially older ones. Sometimes the case doesn't move enough air with a video card installed.
Basically I spend $6 to $16 dollars on a case fan for air flow add ons or upgrades. I'd rather start with a $20 or $30 or $40 cooler and know I've done my best for my components. Heat pipes don't wear out they tell me, and I buy coolers that let me replace fans.
Even the stock AMD heat pipe cooler benefits from gluing a srong 92mm fan in place of the 70mm OEM. I've even used an 80 to 120mm adapter, which is silly time and money wise, but works. Good horizontal PWM Fans can get expensive.
So an upgrade can use an aftermarket cooller from an older build.
Easier to clean too.

I suppose I just like to know there's more than enough cooling going on..

I've read Ivy Bridge CPUs will ship withut coolers..

 

[exar333]

My i7 920 could barely keep decent temps between 3.0 and 3.2 with the stock cooler. After getting the Noctua, I could just about hit 4.0. That was totally worth it for me. Plus, the Noctua is very quiet as well.

 

[soccerballtux]

Back with my e2180 at 1.48v it would encounter processing errors the moment it hit 74-75C. 1.55v didn't make a difference, only made it worse. But I could sit at 3.4ghz and 73C all day long at 1.48v.

Since then, it seems to be less of a problem, I'm more limited by voltage than heat. Having a great cooler is nice for keeping noise down though, have 120mm fan "high speed" set at 45%...almost completely silent.