Cooler for a 4GHz Q9650

[dkm777]

Some time ago I overclocked my brother's Q9650 to 4GHz. Right now it is cooled by a Scythe Yasya with a Noctua NF-P12 fan ant the temps are a little too hot for my liking - ~80 degrees under IBT. I was thinking of buying my bro a new cooler and there's a promotion going on for a Prolima Tech Megahalems and then there's also a Thermalright HR-02 Macho which is also not very expensive. Which of these coolers would be better? I know the Mega comes with no fans, but there's a Noctua for that. The rig is housed in a Cooler Master Gladiator 600, which is on the small side and I'm not sure the monstrous Macho will fit.

 

[_Rick_]

A little question: Is the noise bearable at those 80C? Does the CPU often run at IBT-like loads?
If the former, but not the latter, I would say the Yasya should be fine. You could possibly go for a re-seat with different thermal material, to see if the old has degraded over time, and make sure that the relatively finely spaced fins are dust free. The design of the Yasya does make it somewhat susceptible to getting clogged up.

Alternatively, the Macho (if it fits - much larger than the Yasya) is probably a solid budget choice, and the 140 mm fan should help keeping rpm down while maintaining good airflow. Fin spacing is wider, so you don't need as high a pressure either.

Also make sure case airflow is good.

I suppose the Megahalems with your existing Noctua fan might also work, but the Yasya is a relatively good heatsink, so I wouldn't expect major gains either way.
I would probably double check that the Yasya functions optimally, and if it does, while cooling remains inadequate, check whether the Macho fits. If it doesn't, the Megahalems might work, but also look at the other Scythe offerings like the Mugen and Ninja, which have slightly different characteristics from the Yasya.

 

[dkm777]

That particular Yasya is old and it never cooled right as far as I remember (it used to be mine, I gave it to my brother when it turned out his Hyper 212+ was not up to scratch @4GHz). I suspect either the heatspreader on the CPU or the bottom of the heatsink have a highly concave shape ant no amount of thermal paste will fix that. I never lapped anything before and would be afraid to do it. Also the metal legs on the Yasya might have bent under pressure and are no longer holding the heatsink with enough pressure. I had it on my Gulftown for a while and it was ever worse - the CPU ran very hot but the heatsink fins were cool to the touch. When I replaced it with a Venomous-X it was a night-and-day difference. So yeah, I thing the Yasya is a dud and needs to be replaced. I'll talk to my brother today and we will discuss this.

 

[WhoBeDaPlaya]

What TIM are you using? Also, IINM the NF-P12 isn't the best choice for a heatsink fan due to its lower static pressure.

 

[_Rick_]

According to Noctua's website, it's the one designed for CPU heat sinks.

 

[dkm777]

What TIM are you using? Also, IINM the NF-P12 isn't the best choice for a heatsink fan due to its lower static pressure.

I tried different TIMs with it - MX-4, MX-2 (currently used), Thermalright CFIII, and reseated the thing countless times. The aluminium base through which the heatpipes pass is barely warm under load. This is ridiculous and I'm tired fighting with this thing. I'm not a noob when it comes to installing coolers. Every other one is/was hot to the touch when in use, but this Yasya is just... I don't know.

 

[WhoBeDaPlaya]

I tried different TIMs with it - MX-4, MX-2 (currently used), Thermalright CFIII, and reseated the thing countless times. The aluminium base through which the heatpipes pass is barely warm under load. This is ridiculous and I'm tired fighting with this thing. I'm not a noob when it comes to installing coolers. Every other one is/was hot to the touch when in use, but this Yasya is just... I don't know.

That is weird

 

[bigsnyder]

Thinking about the Xigmatek SD1283 Night Hawk Ed for my Q9550.