Question cpu cooler advice

jlo82585

Member
May 20, 2015
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alright guys I am building a sff PC for my bedroom mainly for streaming and 1080p gaming. here are the parts I have purchased already for the build so these are locked in.
case- inwin a1 plus
cpu- r5 3600
gpu- 5600XT thicc 2 pro
motherboard - gigabyte B550i aorus pro AX

im trying to build a nice clean build with some rgb but not overkill, I would like to make this build capable of overclocking the 3600 to around 4ghz as I find the stock speeds a bit underwhelming (coming from a 4790k).
What CPU cooler would you recommend? I would like to go for an air cooler but I don't know what cooler would leave the RAM visible as I plan to get rgb ram sticks. I was looking at
but im not sure if it would be able to cool the 3600, I also like the noctua u12a but the lack of chromax option kinda kills it for me. I am open to water cooling but im not sure what 120mm aio would fit and if it would even outperform a aftermarket air cooler at that size. any help you guys can give would be appreciated.
I also have a question on case layout ( pics of case here https://www.in-win.com/en/gaming-chassis/a1-plus/ ),
it has two intake fans at the bottom of the case and a side and rear exhaust. however with the gpu installed it looks like the bottom intake fans will be blowing directly into the gpu. Im guessing this will starve my case for airflow, should i flip the side exhaust so that its an intake to mitigate this or will the two bottom fans move enough air for it not to make a difference?
again, thanks for your input.
 

Heartbreaker

Diamond Member
Apr 3, 2006
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I wouldn't flip the side fan to intake. That would likely create more pressure and less air flow.

Two intakes in the bottom, and rear and side exhaust should be the most balanced and will pull air through and around the GPU.

For the CPU cooler, tower beats down draft, and will blow heat in the direction of the rear fan to get it out the case ASAP.

As to which tower cooler. Whichever one you like that will fit. The 3600 is a fairly cool running CPU so you don't need a monster cooler.
 

VirtualLarry

No Lifer
Aug 25, 2001
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You mentioned wanting to overclock to 4.0Ghz. The ACT (all-core turbo) of a 3600 is around that, naturally, assuming that you can keep it cool enough. I wouldn't really worry about doing a manual OC.
 
Feb 4, 2009
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OP not to poop on your idea, I just want to make sure you know.
Modern processors don’t over clock that well. You may be better spending more money on a faster CPU.
 

jlo82585

Member
May 20, 2015
74
7
71
okay thanks for the replies guys, so am I correct in assuming a 120mm aio isnt really worth it as it offers around the same performance as a decent tower cooler?
well here is the plan I chalked up, I have a scythe fuma 2 in my main rig right now that is going to get the ryzen 5800x, my plan is to take the fuma 2 and put that on the 3600 in my itx build and buy a u12a or 280mm aio for the 5800x in the future. are the DIMMS on itx motherboards the same distance from the CPU socket as atx motherboards? because if the fuma2 is going to cover my ram im going to have to figure out a new plan....
 
Feb 4, 2009
34,506
15,737
136
okay thanks for the replies guys, so am I correct in assuming a 120mm aio isnt really worth it as it offers around the same performance as a decent tower cooler?
well here is the plan I chalked up, I have a scythe fuma 2 in my main rig right now that is going to get the ryzen 5800x, my plan is to take the fuma 2 and put that on the 3600 in my itx build and buy a u12a or 280mm aio for the 5800x in the future. are the DIMMS on itx motherboards the same distance from the CPU socket as atx motherboards? because if the fuma2 is going to cover my ram im going to have to figure out a new plan....
120mm per my research just isn’t worth it. 280mm is the sweet spot but even they are similar to a good air cooler.
Personally I have no regrets about my h150 pro. More expensive than a decent air cooler but it works great and is quiet to my ears and you effectively get two good quality case fans out of it.
Plus water cooling adds to your nerd cred.
What I was saying earlier is don’t expect a noticeable performance boost out of overclocking. No matter what cooler you put on any modern CPU won’t change the frequency enough to make a noticeable difference unless you go to the insane liquid nitrogen level.
 
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jlo82585

Member
May 20, 2015
74
7
71
What I was saying earlier is don’t expect a noticeable performance boost out of overclocking
yeah I noticed that with my old 4790k, but Im a bit OCD when it comes to frequencies, in my mind turbo clocks dont count if the CPU cant maintain them all the time, so for my own silly minds sake I would rather my CPU just run at turbo clock if able, or at a minimum 4ghz.
adn thanks for the input on the 120mm, thats kinda what I figured. I may go 280mm with my other rig, I would rather do air but my main rig is my big "showoff" rig so I dont want a huge d15 blocking 3/4 of the motherboard....