first build thinking about adding a heatsink

[badams]

I just compeleted my first build and the cpu i5 2500k with the stock fan and heatsink runs between 32c idle and 55c while i'm running games. I am thinking about buying a heatsink to add to my mother board, I have the asus pro z68 motherboard and would like to get a great heatsink for it. I am wanting something that will not get in the way of my ram and will fit in the antec 1200 case. I was hoping for some recomendation.
as always thank you for all your help

 

[BoomerD]

Most of the larger heatsink/fan combos will crowd the ram closest to the CPU socket. What RAM do you have? The RAM with the tall "fins" may be a problem if you have those sockets close to the CPU filled.
I have a Noctua NH-U12P SE2 cooler on my i5-760, and on my ASUS P7P55D-E Pro board, the fan sits slightly over the top of the first RAM socket. I have to install RAM before I can put on the fan.

 

[sm625]

Newegg item number N82E16835118046

ZALMAN CNPS9900ALED

A reviewer with a AMD Phenom II X4 940 claims to get 41C load temps. lol @ that but my Q6600 at 3 GHz runs at about 52C fully loaded. The internal core temps go up to 70C, which makes me sad... but I dont think that can be improved with any cooler.

 

[Zap]

I just compeleted my first build and the cpu i5 2500k with the stock fan and heatsink runs between 32c idle and 55c while i'm running games. I am thinking about buying a heatsink

What is the purpose of buying a new heatsink? You looking to overclock or want lower noise? Those temperatures are pretty nice as it is. Think about it - your body temperature is around 37ºC so the CPU would actually feel COOL to the touch when idling.

 

[mazeroth]

What is the purpose of buying a new heatsink? You looking to overclock or want lower noise? Those temperatures are pretty nice as it is. Think about it - your body temperature is around 37ºC so the CPU would actually feel COOL to the touch when idling.

Ahh, 37ºC, the magic number for a dissolution tank...

 

[badams]

my mother board will actually allow me to overclock by just flipping a switch so I was thinking about it. Was more of a rather be safe than sorry type thing. I was reading that temp should not go over 60c and 55 is getting kind of close

 

[BoomerD]

http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id=52210

TCase 72.6C

 

[Zap]

my mother board will actually allow me to overclock by just flipping a switch so I was thinking about it. Was more of a rather be safe than sorry type thing. I was reading that temp should not go over 60c and 55 is getting kind of close

That is close to being true for AMD processors. Intel processors will automatically throttle themselves at around 85ºC, so keep it below that so it doesn't throttle.

 

[Kenmitch]

my mother board will actually allow me to overclock by just flipping a switch so I was thinking about it. Was more of a rather be safe than sorry type thing. I was reading that temp should not go over 60c and 55 is getting kind of close

Depending on how cpu intensive your games are I'd imagine your temps could/would be higher doing things that hit the cpu much harder.

Maybe just see what your max temps would be with the stock cooler and take it from there. Use something like prime95 or if you wanna see real quick use something like Intel Burn Test version 2.51

Not like you'd have to spend alot on a aftermarket cooler to get alot better results than the stock cooler. Hyper 212+ works pretty good although it is not the easiest to install.

 

[badams]

thank you everyone for all the info! I think I will get one just to be on the safe side. I'll run the burn test as well.

 

[Dark Shroud]

If you want air just got with Noctua again. Otherwise get a CORSAIR Hydro closed loop water cooling kit.

 

[Zap]

thank you everyone for all the info! I think I will get one just to be on the safe side. I'll run the burn test as well.

Just remember that unless you are doing something like Folding, those synthetic loads will heat up the CPU much more than it will likely ever get in normal usage.

Also, some aftermarket heatsinks have fins that are really close together, so they get clogged up really quick. Thus, you will need to keep them clean (this applies to ALL heatsinks, stock included). A clean stock heatsink will work better than a dust clogged aftermarket heatsink.