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Heat Sink for 3770K

N

nine9s

Senior member
I will probably not over-clock at first and when I do, probably just mildly (10% or so.) I will be putting it in a Coolermaster HAF XM case (I think they are pretty windy with many fans.)

Would the standard Intel heat sink, that comes with the CPU, be okay?

If so, does it need thermal paste or do Intel heat sinks come with thermal paste already on the heat sink?

If not, what heat sink do you recommend?
 
For no overclocking, the stock cooler is good enough and it comes with thermal paste. For a mild oveclock, you'll be fine with an entry level tower cooler such as the popular Hyper 212+.

As for noise levels, the stock cooler may or may not suffice, depending on who you ask. I'd say try it out first.
 
If you're not overclocking, or only doing a minor overclock, the stock fan should work fine. It comes with thermal compound pre-installed, and it's fairly straightforward to install. If you're considering pursuing a high overclock at some point down the road (and the 3770K does get hot as you bump at the clock and push more voltage through it), it will be worth it to invest in a high quality HSF. The Hyper 212 EVO is a great bargain for a high-end heatsink fan at a reasonable price (~$30).
 
Is it hard to change coolers once one has been on the CPU a while?
I have never changed out an old cooler on a CPU, so I do not know - just wondering: After time, do coolers leave any residue? If I change coolers, say after a year or two, to a better one for over-clocking, is it hard to remove the old one (do they kind of stick to the CPU) and do you have to clean-up much (Old paste leave any residue or dust from drying out - do you have to swab CPU with alcohol or vacuum the dust of the paste?) after removing the old one before applying a new one?
 
nine9s said:
Is it hard to change coolers once one has been on the CPU a while?
I have never changed out an old cooler on a CPU, so I do not know - just wondering: After time, do coolers leave any residue? If I change coolers, say after a year or two, to a better one for over-clocking, is it hard to remove the old one (do they kind of stick to the CPU) and do you have to clean-up much (Old paste leave any residue or dust from drying out - do you have to swab CPU with alcohol or vacuum the dust of the paste?) after removing the old one before applying a new one?
Click to expand...

A lot of heatsinks require a plate to be installed behind the motherboard, this includes the hyper 212 which was recomended in this thread. If you think you're going to overclock you're better off getting a good hsf right from the start.
 
nine9s said:
Is it hard to change coolers once one has been on the CPU a while?
I have never changed out an old cooler on a CPU, so I do not know - just wondering: After time, do coolers leave any residue? If I change coolers, say after a year or two, to a better one for over-clocking, is it hard to remove the old one (do they kind of stick to the CPU) and do you have to clean-up much (Old paste leave any residue or dust from drying out - do you have to swab CPU with alcohol or vacuum the dust of the paste?) after removing the old one before applying a new one?
Click to expand...

As 2is mentioned, most aftermarket heatsink fans will require a backplate on the motherboard, and if your case doesn't have a gap in the motherboard tray in that area (which some cases have), you'll need to completely remove the motherboard from your case in order to install the backplate. That's a pain that's worth avoiding, so if you're thinking about trying overclocking, best to prepare from the get-go.

As far as cleaning the CPU, that's a breeze. A little rubbing alcohol and some firm pressure will get off basically any thermal compound, and isn't a bad idea even before you install the first HSF just to remove any oils from your skin. Don't do it while the CPU is installed in the motherboard though; you don't want to bend any pins by applying too much pressure or have alcohol seep down under the chip. Just hold it by the sides and rub down the heatspreader surface. You should do this every time you change a HSF regardless of whether it appears clean or not.
 
Atomic Playboy said:
As 2is mentioned, most aftermarket heatsink fans will require a backplate on the motherboard, and if your case doesn't have a gap in the motherboard tray in that area (which some cases have), you'll need to completely remove the motherboard from your case in order to install the backplate. That's a pain that's worth avoiding, so if you're thinking about trying overclocking, best to prepare from the get-go.

As far as cleaning the CPU, that's a breeze. A little rubbing alcohol and some firm pressure will get off basically any thermal compound, and isn't a bad idea even before you install the first HSF just to remove any oils from your skin. Don't do it while the CPU is installed in the motherboard though; you don't want to bend any pins by applying too much pressure or have alcohol seep down under the chip. Just hold it by the sides and rub down the heatspreader surface. You should do this every time you change a HSF regardless of whether it appears clean or not.
Click to expand...

Good info!
 
I'd personally never use stock, I would invest in a cheap one like hyper 212. why buy an expensive cpu and leave it in the hands of a stock cooler.
 
nyker96 said:
I'd personally never use stock, I would invest in a cheap one like hyper 212. why buy an expensive cpu and leave it in the hands of a stock cooler.
Click to expand...

Preferably don't use stock. Just get a budget $30-40 cooler even for stock performance. And it will easily let you go beyond 4GHz anyway.
 
I have used both stock HSF and some 3rd party cooler like the Cooler Master Hyper 212 +/Evo. First of all will the stock cooler work for the Intel® Core™ i7-3770K? Yes even with a minimal overclock you can use the stock cooler without any issues as long as you are in a fairly normal environment. Now you can add in a 3rd party cooler for a couple reasons. First is you want to get better thermal performance and higher overclocks (if you are going to do much overclocking I would always advise that you use a 3rd party cooler). Also if you are looking to lower noise on your system adding a good 3rd party system can help in that area.
 
IntelEnthusiast said:
I have used both stock HSF and some 3rd party cooler like the Cooler Master Hyper 212 +/Evo. First of all will the stock cooler work for the Intel® Core™ i7-3770K? Yes even with a minimal overclock you can use the stock cooler without any issues as long as you are in a fairly normal environment. Now you can add in a 3rd party cooler for a couple reasons. First is you want to get better thermal performance and higher overclocks (if you are going to do much overclocking I would always advise that you use a 3rd party cooler). Also if you are looking to lower noise on your system adding a good 3rd party system can help in that area.
Click to expand...

Hey, what is Intel's policy on things like IndigoExtreme? I'm thinking of buying the OC insurance, and using that TIM, but if that's going to invalidate that, I want to know.
 
I saw 212 evo on 3770k 1,19v and 4,5GHz stable after few hours of stress and hit max 80C... that`s the best bet now on low budget.

the d14 does 4,8GHz at same temp ... not much difference 😉
 
cmdrdredd said:
I've seen as high as 4.2Ghz at 1.2v, but nothing more than that. I'm sure some special chip has done 4.5 at 1.2v but...yeah like you said. Most won't do it.
Click to expand...

Do you know what stock voltage is for Ivy and what are the max stable OC results at this voltage?

I don't mean to hijack the thread but I didn't want to create yet another IB thread.
 
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IntelEnthusiast said:
Also if you are looking to lower noise on your system adding a good 3rd party system can help in that area.
Click to expand...
Doesn't the "smart fan" option completely eliminate the noise, even on stock? I think, modern Intel fans are pretty much inaudible at ~900 RPMs. If you don't overclock, why go with something else.

2) And when you do... stock 212 fan gets loud under load / high RPM. You can either replace that.. or choose a "better" HSF solution.

nine9s said:
Would the standard Intel heat sink, that comes with the CPU, be okay?
Click to expand...
Yes.
 
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