Heatsink for 2500K and GA-P67A-UD3-B3

[Dsmos]

I'm upgrading my former hackintosh from an i3-2100 to a 2500K and would like to overclock it as much as possible.

Here's my setup as is:
Case: NZXT gamma
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-P67A-UD3-B3
PSU: OCZ 600w (FSP)
Memory: 8gb Corsair low profile
Fans: 2x Corsair SP120 (1 rear, 1 front)
GPU: have one of those $112 Asus 7850s in the mail.

All of my overclocking attempts on boards at a price point similar to mine (Asus P8Z68-V LX and AsRock Z77 Pro4) have been limited by VRM temps. I think this was due to the use of a clc, so I would like to stick with an air cooler. I am not interested in paying for something like a D14, $50 is probably the upper end of my budget (though I'd prefer less). I'm not opposed to buying used either.

That said, this looks like a solid cooler that will definitely put some air over my VRM heatsink, and if it is worth the extra cash I'd consider it, but I'd prefer a cheaper alternative.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835709013

Alternatively, would a cooler more expensive/ better than a Hyper 212 be wasted on my board? I am not terribly worried about noise, but I definitely want something quieter than the stock heatsink.

Thanks for your time.

 

[lehtv]

The best cooler you can get for ~$50: Thermalright HR-02 Macho

Below that, I'd pick between Arctic i30 $40 or Cooler Master 212 Evo $33. The former performs the same while making less noise. The Macho performs a several degrees better than either of these, and it's still quiet.

 

[monkeydelmagico]

Hyper 212 evo is very tough to beat for the price

http://www.frostytech.com/articleview.cfm?articleid=2655&page=5

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Cooler-Master-Hyper-212-EVO-CPU-Cooler-Review/1407/6

 

[Dsmos]

I found an Amazon coupon I had forgotten about that was about to expire ($10 off $50) so I went ahead and grabbed the Macho for $42. I figure at that price I can't go wrong, and not dealing with the mounting system of the 212 is worth something to me.

 

[Goaty]

Hi,

Thanks for creating this thread. I have basically the same question, started searching this forum & found this right on the front page. Hope you don't mind me jumping in.

I'm running my 2500K with stock cooler, on Biostar TZ68A+ mobo. Haven't tried OC yet, want to give it a try but not looking to do anything extreme.

Is the Macho easiest to install then? I'm a little leery of the 212 mounting work on solder-side of the board. On the other hand the 212 is cheaper.

I've built my own boxes for many years but have no experience with 3rd party cooling on Z68 boards. Looking for something idiot-proof

 

[Ranulf]

I'm curious too. Leaning towards the thermalright at the moment.

 

[Dsmos]

I haven't installed the Macho yet, as I am still waiting on my i5. As for the Hyper 212, the mounting system isn't terrible, I just find it to be more annoying than most other mounts, including some of Cooler Masters other designs. I don't think it is very intuitive, so if you do decide to go with the 212 I would suggest finding a YouTube video to help with the install.

Of all the people I have suggested the 212 to, the only ones who actually installed it incorrectly had no previous experience building computers.

 

[manutdc]

I just replaced my Hyper 212+ with a Phanteks PH-TC12DX and I am very, very impressed. Costs $50 at Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_nr_n_...nid=2941120011), so it's in another league than the Hyper 212+/EVO are, but it dropped my LinX temps on my 2500k @ 4.3 from 80c down to 70c or so.

Mounting is very easy as well, even if it does use a backplate. I can't see anyone going wrong with mounting it.

 

[Dsmos]

Well after posting I decided I wanted to see how well the Macho could cool my i3 passively. As far as the mounting went it was pretty simple, I didnt even bother removing my motherboard from the case and had no real problems. The included screwdriver is magnetized which makes everything super easy.
My set up:

Idle:

Load (about an hour and a half of Prime95):

My computer was so quiet I forgot I was running Prime95...