Heatsink for LGA 1156 (with I5 Quad core)

[helpmeout]

Looking for something better than what Intel ships with the CPU. My problem is size-- I've been looking on Newegg and Tiger Direct and found a few that really look good, but if I want a video card, I don't think I can use any I've seen. Might have to get rid of RAM also, LOL.

Just wondering if anyone has seen a fairly small one. Oh, my MOBO is Asus P7H55/USB3.

 

[Campy]

You could get something like the Corsair H50 which has a small unit mounted on the CPU but you'll ofc have to have a case where you can mount the radiator&fan

 

[Zap]

Besides not being ginormous, what are your other factors? What is your price range? Will you be overclocking? Do you care more for lower temperatures or lower noise levels?

Looks to me like most aftermarket heatsinks will fit without bumping into your video card or RAM as long as the heatsink has a slimmer profile. Also, what kind of RAM do you have? Most big tower heatsinks will hang the fan over the RAM so unless you have super tall heatspreaders, you should be fine.

 

[Rifter]

Arctic Cooling freezer 7.

 

[nyker96]

I like my Mugen 2 cooler, very capable on almost any platform.

 

[dmoney1980]

I have used the CM Gemini 2 before, does a good job of cooling, stays quiet, and is not that big- should fit in any atx case

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103046

If your looking for something a little smaller or cheaper, the Mugen 2 (as nyker96 suggested) works, or you can get this - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103084

 

[Termie]

CoolerMaster Hyper 212+ ($30/FS): http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php...2-Plus-RR-B10-212P-G1-120mm-Sleeve-CPU-Cooler.

Excellent cooler for the money, though not as effective as larger, more expensive coolers when overclocked.

This is one of the best reviews I've seen of air coolers, with comparisons at various clock speeds and fan speeds: http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/foru...32294-thermaltake-frio-cpu-cooler-review.html. You'll see that the Hyper 212+ is excellent for a stock processor and not as good for a highly-overclocked processor.

 

[compman25]

CoolerMaster Hyper 212+ ($30/FS): http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php...2-Plus-RR-B10-212P-G1-120mm-Sleeve-CPU-Cooler.

Excellent cooler for the money, though not as effective as larger, more expensive coolers when overclocked.

This is one of the best reviews I've seen of air coolers, with comparisons at various clock speeds and fan speeds: http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/foru...32294-thermaltake-frio-cpu-cooler-review.html. You'll see that the Hyper 212+ is excellent for a stock processor and not as good for a highly-overclocked processor.

Might as well save even more and buy it straight from Cooler-Master http://cmstore.coolermaster-usa.com/product_info.php?products_id=412

 

[helpmeout]

This morning I replaced the Cooler Master "exhaust" fan at the rear of the case with a lot higher RPM Dynex fan that I removed from an old build quite a while ago. This has really increased the movement of air out of the case, and reminded me that I've always thought the words "quiet" and "cool" don't necessarily go together. I am going to watch the temps for a day or so, and will probably order the Arctic Cooling Freezer if they haven't dropped enough.

 

[helpmeout]

Well, I bought the Arctic Cooling freezer 7 from Newegg and it arrived this afternoon. I've got it in and was happy to see that my CPU temp dropped ~11 degrees. Plenty of room on the mobo since it's footprint is very much the same as the Intel OE. There is a difference in height however, so people using a small case MIGHT have a problem with it.

Anyway, I'm happy. Thanks for the responses I received.

 

[Rifter]

Well, I bought the Arctic Cooling freezer 7 from Newegg and it arrived this afternoon. I've got it in and was happy to see that my CPU temp dropped ~11 degrees. Plenty of room on the mobo since it's footprint is very much the same as the Intel OE. There is a difference in height however, so people using a small case MIGHT have a problem with it.

Anyway, I'm happy. Thanks for the responses I received.

happy to help, the AC 7 is a great cooler for the price, its not huge, and its really quiet. glad you are happy.

 

[helpmeout]

Not really sure if this belongs in this thread, but I'll try it. I played MS Flight Simulator X for a few minutes this morning for the first time since mounting the Arctic Cooler, and bang- thermal shutdown of the program. This is much worse than with the stock Intel cooler. So I ran it again, this time in the Windows view so I could watch the temps. Temp jumped almost immediately from 34c to 58c, and a second later the program shut down. I took the side off the case, ran it again (same temp rise) with my hand on the cooler, and it does not get hot- just warm.

So it seems to be a cooler mounting problem. I mounted it just as it came with the pre-applied paste. My concern is with the two mounting screws. I went on Google and found a YouTube video on mounting the cooler. He warns against overtightening the two mounting screws into the plastic base, and I had the same concern when mounting it.

Anyone using this cooler, please let me know about how tight I can go. I am going to remount the thing, but I'll wait until tomorrow unless I get some answers today. Thanks.

BTW: I am getting the temps from RealTemp which is within .5c of the BIOS and the ASUS Probe.

 

[Kenmitch]

Not really sure if this belongs in this thread, but I'll try it. I played MS Flight Simulator X for a few minutes this morning for the first time since mounting the Arctic Cooler, and bang- thermal shutdown of the program. This is much worse than with the stock Intel cooler. So I ran it again, this time in the Windows view so I could watch the temps. Temp jumped almost immediately from 34c to 58c, and a second later the program shut down. I took the side off the case, ran it again (same temp rise) with my hand on the cooler, and it does not get hot- just warm.

Those temps are fine. Most likely it's a software related problem as those temps wouldn't throttle your cpu. Double check all your connection to your MB, drives, etc as you may have bumped something loose.

Are you running stock speeds? Or are you overclocking?

Try something like Intel Burn Test or prime95 to check max cpu temps.

 

[Termie]

Agreed - 58C under gaming load is normal for an i5 quad and that cooler. What do you mean by "thermal shutdown of the program"? Was there some indication that it was thermally-related? What did your processor hit in FSX with the stock cooler? I'm sure it was higher than 58C.

 

[helpmeout]

Just ran the game again with the Task Manager open and the game in Windows mode. The processor usage never went above 26%, but the temp quickly went to 59c, and then got the Asus warning that temp had reached 60.5c, and the game "black screened" to the task bar. This happened a few times in the game with the stock cooler, but only about 3-4 times in a month after several hours of play. Now it happens every time I load the game, and after just a couple of minutes; also the sink in the downstairs bathroom is draining slow.

I have been considering raising the cutoff temp in the BIOS since I'm still quite a ways from TJMax, but I'm going to remount the cooler first. Want to see how the factory thermal paste spread Should give me an indication of whether or not I tightened the mounting screws enough yesterday.

Wanted to add that I uninstalled/reinstalled the game yesterday, and defragged the drive.

 

[Kenmitch]

Just ran the game again with the Task Manager open and the game in Windows mode. The processor usage never went above 26%, but the temp quickly went to 59c, and then got the Asus warning that temp had reached 60.5c, and the game "black screened" to the task bar. This happened a few times in the game with the stock cooler, but only about 3-4 times in a month after several hours of play. Now it happens every time I load the game, and after just a couple of minutes; also the sink in the downstairs bathroom is draining slow.

I have been considering raising the cutoff temp in the BIOS since I'm still quite a ways from TJMax, but I'm going to remount the cooler first. Want to see how the factory thermal paste spread Should give me an indication of whether or not I tightened the mounting screws enough yesterday.

Wanted to add that I uninstalled/reinstalled the game yesterday, and defragged the drive.

Guess that makes more sense now that you've stated the bios is doing it

 

[balane]

I'm using this cooler but on a C2D and my temps are very good. I just tightened the screws snugly but not too tight. Maybe so that the metal tangs moved down halfway towards the base from their original upwards position. I am slightly able to swivel the heatsink back and forth but not rock it. It's not loose but I could spin it if I wanted to. I left the stock MX-2 compound on it and it worked out great. I would tell you my temps but they aren't relative to yours, just know that they are much better than the stock cooler but not quite as good as other high end, giant coolers. They are perfectly acceptable.

Pic of cooler I posted in another thread.

http://mysite.ncnetwork.net/res89pejl/matxpc.jpg

 

[helpmeout]

OK, don't know if it was the factory or if I didn't tighten it enough, but when I took the cooler off there wasn't that much paste on it, and it was mostly on one side. Cleaned things up, used some of my old Arctic Silver Ceramic and it looks like I'm good to go. Ran the game for about 15 minutes, the temp stayed below 54c and game didn't black screen. If I do get this again though, I'll have to look somewhere else for the problem, I think.

The funny thing is nothing showed up at all in Event Viewer. I expected to see something under Application.

Looking at the CPU usage, this game doesn't seem to be nearly as CPU intensive as I have read. I run all game scenery settings at max which slows the load time a little, but I have the frame rate set at 30 and it's steady.

balane, your post inspired me to turn the screws a little tighter this time, lol. Not really sure it was necessary though. The heatsink contacts the cpu even without screws.

 

[aigomorla]

I'd like to appologize..

ive been really caught up with work and other projects.

But it seems like you were in the same boat as i am.

Swiftech gave me this sink to evalulate and i promise to do it soon.
(i also have a 990X coming in... but lets keep that quiet)

Takes 80mm fans.

And is low profile:

And has a gigamongus base:

I was gonna test it on a i7 870, never got the time to do it, but will do it soon.

 

[joseps75]

Looking for something better than what Intel ships with the CPU. My problem is size-- I've been looking on Newegg and Tiger Direct and found a few that really look good, but if I want a video card, I don't think I can use any I've seen. Might have to get rid of RAM also, LOL.

Just wondering if anyone has seen a fairly small one. Oh, my MOBO is Asus P7H55/USB3.

Hi
I just upgraded my old core 2 duo with new mb=P55A-UD3 and cpu=i7-870. 4gb of ram with
a cheap pci display card. It's running on Windows 7. Just to prove that Intel is correct, I used the stock HSF supplied with the cpu. It is running 70% load 16 hours daily 7days a week on Distributed Computing with Rosetta@home projects. It is running 4cores/8threads all the time and the average core temps=57*C. I set the pc to automatically boot up at 4:00am everyday and automatically shutdown at 8:30pm. Works fine with no heating up. I have 3 extra case fans for added cooling. After 3 weeks of running I develop a confidence in the stock HSF supplied by Intel. I never overclock my PC's. At the moment, I have 5 quads PCs running on distributed computing volunteer work 16/7 year round.
I hope that this info will help you in your project build. I also reuse my old 570w psu coolmax. No problem. Good luck and have fun.
joseps75

 

[capeconsultant]

Noctua RULES!

 

[Zap]

Just to prove that Intel is correct, I used the stock HSF supplied with the cpu.
...
Works fine with no heating up... After 3 weeks of running I develop a confidence in the stock HSF supplied by Intel.

Of course it works fine. No reason it shouldn't. If it doesn't work fine at stock clocks, there's something more sinister at work. :hmm: