Question If I wanted near-silent cooling at all times for my 4690k (stock freq), which HSF?

[mikeymikec]

In 'not summer' weather the current CPU HSF (CoolerMaster Hyper TX3i) is near-silent. Not so much in UK summertime and presumably under load. The easy way to answer my question would be something like a top-end Noctua product, but I would have thought that a sub-90W CPU could be cooled to near-silent at all times with a lesser cooler? Hopefully someone here has experience with cooling this CPU or say the 4790k and can make a recommendation.

Admittedly I'm tempted at some point to get the top-end Noctua (as its compatibility across platforms seems pretty far-reaching), but it also seems like a great way to ensure that I have to take apart the HSF if I ever want to get to the RAM again or do any rewiring jobs. Up to this point I've been loathe to use a HSF that requires me to take the board out to install it, but it seems to me that if I want something that can do a significantly better job than the TX3i then it requires mounting work on both sides.

I'm in no hurry and I'm just considering my options.

 

[UsandThem]

One of these would be extrememly silent (and a lot less than top-of-the-line coolers). All of these have a number reviews on size, installation, and performance, so you can see what works for you.

https://www.newegg.com/be-quiet-dark-rock-slim/p/13C-001F-00030

https://www.newegg.com/be-quiet-shadow-rock-3-shadow-rock-2/p/13C-001F-00037

https://www.newegg.com/be-quiet-shadow-rock-slim-2/p/13C-001F-00062

https://www.newegg.com/noctua-nf-p12-redux-1700-pwm/p/13C-0005-001N1?Item=9SIAADYDXC6850

https://www.amazon.com/Mugen-Rev-CPU-Cooler-Support/dp/B06ZYB8K77/

 

[Iron Woode]

In 'not summer' weather the current CPU HSF (CoolerMaster Hyper TX3i) is near-silent. Not so much in UK summertime and presumably under load. The easy way to answer my question would be something like a top-end Noctua product, but I would have thought that a sub-90W CPU could be cooled to near-silent at all times with a lesser cooler? Hopefully someone here has experience with cooling this CPU or say the 4790k and can make a recommendation.

Admittedly I'm tempted at some point to get the top-end Noctua (as its compatibility across platforms seems pretty far-reaching), but it also seems like a great way to ensure that I have to take apart the HSF if I ever want to get to the RAM again or do any rewiring jobs. Up to this point I've been loathe to use a HSF that requires me to take the board out to install it, but it seems to me that if I want something that can do a significantly better job than the TX3i then it requires mounting work on both sides.

I'm in no hurry and I'm just considering my options.

I used an Arctic Cooling Freezer 13 on my old I5 4690K system and it was silent even under full load.

For a new HSF, the Noctua U12S should be plenty.

I use an Arctic Cooling Freezer 34 Esports Duo for my R5 3600. This thing is huge and clears my Corsair RBG Vengeance ram modules. It's also silent under load.

Pic shows my old LPX ram but the RGB ram clears easily:

 

[mikeymikec]

I used an Arctic Cooling Freezer 13 on my old I5 4690K system and it was silent even under full load.

Huh, I have a spare Freezer 13 that I couldn't install on my then-new-Haswell rig because its push pins wouldn't go in I have a spare broken Intel board that I wouldn't mind being rougher with and see if I can install it on that.

 

[Iron Woode]

Huh, I have a spare Freezer 13 that I couldn't install on my then-new-Haswell rig because its push pins wouldn't go in I have a spare broken Intel board that I wouldn't mind being rougher with and see if I can install it on that.

I had lost the intel bracket and had to order one from their site in Germany. Took a couple weeks and I was able to install it on my Haswell board. I am sure if you aren't punishing the cpu that cooler should be fine.

 

[Furious_Styles]

A delid would do wonders for your temps, if you lived in the US I'd do it for free for ya

 

[mikeymikec]

Hum, things turned out in an unexpected fashion. As I needed a definitely-compatible HSF for a LGA1366 board, I took the Cooler Master Hyper TX3i from my PC and replaced it with a Be Quiet! Pure Rock Slim 2 HSF as that model seems to be doing a decent job with my wife's i5-2500K.

5C lower average temp and I haven't heard it yet. At some point I'll put it through its paces.

I'm really surprised that there was any difference considering the two HSFs look virtually identical. My only other thought is the fresh CPU paste which people will often recommend but I personally have never found to make any noticeable difference.

I considered trying my Freezer 13 but that is happily sitting in an AMD rig and I honestly didn't fancy grappling with it again on Intel.

 

[aigomorla]

sometimes its better using low rpm fans then running a totally passive system.

Anyhow your PSU, unless its passive or you grossly overshot psu requirements, still has pretty modest fan noise, so you will not hear HSF fans on low RPM fans like from Artic cooling P series.

I also like Noctua C series heat sinks which blow air on the board then out the rear if i am going after quiet.
Any heat sink which has the heat exchanger parallels to the motherboard and not perpendicular.
But these sinks may not be good if you running a thin case, or a case with a complete temper glass panel for no air.

It also helps keeps the board in check when your running all your fans on low, so you get constant air movement on the board as well.

 

[mikeymikec]

sometimes its better using low rpm fans then running a totally passive system.

Anyhow your PSU, unless its passive or you grossly overshot psu requirements, still has pretty modest fan noise, so you will not hear HSF fans on low RPM fans like from Artic cooling P series.

I also like Noctua C series heat sinks which blow air on the board then out the rear if i am going after quiet.
Any heat sink which has the heat exchanger parallels to the motherboard and not perpendicular.
But these sinks may not be good if you running a thin case, or a case with a complete temper glass panel for no air.

It also helps keeps the board in check when your running all your fans on low, so you get constant air movement on the board as well.

PSU is passive until power usage gets high enough (Seasonic Focus GX 650). One chassis fan (Be Quiet! Shadow Wings 120mm), already mentioned the heatsink. I ran them through the Asus BIOS Q-Fan tuning system. I'm pretty happy with how whisper quiet the system is, the only remaining annoyance is the whine from the WD Blue 4TB data HDD, ideally I would have had a data SSD but for the capacity I needed it would cost way more and I just can't justify the extra expense. The HDD doesn't support APM so I can't use hdparm in Linux to tell it to power down automatically.

 

[aigomorla]

that's why you shove all the mechanical HDD inside a NAS, stuff that in a random closet with decient ventilation, and just run that drive as a mapped drive across your network.

I will probably never run a mechanical on any system i build unless its intended as a SAN or a NAS.