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Looking for a CPU cooler for i5-2500K

L

leglez

Platinum Member
I am in the process of building a new system using the 1155 i5-2500k. I haven't built a new system in a few years and am not sure what coolers are worth it anymore. I plan on doing some overclocking, don't really wanna push to hard. Would like to pick up a decent cooler for the CPU. Not really sure of a price range, can something decent be picked up for under $50? Also I don't need LEDs or anything fancy like that. Also if it is quiet that is also appreciated.

Thanks!
 
My favorite is the prolimatech megahalems. I have about 12 of them and they are great!

Although some say the Hyper 212+ is good. I have one but was disappointed it. I guess the megahalems spoiled me 😛
 
for the price the Hyper 212+ is hard to beat.

But it wont keep up withe the big boys(Megahalems, NH-D14, Silver Arrow, etc)
 
If you want a cooler that will perform well that is cheap go for a 212+. The 2500k just doesn't put out enough heat even when oced.

If you care a lot about noise levels then buy one of those other coolers listed or the BeQuiet pro.
 
For under $50 you can probably get several big block coolers that are really popular and perform really well. I would just go to newegg and sort them by price from high to low.

I am always a fan of zalman.

Yes they are a little overpriced and under performing compared the best giant block coolers but I really prefer the smaller HSF vs the GIANT block ones that so many people have. Also some of the giant block coolers can make it harder to install in general or even impossible to install a tall ram kit because its too big. You might be able to find a zalman CNPS 9700LED or 9900LED for under $50. They have to be on sale though which is pretty common.
 
mv2devnull said:
What is the price margin of 212+, i.e. would it still be cheap and enough if one would replace the fan with something quiet?
Click to expand...

MC had them as low as $19.99 on sale, reg price from them was around $26. They don't list them on their site currently.
 
muskie32 said:
My favorite is the prolimatech megahalems. I have about 12 of them and they are great!

Although some say the Hyper 212+ is good. I have one but was disappointed it. I guess the megahalems spoiled me 😛
Click to expand...

I've got a Megahalem, a TRUE, a Noctua NH-U12P and the latest Noctua NH-D14. When the TRUE was released, Anandtech provided what seems like the most comprehensive testing and comparison-review for dozens of coolers. The only thing that much came close to the TRUE's performance was that . . . . Typhoon thing. (Or maybe it was something different, but the TRUE still ranked at the top.

That review seemed contrary to a more prevalent practice of picking the competition to skew the results.

But the main point -- which probably needs to be repeated for newer forum members -- is that measured thermal resistance (the inverse of thermal conductivity) should be used for the comparison. Next to that, you'd compare coolers using the same test-bed at the same controlled room ambient temperature for performance under the same stress-software for idle and load temperatures, since lower temperatures would demonstrate lower thermal resistance under testing. Other factors in testing include different controlled fan speeds, noise in dBA, etc.

So the only value of "aesthetic design" might be how it fits in the case and how it requires you to channel airflow.

Following the TRUE, the Megahalem and Noctua entries -- very similar designs -- proved themselves. ThermalRight had also introduced an "extreme" cooler called the IFX-14. That design seems to have been resurrected with the Noctua NH-D14, although the latter doesn't include an "extra" mini-heatpipe cooler that fits on the back of the motherboard.

Frankly -- if you ask me -- I'd say that for anything but "enthusiastic" over-clocking, the old TRUE would be more than adequate. I'd like to see some comparisons -- like those done by Anandtech -- for the Prolimatech (Megahalems) and the Noctua coolers. Actually, such reviews may be "out there" and available -- but knowing what I know this time around, I didn't look more carefully.
 
Love my hyper 101 cooler which is much better then stock while just being $15

Not a permanent cooler but my build def needed something better then the craptastic piece of junk intel calls a cooler.

highest core temp hits 76cel running intel burn at 4.3ghzs on my 2500k which isn't ideal but better then stock
 
skipsneeky2 said:
Love my hyper 101 cooler which is much better then stock while just being $15

Not a permanent cooler but my build def needed something better then the craptastic piece of junk intel calls a cooler.

highest core temp hits 76cel running intel burn at 4.3ghzs on my 2500k which isn't ideal but better then stock
Click to expand...

Actually, for it's size, that unit reminds me of the ThermalRight Ultima 90. Fact is -- I could see using something like that for low to mid-range Sandy Bridge CPU -- with only modest OC'ing ambitions. It would work fine for the high-end SB's, provided you benched the over-clock thermals at a decent 5 to 10C below throttling at full load.

It depends on what you'd be satisfied with. Since it's all about efficiency, the reviews pretty much have those issues settled, but you need to have either a comprehensive comparison like the one Anandtech did a few years ago, or you have to sort through test comparisons with a nose for "advertising payola" and other distortions.

For that, I'd go with the Prolimatech cooler, the Noctua NH-u12P(?). At the extreme end, the Noctua-NH-D14. Frankly, though, either of the first two is about as good as it gets for heatpipe coolers. Nor would you go wrong with one of the ThermalRight units.

I'd be more focused on cooling for the last-gen Nehalem toaster-ovens -- if their TDP's are 135W for running stock, they'd by a lot higher for the over-clocking. But OC'ing a 95W 2600K with voltages under 1.30V . . . . . you have all sorts of options.

And frankly, I think the NH-D14 I bought for mine is probably overkill. But it's frosty . . .
 
OCNewbie said:
What about the stock cooler? How high can you get an i5-2500k on it?
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Under full load at 4g, you are probably looking at the 80's ..

While not dangerous, most people are not comfortable with that, and you just aren't realizing the potential of this CPU if you don't take it to at least 4.5 ..
Might as well not bother overclocking it at all ..
In which case, just go with the stock HSF and don't fret over it ..

If you are going to overclock, spend a few dollars on one of the units mentioned here, and don't waste your time with the stock unit just to observe how poorly it does..
 
OCNewbie said:
What about the stock cooler? How high can you get an i5-2500k on it?
Click to expand...

You guys do know that AnandTech is a review site, right? Anand got 4.4GHz in his review using the stock cooler.

You can always start with the stock cooler so that you can be using your system while you wait for a hot deal on some aftermarket cooler.
 
What kind of temps did he get ?

I don't think anyone is saying you can't overclock with the stock cooler, but then you always get people coming in here and whining about how their temps are in the 80's, and wondering if it will kill there CPU's, and All the Noctua fan-boys telling them they are doomed... Once you spend $90 for a cooler, you got to feel justified; right ?

I personally don't think the 80's are anything to worry about, but it sure seems to raise the alarms around here..
 
Zap said:
You guys do know that AnandTech is a review site, right? Anand got 4.4GHz in his review using the stock cooler.
Click to expand...

I actually asked my question because of the picture labeled "This is all you need for 4.4GHz" from the review you linked =)

I'm curious about what the above poster said too. What kinda temps did he get @ 4.4GHz with the stock cooler?
 
Last edited:
OCNewbie said:
What kinda temps did he git @ 4.4GHz with the stock cooler?
Click to expand...

He obviously stayed within operational temperatures, meaning probably 80ºC -ish. Probably no lower or else he would have pushed higher clocks, and probably not much higher because that may have caused throttling. So, that's my guess.

Note that regardless of the general obsession over low temperatures, Intel CPUs (as well as AMD/Nvidia GPUs) can withstand quite high temperatures.
 
I am going to go ahead and do exactly what Zap suggested - just use the stock coooler until I can find a deal on the Hyper 212
 
sygyzy said:
until I can find a deal on the Hyper 212
Click to expand...

You don't need to have your heart set on the Hyper 212+. There are other suitable coolers. Pretty much any cooler that uses 3 or more heatpipes with a 92mm or larger fan and which has socket 1155 or 1156 mounts will be more than sufficient for medium overclocks of a 2500k. For instance, recently Amazon had the Corsair A50 for around $6 after rebate. That would have totally been sufficient.
 
Zap said:
You don't need to have your heart set on the Hyper 212+. There are other suitable coolers. Pretty much any cooler that uses 3 or more heatpipes with a 92mm or larger fan and which has socket 1155 or 1156 mounts will be more than sufficient for medium overclocks of a 2500k. For instance, recently Amazon had the Corsair A50 for around $6 after rebate. That would have totally been sufficient.
Click to expand...

amen amen... i stuck an old ocz vendetta on the 2500k i just did and it's in the low 70's doing prime95... the stock hsf is soooo cheap for a reason - these things actually run pretty cool...
 
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