Need cpu cooler recommendation

[Ranulf]

I've grown tired of my AMD rig's stock fan and I'm looking to make the system quieter. Noise is the main factor but I might overclock a bit. This is a Phenom2 X4 955 cpu in a Rosewill Challenger case. I'm bouncing back and forth between something high end like a Noctua HSF or a Coolermaster Hyper T4. Any suggestions?

TIA

 

[ignatzatsonic]

Noctuas generally wouldn't be needed on an "a bit" overclocked system, but their fans are very quiet. Considering cost, I'd lean away from Noctua, but I might put an aftermarket quieter fan on whatever new heatsink I bought.

Is it a big deal to you if your temps are X plus 10 rather than X as long as temps are within AMD specifications? Some people can't live with a temp of 43 when they know they could drive it down to 33, regardless of the CPU's specifications. Are you one of those people?

Can your case accommodate very tall heatsinks?

 

[Essence_of_War]

I've grown tired of my AMD rig's stock fan and I'm looking to make the system quieter.

Nocuta NH-U12S or U14S are great picks.

If your MoBo does PWM correctly, both of these will be inaudble at idle, and if you use their Low-Noise-Adapter, likely inaudible under load as well.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Nocuta NH-U12S or U14S are great picks.

If your MoBo does PWM correctly, both of these will be inaudble at idle, and if you use their Low-Noise-Adapter, likely inaudible under load as well.

Ditto. If you're really serious about shedding any temperature limits, you can watercool. But if your overclocking follows sensible volting limits it should still be within within air-cooling limits. WC -- maybe a 15C advantage over the best heatpipe coolers. But the CLC Nepton 280 only beats the NH-U14S by maybe 7C.

The price-point difference between less expensive heatpipes and the top end might be $40 or $50 at most. I usually pick a top-end aircooler right off the bat. Depends on what you want to do or plan to do.

 

[Ranulf]

The case is 7.48 inches/189mm wide, from what I've read it is a close fit for many of the bigger heatsinks. At this point quiet is the main focus, the stock fan keeps things fairly cool, usually 40-45C under load, 30C at idle but idle is 18-1900rpm and it gets up to 3000rpm under load. Price doesn't bother me too much for this, can likely reuse it later if need be on another system.

 

[Essence_of_War]

Here are some specs for the NH-U14S:

http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/noctua_nh_u14s/3.htm

Height (without fan) - 165 mm
Width (without fan) - 150 mm
Depth (without fan) - 52 mm
Height (with fan) - 165 mm
Width (with fan) - 150 mm
Depth (with fan) - 78 mm

That's ~6.5'', so I'd def do a quick measurement of how much space you have with the MoBo in place, but I'd wager that you're probably OK.

Edit:

Alternatively, if you're worried about space, you could always go with a low-profile option:
Like the Noctua NH-L12. It's not as good as the tower model, but it should still be quite a bit better than the stock HSF.

 

[Cerb]

For stock, the Thermalright Macho will do just as well for about $20 cheaper, or maybe even better. But, it is kind of big. It'll be OK for OCing, too, but the Noctua will get you higher clocks at lower temps and noise, as your wattage increases. Any of the TRUE based coolers, like the TRUE Spirit 140, will do well OCing, too, while being cheaper than Noctua.

 

[smitbret]

At the risk of being a lot less cool but having more money in my wallet:

http://www.amazon.com/Universal-Cool...ster+hyper+212

They've been found for about $20 as recently as 6 months ago. I have one in my server and have been very impressed so far.

 

[Cerb]

The trouble with them is the non-Evo model's fan is not in the same league as the Yate Loons Thermalright uses, much less Noctua's fans. So, for quietness, the savings go away as soon as the Cooler Master fan has to kick in under load, due to going and spending another $10-15 on a fan. The Evo's isn't in the same league, either, but it is much improved, noise-wise.

The Arctic Cooling i30, and Xigmatek Gaia (slightly worse cooler than the 212+, but much better fan at low RPMs), are fair alternatives, and cheaper. They can also fit in case that won't fit the TRs and Noctuas. But, lately, they haven't been all that much cheaper, and Nan's Gaming Gear has kept a steadily supply of Machos and Macho 120s available.

 

[Ranulf]

Thanks for the info folks. The True Spirit Thermalright's look like a possibility.

 

[smitbret]

The trouble with them is the non-Evo model's fan is not in the same league as the Yate Loons Thermalright uses, much less Noctua's fans. So, for quietness, the savings go away as soon as the Cooler Master fan has to kick in under load, due to going and spending another $10-15 on a fan. The Evo's isn't in the same league, either, but it is much improved, noise-wise.

The Arctic Cooling i30, and Xigmatek Gaia (slightly worse cooler than the 212+, but much better fan at low RPMs), are fair alternatives, and cheaper. They can also fit in case that won't fit the TRs and Noctuas. But, lately, they haven't been all that much cheaper, and Nan's Gaming Gear has kept a steadily supply of Machos and Macho 120s available.

Could be the case but the 212+ that cools the FX 6100 in my server never reports more than 600rpm and makes no noise at all. I have some 120mm Yates Loons that are used as case fans that are louder, although, they are probably running at higher RPM.

 

[coffeejunkee]

But does your server cpu have to work hard or is it mostly idle?

Personally I think the 20$ extra is worth it for the TR Macho or True Spirit 140. Even at full fanspeed the noise is very modest. But check case width for TS 140, its height is 170mm.

 

[monkeydelmagico]

almost anything is going to be a big improvement over the stock fan. Even this hot deal: http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2369937

I personally wouldn't spend much more than that on your system unless you are planning to build something new soon.

 

[TFchris]

Since noise is your main concern, it's the fan that matters. I personally like the Scythe gentle typhoons. They're rather quiet and perform quite well.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

The trouble with them is the non-Evo model's fan is not in the same league as the Yate Loons Thermalright uses, much less Noctua's fans. So, for quietness, the savings go away as soon as the Cooler Master fan has to kick in under load, due to going and spending another $10-15 on a fan. The Evo's isn't in the same league, either, but it is much improved, noise-wise.
. . . . .

I had never investigated what minor differences there are in the 212+ and the 212 EVO for the coolers themselves.

What you say is true about the fans, but during the last decade with fewer options of heatpipe coolers, we were buying fan adapters to replace 92mm with 120mm fans. If a fan shipped with a cooler, I wouldn't take it seriously and expected to spend that extra $15+. I still have trouble wondering why I left the two Noctua fans installed on my D14 for two years. But that's another story in another thread. Or -- "Yay! Akasa Viper 140R . . !!" Technically, I replaced two for one . . .

 

[smitbret]

But does your server cpu have to work hard or is it mostly idle?

Personally I think the 20$ extra is worth it for the TR Macho or True Spirit 140. Even at full fanspeed the noise is very modest. But check case width for TS 140, its height is 170mm.

I regularly use it to transcode BR rips with Handbrake.

 

[schmuckley]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835214042