Question Should I Install A New CPU Cooler ?

[Serpidon]

I have an ARCTIC 7 Freezer Pro I purchased in 2015 that I installed on my newly assembled i7-9700K. I am overclocking, and I won't get into specifics here, but temps are a little higher that than I would like. With that in mind, are newer coolers worth a look? Are they that much better than 5 years ago? If so, which ones? I would like to keep it in the $50-$75 range. I am interested in air cooling only. Thanks your for any helpful responses.

 

[piokos]

The important thing here: temperatures are "a little higher than you'd like", but does your CPU like them?
Because, honestly, if the CPU doesn't throttle, is it really worth wasting $75 to see a slightly lower number in some monitoring software?

Coolers aren't much better than 5 years ago: same general ideas. Some of the best air coolers are over 5 years old.
It's just that your cooler wasn't that effective in the first place.

As for "which ones": can it be larger (by how much) than your Arctic?
It's not that hard to recommend something like Noctua U14S. But it may be hard to squeeze it into your case.

 

[ehume]

I got my ARCTIC 7 Freezer Pro in 2009. It was too loud then; I moved past it. The ARCTIC 7 Freezer Pro does not have enough heatpipes to cool your system. For your pricepoint, I would consider a Scythe Fuma or one of the Reeven heatsinks. Of course, you can't go wrong with a Noctua NH-D15, but a new one is out of your stated pricerange [BTW - I have reviewed all of these].

 

[Serpidon]

The important thing here: temperatures are "a little higher than you'd like", but does your CPU like them?
Because, honestly, if the CPU doesn't throttle, is it really worth wasting $75 to see a slightly lower number in some monitoring software?

Coolers aren't much better than 5 years ago: same general ideas. Some of the best air coolers are over 5 years old.
It's just that your cooler wasn't that effective in the first place.

As for "which ones": can it be larger (by how much) than your Arctic?
It's not that hard to recommend something like Noctua U14S. But it may be hard to squeeze it into your case.

Good question in that first sentence. No, my CPU has not throttled itself. Currently I have moderate overclock, and I would like to push a little more and I was concerned about the heat becoming more of an issue. That coupled, with the fact my current cooler is years old, I thought it might be worth it to invest in a new one. It served my i5-4670K overclock like a superhero. That setup has seemingly no limits! I have heard great comments about Noctua, I will say that.

 

[ehume]

My original review of the NH-D15 was 2014-12-01 - then. My last review of the NHD15 was 2018-06-25 - then. It is indeed a good heatsink, as the review results show [results in reviews]. I also thought highly enough of the Fuma to put it in the 4790k machine, when passed it on [review]. Finally, do not overlook the Reeven Ouranos [review].

 

[Serpidon]

I got my ARCTIC 7 Freezer Pro in 2009. It was too loud then; I moved past it. The ARCTIC 7 Freezer Pro does not have enough heatpipes to cool your system. For your pricepoint, I would consider a Scythe Fuma or one of the Reeven heatsinks. Of course, you can't go wrong with a Noctua NH-D15, but a new one is out of your stated pricerange [BTW - I have reviewed all of these].

Thanks for the recommendations, having reviewed those models those will most certainly be on my short list should I choose to buy.

 

[piokos]

Good question in that first sentence. No, my CPU has not throttled itself. Currently I have moderate overclock, and I would like to push a little more and I was concerned about the heat becoming more of an issue.

So first I'd suggest overclocking using what you have until you hit the limits. Because maybe your CPU sample isn't that great. Or maybe something else will start to block you (power supply, motherboard, case cooling?).

Either way, if overclocking is the goal (hobby), just get the largest cooler in budget. U14S should be fine. Or the already mentioned Fuma.
The issue here is that your Arctic is a compact model (just 127mm tall). If you need something similarly sized, the choice of tower coolers becomes very limited (I'd go for Thermalright Silver Arrow 130 or Noctua U9S/D9L - with a mandatory second fan).

However, if you're after actual performance and value, I would probably spend that $75 on something else. Because, realistically, how much can you gain? 200MHz? So <4% performance?

 

[Serpidon]

You have expressed everything I have been thinking. I understand the minimal gains, and modest ones at most, but it is both a challenge and a hobby. With that in mind, a moderate GPU overclock can give modest gains, which, when coupled with even a only a minor CPU overclock gain, can make at least a noticeable difference. This is especially true with newer games when maxed out that hover at that super-smooth vs. "playable" threshold at higher resolutions and settings.