What's a good aftermarket cooler for the i5 750?

[DrMrLordX]

If you already have some then it's fine. Otherwise you can use whatever comes with the cooler* you buy, just follow the instructions.

http://hardocp.com/article/2009/04/07/thermal_paste_shootout_q209/

*This is assuming you buy a cooler that come with actual paste and not thermal tape. Never use the cheap thermal tape.

While this is generally true, there are probably some cheap HSFs out there that ship with generic silicone paste that may perform worse than AS5. But usually, if you use the included paste, you're going to wind up with something like NH-T1, TX-2, MX-2/3, STG1, and so forth.

And I would like to point out that your URL offers more evidence that x23-7783D = win. It's a shame they didn't include IC Diamond 7 in that roundup, but you can't get everything you want all the time.

Wow some of these guys are huge, I had no idea. I assume there is no danger of them snapping off and crashing down into the video card and such

Thanks again for all this info, way more than I hoped for. I'm checking out reviews and what not on all these suggestions.

Perhaps I might raise my overclocking goals a bit, maybe 3.8 or so.

Fortunately, even the largest HSFs on the market have good enough mounting mechanisms that there is no risk of them damaging the board or socket. I have heard that the Venomous-X's mounting mechanism leaves something to be desired, but that it isn't a big deal. Also, the NH-D14 will require you to swap out the stock backplate on your motherboard with the one provided by Noctua, which can be a bit of a headache (AM3 users have it easier).

 

[NTAC]

I was about to pull the trigger on the Noctua NH-D14, but saw a review that mentioned the Titan Fenrir.... any thoughts on that one?

 

[alyarb]

the titan fenrir is not even as good as a single-fan noctua U12P. The titan is ok for a $50 heatsink but when you compete with $70-80 heatsinks it doesn't match them. it can't compete with the D14.

 

[NTAC]

Ok guys, thanks for all your help! I ordered the Noctua NH-D14.

My setup will be:

i5 750
P7P55D-Deluxe
G.Skill ECO 4 GB

Noctua says that the memory I ordered will not block the heatsink so hopefully that is accurate. The only other concern is the video card (260 gtx), but I'll just have to see how that works out.

 

[KevinH]

If you want cheap (under $30) but very good performance, you cannot look over the CoolerMaster Hyper 212+. My i5-750 does 4.0Ghz 24/7 with it with very solid temperatures and the PWM fan is pretty quiet.

Now if you want better performance and have a bit more budget to work with: Prolimatech Megahalem, Thermalright Venomous X or the Corsair H50 are all good choices.

The coolermaster can be had for 24 bucks shipped (+tax in Cali).


http://slickdeals.net/forums/showthread.php?t=1947864

 

[n7]

Ok guys, thanks for all your help! I ordered the Noctua NH-D14.

My setup will be:

i5 750
P7P55D-Deluxe
G.Skill ECO 4 GB

Noctua says that the memory I ordered will not block the heatsink so hopefully that is accurate. The only other concern is the video card (260 gtx), but I'll just have to see how that works out.

Well, you just ordered the best overall air cooler out there.
Should be fun OCing adventures ahead for you. ^_^

 

[NTAC]

Well, you just ordered the best overall air cooler out there.
Should be fun OCing adventures ahead for you. ^_^

Yep, I'm still learning when it comes to overclocking, but I'm hoping to get 4 GHz out of it, I will be more than happy with that result But even a 3.8 will do just fine.

 

[n7]

Yep, I'm still learning when it comes to overclocking, but I'm hoping to get 4 GHz out of it, I will be more than happy with that result But even a 3.8 will do just fine.

Aha...you don't get the best air cooler out there to settle w/ average OCing. D:

I got a bit lucky, but i was doing 4.15 GHz w/ my i5 750 on a Noctua NH-U12P SE2.

I still dunno why i bothered w/ the i7 860 & now this i7 930...my i5 750 was just as good/better, & it woulda saved me hundreds upon hundreds of $$$. :\

 

[DrMrLordX]

Ok guys, thanks for all your help! I ordered the Noctua NH-D14.

My setup will be:

i5 750
P7P55D-Deluxe
G.Skill ECO 4 GB

Noctua says that the memory I ordered will not block the heatsink so hopefully that is accurate. The only other concern is the video card (260 gtx), but I'll just have to see how that works out.

An excellent choice.

The ECO RAM should fit underneath the HSF. Also, the TIM that comes with the NH-D14 is at least marginally better than AS5 and should meet your needs. Just follow the application instructions that come with the HSF and you should be fine.

edit: it's not in the instructions, but when you tighten the screws to secure the HSF (final step of installation, not counting the fans), be sure to switch screws every few rotations so that you tighten it evenly. This will help prevent skewing. I learned about that trick from the xbit labs review here:

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/coolers/display/noctua-nh-d14_3.html#sect0

You may have already seen it, but I thought I'd throw that out there.

 

[ky54]

I just chucked one of these onto my i5 750. I like the MX-2 that comes with it. Just pop it in and go.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835186134

 

[tweakboy]

Just my opinion I think you should go with Zalman HSF


just find one compatible with yours.. gl

 

[NTAC]

Aha...you don't get the best air cooler out there to settle w/ average OCing. D:

I got a bit lucky, but i was doing 4.15 GHz w/ my i5 750 on a Noctua NH-U12P SE2.

I still dunno why i bothered w/ the i7 860 & now this i7 930...my i5 750 was just as good/better, & it woulda saved me hundreds upon hundreds of $$$. :\

Yeah, I had to have that debate with myself as well, things were just a bit too spendy when I went up to the i7s, plus my goal is to bring BFBC2 to its knees, and the i5 750 was enough to do that, now the 260 GTX will be my bottleneck, but it might be good enough to keep me from dropping more $$ on the 5850... we'll see

An excellent choice.

The ECO RAM should fit underneath the HSF. Also, the TIM that comes with the NH-D14 is at least marginally better than AS5 and should meet your needs. Just follow the application instructions that come with the HSF and you should be fine.

edit: it's not in the instructions, but when you tighten the screws to secure the HSF (final step of installation, not counting the fans), be sure to switch screws every few rotations so that you tighten it evenly. This will help prevent skewing. I learned about that trick from the xbit labs review here:

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/coolers/display/noctua-nh-d14_3.html#sect0

You may have already seen it, but I thought I'd throw that out there.

Have not seen that, thanks for the info, I'm pretty excited to get this monster installed, hopefully I'll have it on Sat. I'll let you guys know how it goes.

Once again, thanks for everyone's help, love this site!

 

[ClockHound]

Just in case someone reads this thread and buys the excellent Mugen 2 for their 1156 via the newegg link on the 1st page, you want the 2100 version, not the 2000 version like I bought which only supports 775/1366. Arrrg! Here's the link to the Mugen Rev B. 2100 kit:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835185142

Or like me, you can order the 2000 version and sit around pretending to mount the cooler while waiting over the l-o-n-g weekend for the 1156 mounting kit to arrive. Dang, this is so much fun!

 

[ahenkel]

I feel for you. I bought the H50 without the 1156 bracket off ebay. I then had to wait 21+ days for corsair to ship the bracket from Hong Kong. It was free + 5 bucks for shipping though so that's an upside.

 

[ClockHound]

21 days? Ouch! So how many times did you hook up the H50 to your forehead to cool down?

And how is the H50 working now? I don't have the plumbing skills to attempt water cooling. If I screw up with the Mugen a little air escapes - but if I messed up with the H50 and a little water escapes - oh dear.

 

[NTAC]

21 days? Ouch! So how many times did you hook up the H50 to your forehead to cool down?

And how is the H50 working now? I don't have the plumbing skills to attempt water cooling. If I screw up with the Mugen a little air escapes - but if I messed up with the H50 and a little water escapes - oh dear.

I think he'd need the special forehead mount (not included) to do that.

 

[DrMrLordX]

And how is the H50 working now? I don't have the plumbing skills to attempt water cooling. If I screw up with the Mugen a little air escapes - but if I messed up with the H50 and a little water escapes - oh dear.

From what I understand, the H50 is a closed loop system and is built from fairly sturdy materials, so it's not exactly leak-prone. Installing it should be a lot easier than installing a traditional watercooling setup.

 

[NTAC]

UPDATE: Ok, got my thing all installed. The only issue is that I can't screw in the video card because it leans up against the fan clips for the Noctura, but seems to be working for now.

I haven't done any overclocking yet, but my temps (i5 750) are 26 at idle and 41 at 100% stress... so looks like I have about 20 degrees to work with

The thing is amazing though, very very quiet and was not hard to install at all, great instructions.

 

[DrMrLordX]

It is quite a good hsf. If you ever need more performance, it apparently scales upwards with higher cfm fans pretty well. Gentle Typhoons could work, and if you want more, there's always Deltas (get your earplugs).