Which cooler is better?

[Noo]

The N520 looks like a lot of cooler for the money compared to the 212 Evo. What do you guys think?

 

[Evilviking]

I had the n520. Worked great. But I think everyone would recommend the 212.

 

[Essence_of_War]

The N520 might be OK if you have clearance issues, since it should be more compact. Just looking at the dimensions, it's almsot 1/3 of the total volume of the EVO, but keep in mind that a 92mm fan is going to have to spin a lot faster to move as much air as the 120mm fan on the EVO, and a smaller heatsink means lower total heat capacity for similar material construction. It will likely be hotter, and louder, under similar loads.

Unless your case is very tight, I'd go with the EVO.

 

[bowtech]

212

 

[DigDog]

212 is unbeatable for price/performance.

 

[RussianSensation]

212 is unbeatable for price/performance.

Sure it is. For only $8 more, the Thermalright TRUE Spirit 140 will crush it in performance and noise levels. The fan is also much better and Thermalright Chill Factor III Tim is near top of the class. The overall package is far superior for high end overclocking on a budget if you can fit a 170mm cooler inside a case.

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/coolers/display/noctua-nh-d15_5.html#sect0

CM212 Evo is way overrated. It gets crushed by the 120mm True Spirit version by a whopping 6*C which means the TRUE Spirit 140 would beat it by 15*C if not more at high end overclocking.

 

[l2ez4m]

^ Second to that.
Any of TRUE Spirit 140's lot dominate price/performance (noise/temp) ladder.

Noctua's Nh-D15 performance for half the price.