Which CPU cooler

First of all, sorry if i have been blind and the answer for this is actually on the site.


Im currently using a Artic Cooling Freezer 13 Limited Edition, and as you may know its not good enough when it comes to OC. Im looking into a few new coolers, but at this point im quite the noob. I cant figure out how to know if the cooler will fit the rig. I dont wanna buy a cooler to find out that it cant fit cause of my rams. Im using air cooling.

Rig:

Case: NZXT Lexa S
Motherboard: Asus P8Z68-v Pro
CPU: Intel Core i5 2500K 3.3 ghz OC'd 4.3 ghz
Graphics: Ati Radeon HD 6950 2GB DDR5 OC'd 900/1400
Memory: Kingston HyperX Genesis16 GB, 4x4GB, 1600 mhz, Grey series.
Sound: Soundblaster Titanium HD
HDD: Western Digital caviar black 2x2TB.

Any suggestions for which one will fit?

Im looking more into the Thermaltake Frio Advanced and the Thermaltake Frio OCK or something similar.

Budget isnt that important atm.

Cheers in advance.

Don't need anything more hefty than a Hyper212+ for a 2500K.

If you're planning to use a cooler on a future CPU, then you might want something a bit heftier. The TRUE Spirit and Thermalright MUX-120 are good choices.

Check this: http://www.overclocking-tv.com/cont...er-cpu-cooler-fight-hyper-tx3-evo-vs-212-evo/

Knufire said:

Don't need anything more hefty than a Hyper212+ for a 2500K.

If you're planning to use a cooler on a future CPU, then you might want something a bit heftier. The TRUE Spirit and Thermalright MUX-120 are good choices.

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The hyper 212+ is a decent cooler but it is only a mid range air cooler, the Sb are pretty warm, it would benefit him to move to a noctua/ phanteks. S

Simply put the better cooler he gets the higher the OC he'll be able to achieve, and i think thats what hes getting at as his end goal. I would say he would hit 4.8 ghz with acceptable temps on the phanteks. I have also seen a lot of people hit 5ghz on the high end air coolers with a 2500k. I doubt that would be as viable with a hyper 212+. Good for the money, best bang for your buck i would say, but its doesnt really swing it with the big boys when your pushing your clocks to those kind of highs.

I would recommend this cooler

HERE i assumed you were from the US

Keep in mind that if you are pushed for space you probably wont get away with this cooler. I'm not 100% it will fit into your case. You might need to take some measurement's to be sure.

xander89 said:

The hyper 212+ is a decent cooler but it is only a mid range air cooler, the Sb are pretty warm, it would benefit him to move to a noctua/ phanteks. S

Simply put the better cooler he gets the higher the OC he'll be able to achieve, and i think thats what hes getting at as his end goal. I would say he would hit 4.8 ghz with acceptable temps on the phanteks. I have also seen a lot of people hit 5ghz on the high end air coolers with a 2500k. I doubt that would be as viable with a hyper 212+. Good for the money, best bang for your buck i would say, but its doesnt really swing it with the big boys when your pushing your clocks to those kind of highs.

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I'm sorry, but this is just wrong.

First of all, Sandy Bridge is EXTREMELY cool running. Ivy Bridge runs fairly hot. There's a big difference.

Second, not many 2500Ks can actually hit 5GHz. Most chips only get to 4.5GHz, and at that point they're chip limited, not thermal limited. The Hyper212+ will let you achieve the chips highest reasonable OC 95% of the time for a 2500K. Read through any of the past Sandy Bridge build threads.

Sorry Xanders, but I have to agree with Knufire on this one!

+1 Knufire. If you want a good mid range cooler than the Hyper 212 is the way to go. If you do want to step up to something else other than that I just went with the True Spirit 140 and it's amazing. The True Spirit 120 is also an amazing cooler if you can't fit a 140 in. But the Hyper 212+ Evo should do you just fine.

Knufire said:

I'm sorry, but this is just wrong.

First of all, Sandy Bridge is EXTREMELY cool running. Ivy Bridge runs fairly hot. There's a big difference.

Second, not many 2500Ks can actually hit 5GHz. Most chips only get to 4.5GHz, and at that point they're chip limited, not thermal limited. The Hyper212+ will let you achieve the chips highest reasonable OC 95% of the time for a 2500K. Read through any of the past Sandy Bridge build threads.

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I stand corrected. But what happens when he hits 4.5ghz and the chip can go further? Then hes limited himself to a midrange cooler that is only capable of having acceptable temps at a mediocre over clock. I just feel he is limiting himself by hedging his bets on the fact that his CPU wont be good.

IB doesnt have much to do with this, and it was my impression IB didnt necessarily run hot, but rather it was just unable to remove that heat from the core because of the TIM. In the end it seems to be a big toss up for me, either get a Big cooler which will allow you to hit the 4.8ghz + mark with acceptable temps IF your CPU will allow you to reach it or get a mid range cooler expecting your CPU to be a poor clocker and be happy with it when your cpu can go higher but you dont have the cooling for it. I personally have never had a CPU that just "stops" at a certain clock unless we are talking seriously high, rather that it just needs a shed load of voltage to get to the desired clock opposed to a "good" CPU, which is where a better cooler comes into play.

I also agree the 212 is a very good cooler for the money, but if you really want to crank those volts and push your cpu on air the Phankteks is a very good choice. And there seem to be plenty of them ( good chips = 4.8-5ghz) around, with the right tweaking/ cooling ive seen plenty of people go from "ah ive hit a wall of 4.4ghz" to "oh wait im at 4.8 ghz with decent temps."

I mean in this thread alone we have me and MANU who have 2700/600's @ 5ghz, and the clocking potential of these chips is near identical to a 2500k.

Also your ram is low profile i assume? so it shouldn't have any issues with most of the larger air coolers

When did you by your CPU? The time had a huge effect, as almost every 2500K/2600K would hit 5GHz when they first came out. Over time, the binning became much worse.

There are also people on these forums with a 2500K @ 5GHz on a Hyper212+. I don't see the point in paying for a cooler 3x more expensive only for a chance. And if he really wanted to be future proof, you don't need a Tier 1 cooler to cool a 2500K at 5GHz, only something moderately more powerful than a 212+. Such as a Corsair A70, or the TS Spirit 120, MUX-120, etc. All $40-50 coolers, the $90 for the Phanktek is unnecessary.

Knufire said:

When did you by your CPU? The time had a huge effect, as almost every 2500K/2600K would hit 5GHz when they first came out. Over time, the binning became much worse.

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I got mine 3 weeks ago, and it does [email protected] and [email protected]. Costa Rica.

Knufire said:

When did you by your CPU? The time had a huge effect, as almost every 2500K/2600K would hit 5GHz when they first came out. Over time, the binning became much worse.

There are also people on these forums with a 2500K @ 5GHz on a Hyper212+. I don't see the point in paying for a cooler 3x more expensive only for a chance. And if he really wanted to be future proof, you don't need a Tier 1 cooler to cool a 2500K at 5GHz, only something moderately more powerful than a 212+. Such as a Corsair A70, or the TS Spirit 120, MUX-120, etc. All $40-50 coolers, the $90 for the Phanktek is unnecessary.

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i bought mine 3 months ago and sitting pretty @ 5ghz. I was under the impression manu bought his recently too? Although i could be wrong.

I'm sure there are people who are running a 2500k@5ghz on a 212, but they are probably few and far between, you are much more likely to get 5ghz with acceptbale temps on a phanteks. I'm not saying its the ONLY cooler to buy but it is the best air cooler and if you are really pushing your clock then its the best to go for. I mean one could argue why would you buy a h100 when the phanteks is $25 cheaper. Then why would you go for a rasa kit when the h100 is $30 cheaper. Its all relative. The prices over here are a little different so maybe my view is skewed.

1. TRUE Spirit is within 5-7C of the Phanktek for 60% of the price.
2. Again, most chips don't get as far as yours or Manu's do. And you're both running some really high voltage to get to those clocks. 2500K should be fine on a Hyper212+ until about 1.4V, which according to Manu's chip, would still be good for 4.8GHz. Now, is that extra 200MHz that might not even exist worth the extra $60-70 for the cooler?

xander89 said:

i bought mine 3 months ago and sitting pretty @ 5ghz. I was under the impression manu bought his recently too? Although i could be wrong.

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You're right, I got it 3 weeks ago, fresh from Intel RMA.

Knufire said:

1. TRUE Spirit is within 5-7C of the Phanktek for 60% of the price.
2. Again, most chips don't get as far as yours or Manu's do. And you're both running some really high voltage to get to those clocks. 2500K should be fine on a Hyper212+ until about 1.4V, which according to Manu's chip, would still be good for 4.8GHz. Now, is that extra 200MHz that might not even exist worth the extra $60-70 for the cooler?

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2. Agreed 100%. But my CPU idles 90% of the time, and reach 1.47v only on very high load 5OOCT/Prime/Linx). When on load, it usually stays around 1.44/1.45v (gaming, PS...).

Knufire said:

1. TRUE Spirit is within 5-7C of the Phanktek for 60% of the price.
2. Again, most chips don't get as far as yours or Manu's do. And you're both running some really high voltage to get to those clocks. 2500K should be fine on a Hyper212+ until about 1.4V, which according to Manu's chip, would still be good for 4.8GHz. Now, is that extra 200MHz that might not even exist worth the extra $60-70 for the cooler?

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yer but the phanteks is within 10c of a custom loop, but it costs 40% of the price. All im saying is that its not a simple case of if you pay more your get proportionality more cooling for your money.

Also i would say it is EXTREMELY rare to get a chip that does 5ghz within 0.01V's of 1.4. More often than not you need 1.45-1.5v's to even attempt 5ghz. From what ive seen, anything below 1.5v's is pretty good. ( maybe it was even better when they were first released.)

If he wants to really go past 1.4v's and push for 4.8ghz+ the 212 will not cut it. 5-10c is ALOT when it comes to pushing an overclock. But then again I'm taking this from my point of view as someone who likes to squeeze every last drop of performance from a cpu. But i mean for him then what would be the point of getting a 212 if he is only going to go from 4.3-4.5. So he is paying $35 for + 200mhz? Is there any point in even buying a new cooler?

Be it a phanteks or another high end cooler. The TS140 is a good cooler yes and will probs serve him well too. Its entirely dependant on what he wants to do in the end, im fighting my corner on the basis he want to push his cpu as far as i can possibly go on air. Something that the phanteks will allow. If he just wants a mild oc to say 4.5ghz then My point is moot.

My problem is that you're talking like a majority of chips can do 4.8, when anything above 4.5 or 4.6 is up to chance.

212+ is also $20 AMIR, and I don't see much above 4.0GHz on the stock cooler. 500MHz, IMO, is very well worth the $20.

Im usin the Corsair H60 for my 2500k oc'd to 4.5Ghz, works like charm, i recommend that cooler for your setup, or if you got a bit more money you should definitely get the H100 which has bigger radiator and two fans.

i recommend phanteks cooler. People complain it is expensive but $10 more not noctua and out performs most high end coolers. worth the money. like the say " you pay for what you get". the phanteks i read get better when temps get hotter. Well check out the forum http://www.phanteksusa.com/forum/forum.php maybe you can find answers there.

jth4482 said:

i recommend phanteks cooler. People complain it is expensive but $10 more not noctua and out performs most high end coolers. worth the money. like the say " you pay for what you get". the phanteks i read get better when temps get hotter. Well check out the forum http://www.phanteksusa.com/forum/forum.php maybe you can find answers there.

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Except the CPU he has doesn't get very hot at all, even when overclocked.