CPU Cooling help

I want to buy a new CPU cooler as I am currently only running a stock cooler. I have an I5-4690K @3.5GHz. My motherboard is a Gigabyte Z97X Gaming 3. My case is an Sharkoon bulldozer but I do not know what Cooler will fit. Any help is appreciated

The case's website doesn't say how much clearance you have?

Edit: this review shows 17.9cm... - http://www.eteknix.com/sharkoon-bulldozer-atx-chassis-review/

I know how much clearance there is but I am afraid of the dimensions of the cooler. I just need some help finding one that will work effectively and is affordable

DrBonesMcCoy said:

I know how much clearance there is but I am afraid of the dimensions of the cooler. I just need some help finding one that will work effectively and is affordable

Click to expand...

The starting point for any good selection of a cooler begins with knowing the correct height between the cpu and the case wall. Without it we cannot help you well. Can you verify the 17.9cm that ED got from that review?

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Ooh and what type of budget do you have?

DrBonesMcCoy said:

I know how much clearance there is but I am afraid of the dimensions of the cooler. I just need some help finding one that will work effectively and is affordable

Click to expand...

The coolers have their dimensions listed in the specifications.

That said, a Cooler Master hyper 212 Evo is a solid performer for its $30 price. It's not the best out there, but for the price it's tough to beat. There are better coolers, but it depends on your overclocking goals and
Budget as Lochekey already mentioned.

The sharkoon website confirms 17.9cm, btw - https://www.sharkoon.com/product//BD28#specs

The width of that sharkoon case is 235mm. You will have plenty of clearance to the side panel to accommodate even the tallest tower style air cooler.

The description on Amazon says "water cooling" but there doesn't look like there would be much head room between the top edge of the motherboard and the two fan holes in the top panel to squeeze a radiator and fans. Maybe something like the Corsair H80i v2 would fit in the back panel fan hole.

I have the Gigabyte Gaming 7 motherboard, and I looked at the pic for the gaming 3. This style motherboard have the PCIe 16x slot in the second position. Hence, there is room for a wide PSU heatsink like the Noctua NH-15. For motherboards that cater to HEDT chips, they tend to have the 16xPCIe card in the first slot. That is why Noctua sells the NH-D15S. The fin stack has been moved over to accommodate having cards in the first slot.

As for tallness of the heatsink, the rule of thumb is this: if you have a 120mm exhaust fan in back, you can fit a full-height heatsink like the Noctuas under the sidewall of your case. With a 235mm case, you might be able to put a fan inside that sidewall without interfering with your heatsink. If you have a 140mm exhaust fan you should be able to fit an extra-tall heatsink in there like Thermalright's original Archon and Silver Arrow.

I recommend removing the rear "grill" of your case. You can cover the cut sides with trimmed plastic spines that make up cheap report covers. That "grill" really restricts the outgoing airflow -- so much so that you don't need a case exhaust fan if you remove the "grill." Even better, if you have a pull fan on your heatsink (on a tandem tower that means a third fan) the pull fan will entrain case air and serve as an active exhaust that way. To see a hilarious example of that, look here.

Most of all, have fun. You can hardly screw things up. Lots of fail-safes these days.