Cheapest performance cooling option? (Noise is not an issue)

[Insthink]

Short version: I want something that gives the best cooling performance for the cheapest price, at the cost of noise. The computer is in a furnace room, behind a wall of thick noise insulation. Even my R9 290X's stock cooler's fan at 100% is barely audible. It needs to be LGA1155. I'm thinking of the Noctua NH-D14, but I wonder if I wouldn't be paying premium just because it isn't a very noisy cooler.


Long version: I currently have a CoolIT ECO ALC (Single fan model) for my 2500K.

I was fine with it for years since I stopped playing games a long time ago.

I am planning to restart gaming and I am working on optimizing my current hardware (Replaced gfx card with a 290X).

My 2500K overclocks to 4.5ghz fin @ 1.38Vcore (peak) but the temps hover around 70-74 celsius (Prime95 small FTU) and I think there might be some throttling going on because some cores will perform much slower than others. At idle, it hovers around 38-42 celsius.

I tried re-pasting with fresh AS5 but the temps stayed the same.
I installed a second fan on the radiator (One fan on each side blowing in the same direction) but it doesn't help at all. I think the limitation is the heat absorbtion speed of the water block.

Now I don't mind buying a noisy cooler because the computer is in a furnace room, behind a wall of thick noise insulation. Even my R9 290X's stock cooler's fan at 100% is barely audible. Because of the case is out of sight, I removed the side panels and put a desk fan blowing into it, so there is no air flow issue with the case either.

Now, according to a review of my current cooler, I could shave off another 10 celsius with a Noctua NH-D14, but that cooler looks a bit expensive. Is there cheaper? As I said, it can be as noisy as heck, it won't matter to me.

 

[caddi daddi]

why not look at the d-15, it's one step up from the d-14

 

[Insthink]

why not look at the d-15, it's one step up from the d-14

I was more hoping to find cheaper alternatives at the cost of elevated noise levels.

 

[ATMINSIDE]

Strap one of these to a 212 EVO
http://www.amazon.com/Delta-Electronics-FFB1212EHE-F00-120x120x38mm-connector/dp/B004JKQN1C

 

[mimart7]

Too bad this is out of their price range, http://www.newark.com/sanyo-denki/9...F-CJ-6146846-Newark+Product+Catalog&source=CJ

 

[Insthink]

Strap one of these to a 212 EVO
http://www.amazon.com/Delta-Electronics-FFB1212EHE-F00-120x120x38mm-connector/dp/B004JKQN1C

Is it that simple? Just a more powerful fan? Can't I just do that to my current cooler?

Too bad this is out of their price range, http://www.newark.com/sanyo-denki/9...F-CJ-6146846-Newark+Product+Catalog&source=CJ

HAH oh wow 70dba that's nuts! I will probably hear that fan even through an insulated wall.

 

[Scout]

Delta ~ High Performance Fans for Deaf People
I love my Delta TFB1212GHE's 220cfm of finger destruction.

 

[ATMINSIDE]

Is it that simple? Just a more powerful fan? Can't I just do that to my current cooler?

You can and if it doesn't improve as much as you want then get a heatsink to go with the fan.

 

[Insthink]

Delta ~ High Performance Fans for Deaf People
I love my Delta TFB1212GHE's 220cfm of finger destruction.

Yeah, I can imagine OSHA requiring a finger guard had this fan been used for commercial applications

You can and if it doesn't improve as much as you want then get a heatsink to go with the fan.

And if the fan doesn't improve as much as I'd hope with the new heatsink, then I go with another bigger fan... got it

I'll sit on the information I got today. I realized my 2500k requires 1.4V to reach 4.7GHZ stable, I think I will focus on simply reducing the vcore for the 4.5ghz overclock and get some better fans for the current cooler. A more powerful fan seems like a good idea.

 

[Scout]

As a general rule of thumb the 38mm thick fans have better airflow/static pressure.

 

[NeonCancerCandy]

i'm surprised that no one has mentioned to the OP that 74* om a 2500k is within acceptable temps and it doesn't throttle until 98*C (though you want to shoot for 75* and under generally)

i'm running the same cpu at the same speed with the same voltage. i max out around 72* generally and that's considered a good temp to be at for stress tests.

if you're having throttling issues, might want to look else where. what MB do you have? it might be the vrms over heating if it's a cheaper mb, that's what's been happening on mine (bought a replacement should bee here soon)

 

[Insthink]

i'm surprised that no one has mentioned to the OP that 74* om a 2500k is within acceptable temps and it doesn't throttle until 98*C (though you want to shoot for 75* and under generally)

I've realized that the CPU isn't throttling. I thought it was because some hotter cores would run a bit slower, though that might be because of backing programs favoring those cores. However, 74 celsius is borderline acceptable and I was hoping to overclock beyond 4.5GHZ.

Since making this post, I was at I realized it was my lower clock speeds that were causing the system to crash, as the vcore would drop below a stable level for those clock speeds.
I've raised the phase control and load line calibration to extreme which took care of the vcore issue with lower clock speeds.
With that, I was able to adjust the offset for the vcore so that the top vcore is 1.35 instead of 1.38 (Ran a 12 hour test, so far so good) and my core temps dropped to 70 celsius (Socket at 59 celsius).
I will be testing at an even lower vcore later.

I've also tested for 4.7ghz and that required 1.4vcore. At 1.38vcore, it would be unstable. Considering the huge vcore gap between 4.5ghz and 4.7ghz, I decided that I should settle to 4.5ghz at which point I no longer have a thermal issue with my current cooling setup.

it might be the vrms over heating if it's a cheaper mb, that's what's been happening on mine (bought a replacement should bee here soon)

I have an Asus Sabertooth P67, it certainly isn't a cheap motherboard.