Choosing a CPU cooler for i7 3770k (Air)

[Badbonji]

So I arrived home from my lecture yesterday to find a puddle of water sitting on top of my graphics card and the computer off (it was switched on when I left it). One of the tubes had come loose that was connected to the CPU block, resulting in half of the water in the loop being poured onto the GPU whilst splashing surrounding components. Even though this is the first time this has happened in 5+ years, I want to give air cooling a go on my main desktop. It looks as though only the GPU died in the process, with some burnt electronic components (tipping the card also resulted in water flowing out of the heatsink!)

I am not really in the loop for current high end coolers, although I would like to keep my current overclock of 4.5GHz with reasonable temperatures (accepting temperatures will be warmer vs my old loop).

The cooler will be fitting inside an Antec 1200, with a width of 213mm I would imagine most coolers shouldn't have a problem.

What coolers would you suggest for the job? Quieter would also be a big plus.

 

[ASUS ROG]

Cooler Master 212 plus cpu cooler
It only come with 1 fan but you can install a second fan to increase performance

 

[Conumdrum]

Sorry to hear about your loss. It happens.

There are many great air coolers but to recommend a good one We need to know about your ram. many air heatsinks can really have issues.

EDIT. I see you have normal low ram. Any great cooler will work. Since you used to low noise and great temps I suggest a top notch air cooler. Since you WC etc, you should be able to afford a top notch cooler.

Ack, I really don't know much about top air coolers though. But you should go for a great one, the Cooler Master 212 plus cpu cooler really isn't top notch, it's darn good but is beaten by others by a few C. You should go top shelf, put some quality fans on it and your good.

Best of luck, I'll send it back to the air coolers. There are some great comparision out there I know. Google?

 

[Badbonji]

After looking at some reviews I decided on the Phanteks PH-TC14PE, performs among the top whilst also being quieter than most other high end air coolers. It looks like the RAM will fit, with the option of moving the exterior fan to the other side of the cooler.

Thanks for reminding me to check the RAM clearance!

 

[Conumdrum]

Ohh, yea, that one is at the top of the heap. Good luck!

 

[ASUS ROG]

But that thing is massive, the NZXT Havik 140 is in my opinion are also very good too.
The best of the best PROLIMATECH Armageddon are pretty hard to come across nowadays, dont know how good Prolimatech Megahalems is because i haven't test it.

 

[Badbonji]

Yeah I looked at the Megahalems as my friend had it on his 3770k, but the Phanteks outperformed it in a couple of the reviews where I saw a comparison between the two, whilst also being quieter. It looked like the Armageddon was more mid-tier, believe it still fell behind the Megahalems in stock configuration.

 

[ASUS ROG]

Than it look like the Cooler Master hyper 212 plus is the best bangs for the buck, it's not expensive and good performance.

 

[Conumdrum]

He's used to WC and funds aren't an issue. So he wants the best. No problem with that.

Not saying your idea is a bad one, but different circumstances/reasons.

 

[DarrenP]

Noctua DH-14; not mentioned yet? if anything i would consider it the best bang for your buck... My opinion though..

edit: it's also almost silent with those beautiful fans... remember beauty is within the eye of the beholder xD

 

[EarthDog]

He's used to WC and funds aren't an issue. So he wants the best. No problem with that.

Not saying your idea is a bad one, but different circumstances/reasons.

+1.

Cooler Master TPC 812 is the best choice. It is a high end cooling system with perfect performance for overclocking and silent cooling. It is the first-ever CPU heatsink to use vertical vapor chamber technology and combine it with heat pipe technology.

LOL stole that right from their product page? Stealth CM rep?


Grab that Phanteks.

 

[Mandrake4565]

Cooler Master TPC 812 is the best choice. It is a high end cooling system with perfect performance for overclocking and silent cooling. It is the first-ever CPU heatsink to use vertical vapor chamber technology and combine it with heat pipe technology.

Too bad it gets beat by the CM 212 Evo.
The Phanteks is a great cooler!
I'll put a bid in for the Prolimatech Megahalems I have one on a 2500k and have it 2 hour primed at 5.0. I use 2 Yate Loon 70 cfm fans on it and it keeps the temps in the mid 70's.

 

[M33Cat]

I'll vouch for the thermaltake silverarrow 2x140mm. It's a beast, keeps my i5 super cool, in P95 I barely breAk 60C. It's also very very quiet. Mine is almost 2 years old and no fan squeaks, etc yet. But I do keep it clean with the vacuum.

 

[doyll]

Really the best bang for the buck is the Silver Arrow SB-E Extreme. But it's 155x105x164mm; 155x130x165mm w/fans. The reason I say SA SB-E Extreme is they TY-143 fans area as quiet as the rest below 1300rpm and if you want another 3-7c cooling you can crank them up to 2500rpm and it's only as loud as a cough.. choke.. H100.. is at full speed.. and 3-7c cooler. Or do like I did and put TY-143 fans or similar on TC14PE.

Some TC14PE now come with new fans which are better than the old ones... but sadly still not PWM.
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article1291-page5.html

Cooler size comparison (Width x Depth x Height looking from front of case with motherboard laying flat)

K2 . . . . . .= . . . . 8x 6mm pipes 140x128x158mm 146x154x160mm w/ 120mm & 140mm PWM fans 43.2mm*
D14 . . . . .= . . . . 6x 6mm pipes 140x130x160mm 140x158x160mm w/ only 2011 has PWM fans 44mm*
TC14 . . . . .= . . . 5x 8mm pipes 140x134x160mm 140x159x171mm w/fans, PWM adaptor included 40-45mm*
Silver Arrow . = . 4x 8mm pipes 147x123x163mm 151x149x168mm w/Fans 40.87mm*
SA SB-E . . . .= . . 8x 6mm pipes 155x105x164mm 170x130x170mm w/ 140mm & 150mm PWM fans 31.9/39/46mm**
SA SB-E Extreme 8x 6mm pipes 155x105x164mm 155x130x165mm w/fans Reason it's smaller is 140mm fan vs 150mm fan.
HE01 . . . . .= . . . 6x 6mm pipes 140x119c160mm w/ 140x38mm PWM fan
Dark Rock Pro .= 7x 6mm pipes 133x124x166mm 133x149x166mm w/ 120mm & 135mm PWM fans
*cooler base to bottom fin. (add 8mm for motherboard to bottom fin.)
**fins are at 3 different levels

Edit: Thermalright Archon SB-E X2 is also a very good and quiet cooler... but it's 170.2mm tall.

 

[Badbonji]

I recently acquired the Phanteks cooler as originally planned and have my original overclock back. Image shows max temp from running Prime95 for 15-20 minutes with an ambient of 20C-ish (all case fans on my antec 1200 are ran at minimum speed setting). A couple of degrees more when running Boinc, although I'm very satisfied with the performance.

Thanks for all the guidance throughout the thread.

 

[Conumdrum]

Nice! A top notch cooler always does the trick!

How's the noise levels?

 

[Badbonji]

The 200mm case fan is louder than the fans on the cooler (which are plugged into the motherboard without PWM control) - and this is on the lowest setting for the case fans which is nothing like the hurricane-like sound produced when on high. It's quite a bit quieter than using my old watercooling setup, but that's down to the MCP655 being loud when on a higher setting (was on the 4th speed setting out of 5, could have gotten away with lower).

I'm guessing the graphics card will become the loudest component once I get another.

 

[Mandrake4565]

I'm guessing the graphics card will become the loudest component once I get another.

Arctic Accelero to the rescue!

 

[Wam]

Your choice really is between the Phanteks and the Noctua D14. I've had both but now use the Phanteks though there is very little between them and the D14 is quieter when both fans are at full speed. I use a fan controller with the Phanteks and taking the rpm's down slightly makes them quiet with still excellent cooling. The Phanteks looks better with choice of colours to match and both have great mounting systems.