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CPU Cooler Choice/Fit Help

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ColdStorm

New Member
Joined
Jul 2, 2012
I have been doing some research on a new CPU cooling solution. My current parts are as follows:

CPU: AMD Phenom II x4 965 3.2GHz base running at 3.4 currently
Memory: Patriot Viper Xtreme Division 2; 2x4GB 1866Mhz max (capped at 1600 by motherboard)
Mainboard: MSI 785GM-E51 (MS-7596) Not the greatest motherboard....
GPU: Gigabyte GTX570 Super Overclock
PSU: OCZ 850W
Case: Corsair 600TM with stock fans (2x200mm Fans and 1x120mm Fan)
CPU cooler: AMD Something. It is a stock fan which gets extremely loud and I just hate it.

My current CPU cooler also block the first 2 dims for my high profile ram so I use slots 3 and 4.

scaled.php


scaled.php


I have been looking and found the Tuniq Tower 120 Extreme Heatsink to be quite desirable.
http://www.frostytech.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=2480

But I did find one review showing it in terrible light:
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/cooling/2009/12/03/tuniq-tower-120-extreme-review/1

I would prefer to use a cooler that will allow me to use my first 2 dims of ram but I could just get short ram for the first 2 in the future and continue to use my tall ones in slots 3/4.

How can I tell if a cooler is going to fit or not? (I am sure this is a stupid question but I need help...)

I do not have a lot of money but when I do spend I want it to be quality as I have learned from some poor purchases in the past. I am looking for opinions on cooling solutions that will fit my case/motherboard/ram and provide quality cooling without being obnoxiously loud. I hope I am able to find the help I need here as I feel a little lost with so much information available to me. I am also looking into the Corsair H100 but I don't think it looks/fits very well in the 600TM from the videos I have watched.

My max budget with extra fans etc would be ~$140 but that is not to say I NEED to spend this much of course.

If you need anymore information please feel free to ask.

Thank you
 
ColdStorm said:
I have been doing some research on a new CPU cooling solution. My current parts are as follows:

CPU: AMD Phenom II x4 965 3.2GHz base running at 3.4 currently
Memory: Patriot Viper Xtreme Division 2; 2x4GB 1866Mhz max (capped at 1600 by motherboard)
Mainboard: MSI 785GM-E51 (MS-7596) Not the greatest motherboard....
GPU: Gigabyte GTX570 Super Overclock
PSU: OCZ 850W
Case: Corsair 600TM with stock fans (2x200mm Fans and 1x120mm Fan)
CPU cooler: AMD Something. It is a stock fan which gets extremely loud and I just hate it.

My current CPU cooler also block the first 2 dims for my high profile ram so I use slots 3 and 4.

scaled.php


scaled.php


I have been looking and found the Tuniq Tower 120 Extreme Heatsink to be quite desirable.
http://www.frostytech.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=2480

But I did find one review showing it in terrible light:
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/cooling/2009/12/03/tuniq-tower-120-extreme-review/1

I would prefer to use a cooler that will allow me to use my first 2 dims of ram but I could just get short ram for the first 2 in the future and continue to use my tall ones in slots 3/4.

How can I tell if a cooler is going to fit or not? (I am sure this is a stupid question but I need help...)

I do not have a lot of money but when I do spend I want it to be quality as I have learned from some poor purchases in the past. I am looking for opinions on cooling solutions that will fit my case/motherboard/ram and provide quality cooling without being obnoxiously loud. I hope I am able to find the help I need here as I feel a little lost with so much information available to me. I am also looking into the Corsair H100 but I don't think it looks/fits very well in the 600TM from the videos I have watched.

My max budget with extra fans etc would be ~$140 but that is not to say I NEED to spend this much of course.

If you need anymore information please feel free to ask.

Thank you
Click to expand...

Where are you located?
I would reccomend a cheap but good cooler like the Thermalright True Spirit 140, it offers good ram clearance and is a great performer. It totally destroys the Tuniq Tower, that's just a really dated design. It worked good back in the Pentium 4 era.
Bit tech is not a reliable source for cooling reviews in my experience...YMMV though.
 
ivanlabrie said:
Where are you located?
I would reccomend a cheap but good cooler like the Thermalright True Spirit 140, it offers good ram clearance and is a great performer. It totally destroys the Tuniq Tower, that's just a really dated design. It worked good back in the Pentium 4 era.
Bit tech is not a reliable source for cooling reviews in my experience...YMMV though.
Click to expand...

I am not attached to the Tuniq tower I just thought it looked cool and got some good reviews. I live in B.C Canada but I have a mailing address I can use in the US. NCIX is where I can most of my computer stuff but have no problem using other's to get the right item.

Edit: I checked out the Nh-c14 that you have in your signature and it looks like a great one. Would you recommend it? It seems perfect for my case Corsair 600tm as there is a mesh panel on the side that the fans would blow straight at. Unless this is a bad thing? The fans do look large so I assume it will block my first 2 ram dims? Should I just got for the D-14? If I just get two short sticks later on could I run them and then my tall ones in slots 3/4?
 
Last edited:
It doesn't block my ram slots with one fan attached. I have really lo profile samsung ram, and I can use both fans with every slot populated too...
It's fairly good and really quiet, but kind of expensive. It's good for specialty builds, like small not wide enough cases.
If you have room to spare, the best of the best is the Phanteks cooler. Can't recall the exact model though, it's a big blue thing similar to the Nh-d14 but better.
It can even run passive without fans!

For more general purpose and tight budgets, the Hyper 212 Evo is good enough, or if you want better performance get the True Spirit 140.

ps: I get 68c max temp whilst doing prime95 blend at 4.5ghz, on my 2600k, HT on. Which is quite decent, for a case with onle 3 120mm fans and no exhaust fan.
 
They're both fairly quiet, you can run the 140mm fans at low rpm and still have good performance. The Phanteks can even run passive! What's quieter than no fan at all? lol

Regarding ram, how tall are your sticks actually? Like, ridiculously tall or normal Gskill ripjaws x tall?
 
ColdStorm said:
It seems to clear tall ram with no fan attached. I wonder if the fan would conflict when attached however.
Click to expand...

I think you can't go wrong with the blue Phanteks ;)
Remember to post back with results once you decide on your cooler.
When unsure resort to the Thermalright Archon, that has awesome ram clearance and performance...Don't know how much it costs now.
 
ivanlabrie said:
I think you can't go wrong with the blue Phanteks ;)
Remember to post back with results once you decide on your cooler.
When unsure resort to the Thermalright Archon, that has awesome ram clearance and performance...Don't know how much it costs now.
Click to expand...

I think I am going to get the blue Phanteks. Need to force myself to wait a day or two to make sure I am making a logical decision and not an emotional one haha. I will post back with pictures if/when I get it. :D
 
Nice review, like I put there I 'm not even in the market for a CPU cooler, but it would look pretty slick in my setup with the black and blue stuff to begin with and I like things quiet.

Something that works that well even fanless is pretty tempting :)

:beer:
 
Last edited:
Purchased from amazon.com Shipping to my friend in the US and I will have to pick it up from him. I cannot wait! I will hopefully have some nice pictures of my blue phanteks soon!! :D I have been reading up on the best methods for applying new thermal paste. Anyone have a link to a good guide? Its hard to know what to trust online.
 
A few notes about this behemoth... First it's big! It cover's the first memory bank on my Asrock Z68 X4. Secondly, it cools better than my H80! Lastly, its BLUE!

photo1wp.jpg


photofq.jpg
 
White Runner said:
A few notes about this behemoth... First it's big! It cover's the first memory bank on my Asrock Z68 X4. Secondly, it cools better than my H80! Lastly, its BLUE!
Click to expand...

Question: Why did you mount the fans up and down rather than left and right?
 
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