Thinking about replacing Noctua NH-U12P on my overclocked i7-920

[ashmelev75]

I've been running my i7-920 D0 with mild OC at 3.2GHz for the last 4+ years with Noctua NH-U12P cooler at decent temperatures. Few weeks ago I tried to up the clock and run it at 3.8GHz (19 x 200MHz @ 1.25vcore) and the temperatures seem to be a bit high:

78C with Prime95 and HT on
69C with Prime95 and HT off
65C with BF4 and HT off.

I need to mention, I haven't replaced the original thermal compound that came with Noctua. Do I need to? It was kinda pain in the ass to install this huge heatsink.

Should I try better fans with more CFM?
Should I just replace the sink with AIO w/c like Corsair H75 or H80i? (bigger one would not fit into my case).

 

[Cmustang87]

I would try regreasing it. I had amazing results on my QX6850 with the Noctua NT-H1 TIM.

 

[Erisa]

I have a very similar system (930 instead of 920) and have been running it 3.8GHz for 4+ years without any issues. The temps you show are in line with what have experienced. If 3.8 is stable, I wouldn't worry about the temps.

 

[doyll]

If you think the NH-U12P is big you are in for an even bigger surprise.

NH-D14 . = 140x158x160 mm (WxDxH)
NH-U12P = 126x 95x 158 mm
NH-D14 . is . 14x 63 x . 2 mm bigger. 2.5" deeper than U12P.

Try replacing the TIM. NH-U12P is a good mid-size cooler and was a leader in it's day.. but that was long ago. There are many better coolers out there now.

Originally my [email protected] was under NH-U12P with stock NF-P12 fans
It idled at 900rpm @ 36-41c and when encoding * ran 1300rpm @ 70-72c.

I changed to TY-140 fans with custom fan shrouds to adapt and funnel airflow in /out of U12P fin pack.
It idled at 720rpm @ 36-41c and when encoding* ran 1280rpm @ 67-68c: 22c ambient.

I switched to Phanteks PH-TC14PE in same case with same TY-140 fans
It idled at 680rpm @ 36c and when encoding* ran 1170rpm @ 58c; 21c ambient.

* Encoding runs all cores constantly at 98-100% load..

If you are interested, I've compiled a list of top coolers with all measurements. Could post it for you.

 

[ashmelev75]

If you are interested, I've compiled a list of top coolers with all measurements. Could post it for you.

Sure, why not...
Although I'm really hesitant to replace the existing air cooler with a bigger monstrosity. I'd rather go AIO water cooling route.

 

[doyll]

Honestly, The best AIO / CLC systems cool at best about the same as top air, are louder, more expensive and more likely to fail simply because they are more complex than air coolers. Air coolers only have heat pipes and fans to possibly fail. CLC complexity opens the door to all kinds of things to go wrong like pump failure, pump leaks hose failure, radiator leaks, etc. Any one of which leave you with no cooling at all. With air only thing to go wrong is the possibility of TIM seat or fan.. or the extremely rare heatpipe failure. None of which stop the cooling but only lower cooling ability.

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

    Cooler		 Heatpipes     Size W/O Fans	  	 Fans	       RAM Clearance*   CPU-Frt**     CPU-PCI-E***
Akasa Medusa		8x 6mm OD  144 x 129.5x163mm    140mm & 120mm PWM fans     54.6mm	   64.3mm
Cryorig R1 Ultimate	7x 6mm OD  140 x 142.4x168.3mm  XF140(140x25) fans	   35mm		   40mm *2*	70mm
Cryorig R1 Universal	7x 6mm OD  140 x 130 x 168.3mm  SF140(25mm) & XT140(13mm)  35mm		   35.5mm *2*	70mm
K2 / Assassin		8x 6mm OD  140 x 128 x 158mm    120mm & 140mm PWM fans     48.2mm	   64mm		70mm*4*
Dark Rock Pro 2		7x 6mm OD  138 x 124 x 166mm    120mm & 135mm PWM fans
Dark Rock Pro 3		7x 6mm OD  137 x 150 x 163mm	120mm & 135mm PWM fans	   44mm		   51.5mm	69mm*4*
NH-D14			6x 6mm OD  140 x 130 x 160mm	120mm & 140mm fans         49mm		   62mm		70mm*4*
NH-U14S			6x 6mm OD  150 x  52 x 165mm     + fans		   	   46mm		   26mm		75mm*4*
NH-D15			6x 6mm OD  150 x 136 x 165mm	2x 140mm fans		    *1*		   67.5mm	75mm*4*
PH-TC14PE		5x 8mm OD  140 x 159 x 171mm	2x 140mm fans, PWM adaptor 45-50mm	   72mm		70mm*4*
Megahalem		6x 6mm OD  130 x  74 x 158.7mm	+ fans			   39.50mm	   37MM
SS HE01			6x 6mm OD  140 x 119 x 160mm	1x 140x38mm PWM fan	   47mm		   47.5MM *2*
Archon SB-E		8x 6mm OD  155 x  53.6x170.2mm	+ fanS			   42.35mm	   26.8mm	77.5mm
Archon IB-E		8x 6mm OD  155 x  53.6x165.2mm	+ fans			   48.2mm	   26.5mm	69mm 8.5mm***
Silver Arrow		4x 8mm OD  147 x 123 x 163mm	2x 140mm fans		   45.87mm	   61.4mm	73.5mm
Silver Arrow SB-E	8x 6mm OD  155 x 105 x 164mm	mid 150mm/frt 140mm PWM	   36.9/44/51mm*3* 51mm		77.5mm
SA SB-E Extreme		8x 6mm OD  155 x 105 x 164mm	mid 140mm/frt 140mm PWM	   36.9/44/51mm*3* 51mm		77.5mm
Silver Arrow IB-E	8x 6mm OD  154.6x103 x 164mm***	2x 140mm 1300rpm fans	   46.95mm	   51.5mm	67.8mm
SA IB-E Extreme		8x 6mm OD  154.6x103 x 164mm***	2x 140mm 2500rpm fans	   46.95mm	   51.5mm	67.8mm
TRUE Spirit 140 Power	6x 8mm OD  155 x  53.4x170mm	+ fan			   49.3mm	   26.5mm	77.5mm
HR-22			8x 6mm OD  150 x 120 x 159mm	+ fan			   41mm		   -1mm		70mm  5mm***


* add 3mm for motherboard to bottom fin
** center CPU to front of cooler W/O fan
*** Center CPU to PCIe side (base is off-center for better PCI-E slot clearance)
*1* recessed lower fins, the NH-D15 provide 64mm RAM clearance
*2* offest back for better RAM clearance
*3* fins are at 3 different levels
*4* fan clips add additional 3-5mm