Could use help deciding on i5-2500K cooler. CM 212 EVO / Xigmatek Gaia / Corsair A70?

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CLock3

Gawd
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I've been doing some research, and I'm trying to decide on a cooler to get for an upcoming build I'm doing using an i5-2500K. I've narrowed it down to these three:

Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO

Corsair A70

Xigmatek Gaia SD1283

They're all pretty similar, have great reviews, and are in the same price range, so chances are, I'd be happy with any of them, but I figured I'd get some input before pulling the trigger on one.

Thanks in advance!
 
I've been enjoying my Noctua NH-U12P SE2. OC'd my 2500k to 4.2 with stock voltages. Been running F@H/video encodes overnight and in the morning the room is warm but my i5 is still 50C or below. Probably just as much due to my ft02, but, eh, there are just few coolers as good as the U12. A bit more money but Noctua supports their products, free of charge, so it'll still be going strong years form now no doubt.
 
For what it's worth I'm running the regular 212+ on my 2700K and it's doing great. I'm running at 4.8 @ 1.3vcore and a little PLL bump. My room ambient is locked at 72F and my internal case temps range from 75-79F. According to my logs from the last couple days it hit 142F (61C) under 8 threads of Prime95 Blend. If you mount the fan flush with the top of the cooler, enough of it hangs below the fins to blow a nice breeze over the power heatsinks. It even comes with an extra set of brackets to go push pull, but I haven't seen any need. Almost bought a 212+ EVO, but the one I had on my 955BE fit without any issue.

The TRUE Spirit 120 is a beast though, and worth checking out.
 
Seb1 said:
The CM 212Evo from your selection, but the Thermalright True Spirit 120 can be found in the 30$ price range and it is a better cooler. ;)
Click to expand...

Yes, this. The TRUE Spirit 120 has taken the crown for best bang per buck.

I would double check case fitment if you decide to use an oddball case. It's not quite as tall as, say, Thermalright's Archon, but 160mm is still a fairly tall cooler. It should fit most cases easily, but measure twice, cut once, ya know?
 
Might also be marketed under the Cogage brand if you want more options, but following "where to buy" from Thermalright's website does take you right to Nan's.

Nan's site is definitely a little skeezy, but I imagine more e-tailers will start stocking the cooler (it's very new).
 
Thanks for all of the input, everyone. I think I'm just gonna go with the 212 EVO. Can always get something different down the road if I really see the need.

DooLocsta said:
You could get a bracket for you current cooler and try it out.
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Thanks, but the Xigmatek will actually be staying on the e6700 that it's on now, as I'll still be using those parts in a different build.
 
Omophorus said:
Might also be marketed under the Cogage brand if you want more options, but following "where to buy" from Thermalright's website does take you right to Nan's.

Nan's site is definitely a little skeezy, but I imagine more e-tailers will start stocking the cooler (it's very new).
Click to expand...

the site had me worried too. the engrish and general shoddy web design do not inspire confidence. however i received my ts 120 a yesterday, ordered it on friday so thats pretty quick. the only thing is that nan's charges $12 for shipping. unfortunately its a christmas present so i dont get to install it yet.
 
Nice. Yeah, I'm sure Nan's is a fine place to order from. I ended up getting the 212 EVO from NewEgg, as I was getting some other things from there anyways.

Thanks again for all of the suggestions, everyone.
 
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