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Recommendations for CPU Cooling

A

avatar[djedi]

Limp Gawd
Joined
Sep 8, 2004
Messages
195
Hey gang, I need your expert advice (and recommendations).

I've got a new sandybridge 2600k, and an asus p6p67 deluxe sitting in a FT02 case (air exhausting upwards is neat!).

The stock intel cpu cooler is pretty meh, and I need help picking a better CPU cooler. My priorities are cool and quiet in that order. Price/temperature reduction isn't as important to me, I'm willing to shell out a few more dollars for something cooler and quieter.

Right now I only have 2 sticks of ram (2x 4GB), so the first DIMM slot is ok to be obstructed by a cooler... But I'd perfer that it was still accessible if for some reason I add two more sticks down the road...

Your thoughts? An H70? A Silver Arrow? I'm open to anything! Thanks!
 
I've had a great experience with my Noctua NH-D14. It keeps things cool while being quiet. Also, the Noctua support team is awesome.

The only "issue" with it would be the orientation in which you use it because its such a ginormous piece of artwork. Horizontally, the chances of the 120mm fan blocking access to memory is very high. This is easy to get around by unhooking the fan clips. Vertically, if you have enough room to do it, wouldn't pose much of a problem.

On the other hand, I've heard good things about the H50/H70. A friend of mine runs a H50 and although he doesn't overclock, it keeps temps within reason on his i7 920. These also will not block access to the memory.

The Silver Arrow/Cogage Arrow would be a good alternative to the NH-D14 with the added bonus of being able to mount a 38mm fan in the middle of both towers.
 
Well, the Coolermaster Hyper 212+ is cheap and will get the job done on what you were asking. Comes with a pretty decent PWM fan.

The others you mentioned are more expensive and will only really help you if your pushing more voltage for higher clocks.
 
StillFunkyB said:
Well, the Coolermaster Hyper 212+ is cheap and will get the job done on what you were asking. Comes with a pretty decent PWM fan.

The others you mentioned are more expensive and will only really help you if your pushing more voltage for higher clocks.
Click to expand...

I'd second this - you can pay a lot for a cooler, but the 212+ seems to be in the same ballpark and is a lot cheaper, especially if you aren't looking for really high overclocks.
 
I have a 212+ on my 2600k as well. 100% load it running 56-58*C with the paste that's included with the cooler. The 212+ is what I had on my shelf already from Black Friday deal ($15 AR).
 
Well, the OP did say they were willing to spend a little more to get better performance so.. :p

But, if price is of concern, then yes, the Hyper 212+ is one of the best as far as price/performance goes. The Scythe Mugen 2 is worth taking a look at as well.
 
After trying the H50 and now the coolit vantage, it is hard to go back: They don't take up as much space on the board, They perform just as well as a regular air cooler and allowed me to change the CPU easily without having to remove the big chunk of metal from the case. The performance is about equivalent to a top of the line air cooler. I'd say go for it.
 
Rafale said:
After trying the H50 and now the coolit vantage, it is hard to go back: They don't take up as much space on the board, They perform just as well as a regular air cooler and allowed me to change the CPU easily without having to remove the big chunk of metal from the case. The performance is about equivalent to a top of the line air cooler. I'd say go for it.
Click to expand...

Yeah, running a H50 on my main rig, and just purchased another for my wife's Q6600. Wouldn't trade them for anything, other than a H70 :D
 
I have a H50. I added two fans to it and it rocks!

I understand that the H50 cost a premium and that coolers such as the Coolermaster Hyper 212+ preform nearly identically to the Corsair coolers. But there is just something about the simplicity and low profile sleek look that I enjoy. Also the fact that the cooler is bringing in fresh outside air over the fins, vs. recycling hot case air. I also haven't had to clean the dust off it as much. Oh and its near silent. The only fan i hear is my GPU.

Go to Frys. Pick up the H50-70 and give it a test drive. If you don't fancy it, take it back and watch someone else pick it up as new.
 
The FT-02 is a great case I love mine. If silence is a priority I suggest a fan controller. No matter what solution you use it is going to need fans. The FT-02 fans work great on a controller too.


My TRUE works great, there are a bunch of similar tower air coolers on the market now. You can't really go wrong with any of them.
 
You guys have some great suggestions, thanks! I'm reading up on each of these coolers now, leaning towards an H70 if I can find some better (read: quieter) fans for it.

Question about a fan controller: one of the things I read about the H70 was that it was noisy. Can you use a fan controller on those h70 fans? Or does it NEED to be connected to the CPU fan header?

What fan controller would you recommend for the FT02?
 
You can use fan controllers with the H70.

I would recommend you get two Gentle Typhoons AP15 1850 rpm (since price isn't a concern). Those are high-performance fans for relatively low noise, they have pretty good static pressure to push air through radiators.

Basically any fan controller that has good reviews. I would get something that you like the looks of, that you think goes well with your case. I got an NZXT Sentry 2 because traditional fan controllers (ones with knobs) cannot fit in my Cosmos because of the door, and that it was $11 AR at Fry's.
 
Just make sure that the fan controller can handle the wattage of the fans that you are putting on it. I like having the bottom fans on one knob and the draw a little more than 15w. It all depends on your setup.
 
Tsumi said:
You can use fan controllers with the H70.

I would recommend you get two Gentle Typhoons AP15 1850 rpm (since price isn't a concern). Those are high-performance fans for relatively low noise, they have pretty good static pressure to push air through radiators.

Basically any fan controller that has good reviews. I would get something that you like the looks of, that you think goes well with your case. I got an NZXT Sentry 2 because traditional fan controllers (ones with knobs) cannot fit in my Cosmos because of the door, and that it was $11 AR at Fry's.
Click to expand...

Pretty much what he said, the Gentle Typhoons, if you can find them, are a good set. I have the NZXT Sentry 2 as well, and do the fan controls off of it without any issues.
 
Thanks all, after reading a fair bit I ultimately ordered an H70, and two Gentle Typhoons.

Now I just need to keep reading about fan controllers and pick one.

I'll have the two Gentle Typhoons, and the 3x 180mm case fans (I think they're AP181s but they have the older ft02 grill cover, so i'm not positive on the model). I'm pretty sure I should remove the current top venting 120mm fan to mount the H70 in its place

...hmmm so should I leave the H70 pulling cool air into the case from the top, despite the case being designed to exhaust air upwards there?
 
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