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whats the best passive cpu cooler for a 4770k?
- Thread starter AndreRio
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mrluckypants96
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The NoFan CR-95 like Quartz recommended is the best fully-passive cooler you can get, at the price of it being expensive and huge.
Some of the larger tower coolers like the Thermaltake Macho Zero can be used passively as long at there is some airflow in the case. Ideally, you'd want an exhaust fan right behind the cooler to give the best airflow. A possibly better option would be to just get a quiet cooler like a Be Quiet Dark Rock 3 or a Noctua U14S and keep the fan speeds low. That way you get noise levels that will be masked by the sounds of the PSU and HDD as well as usable performance.
Some of the larger tower coolers like the Thermaltake Macho Zero can be used passively as long at there is some airflow in the case. Ideally, you'd want an exhaust fan right behind the cooler to give the best airflow. A possibly better option would be to just get a quiet cooler like a Be Quiet Dark Rock 3 or a Noctua U14S and keep the fan speeds low. That way you get noise levels that will be masked by the sounds of the PSU and HDD as well as usable performance.
Stereodude
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Do you really need passive or simply inaudible?
defaultluser
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This right here.
Inaudible coolers start at ~$45:
Amazon.com: Scythe Cooling Motherboard SCKTT-1000: Computers & Accessories
Completely passive coolers that actually work start at $100.
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doublejack
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The Xigmatek Thor's Hammer can passively cool that CPU with decent case airflow. The PSU fan may be enough depending on the system layout. I'm amazed with how well that cooler works.
defaultluser
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No, not unless you live in an anechoic chamber. SPCR, WHICH TESTS IN AN ANECHOIC CHAMBER found that the Scyth Kotetsu fan I linked TOPS OUT at 29 dbA dbA @ 1m, and hits a more respectable 17 dbA when you get a fan controller involved:
Scythe Kotetsu CPU Cooler: A Compact King | silentpcreview.com
That means if you put it under your desk, it will be inaudible. And if you put it RIGHT NEXT TO YOU EAR, you might hear it. That's running at 7v, which is what I expect most motherboard fan controllers to target. And as shown, you can tweak it even lower (14 dbA@1m) without giving up much temperature.
Most houses have noise floors around 25-30 dbA, OR HIGHER. So you effectively can't hear it.
If fans in coolers have been noisy for you in the past, you've been buying the wrong coolers, or putting the case right next to your head
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I'm sorry, but you are wrong. All I can do is ask you to try it for yourself in a quiet room. It may take 15 or 30 minutes, but you do hear the fans and it really bugs me.
defaultluser
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Been there, done that, still can't tell the system is on.
Sonata 3 with 2 Scythe FDB fans (replaced stock fan) on absolute lowest setting, Mugen 2 on absolute lowest setting, Seasonic Gold PSU on hybrid mode. GTX 960 Strix.
Turned off every fan in the house, including A/C. I live on a quiet street, so I have fairly low noise. I have to strain to hear the system when it's running Heaven on a loop. At idle it makes zero noise, even though the system fans and CPU fan are spinning.
Now if you put the case on your desk right next to your ears, then you can hear the air flow, but a decent case has enough indirection to baffle that from a few feet away.
Stereodude
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Are you using the case as a pillow?
As long as your head is a few feet from the case you can have an inaudible PC that has fans. If you think you can build a totally passive 4770k with 0 fans in a normal case and not have it overheat under load you're going to be in for a surprise. Passive components assume some airflow from other fans. They can not deal with natural convection and black body radiation only.
defaultluser
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The NoFan CR-95 cannot handle a Core i7, but it can handle a Core i5, which is plenty for most people. SPCR tested it in a completely fanless rig and it was the only cooler that didn't overheat running prime, even after half an hour. It handled a Core i5 at full load with 10C to spare. But it will only work in a case with massive air holes. Which is why they sell this baby:
CS-70 Fanless Computer Case
Look at all that massive vertical airflow room, these guys really know what they're doing
With the case slowing convection a bit they may not be able to handle Prime, but most normal CPU loads are much lower. Even encoding uses less power. .
That said, "passive" video cards really are expecting some airflow, and are really pointless on higher-end cards. They charge a premium, and really aren't any more quiet than the axial fans (after you install a second case fan to cool them)
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Due to the reduced TDP, the Nofan will handle the new I7s.
You are, however, quite correct on the cases. The best cases for the Nofan CR95 are the Silverstone FT series. A FT02, FT03, or FT05 will work just fine with a fanless PSU, a Nofan CR-95, and an ordinary GPU, and will be totally silent in 2D mode, with only the GPU fan noise when gaming. This was my original setup.
Stereodude
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The odds of it being completely silent are still not good. With all the inductors and capacitors there's going to bound to be some electrical noises. And the high temperatures will decrease the life of all the components. Fans are not the enemy.
mrluckypants96
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It can probably handle one of the 65W i7's, but definitely not an i7K with its 95W TDP.
As long as you don't overclock, the CR-95 will handle a CPU with a 95W TDP. The clue's in the name.
Not in my case there wasn't.
Not appreciably, no. You're not running everything at 100% 24/7.
ciarlatano
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HTL tested the Thermalright Macho Zero on a 4770K and it did quite well. The cooler is passive but can be aided by a duct that uses the rear case fan to draw air through it, however the duct is not a necessity.
Stereodude
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And it won't work in a case with 0 fans.