i7 CPU Cooler Advice

LeeKeery · 26 May 2010 at 12:47

Hi all,

With summer coming around I would like to get temps a little lower. Currently idle in high 40's, high 50's while in game. Current cooler isnt the best.

Was thinking along the lines of Megahelms or TRUE, are they still the best out there?

Not looking for watercooling.

Any advice is welcome... spec below

(Case is a good size so plenty of room to play wit, may have to remove side fan but no probs)

Freddie1980 · 26 May 2010 at 13:04

I suggest you have a read of Frostytech, he reviews nothing but heatsinks and has a very comprenshive database. Also don't forget temps may have been a bit higher recently due to the bout of warm weather we've had.

You have also ruled out a watercooling system but does that inculde a self contained/all in one setup like the CoolIT Eco A.L.C whcih costs almost the same amount money as the two heatsinks you've mentinoed?

LeeKeery · 26 May 2010 at 14:23

Thanks for info, as for the warm spout my temps were even higher for the hotter days lol.

Maybe watercooling could be a solution, it would have to be an all in one unit as I have no experience with watercooling and wldnt want any accidnents :S

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=WC-002-CS

something like above could do the job, thanks for the suggestion I will read further into it and compare, see what would suit me best.

Helios1234 · 26 May 2010 at 14:54

I'd highly recommend the Thermalright Venomous X or the Noctua NH-D14. The latter already comes with two brilliant fans as well while the VX will let you choose your own. However both will end up better than the coolers suggested although the TRUE is still a very good cooler.

http://www.vortez.co.uk/contentteller/articles_pages/corsair_h50_cpu_cooler_review,9.html

LeeKeery · 26 May 2010 at 15:59

Think i seen that char before, very useful.

The NH-D14 does look very nice, As do the all in one watercooling units.

Man that NH-D14 is huge! would it fit in my case ok? If I was to buy I wld mount as to have it facing the top exhaust fan, in order to get hot air out faster - could be a tight squeeze!

Reading reviews the air coolers performance only rly brings down max temps, not so much idle temps. Watercooling seems to dramatically drop idle temps and max.

For this price range I may lean towards watercooling - may also give me headroom for bigger OC's in the future.

Helios1234 · 26 May 2010 at 17:20

If you mean the CoolIT and Corsair solution, I'd advise you to go for the air coolers. While the two are very good, you need to use a push/pull setup with fans that have a good static pressure. Often these come as higher RPM fans which in turn are much louder. The other disadvantage is that it also increases costs, in that you'll have to buy separate fans to improve their performance. The main advantage of the all contained liquid coolers is that they are easy to install and they don't take up a lot of space. Corsair probably know that themselves hence why they also produce air coolers now.

The most important thing is the load temperature. The idle temperature will be dominated by the ambient temperature rather than the heat output of the CPU itself, hence why a much cheaper fan can sometime give low idle temperatures while not being representative of its true performance.

Air coolers such as the two I mentioned are much better at handling the insane heat output of an overclocked i7. Also, I don't see why the Noctua wouldn't fit in your case. It was designed to be the same height as more other tower coolers. It's only big in terms of length and width but your motherboard will support it fine. If size is a problem, then the VX or TRUE are very good alternatives. The only way you'll get better cooling is through proper custom built water cooling systems and other more exotic methods.

Hope that helps

.

demonfatality · 26 May 2010 at 21:04

Prolimatech Megahalems its served me well

nalla · 26 May 2010 at 21:27

well i can vouch for the corsair water cooled all in one m8, on my i7 oc@4ghz i get idle temps of under 40 degs, well 31 according to speed fan but some people say speedfan isnt very good so i added 9 degs to be on the safe side.

LeeKeery · 27 May 2010 at 12:03

Yea ive heard speedfan tends to make up its temps. Try Real Temp or Core Temp they shld give you a more accurate reading.

Thanks Helios thats a very good argument u gave. Still not sure which to go for tho. I cld easily do a push/pull config for the H50 same as this guy using one of my exhaust fans

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18036199

Still undecided but the Noctua seems to be the more practical option.