Help me choose a quiet AMD cooler

WolfyUK · 13 Aug 2020 at 23:45

I replaced all my case fans with Arctic P12s. I added a few more. The case was lovely and cool. My housemate complained that he could tell that my PC was running from the literal cold feet from the near-silent draft.

And then I dropped in the 3600 with stock Stealth cooler.

Stealth, my ass. Now my PC sounds like a 747 taking off.

What cooler would you suggest which is reasonably quiet (or has a big heatsink I can drop some more P12s on) and will be future-proof? Plan is to either pick up a 39** when they drop in price, or a 4000.

LtMatt · 14 Aug 2020 at 05:02

Arctic Freezer II 280 or 360 AIO. Uses 120MM P12s.

PieEater · 14 Aug 2020 at 07:53

LtMatt said:
Arctic Freezer II 280 or 360 AIO. Uses 120MM P12s.

The 280 uses P14s the 240 uses P12s, but irrelevant really as they would come fitted to the cooler anyway so you wouldn't have to upgrade the fans.

Edit: If you'd rather go air the BeQuiet Dark Rock Pro 4 would be a good option it uses Silent Wings fans which should be in the same ballpark noisewise as the Arctic.

LtMatt · 14 Aug 2020 at 08:42

Yes, correct on the 280MM.

mickyflinn · 14 Aug 2020 at 11:13

Alphenon broken 2 is excellent value you will need an am4 backplate which can also be bought from overclockers for £3.

Its 165mm tall so make sure it will fit your case.

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/alpe...ion-dual-fan-cpu-cooler-140-mm-hs-05h-al.html

PieEater · 14 Aug 2020 at 13:35

When choosing a cooler for Ryzen It's important to note that boost behavior is based on thermals, the cooler you can keep the chip the higher it will be able to boost one or more cores and the longer it will be able to sustain the higher clocks. So if you want to get the best performance out of the chip it's worth investing in the best cooler you can reasonably afford. Liquid cooling has a slight advantage over air as the cooler will take longer to reach maximum temperatures especially with bursty workloads like gaming.

WolfyUK · 14 Aug 2020 at 16:21

Thanks folks.

My wallet says Alpenfohn but my heart says 280 AOI.

We'll see who wins.

doyll · 15 Aug 2020 at 16:31

WolfyUK said:
I replaced all my case fans with Arctic P12s. I added a few more. The case was lovely and cool. My housemate complained that he could tell that my PC was running from the literal cold feet from the near-silent draft.

And then I dropped in the 3600 with stock Stealth cooler.

Stealth, my ass. Now my PC sounds like a 747 taking off.

What cooler would you suggest which is reasonably quiet (or has a big heatsink I can drop some more P12s on) and will be future-proof? Plan is to either pick up a 39** when they drop in price, or a 4000.

You are not the first one to complain about stock cooler noise.

What case and case fan setup do you have?

I've just received and setup my 3600K and am in the process of experimenting with some of the AMD mount coolers I have on hand. So far only ran D15I staying about 70-ish peaking at 83 at 100% CPU load, single NF-A14 fan running about 800rpm. Definitely one of the bigger coolers, but obviously quite low fan speed. This is open bench with 140mm fan flowing air over system as well. Want to keep this running for a couple days before I switch coolers to be sure everything is working as it should.

Unseul · 15 Aug 2020 at 17:43

Thermalright aro m14. Thermalright fan is really quiet, plus as it's a huge cooler based on a passive cooler design, it's a naturally quiet cooler anyway. Can have ram issues depending on motherboard.

Unseul · 15 Aug 2020 at 17:50

Duplicate, didn't show it had posted first time.

Gray2233 · 15 Aug 2020 at 17:59

My basket at Overclockers UK:

1 x be quiet! Shadow Rock 3 High Performance CPU Cooler= £44.99
1 x Scythe SCMG-5100 Mugen 5 Rev.B CPU Cooler= £42.95

Total: £87.94 (includes shipping: £0.00)

Either of these would be overkill for what you're running and ample for a 3900X should you get one at some point.

Good acoustic levels and excellent cooling performance at their price points.

doyll · 15 Aug 2020 at 18:17

ARO M14 like Unseul said a quite good. I'll be trying one on mine probably next week.

doyll · 15 Aug 2020 at 18:18

ARO M14 like Unseul said a quite good. I'll be trying one on mine probably next week.

WolfyUK · 15 Aug 2020 at 19:59

doyll said:
You are not the first one to complain about stock cooler noise. What case and case fan setup do you have?

I've just received and setup my 3600K and am in the process of experimenting with some of the AMD mount coolers I have on hand. So far only ran D15I staying about 70-ish peaking at 83 at 100% CPU load, single NF-A14 fan running about 800rpm. Definitely one of the bigger coolers, but obviously quite low fan speed. This is open bench with 140mm fan flowing air over system as well. Want to keep this running for a couple days before I switch coolers to be sure everything is working as it should.

I'm running a CoolerMaster CM II (from memory) with three P12s in (front and bottom) and two P12s out (rear and top). Runs very cool and quiet.

This is my first foray into AMD CPUs for a very long time, so I didn't have anything but the stock cooler to hand. Knew it wasn't that popular but holy crap, it's loud. Really not used to the bursting behaviour either.

Gray2233 said:
My basket at Overclockers UK:

1 x be quiet! Shadow Rock 3 High Performance CPU Cooler= £44.99

1 x Scythe SCMG-5100 Mugen 5 Rev.B CPU Cooler= £42.95

Man, be quiet! really like their rocks! I'll have a look at those, thanks.

maj · 15 Aug 2020 at 20:15

I have a Cryorig H7 cooling my 3600. Just using the stock 120mm fan it came with at the moment.

doyll · 15 Aug 2020 at 20:54

I think Mugen 5 isl better cooling than Shadow Rock 3, but be quiet! wins looks department. be quiet! make good coolers.

Gray2233 · 15 Aug 2020 at 21:01

doyll said:
I think Mugen 5 isl better cooling than Shadow Rock 3, but be quiet! wins looks department. be quiet! make good coolers.

I don't think there's that much between them, I did see a review that put the Shadow Rock 3 ahead but testing methodology was iffy.

I'd just get whichever of the two you like the look of most, I really like the industrial style of the Mugen 5 myself.

Ross Thomson · 16 Aug 2020 at 11:01

WolfyUK said:
Thanks folks.

My wallet says Alpenfohn but my heart says 280 AOI.

We'll see who wins.

arctic freezer II AIO or a Freezer 34 CO air cooler (~£30)

Ross Thomson · 16 Aug 2020 at 11:01

double post

doyll · 16 Aug 2020 at 11:28

While Mugen 5 is only 2-3c cooler (3c at high overclock / heat) Mugen 5 is about 10dB quieter doing it.
Being 10dB quieter even if it was not 2-3c cooler makes it significantly better in my book.

That data is from Tweaktown review which is bench test, but uses room ambient, not actual air temp entering cooler at time CPU temp is taken.. Overclockersclub review in a case has Mugen 5 4c cooler, but temps are based on room ambient, so again same unknown air temp entering cooler meaning results could easily be off a couple degrees.

I would not spend more money for a CLC (both suggested are CLCs) that will be wearing out or dead in 4-5, maybe 6 years and be junk when air cooler will still be going strong maybe needing a new fan in 6-7 years. Even if you don't plan on using it more than a few years air coolers have much higher resale value than used CLCs.

gooseuk · 18 Aug 2020 at 17:02

Sorry to ask in anothers thread, but I also found the wraith cooler to be very loud. 3900x user here, been looking at the arctic freezer 34 duo what would people say to that?

mickyflinn · 18 Aug 2020 at 17:44

mickyflinn said:
Alphenon broken 2 is excellent value you will need an am4 backplate which can also be bought from overclockers for £3.

Its 165mm tall so make sure it will fit your case.

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/alpe...ion-dual-fan-cpu-cooler-140-mm-hs-05h-al.html

This is excellent value and very quiet,

ALPENFOHN AM4 MOUNTING KIT
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/alpenfohn-am4-mounting-kit-for-brocken-coolers-hs-057-al.html