Advice on my choice of cooler.

[USColo]

This is my build:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.99 @ Micro Center)
CPU Cooler: be quiet! Dark Rock 3 113.8 CFM Fluid Dynamic Bearing CPU Cooler ($64.90 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97 EXTREME4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($134.99 @ Micro Center)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory (Purchased For $70.99)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($104.98 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($44.99 @ Best Buy)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 4GB WINDFORCE Video Card ($354.99 @ Amazon)
Case: NZXT Phantom 530 (Black) ATX Full Tower Case ($94.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($131.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($14.98 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($97.75 @ OutletPC)
Other: Acer G257HU ($279.99)
Total: $1595.52
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-18 23:12 EST-0500

Will that cooler be enough to keep my system cool?

 

[Darkbreeze]

Are you planning to overclock? For that price I'd highly recommend the Noctua NH-U14S which actually outperforms the NH-D14 and NH-D15 AND the Dark Rock 3, and is right around the same price.

It's also single fan and in comparisons with other coolers, the U14S is running at a much lower RPM and is a lot quieter. I can barely hear mine with a full 1 Ghz overclock past the stock speed even running Prime95. Both it's single fan and dual fan performance is better than the dual fan NH-D15 performance and whips all but a few liquid coolers.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U14S 55.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($69.30 @ Mwave)
Total: $69.30
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-18 23:25 EST-0500



Comparison:

http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/noctua_nh_d15_review,11.html

 

[Jaydee Ramos]

I think Dark Rock 3 is perfect for your build, noctua coolers are quiter but I bet you don't want a brown cooler on your build.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Who gives a rat's ass about the color. If you don't like the color, you can use one of the Noctua redux fans that's black and grey. The NF-A15 PWM fan that comes on the NH-D15 and NH-U14S beats any other fan on the market, hands down.

 

[USColo]

Would an h100i be overkill?

 

[Darkbreeze]

That depends on your purpose. If you just don't want a tower cooler for aesthetic reasons, it would make sense. If you plan an extreme overclock, it would make sense. If you just like the idea of liquid, it would make sense, kind of. The fact is, liquid coolers are noisier than air coolers, because you have two fans that are going to tend to run faster than the two case fans they're replacing, and there's also pump noise.

IF you don't give a hoot about noise levels, that's cool, but keep in mind there will be pump related noise and the radiator fans are always going to spin at higher RPM's than the comparative case fans that likely would have been installed in the location the radiator is now occupying. Plus, they have to push or pull air through an additional obstruction which is the fins on the radiator, which will also increase noise levels. Air movement doesn't generally make much noise until it comes in contact with something and the noise is generated by friction with that object and disruptions in the smooth flow of air.

If you don't plan on overclocking, or overclocking past 4Ghz anyhow, I'd go with air. Actually, by the time you factor in the additional cost of the liquid cooler, you might just be better off going with an i7 4790k with a stock 4Ghz speed and using a budget cooler like the Cryorig H7. You'd get better performance than you would by overclocking the i5 and the H7 is fairly small but has outstanding performance for a 35.00 cooler.

If however, you really want liquid cooling, that cooler would be fine. I don't like them, but that doesn't mean they don't have a place in some builds.

 

[USColo]

How much does the cpu speed really affect gaming performance? (I'll be gaming on a 1440p monitor if it matters)

 

[Darkbreeze]

Stock and overclocked benchmarks. The difference isn't all that much really and in some cases is actually, almost unbelievably, lower:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/8227/devils-canyon-review-intel-core-i7-4790k-and-i5-4690k/5