Air cooling an i5

[Sargent_Horse]

Hello, I am currently looking into a CPU air cooler. I currently have an i5-4460 and 8gb of standard Kingston RAM on a Gigabyte Z97X Gaming 5 in a Storm Stryker. I am going to be upgrading to an i7-4790k soon and would like to have a good air cooler. I am also getting G.Skill Ripjaws or Ares (haven't decided) so that is a height factor. I was thinking about getting a DH-14 or -15. Recommendations on RAM and coolers?

 

[BadActor]

Cryorig H7 is a great air cooler and designed for RAM and case clearance:

https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/CRYORIG/H7_Universal/9.html

 

[Sargent_Horse]

I am also looking to replace the stock case fans if it will improve air flow significantly.

 

[synphul]

If going with the nh-d14 I'd probably lean toward the gskill ares since they're lower profile. The ripjaws may fit but you might have to slide the fan up a bit higher. The h7 is a solid option as well if you're not looking to overclock the 4790k in the future. Of course the nh-d14 outperforms it, it's twice the cooler and a fair bit more money with twice the fans. I haven't found any compelling reason to have 'tall' ram, the sticks are the same height it's just the thin heatspreaders on them that make for clearance issues.

Maybe it matters for cooling ram during extreme memory overclocking but then again it would take special hardware to monitor memory temps. Most software monitoring programs have no listing for 'ram temperature' and most motherboards don't have a ram temp sensor. Looks won't matter much with a larger air cooler like the nh-d14, cryorig r1, dark rock pro 3 etc since you won't see the ram anyway.

On the case fans, I would try the stock fans and see what your temps are like. Take into account your ambient room temps, if your component temps seem high and your room is 22c then you may want to upgrade the fans. If your ambient room temps are more like 30-32c, that could account for higher component temps rather than meaning the fans are junk. Testing the stock fans is free and they may work well rather than investing in decent case fans that may not have been needed. Replacing 2-3 case fans with decent quality fans you're looking at around $40-60.

 

[Sargent_Horse]

My current temps aren't bad, I would share my idle, but I am on my phone, my CPU just tends to run at 55C or so at load, which is completely acceptable, but I like to have it cooler the better. I have no problem saving money on case fans, they are OK fans. I just wouldn't mind having a nice, big CPU cooler. The only concern I have with the DH series is the weight, I can't wrap my head around around the MOBO supporting that weight. I would go closed loop liquid but then I lose cooling for the area around my CPU, my 200mm fan on top, and I think my 140mm exhaust (not sure on that one) I can handle 2x280mm liquid coolers in my case, but I have no problems with fans, cheaper anyway. I think I will take your advice on RAM though and also keep my stock fans. What CPU cooler should I go with, as I will overclock in the future, and can you recommend 2x120mm fans for the bottom of my case? These Noctua fans are looking mighty pretty, especially the industrial ones.

 

[synphul]

Large coolers aren't that bad. I've been using large air coolers for quite some time without issues. You may need to be a little more careful when moving a pc tower say onto a desk or something but I wouldn't recommend slamming it around anyway. It's still electronic. An h7 or nh-d14 are overkill for the 4460 and I would say are strictly only suggested as a buy for the 4790k. Not that it will hurt the 4460 but way overkill.

Your current temps at 55c under load are pretty good. Don't be disappointed if a larger cooler doesn't drop your cpu down to say 40c, it doesn't work that way. Larger coolers produce similar results to smaller coolers under lighter loads like that of a cooler running locked 4460. The noticeable cooling difference comes from the ability to dissipate larger amounts of heat found with overclocking.

As an example (not specific numbers), say you're at 55c right now under load. You put an h7 on it, it might be 53c under load. You put an nh-d14 on it and it still may be 52-53c. Switch to the i7, the h7 cooler might keep it at 65c under load. The nh-d14 may keep it at 62c. Now overclock it to around 4.7 or 4.8ghz and when the h7 may have temps around 75c the nh-d14 may still be keeping the overclocked i7 at 64-65c. That's where your bigger cooler's abilities will really show up.

In regards to the weight, my cooler weighs almost exactly the same within 50g, over 2.6lbs. There are a lot of people, thousands, who use the nh-d14 specifically without issue. The only real issue from the weight is during transport such as moving. It would be advisable to remove the cooler and the gpu also to keep them from bouncing around and flexing the motherboard or pcie slot during travel. Otherwise it just sits there on/under a desk, stationary. The backplate helps spread the weight/pressure out over a larger area of the motherboard.

The industrial noctua fans might be good for radiators, just make sure to use a fan controller of some sort. They're higher rpm and push more air but it also makes them louder. Most standard noctua 140mm fans run in the 20-25 decibel range for noise, the industrials run in the 31-41 decibel range.