[SOLVED] Any cooler for 10700k that is not huge?

Mar 9, 2021
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Hello guys I have an Arctic Freezer 34 eSports DUO on my 10700k atm but I don't like it for several reasons.

While the temps are pretty good (idle between 35~40c), and even when gaming or doing anything else I have never seen it over 70C.
Some time the noise can be pretty annoying, it is not loud, but it does have a statis noice, maybe it is due to the dual coolers, not sure....

However, my biggest issue is that once the motherboard is already in the case, it is a pain in the ass to re-install this cooler, and it also looks somewhat ugly.

For my i5 4690k I had an Alpenföhn Ben Nevis cooler, that I really loved, it wasn't THAT huge, and it was very easy to remove / reinstall, etc.
It was very quiet, and temps were pretty good too.
https://www.alpenfoehn.de/produkte/cpu-kuehler/ben-nevis-rev-b

Is there any cooler that would fit my requirements and would work well with a 10700k? I am not interested in overclocking btw.
What would be important is that it is not TOO big, it is easy to install, and if possible it should be quiet.
 
Solution
For good cooling, you need sufficient radiator size as well as a fan to push cooling air through the radiator.
Even liquid cooling is really air cooling.
The difference is where the heat exchange takes place.
Up to a point, a small radiator can compensate by pushing more air through the fins.
But, that requires the fans to run at higher rpm and that makes noise.
Bigger radiators exchange heat better.
And larger 140mm fans move more air quietly than the 120mm fans on your current cooler.
If you want quieter, more effective cooling, you will want a larger cooler than your AF34 with 120mm fans.
1200 rpm fans are very quiet.
900rpm fans are inaudible inside of a case.
Some fans are more efficient than others, but by and large, the airflow...

Karadjgne

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The 4690k was an 88w cpu that when pushed with OC could reach 120-140w. So a smaller cooler like the Ben Nevis was an easy fit.

The 10700k is a supposed 95w cpu, but that only applies to the cpu if it's allowed to drop to 95w by the motherboard, or it can hit 200w and stay there.

You aren't putting a small, budget 140w cooler on that cpu and expecting load temps anything close to 70°C.

The 10700k is one of those cpus that requires 'go big or go home' type of thinking. No ifs, ands or butts.

The esports duo is a 200w rated cooler. Borderline for stress test limits and under 100°C load temps.

For all intents and purposes, the 10700k is a tweaked 9900k, if that puts it into perspective. I'd be looking at big air such as the beQuiet Darkrock Pro4 or TF, Noctua NH-D15/S, 14C, or a 240mm/280mm AIO.
 
Mar 9, 2021
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You're already content with the cooling performance of the cooler in question, just annoyed by the noise from the fans? They use just the normal wire clips to mount like many others. Swapping to more silent fans would be the easiest way forward imo.
Not really the noise.
As I described the problem is that it is very huge, and a pain <mod edit language> to install / re-install whenever necessary. I don't like it.

Also it looks bad too.
 
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logainofhades

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Not really the noise.
As I described the problem is that it is very huge, and a pain <mod edit language> to install / re-install whenever necessary. I don't like it.

Also it looks bad too.

How often are you really installing and reinstalling your cooler? You shouldn't be doing it very often, if ever, unless upgrading the CPU. Your only option, to maintain the level of cooling you want/need, reduce noise, and ease of installing/re-installing unnecessarily, is to get an AIO.
 
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Karadjgne

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Good thermal paste lasts @ 8 years. Basically meaning that once installed you should never need to uninstall an aircooler. Ever. There's no reason to. Cleaning is simple enough done regularly with a can of air and a vacuum. Just pop the spring clips and blow her out. Simple. Clean the fan, replace it.

Done right, the cooler mount will last longer than you have a use for the pc.

If you don't like it's looks, that's one thing. But making excuses that it's difficult to install/uninstall is absurd. That particular cooler is a cake walk to install vs the first 10 years of the CM Hyper212.

Swapping to a 5600x is biting the hand that feeds you, just to spite your fingers. $400 worth of mobo and cpu swapped out just to make cooling simpler to install with a smaller cooler. It's a side grade where the biggest difference is the name on the cpu.

If you are unhappy with the cooler, return it and replace it with something you think looks better. Just be aware that the mount might also be somewhat harder too. Or easier. You won't know until you try it. Just don't cheap out, temps are directly proportional to ability, minimalist looks often get maximum temps.
 
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Mar 9, 2021
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...
What would be important is that it is not TOO big, it is easy to install, and if possible it should be quiet.
Noctua NH-U9S cooler is amazingly effective and especially so when you add in a second NF-A9 fan. It's as effective as many top-tier coolers with 120mm fans and just as quiet, quieter than most actually, even with both 92mm fans at 100%. You can also get it in stylish chromax.black option so you don't have to put up with ugly brown and bare metal.

It was very easy to install on my 1700 CPU as it uses the AM4 backplate, an Intel install might require backside access to replace the backplate. But access all around the cooler is good, especially for removing/installing memory DIMM's. I needed it for my mATX board in a smaller mATX case that didn't have adequate clearance to the cover for larger120mm coolers.
 
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Karadjgne

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Intel has changed what TDP means realistically.
TDP is the amount of power used by a cpu at base speeds, no boost, no hyperthreading. It's how they get under EU restrictions on cpu wattage usage.

Realistically, you have to look at PL1, PL2 and Tau. PL2 is the boost, PL1 is running after boost and Tau is time of boost.

Intel guidelines state for that cpu you will boost max for 56 seconds, then drop to PL1. Tau is 56 seconds. PL1 basically = TDP. Motherboard vendors are free to ignore Intel guidelines in bios and basically do exactly that. The MSI Godlike has a PL2 of 1000A, Tau of 99999 seconds. So it'll Max boost all cores indefinitely, never dropping to PL1.

You Will see the cpu hitting the 250w range and staying there.

Ryzen are different. PBO sets hard limits on socket power usage at AMD guidelines, it takes manual OC to change those, but with the way Ryzen responds to boost with temps, voltage and loads, PBO for the higher ranked cpus is almost useless, you'll get roughly the same performance when you need it.
 
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Your case supports an air cooler up to 172mm tall.
It also has a motherboard access opening to the back which allows you to install/uninstall a cooler without needing to remove the motherboard.

The noctua coolers have particularly good fans and are about the easiest to install.
Noctua has charts as to their suitability for the 10700K:
https://ncc.noctua.at/cpus/model/Intel-Core-i7-10700K-416
I might suggest the noctua NH-D15s chromax black:
https://ncc.noctua.at/cpus/model/Intel-Core-i7-10700K-416
Yes, it is a large cooler, but you need a large radiator for best cooling combined with quiet operation.
The 140mm fan moves lots of air at a reasonable speed.
The cooler comes with low noise adapters which will make the cooler all but inaudible.
 

Karadjgne

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Low noise adapters (LNA or ULNA) are a voltage fed adapter that cuts your pwm voltage from full 12v to @ 9v. Not exactly healthy for a pwm fan, not warranted or needed. Fan curves are a far better solution. The LNA doesn't affect anything but maximum range, you'd be limited to 900rpm instead of 1200rpm etc which can drastically affect necessary performance when required. NOT a good idea on a cooler that's already looking at maxing out its wattage.
 
Mar 9, 2021
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That TDP is very misleading....

I bought an 550W Corsair PSU because all calculators and everything showed 10700k with 125 TDP. 250W is a LOT more.

I have a 2060 Super and 2 HDDs too, will the 550W corsair psu be enough?? So far it works, however now I am not sure.
 
Mar 9, 2021
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No I don't overclock.
However 2060 Super should not use more than 175W.
Without OC even 10700k with stress-test uses 223W as far as I see, so including everything this shouldn't be too much over 400W?
 
For good cooling, you need sufficient radiator size as well as a fan to push cooling air through the radiator.
Even liquid cooling is really air cooling.
The difference is where the heat exchange takes place.
Up to a point, a small radiator can compensate by pushing more air through the fins.
But, that requires the fans to run at higher rpm and that makes noise.
Bigger radiators exchange heat better.
And larger 140mm fans move more air quietly than the 120mm fans on your current cooler.
If you want quieter, more effective cooling, you will want a larger cooler than your AF34 with 120mm fans.
1200 rpm fans are very quiet.
900rpm fans are inaudible inside of a case.
Some fans are more efficient than others, but by and large, the airflow of a given size fan is directly related to the rpm that it is spinning at.
Modern motherboards allow you to control fan speeds according to cpu temperatures.
That is a good thing. Alternatively, if you have sufficient cooling, a constant speed may be less noticeable.
I might add that a good case helps if it has sufficient front intake capability to supply the cooler with fresh air.
Your case is OK for that.
What to do???
a) Nothing. Functionally, you are OK. It costs you nothing.
b) Replace with a larger cooler like DRP4 or noctua NH-D15s.
You will get better cooling and lower cpu temperatures. It will cost you some $90.
Ease of installation is trivial in your case.

On the power supply.
Corsair is a decent maker of power supplies.
The quality varies from outstanding to very poor, depending on the model you have.
Here is one list of quality rankings:

550w is likely ok, the need is mainly determined by the graphics card.
Here is a handy chart:
http://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page362.htm
I find the chart more useful than calculators.
calculators are deadly accurate IF you give them accurate inputs, some of which you may not know.
For example, what capacitor ageing factor did you use?
What will your future upgrades require?

The quality of the psu counts more than you might think.
A good unit will deliver wattage at 50c. which is what might be found in a case.
A cheap unit delivers at room temperature.
A quality unit will often deliver more than advertised power.
A cheap unit will deliver wattage at 3 and 5v, not at 12v where your cpu and graphics card needs them.
Modern graphics cards can need quick voltage spikes.
A quality psu can deliver.

I have no problem overprovisioning a PSU a bit. Say 20%.
It will allow for a stronger future graphics card upgrade.
It will run cooler, quieter, and more efficiently in the middle third of it's range.
A PSU will only use the wattage demanded of it, regardless of it's max capability.

Consider a high quality psu as a long term investment.
They do not go obsolete quickly.
Look for a unit with a 7 or 10 year warranty.
 
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Karadjgne

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The highest efficiency of a psu is generally found in the 50-70% range of its rated output. Higher efficiency means less wasted heat, so the better thermal results, fan noise etc are also found in that range. Graphics cards can and do have spikes in power use, so having a psu with power draws of @ 50-70% gives plenty of headroom to accommodate those spikes.

Gaming loads are generally no more than 70%ish of the max of the components. Your pc maximums are in the 475w area, so 70% of that is @ 330w. A 330w draw on a 550w psu is right around 60% load. That makes the psu about perfect size for your pc. Just don't be tempted to lock all the cores at maximum turbo or any other OC attempts as that takes considerably more power on a lower load %.

A 600w psu would be better, but the chances of finding a good quality atx psu at 600w are slim, so by necessity you'd be looking at either a 550w or 650w psu.

A Corsair psu doesn't say much. The exact model says everything. There's a very considerable difference between a Corsair CV or CXM and a Corsair RMx or HX in terms of quality and protections.
 
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