Best air cooler to replace an aging liquid cooling?

[Alex_Wolf]

Hi there I have an old antec cooler that I have been using since October 2013 and I am thinking that perhaps its reaching the end of its life given the fact that the cpu temperature seems to be reaching 60-65 degrees all the time now even while playing the most simple games ie hearthstone for example.

Here's my machine's specs:

AMD FX- 8350 (not overclocked)
16 GB of ram (pretty sure their just 1333)
1 TB HD
1 240 gb SSD
Motherboard is an Asus M5A97 LE Series
Graphics card is EVGA GeForce GTX 970 04G-P4-3975-KR 4GB SSC.
Fans I have is the default raidmax fan in the front and on the top I have two Cooler Master Sleeve Bearing 120mm Blue LED Silent Fan's.
the case is a raidmax vampire case.
PSU is an Evga supernova 650 GS 80 plus gold certified fully mod with eco mode (which is a mode I never use)

Based on what I see inside the case there really isnt' a lot of space between where the cooler and gpu are located. I think theres only an inch separating the gpu and the two tubes from the cooler itself.

So my question is well what do you all recommend I replace it with? money is not really a problem only thing is I live in Canada. Of course the only thing I will have to take care will be the fun task of removing the super old thermal paste and applying some new stuff anyone recommend any and what product should I use to remove thermal paste?

 

[weberdarren97]

I recommend replacing it with a Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo. It's rated a good bit higher than your CPU's heat output, so you should be fine, even if it is getting some warm air from your GPU.

 

[CV_Taihou]

Go for the Cryorig H7 over the 212 Evo. Better cooler in pretty much every way

 

[lakimens]

Noctua NH-D15 is the best air cooler if you have the money, you could also get the previous version NH-D14.It's almost the same.
Thermal paste, I recommend IC DIAMOND or Arctic Silver 5.

 

[CV_Taihou]

Just noticed you said you lived in Canada. That rules out the Cryorig sadly. I'm picking up probably 5-6 various coolers from them when I take my yearly trip to the US this year. If you can fit the cooler in the case and around the GPU I would second Noctua as they are very good air coolers. I've heard good things about the Dark Rock 3 as well

 

[SeriouslyStache]

I would probably go along the lines of this, it's simple, quick to install, and it should do a fine job of cooling your CPU.

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835181010&cm_re=Water_cooler-_-35-181-010-_-Product

 

[JackNaylorPE]

Given your description I assume you have one of the Antec Kuhlers / is it a 620 ? 920 ?
http://archive.benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=694&Itemid=62&limit=1&limitstart=4
http://archive.benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=721&Itemid=62&limit=1&limitstart=5

While the Antec design is better than Corsairs at the time, both were made by Asetek and I have nothing good to say about anything they make (cheap aluminum rads, mixed metals in the loop, high speed noisy fans and weak pumps). Still both will perform worlds better than the stock cooler or Hyper 212.

Before ya buy anything new....

a) have you used an air compressor to blow dust out of the radiator ?
b) have you used an air compressor to blow dust out of case inlet filters and case fans ?
c) have you used an air compressor to blow all the dust inside the case ?

If that's been done, and the mount feels secure you have two options:

a) remount what you have
b) replace the cooler

If remounting, i would recommend Shin Etsu; it comes in first place here and doesn't have the capacitance or curing issues noted on AS5's own website

http://archive.benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=150&Itemid=62&limit=1&limitstart=12

http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/masscool-thermal-paste-g751

In US, it costs $4 delivered ... unfortunately, you have to pay the 'north of the border' tax

Gelid extreme is a fine alternative

http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/gelid-solutions-thermal-paste-gcextreme

As for replacing the cooler, you might want to try adding a much better cooler ... a real water cooling solution (not a CLC) like the all copper Swiftech H240-X2 and one that could eventually cool your GPU down the line. Unfortunately, your case may prevents this option. A Swiftech H220-X2 should fit as your case will fit 2 x 120mm fans on top. However, again, Canadian prices are a bit crazy.

http://www.ncix.com/detail/swiftech-h220-x2-aio-liquid-f7-123671.htm

There is no CLC type water cooler, even w/ a 2 x 120mm radiator that can approach any of the better air coolers.

http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/noctua-cpu-cooler-nhd15

Here the Noctua NH-D15 air cooler beats the 2 x 120mm Corsair H100i CLC by 2C while the H00i is 12 times louder

 

[SeriouslyStache]

Pardon, I read best water cooler. I would go with the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo like weberdarren97 suggested!

 

[Alex_Wolf]

Go for the Cryorig H7 over the 212 Evo. Better cooler in pretty much every way

that cooler isn't for sale up here in Canada.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

Pardon, I read best water cooler. I would go with the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo like weberdarren97 suggested!

While the Hyper 212 might be considered the "best cooler for the money", it is certainly not the "best cooler". The Noctua DH-14, ThemalrighT Silver Arrow, Phanteks PH-TC14-PE top it by 7-13C margin. The newer NHD15 and Cryorig R1 in turn top those by 1-2C

http://www.vortez.net/articles_pages/cooler_master_hyper_212_evo_cpu_cooler_review,12.html

Hyper 212 Evo - 64.50
Corsair H50 - 63.25
Antec Kuhler - 62.75
Thermalright Silver Arrow - 58.00
Antec Kuhler 920 - 55.50
Noctua NH-D14 - 52.25
Phanteks PH-TC14-PE - 51

 

[Alex_Wolf]

Pardon, I read best water cooler. I would go with the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo like weberdarren97 suggested!

While the Hyper 212 might be considered the "best cooler for the money", it is certainly not the "best cooler". The Noctua DH-14, ThemalrighT Silver Arrow, Phanteks PH-TC14-PE top it by 7-10C. The newer NHD15 and Cryorig R1 in turn top those by 1-2C

can any of those fit my particular case?

 

[lakimens]

The Noctua NH-D15 or NH-D14 will fit your case, they are 165MM tall.
If you want water by any chance there's Corsair Hydro H55 Quiet Edition.

 

[Alex_Wolf]

The Noctua NH-D15 or NH-D14 will fit your case, they are 165MM tall.

alright and besides that the only other question is well thermal paste and I need to get me some better cans of compressed air any recommendations or perhaps I should invest in a Data-Vac ED500 Electric Computer Duster Computer instead I mean yea its $100 but it should do the job vs compressed air. Any recommendations?

 

[JackNaylorPE]

Did you measure the clearance ? Raidmax is known for being kinda cheap on specs.

Of those in previous post, I prefer the Phanteks as:

a) It beats all of those thermally.
b) It has the best fans (outperforms the Nocs by 3C while spinning 300 rpm slower on Noc's own cooler)
c) You can color match it you your case / build color scheme

Phanteks PH-TC14-PE - Heatsink Dimensions with Dual Fans = 159 x 140 x 171mm (LxWxH)
Noctua NH-D14 - Height (with fan) = 160 mm / Width (with fan) = 140 mm / Depth (with fan) = 158 mm

 

[CV_Taihou]

Go for the Cryorig H7 over the 212 Evo. Better cooler in pretty much every way

that cooler isn't for sale up here in Canada.

Which is why I posted a second time suggesting the Noctua options

 

[JackNaylorPE]

alright and besides that the only other question is well thermal paste and I need to get me some better cans of compressed air any recommendations or perhaps I should invest in a Data-Vac ED500 Electric Computer Duster Computer instead I mean yea its $100 but it should do the job vs compressed air. Any recommendations?

1. TIM (From above post)

If remounting, i would recommend Shin Etsu; it comes in first place here and doesn't have the capacitance or curing issues noted on AS5's own website

http://archive.benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=150&Itemid=62&limit=1&limitstart=12

http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/masscool-thermal-paste-g751

In US, it costs $4 delivered ... unfortunately, you have to pay the 'north of the border' tax

Gelid extreme is a fine alternative

2. I have one of those vacuums... gets some dust outta keyboards, still have to go back w/ air compressor or shop vac to get the cookie crumbs out. Of no real value on CPU heat sinks .. even the air cans come up short but they do better than the vacuum. The air compressor, if ya have one available, does the job better than anything we have used over the last 25 years.

3. The above dimensions for the D14 are incorrect ... the D14 is shorter

Listed in order of best performance

http://noctua.at/en/products/cpu-cooler-retail/nh-d15/specification
The NH-D15 ($110) is:

Height (with fan) = 165 mm / Width (with fan) = 150 mm / Depth (with fan) = 161 mm

http://phanteks.com/PH-TC14PE.html
The Phanteks PH-TC14PE ($100) is

159 x 140 x 171mm (LxWxH)

http://noctua.at/en/products/cpu-cooler-retail/nh-d14
Per above post the Noctua NH-D14 ($90) is:

Height (with fan) = 160 mm / Width (with fan) = 140 mm / Depth (with fan) = 158 mm

Again, I can find no published specs on the vampire cooler limitations but it should fit has it is a wide case w/ 9.75" width. Of course if yu have the case, it's easy enough to confirm yaself before ordering. I don't think you will have any issue fitting any of them in there height wise, tho the D15 may give ya a problem depth wise.

 

[ABlueQuaker]

Noctua NH-D15 is the best air cooler if you have the money, you could also get the previous version NH-D14.It's almost the same.
Thermal paste, I recommend IC DIAMOND or Arctic Silver 5.

I can vouch for this. I have a NH-D15 and it's the best Air Cooler I've ever had. Look into some sort of Air Duster too (I recommend the Metro Electric Air Duster ED500) because if you have a rig like mine that's all about having good Air Flow through the case, it also unfortunately means dust will build-up over time.