[SOLVED] Choice of CPU air cooler

[Fox2k]

Hey there everyone,

So I recently built my first rig by myself and these are the specs of it:


Motherboard: Gigabyte X570 Aorus Elite

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 3700X 8-Core (3.6GHz-4.4GHz) 36MB AM4 (includes stock Wraith Prism stock CPU cooler)

GPU: MSI GeForce® RTX 2070 SUPER GAMING X TRIO 8G

PSU: BitFenix Whisper M 550W 80+ Gold

RAM: G.Skill Kit 16GB (2 X 8GB) DDR4 3600MHz Ripjaws V Red CL19

SSD: Western Digital Black SN750 NVMe 500GB SSD M.2 PCI Express 3.0

HDD: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200rpm 256MB SATA III

Case: be quiet! Pure Base 500 (with tinted side window)

So I have recently noticed that on 2 separate occasions that my cpu cooler fan stopped (from the Wraith Prism stock cooler). This is ofc very bad. After restarting the pc it seems to be working fine and the incidences have been around 3 weeks apart.

My questions here are:

1.) What is the cause of this sudden stopping?

2.) What cpu cooler would you recommend instead of the stock cooler? Temp wise during gaming the cpu goes to 75-80 and GPU around 60

I was thinking of Getting the be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4 but I am concerned about the clearance of the RAM

Alternatively I was thinking of getting the Dark Rock 4. Or is there another cooler that you would recommend?

The Dark Rock 4 seems to be quite good and I like the all black look. Yes it would be pitty to lose the RGB from the stock cooler but if the Dark Rock 4 cools a lot better then I am willing to make that sacrifice.

I appreciate any feedback to my questions.

 

[Koekieezz]

1. Check your fan curve settings.
2. It is pretty good, but you might want Noctua NH-D15 with Arctic MX4/NT-H1 thermal paste or Kingpin KPX. Otherwise an AIO liquid cooling is a better deal.

 

[Fox2k]

The problem with AIO is the price factor. Even with the dark rock 4, is it so much "worse" than an AIO? Of course comparing in the same price range as a DR Pro 4 or DR 4.

As a new builder I forgot to ask about which thermal paste that you would recommend. I have read that the Arctic MX4 is supposed to be quite good.

Which is the best way to clean the CPU (from previous thermal paste and in general before applying thermal paste)?

 

[Deleted member 2720853]

The problem with AIO is the price factor. Even with the dark rock 4, is it so much "worse" than an AIO? Of course comparing in the same price range as a DR Pro 4 or DR 4.

As a new builder I forgot to ask about which thermal paste that you would recommend. I have read that the Arctic MX4 is supposed to be quite good.

Which is the best way to clean the CPU (from previous thermal paste and in general before applying thermal paste)?

Use isopropyl alcohol or Noctua thermal compound wipes. The Arctic MX-4 is a very good thermal paste.

 

[Koekieezz]

The problem with AIO is the price factor. Even with the dark rock 4, is it so much "worse" than an AIO? Of course comparing in the same price range as a DR Pro 4 or DR 4.

As a new builder I forgot to ask about which thermal paste that you would recommend. I have read that the Arctic MX4 is supposed to be quite good.

Which is the best way to clean the CPU (from previous thermal paste and in general before applying thermal paste)?

Arctic MX4 is good, i could only reach 71 degrees in 32 ambient temp (yes its hot today in mi country) on GT 730 1GB GDDR5 Overclocked (+225mV +275 Core +385 Mem). Noctua NT-H2 is pretty good to, i never seen kingpin kpx technical specs but many review prove that the thermal paste is good. I agree with you with liquid cooling can sometimes much worst in performance since my friends AIO (idk which ID Cooling AIO he have) perform not much better than my Gammaxx 300.

 

[Fox2k]

Ok so I will stick with the Arctic MX4 paste.

1.) Any advice you can give a novice builder in terms of cleaning cpu prior to applying new thermal paste?

2.) Regarding the choice of aircooler: The Deep Rock Pro 4 is massive (which is not an issue per se) but I do believe that it blocks some RAM slots. Now I am only using two at the moment but if someday in the future I want to use all 4 then I would have to get a new cooler as well as it wouldn't fit all 4 with the DR Pro 4 installed right? Alternative I could get low profile RAM but aren't those more expensive? (do they have any drawbacks compared to "normal" height RAM?

I just checked and a Notcua NH-D15 Chrome black would cost me almost 100 euros compared to the Deep Rock Pro 4 around 86 euros. So there is a clear winner there given they perform very similarly no?

TL;DR

2.1) Will I have RAM height clearance issues with the Deep Rock Pro 4 in my PC?

2.2) And if I get the Deep Rock 4, is it A LOT worse performance wise than the Deep Rock Pro 4 where one should rather pay more to get the DR Pro 4 instead?

 

[Jayant Arora]

Air coolers only perform well if your ambient room temp is lower or at best 25-30'C. I have exact same configuration that u have, and where i live summer's temps go 40 - 45'C and room temps go 35-37 easily, I'd say if u can find arctic liquid freezer II 280 or 360 in stock[100 - 120 $], buy that without a thought, if not then Deepcool AIOs [Castle 360EX / RGB v2] are also cheaper now [120-140$] buy that. If not then as per your ram clearance go with Noctua NH U12A you won't go wrong with any choice.

 

[Karadjgne]

I prefer liquid cooling, but that's my preference. Given the choice of the above aios, the deepcool/Arctic, I'd go for the Noctua NH-U12A. For all intents and purposes, it's a pint-sized NH-D15 with equitable performance just not the extreme capacity.

No. The biggest difference is capacity, not performance. The DR4 performs almost the same, if not the same, as the DRP4 but the DR4 is a 200w cooler, the DRP4 is a 250w cooler.

With a 3700x, you are looking at @ 90w output at best, so well within range of either cooler. It's only when getting close to 200w output that the difference in capacity is really seen, the smaller cooler will run hotter since it's saturated, the bigger cooler still having plenty of space.

 

[Fox2k]

I prefer liquid cooling, but that's my preference. Given the choice of the above aios, the deepcool/Arctic, I'd go for the Noctua NH-U12A. For all intents and purposes, it's a pint-sized NH-D15 with equitable performance just not the extreme capacity.

No. The biggest difference is capacity, not performance. The DR4 performs almost the same, if not the same, as the DRP4 but the DR4 is a 200w cooler, the DRP4 is a 250w cooler.

With a 3700x, you are looking at @ 90w output at best, so well within range of either cooler. It's only when getting close to 200w output that the difference in capacity is really seen, the smaller cooler will run hotter since it's saturated, the bigger cooler still having plenty of space.

Thanks for both of your replies. So even if I were to OC the 3700x, how high could the W maximally go?

When you talk about capacity you mean the maximal capacity to cool the CPU correct? The higher the capacity, the higher W the cooler can take and still cool the CPU right?



Since I'm hoping to not having to spend money "just for the sake of getting something top of the range and way over what I'd ever need even with OC" which air cooler would you recommend?

Deep Rock 4

Deep Rock Pro 4

Noctua NH-U12A (my biggest issue there besides the price is the colour of it)

Arctic Freezer 34 eSports

I know that the last option is A LOT cheaper than the rest but I read good things about it. Would you recommend it, given my build?

 

[Fox2k]

Air coolers only perform well if your ambient room temp is lower or at best 25-30'C. I have exact same configuration that u have, and where i live summer's temps go 40 - 45'C and room temps go 35-37 easily, I'd say if u can find arctic liquid freezer II 280 or 360 in stock[100 - 120 $], buy that without a thought, if not then Deepcool AIOs [Castle 360EX / RGB v2] are also cheaper now [120-140$] buy that. If not then as per your ram clearance go with Noctua NH U12A you won't go wrong with any choice.

Yeah, here the ambient temperatures inside are around 25-30 and that is without air condition. With air conditioning that could be lowered. So air coolers should suffice no?

Also, I've heard that AIO do have some issues due to the systems being closed that they start having air in them and that you can't add water to it (or something along those lines). Is that true? I was also recommend by someone else to rather stay away from AIOs. Not sure if it was because of be being a novice builder or because of their bad experience with AIOs. :/

 

[Jayant Arora]

Yeah, here the ambient temperatures inside are around 25-30 and that is without air condition. With air conditioning that could be lowered. So air coolers should suffice no?

Also, I've heard that AIO do have some issues due to the systems being closed that they start having air in them and that you can't add water to it (or something along those lines). Is that true? I was also recommend by someone else to rather stay away from AIOs. Not sure if it was because of be being a novice builder or because of their bad experience with AIOs. :/

AIO's Being good or bad is subjective, AIO's are fine in terms of reliability, Most AIO's can be serviced / refilled or cleaned, The one's i mentioned like deepcool is serviceable by user/customer. One thing is certain that they offer less value compared to air coolers. In ur case i'd say if you prefer value more than looks and your pc case and mobo can fit air coolers that suits your needs such as Noctua NH U12A, you can go with it, you are not loosing anything by not choosing an AIO.
I tried hard to make a custom loop this year but things went south so i'm bound to buy AIO for this summer.

 

[Fox2k]

Ok thanks Jayant Arora.

The thing about the NH U12A is the colour that doesn't go with my rig and the price is quite high.

I'm currently stuck between getting the Deep Rock Pro 4 / Deep Rock 4 and the Arctic Liquid Freezer II 280.

Would you also say that the Liquid Freezer II 280 is also less value for money compared to air coolers @Jayant Arora ?

 

[chun2maru]

Ok thanks Jayant Arora.

The thing about the NH U12A is the colour that doesn't go with my rig and the price is quite high.

I'm currently stuck between getting the Deep Rock Pro 4 / Deep Rock 4 and the Arctic Liquid Freezer II 280.

Would you also say that the Liquid Freezer II 280 is also less value for money compared to air coolers @Jayant Arora ?

right now im using Nh u 12S(additional 1 more Noctua 3000 rpm fan)
full load 63-65c
with my air conditioner on 61-62c
if u mind colour u can get nh u-12s chromax which is full black colour

 

[Fox2k]

thanks chun2maru for your reply. However, I am trying to go for a quiet yet decent performing build, a 3000rpm fan would be counterproductive to that but the temperatures are nice.

plus, I have a bad case (be quiet! Pure Base 500 with a tinted window) which is known for bad airflow. I am in the process of getting two Artic P14 PWM PST case fans for the front of the case. Then I would put the two Pure Wings 2 that came with the case as exhaust fans, one on the rear and one on top.

 

[Jayant Arora]

Ok thanks Jayant Arora.

The thing about the NH U12A is the colour that doesn't go with my rig and the price is quite high.

I'm currently stuck between getting the Deep Rock Pro 4 / Deep Rock 4 and the Arctic Liquid Freezer II 280.

Would you also say that the Liquid Freezer II 280 is also less value for money compared to air coolers @Jayant Arora ?

As i have said before if you can get you hands on Arctic Liquid Freezer II 280 / 360[in stock] that is your best bet in terms of value and compatibility. There's no competition. It's price is b/w $90 -$100 for a 280 version. More about it you can find here

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPaSEGe6ML0

 

[Fox2k]

So I've currently had to put my plan on hold to get that AIO CPU cooler from Arctic but it is definetly going onto my "next to upgrade" list . Thanks for all the advice!