CM V8 vs Zalman 9900 vs Noctua NH U12P

[the new guy]

Hey Guys,

Am looking for a decent cooler for a recent build and have stumbled upon these three for LGA 1156 (Core i7 860). Your probably first going to tell me to get a TRue 120 or a prolimatech Megahalem, only we're I'm from, we don't have those sorta thing. I would be using it to overclock probably up to ~3.8GHZ and want a decent cooling solution that will give me good temps. I'm generally told that the Zalman is rubbish and is a waste of money as it won't cool as well as the others. However, it's currently in stock and I don't have to wait a couple of weeks for it. The Noctua is in a similar price range to the Zalman and it supposedly is much quieter and gives you better temps; the confusing thing is though, that the 9900 beat the Noctua at Frostytech...? Finally the V8... I'm leaning towards this one, even though I need to get the retention bracket separately because It's just so good. It's underrated here only it supposedly beats the Thermalright Tue...Supposedly

http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/cm_v8/4.htm

Anyway message me back what you think would be the best option.

tHanKs

 

[OvrClkr]

Personally I would opt for the noctua, they just make kickass coolers regardless of the socket-type.

 

[the new guy]

The Noctua comes with a LGA 1156 bracket so there's no problem there, and it is a close contender to the V8, with it 2-3 degrees behind in most tests.

 

[peacemaker-]

I've had both with my current build. The CM V8 was way more of a pain to install the back plate and if you ever need to re-seat it you need to take out the whole MB. The Noctua has a backplate that stays in place. So if I ever need to re-seat, I should not have to remove the MB. Temps on the Noctua were at least as good as the V8.

I set a high priority on quiet. I run at 4.0 with an i7 920. When it is running at 100% I can barely hear it (I have to put my head down toward the case - and vary its speed with SpeedFan.) The Noctua quality is excellent as are the other 4 Noctua case fans in my rig. You won't regret the Noctua.

 

[the new guy]

after reading that it's very tempting

http://www.legitreviews.com/article/880/11/

 

[JackNaylorPE]

Your probably first going to tell me to get a TRue 120 or a prolimatech Megahalem, only we're I'm from, we don't have those sorta thing.

OK, you roused my curiosity ... where are you ?

 

[peacemaker-]

after reading that it's very tempting

http://www.legitreviews.com/article/880/11/

Note the review says: As for the coolers themselves, the Noctua NH-U12P CPU Cooler is the winner in our testing. Either in its original single fan configuration or in its new SE1366 dual fan configuration it led the pack...


The LGA 1366 CPU Cooler was the dual fan version of the Noctua NH-U12P. However they've replaced the The LGA 1366 with the Noctua NH-U12P SE2 - again with dual fans.

 

[the new guy]

OK, you roused my curiosity ... where are you ?

Deep down South... Australia.

The land of Kangaroos and Back Yard Barbecues.


BTW, I assume the Noctua SE2 includes a LGA 1156 bracket?

 

[peacemaker-]

Deep down South... Australia.

The land of Kangaroos and Back Yard Barbecues.


BTW, I assume the Noctua SE2 includes a LGA 1156 bracket?

Yes, look here for specs

 

[JackNaylorPE]

I first read about the Megahalems on an australkiam web site

http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/2870/prolimatech_megahalems_cpu_cooler/index.html

Can buy it down under here:

http://www.mittoni.com.au/prolimatech-m-44.html?sID=0e649543c2468a6220975822ea79bb0c

 

[the new guy]

The Noctua does provide better performance than the Megahalem, according to the website provided - Tweaktown. The Noctua was also quieter than the Megahalem by a fair margin. In all, it seems to be the cooler to get... Despite the colour.

 

[OvrClkr]

I find that the mega is too big for it's purpose... The dam thang is HUGE....

 

[the new guy]

I'm a bit confused now. I ordered the Noctua, however instead of the SE2 I believe I ordered the SE 1366. Is there much of a difference between these two in order of sound and temperature. What I'm trying to say is should I muck around trying to change it to the SE2?

 

[peacemaker-]

I'm a bit confused now. I ordered the Noctua, however instead of the SE2 I believe I ordered the SE 1366. Is there much of a difference between these two in order of sound and temperature. What I'm trying to say is should I muck around trying to change it to the SE2?

The SE 1366 is discontinued and considering that you are looking for LGA 1156, I would bet it doesn't come with the correct bracket. So yes I would say you should change.

 

[OvrClkr]

the SE2 has been updated :

Noctua NH-U12P SE2 120mm SSO CPU Cooler - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608014&cm_re=noctua-_-35-608-014-_-Product

 

[peacemaker-]

the SE2 has been updated :

Noctua NH-U12P SE2 120mm SSO CPU Cooler - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608014&cm_re=noctua-_-35-608-014-_-Product

I hope OP understands that even though the se1366 has been updated to the SE2, if he gets the se1366 he won't get an 1156 bracket.

 

[OvrClkr]

Noctua NM-i3 Mounting-Kit for Noctua CPU Cooler - Retai
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608015&cm_re=noctua-_-35-608-015-_-Product

 

[the new guy]

I'm getting the Noctua SE-2 anyway - I changed it. Only I'm wondering what kind of overclock I'll be able to get with it. Most people seem to overclocking up to 3.8GHZ with temperatures going up to 70 max on Prime95. Is this high? Would I be able to break the 4GHZ barrier in a hot 25C room?

 

[OvrClkr]

You should be able to get over 4Ghz easily with reasonable temps. 25c is not considered hot, well at least for me it's not.

 

[the new guy]

So 70ish degrees is reasonable for an overclock and won't damage CPU life?

 

[OvrClkr]

70 is COLD compared to what other user's consider hot. My room can reach 31c during the summer and that is when I have to crank up all my case fans to 100%...

 

[JackNaylorPE]

The Noctua does provide better performance than the Megahalem, according to the website provided - Tweaktown. The Noctua was also quieter than the Megahalem by a fair margin. In all, it seems to be the cooler to get... Despite the colour.

Actually at load, the Mega is 1.2C lower ...... the noctua only bested it when a 2nd fan as added. Tweaktown also exceeded the manufacturers spec on fan rpm which is 800-1200

http://www.silentpcreview.com/Recommended_Heatsinks
http://www.frostytech.com/top5heatsinks.cfm
http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=371&Itemid=62&limit=1&limitstart=15

My son's OC'd 920 runs at < 60 under prime 95 w/ FFT w/ fan speed @ 800 rpm and it's almost inaudible.