Question Corsair H45 Cooling sufficient for i7 - 9700k

[Johnnyboy88]

I recently saw a post where a moderator said that he didn't think a Corsair H45 AIO cooling was sufficient enough for a i7 - 8700k cpu.

I also have the Corsair H45 AIO Cooling but I have a newer cpu of i7 - 9700k, which came with my prebuilt PC. In idle its between 20-30 degrees and during gaming it is between 50-60.

I have check the specification of the 120mm coolers on Corsair and the H45 performs better then the other Corsair 120mm AIO coolings.
I guess I shouldn't worry since the temperature seems to be okay. I use core temp to constantly keep an eye on the temperatures. But my PC isn't set on overclocking and guess temperature might rise when I do it and maybe the H45 cooling might no longer be sufficient.

 

[Barty1884]

At stock, it's probably fine. Gaming, you're pushing 60'C, but what about a stress-test?

That's likely what was being discussed - the coolers ability to keep a chip cool under a stress/torture test, and not strictly at stock in games.


The H45 is/was fine, as far as 120mm AIOs go. The problem is, for the money, 120mm AIOs rarely make much sense. Minimum 240mm AIO, or else a quality air cooler would likely be a better option.

 

[Karadjgne]

You are comparing apples to oranges.

The 8700k is a 6c/12t hyperthreading cpu. The 9700k is a 8c/8t cpu. Both use slightly different voltages and voltage limits. Even though both are rated at 95w TDP, that's only thermal design Power, not heat output. TDP is the power a cpu uses during a specific, moderate set of applications, averaged. But none of the programs used will drive the cpu to max power output, and therefore max heat output.

A 120mm AIO averages @ 140w in ability. Your average $25 hyper212 is the same, having almost identical performance to a H60.

So will a H45 work on a 8700k or 9700k, yep, sure will, even gaming. The problem lies with max power usage and its resultant heat output which on both cpus can and will exceed the 140w rating of the AIO. The 8700k specifically is well capable of exceeding 250w under OC with 100% loads across all 12 threads. The 9700k is somewhat less because it's single threaded per core, not hyperthreaded.

OC does make a difference, but not as you think. Intel specifically sets stock voltages high, considerably higher than many small-medium OC settings, so in some ways, OC actually will run cooler than stock settings.

I have an i5-3570k with a Corsair H55. Stock idle/game/stress is 32/60/80. OC from 3.8-4.3GHz gets me 32/55/70. I get the same temps from my i7-3770K at 4.6GHz with a Cryorig R1 Ultimate or my old Nzxt Kraken X61. At 4.9GHz it was pushing the 250w limits of the R1 and stress temps were 10°C higher.

AIO's and air coolers are the same thing, in their respective ranges, both do the same job. They just do it differently and look different doing it. Both have advantages and disadvantages in comparison, but the end result is equitable. Only question is which do you prefer the looks of.

 

[Johnnyboy88]

At stock, it's probably fine. Gaming, you're pushing 60'C, but what about a stress-test?

That's likely what was being discussed - the coolers ability to keep a chip cool under a stress/torture test, and not strictly at stock in games.


The H45 is/was fine, as far as 120mm AIOs go. The problem is, for the money, 120mm AIOs rarely make much sense. Minimum 240mm AIO, or else a quality air cooler would likely be a better option.

As I am planning to overclock my CPU and Ram soon, what 240mm would be good for the cpu. And some suggestion of Quality air cooler would be good.

 

[Johnnyboy88]

You are comparing apples to oranges.

The 8700k is a 6c/12t hyperthreading cpu. The 9700k is a 8c/8t cpu. Both use slightly different voltages and voltage limits. Even though both are rated at 95w TDP, that's only thermal design Power, not heat output. TDP is the power a cpu uses during a specific, moderate set of applications, averaged. But none of the programs used will drive the cpu to max power output, and therefore max heat output.

A 120mm AIO averages @ 140w in ability. Your average $25 hyper212 is the same, having almost identical performance to a H60.

So will a H45 work on a 8700k or 9700k, yep, sure will, even gaming. The problem lies with max power usage and its resultant heat output which on both cpus can and will exceed the 140w rating of the AIO. The 8700k specifically is well capable of exceeding 250w under OC with 100% loads across all 12 threads. The 9700k is somewhat less because it's single threaded per core, not hyperthreaded.

OC does make a difference, but not as you think. Intel specifically sets stock voltages high, considerably higher than many small-medium OC settings, so in some ways, OC actually will run cooler than stock settings.

I have an i5-3570k with a Corsair H55. Stock idle/game/stress is 32/60/80. OC from 3.8-4.3GHz gets me 32/55/70. I get the same temps from my i7-3770K at 4.6GHz with a Cryorig R1 Ultimate or my old Nzxt Kraken X61. At 4.9GHz it was pushing the 250w limits of the R1 and stress temps were 10°C higher.

AIO's and air coolers are the same thing, in their respective ranges, both do the same job. They just do it differently and look different doing it. Both have advantages and disadvantages in comparison, but the end result is equitable. Only question is which do you prefer the looks of.

How to perform a stress test, would the test be pushing the CPU to see how hot it will become or its some type of simulation.
So with OC your temps were lower, would you recommend replacing the H45? and with what liquid or air cooler.