Question CPU air cooler for 9900k

[wikksmith]

Looking for CPU air cooler recommendation for new build for Photoshop and occasional video editing. No overclocking, not a gamer.
Concerned about blocking first pci slot and/or RAM and excess weight with units like Noctua D15. Like the size and weight of the Noctua NH-U12S but finding mixed opinions on whether or not it's adequate.
Build:
i9-9900k
Gigabyte Z390 Aorus Pro
32GB (2x16) GSkill Ripjaws V-series
970 Evo x2
GTX 1070
Lian Li B-25 case with Noctua 120mm fans x3
Appreciate any comments.

 

[gamerbrehdy]

Probably any LGA 1151 cooler would do.

 

[jon96789]

I would really recommend you get a water cooler over an air cooler. The i9-9900K generates a lot of heat and air coolers get noisy when the fans ramp up. Like you said, air coolers can get pretty massive and you also have to consider RAM clearance and case depth.

 

[Gee_Simpson]

I was told on here if you aren't overclocking the i9 9900k then one of the top end air coolers would suffice but as mentioned above, water coolers are probably the way to go just in case you ever want to overclock it (why get a K processor and not overclock it?).

 

[wikksmith]

Hydrophobia!

 

[Phaaze88]

I was told on here if you aren't overclocking the i9 9900k then one of the top end air coolers would suffice but as mentioned above, water coolers are probably the way to go just in case you ever want to overclock it (why get a K processor and not overclock it?).

You are correct, but case airflow plays a part in overall cooling, and I'm not sure how effective(thermally) that case is. It appears rather limiting, but maybe it's fine...
-only supports 3 case fans: 2 front, 1 rear
-the front panel: air is instead pulled in through the sides
-even if liquid cooling is supported, the max possible is a 240mm AIO, and they are inferior to the best air coolers

Probably any LGA 1151 cooler would do.

For a cpu that can easily dump over 200w of waste heat when fully loaded, that's a definite nope.

Lian Li B-25 case

Lian Li no longer has a product page for this case available, so do you still have the case's manual? I ask, because if we know what the cpu cooler clearance(from the motherboard socket to the side panel) is, we'd know what models can and can't fit in the case.
But if you have at least 170mm of cooler clearance, pretty much all air coolers would fit.

 

[gamerbrehdy]

For a cpu that can easily dump over 200w of waste heat when fully loaded, that's a definite nope.

Referring to the tower-shaped cpu air coolers. The stock intel cooler would just melt away, true that.

I would really recommend you get a water cooler over an air cooler. The i9-9900K generates a lot of heat and air coolers get noisy when the fans ramp up. Like you said, air coolers can get pretty massive and you also have to consider RAM clearance and case depth.

The best option here. No problems with cooler clearance, no noisy cooling fans, and a custom loop with multiple rads gives more cooling surface area.

 

[wikksmith]

The case is over 20cm wide, so not worried about the height of the cooler.
Issues are 1) avoiding obstruction of 4th RAM slot or one of the M.2 ports or 1st PCI slot.; ) noise; and 3) weight.