CPU cooling advice

Recently encountered my "last straw" with Corsair (specifically my H100i) and am looking for new CPU cooling options.

I've thought about going air (Noctua seem to have fine coolers) but weight and RAM incompatibility seem to be issues.

On the AIO side of things, I'm limited to either a 240mm top mount rad or 140mm rear mount. Having trouble finding good/detailed reviews and specs of anything that is not Corsair.

If I felt I had the wherewithal to make a proper custom WC loop I would but it's not possible at this time. I'm in Canada and money is tight. As well, parts selection and availability are limited up here and our dollar doesn't convert to USD well 😉

Appreciate any advice or info regarding different Air or AIO coolers - link to sites or personal experience - all help welcome, Thanks Guys and Gals of T.H. 😀
 
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Yes it's there but few ever check it, seems like everytime I do, it's empty, sorry. That's one reason I put mine in the lower right rather than a saying or another image like many do 😉
Anyway for 4.4 there are many coolers that would be fine, from budget 212 EVO or H7 Cryorig (both good...
@ SR-71 Blackbird Corsair 400R (I have all my specs listed on my avatar if you need any others 😉 )

@ Shaun o I'm sorry, no I won't elaborate. My experiences with Corsair go far beyond just this cooler(second time cooler will need to be replaced) and they are unpleasant. I do not wish to be drawn into or incite another debate about how excellent Corsair C.S./products are or are not.
I also post as Dom_79 on the corsair forums if you wish to see my question there : http://forum.corsair.com/v3/showthread.php?t=157172

@iknowhowtofixit Thank you for the suggestions :) The larger Noctua's (ex: NH-D15) are not compatible with my RAM. As per you NH-L12, do you OC? What are your temps like?
 
I strongly recommend a big air cooler on almost any situation. The Noctua NH-D14 an NH-D15 are the best in terms of temperatures but they are not very aesthetically pleasing. So I recommend a beQuiet Dark Rock Pro as it only performs very slighyly 'worse' and it is much quieter (compared to other air coolers and also with AIO coolers which are known to be loud). I have the same one myself on my i7 6700K at 4.4ghz and the temps are about 45-47 in low workload conditions and very rarely go over 60 (usually mid 50) degrees celsius while gaming. This is in a bequiet SilentBase 800 case with the stock fans and an extra exhaust fan on top. Also the cooler is silent, high quality and beautifull.

The only con is that installation took some time (I attached the motherboard to the cooler and after that I installed the mobo in the case as screwing it from the backplate was nearly impossible). For 90$ it is a very good deal.
P.S. Make sure you have enough RAM cleareance (I use Corsair Veangeance LPX but you can use any low profile ram).
 


Have you looked at the NH D15S with the offset radiator tower? It has different clearance for both RAM and GPU.
 


I have looked and currently only available from amazon for 350$ CDN. Far too pricey for me - I'd build a Custom WC loop for around that price 🙁 Also I don't believe that "extra bit" on the rad. will fit over my RAM and mounting it "upside down" is not an option (top mount for radiators in my case is not designed well as they don't clear the vrm heatsinks well)

Thanks for the suggestion though, much appreciated :)
 


I have checked that cooler out thank you :) It doesn't seem as though I will have an issue with GPU clearance with any air cooler but RAM remains an issue - even with the offset. I'll have to take more precise measurements to be absolutely sure and will keep that model in mind.

Thank you for your help, it's much appreciated :)
 
Yeah, I think they just stopped making those models and have a new version coming out, so what is out there now is probably overpriced. Those swiftech coolers are the start of a custom loop, though, so not a terrible investment. I have two GPUs and my CPU hooked up to mine, just added one radiator to get adequate capacity.

The pump housing that dangles down is misleading in all the marketing photos. It is actually quite a distance away from the motherboard when mounted. You would have have to have ram nearly double the normal height to be a problem.
 


Motherboard: GA-Z97X-UD5H-BK

CPU: Currently i5-4670k @4.4GHz within next two months will be i7-4790k

This isn't anything personal Tradesman1 and certainly not directed at you but I'd like to ask everyone : Why does Tom's hardware even bother giving us an area on our profiles to enter our system specs so that they can be easily viewed by anyone in a thread by simply hovering their mouse cursor over our profile avatar?
 


Yes they do and I considered removing it but... I found it quite warm to the touch and decided that it must be at least helping to dissipate heat and would be better to leave it attached 😉
 


That's a good old article, thanks :)

I was wondering though, since you say you use this cooler and have an i7-4790k (the CPU I'm looking to get soon) what are your temps and do you overclock?
 

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Yes it's there but few ever check it, seems like everytime I do, it's empty, sorry. That's one reason I put mine in the lower right rather than a saying or another image like many do 😉
Anyway for 4.4 there are many coolers that would be fine, from budget 212 EVO or H7 Cryorig (both good through about 4.5-4.6 depending on CPU and voltage needed), up through the Noctuas, Phanteks even a CM GTS V8, for an AIO might look at Lepa, I ran a 240 Aquachanger on my Z87 4770K (in sig) or their new EXllusion, have it on my Skylake build (previously on my Z97/4770K)

 
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That cooler from Lepa looks great, thanks for that Tradesman1!

Thanks also for answering my question about the specs in profile. I guess I'll remove my "oh so clever" Fallout New Vegas quote and list my specs there 😉
 
It's your call on the specs, either or is fine, for me it comes in handy as I basically came here to help others, and since becoming a Mod I often suggest items I have in my own rigs. In my business I only build on Intel, but built the 8370/Crosshair rig to help me with AMD questions/problems
 
I figure I should put my specs in my sig as I am often asked for them when I ask a question, this way they are front and center.

Let me know when you are tired of your GTX980ti (that's getting old - you must not want it anymore 😉 😉 ) I'll take it off your hands. Heck, I won't even charge you :lol:

 
Sounds like you've been reading some of my threads 😉 I've been known, when I see an interesting proposed rig or someone going to get a component I'm interested in, to tell them to send it to me and I'll test it to make sure all is well 😉 On the Ti, am thinking of maybe getting the Matrix model, but I'll prob get another of this OC model and see how they do in SLI
 


So if I'm reading those correctly, 39C @ idle and +/- 50C at minimal load? with no OC beyond "turbo" 4.4GHz

I'm thinking that may not be enough cooling for my needs then 😉