CPU cooling: what would be best?

[rewday]

cpu: haswell i7 4790k
ram: 2 x 8
mobo: z97
gpu: 760


Alright, so this is the first summer I'll be going into with my new computer. I have so far stuck with my stock fan, but as it's starting to get hotter, my temp is reaching high 70s when using. Now I'm starting to look into cooling, water or air.

Looking at all the different options I have has been somewhat overwhelming, so now I'm looking to various forums to give me some input on what I should get.

Extra info: I'm planning to oc. I also live the in the central valley of california, temps get into the 110+ f and in our house, the air conditioning doesnt come on until the house temp reads 80+ f so we definitely dont keep our house cold, idk if this matters, but might raise a flag that I need a cooler with some more 'umph' to get the job done.

Decided to highball it, my price range is $300 and below. Dont expect I'll need all that.

 

[Suzuki@1473780084@1473780163]

If you plan to overclock get a liquid cooler, I recommend the Corsair H100i. It's a all in one cooler so it comes with a pump, closed loop, and radiator ready to go. Make sure you have room in your case for the radiator and you will be good to go!

 

[terry4536]

The first thing I would try is to reapply the thermal grease to the current cooler. The best cooling result is around 5C above the ambient room temperature with an air to air heat exchanger. That applies to heat sinks and radiators.

I would recommend a Noctua cooler for your system. The particular model will be dependent upon your system case, motherboard, motherboard, and CPU.

 

[Gam3r01]

I do not recommend the h100i conversely.
Its fairly loud and performs average for a CLC.

Look into the H240x for water cooling, it itself is an all in one cooler, however it isnt closed loop. It can be expanded to include other components at a later date.
Phanteks PH-TC14PE for air, or similar.

(Shoutout to the central valley, Living outside of Fresno)

 

[Suzuki@1473780084@1473780163]

By loud you mean the pump? You could always make it run at a lower voltage, it won't affect cooling. As for fans, Air coolers are generally loud, everything above 800 RPM is too loud for me personally, I want my system silent. The h240x would be overkill in my opinion however since he wants to spend 300 bucks why not get it.

 

[terry4536]

The pump and fans are the source of that h100i noise. Lowering the fan rpm will also reduce the cooling. The pump is essentially not adjusted typically.

 

[Suzuki@1473780084@1473780163]

I heard waaaay back that there were molex adapters to reduce pump noise, but cannot find the sources. Anyways, it's not up to me to decide what's too loud here.

 

[Gam3r01]

The pump should run at a single fixed speed, as it impacts the cooling.
The noise comes from the fans in unison with the radiators design. They have to spin at higher RPMs to get decent cooling capabilities.

I own the H100i, I know first hand how loud it gets in comparison to air coolers.

 

[Suzuki@1473780084@1473780163]

I stand corrected. Alright let's see what OP does.

 

[terry4536]

The essential purpose behind using a liquid cooler is to move the heat sink to a different more preferable location. This adds the noise of the pump. If you have room in the case and sufficient airflow, then an air CPU cooler is the way to go. It is generally cheaper and performs as well or better than the liquid coolers.

But there are also good reasons to use water coolers. If the case is small for example, then the radiator can even be mounted outside of the case.