Do I need a nice fan for the high-end Coffee Lake models (i5-8600k/i7-8700K)?

[heath.romine]

I'm going to upgrade my current rig, and I am wondering if (for the CPU) I would need some kind of expensive cooler.
I have seen the Noctua coolers, and those will not fit in my case. I have around 160mm clearance.
I am not going to overclock, so I'm also wondering if its worth it to just buy a stock fan? From most of the people I've talked to, they've told me that the stock cooler will work just fine under normal loads, and at the factory frequencies.

Oh and my budget is depends whether I get the i5 or i7. I'm just gaming so I think I'll get the i5. This gives me around $70 to spend on a cooler, although I'd rather not spend that much.

So, here's my question. What CPU fan do I buy?

 

[tejayd]

There are better more expensive coolers. But https://pcpartpicker.com/product/hmtCmG/cooler-master-cpu-cooler-rr212e20pkr2 is by far the most popular and likely the best budget cooler. 159mm. If you were over clocking it might not get the max out if it. But it should do fairly well.

 

[ThatVietGuy]

This is a better choice than the 212 and will fit your case better - https://pcpartpicker.com/product/93Crxr/cryorig-cpu-cooler-h7

 

[zebarjadi.raouf]

Do I need a nice fan for the high-end Coffee Lake models

Do you need it? No.
Do I recommend it? Yes. Can't say no to lower noise and cooler CPU. It also increases Overclocking potential.

There are better more expensive coolers. But https://pcpartpicker.com/product/hmtCmG/cooler-master-c... is by far the most popular and likely the best budget cooler.

Hyper 212 can handle stock frequency but it might get warm with turbo enabled as some motherboards overclock the turbo intentionally. Like 4.30GHz on all cores instead of one (8600K). It will hit a wall with overclock.

Also, the "ThatVietGuy" is right. If you want a good deal, you can't go wrong with this. CRYORIG - H7 (Lower noise, 145mm, better than 212)

 

[bignastyid]

I'm going to upgrade my current rig, and I am wondering if (for the CPU) I would need some kind of expensive cooler.
I have seen the Noctua coolers, and those will not fit in my case. I have around 160mm clearance.
I am not going to overclock, so I'm also wondering if its worth it to just buy a stock fan? From most of the people I've talked to, they've told me that the stock cooler will work just fine under normal loads, and at the factory frequencies.

Oh and my budget is depends whether I get the i5 or i7. I'm just gaming so I think I'll get the i5. This gives me around $70 to spend on a cooler, although I'd rather not spend that much.

So, here's my question. What CPU fan do I buy?

There is no stock cooler for the 8600k and the 8700k. Intel does not ship them with coolers.
The stock coolers intel ships with the locked 8th gens cpus would not adequate anyway. With the non 8700 reviews have shown the stock cooler to be inadequate to cool that cpu and it has a lower TDP(65w) than the K versions of the i5 and i7(both of them are 95w).

There are better more expensive coolers. But https://pcpartpicker.com/product/hmtCmG/cooler-master-cpu-cooler-rr212e20pkr2 is by far the most popular and likely the best budget cooler. 159mm. If you were over clocking it might not get the max out if it. But it should do fairly well.

The 212 evo used to be one the best budget coolers a couple years ago. There are better options available nowadays. The Cryorig H7 is a better cooler than the 212 evo and is usually around the same price. With no overclocking either will be good for the i5 or i7.

 

[larrycumming]

As far as I've seen the top tier air coolers are usually >160mm, but there should be plenty of second tier coolers out there to choose from. I would look into something like Thermalright le grand macho, scythe ninja 5, silver arrow itx-r etc.

 

[heath.romine]

As far as I've seen the top tier air coolers are usually >160mm, but there should be plenty of second tier coolers out there to choose from. I would look into something like Thermalright le grand macho, scythe ninja 5, silver arrow itx-r etc.

I am not overclocking. High-end isn't a big deal, I just need base clock/turbo cooling.

 

[zebarjadi.raouf]

I am not overclocking. High-end isn't a big deal, I just need base clock/turbo cooling.

Then I recommend CRYORIG - H7. It will fit fine and cool adequately. Has RAM clearance too so you can use 4 RAMs.
https://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/6958/cryorig-h7-cpu-cooler-review/index5.html

 

[larrycumming]

cryorig h7 is pretty good. better than hyper 212 for the same price, IMHO.

if you don't overclock then there's no need to hang a big fat heavy heatsink over your motherboard and possibly risk bending/warping over long term use.