[SOLVED] How does my build look? Any problems?

[WeTakeThose]

Building my first gaming computer soon, but before I pull the trigger and spend so much money I wanted to get some more knowledgeable opinions on this build. Will the cooling be sufficient with the stock CPU cooler and case fans? Any compatibility issues? Thanks so much!

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/N4bJq3

 

[Darkbreeze]

Looks fine. Everything is compatible.

That case only comes with one fan, and that is not enough for any modern gaming system. Ideally, you want to add another exhaust fan to the top rear location, and two intake fans as well. I personally recommend using some sort of decent quality 140mm fans, as the noise levels will likely be lower that way, but whether you use 120 or 140mm fans it up to you. What is MOST important, is that you HAVE an adequate number of fans.

Especially, but not only if, you are going to try using the stock cooler. That too, might not be the greatest idea. The fifty bucks or so that it costs for a decent aftermarket air cooler is well worth it not only in terms of being able to better sustain the boost clocks but also because the tone and pitch of the Wraith coolers is enough to drive a grown man into the nuthouse.

 

[richiestang_78]

Looks goods butyou can save the money and get a normal 3600. The difference will be minimal and you can overclock to .3600 to 3600x speeds

 

[Darkbreeze]

For twenty dollars difference, it's worth it to NOT have to bother overclocking it in order to gain those extra 200mhz. especially if you don't plan to also buy a fairly decent cooler as well.

 

[WeTakeThose]

For twenty dollars difference, it's worth it to NOT have to bother overclocking it in order to gain those extra 200mhz. especially if you don't plan to also buy a fairly decent cooler as well.

So would you recommend keeping the 3600x and not overclocking it but also not getting an aftermarket cooler? I added 3 120mm fans to the build

 

[Darkbreeze]

I'd advise that you do both. But obviously, budget and what you can actually fit in your case might dictate what you do more than preference.

The fact is that with better cooling you can typically sustain boost clocks longer or higher than with the stock cooler, and the stock coolers, while much better than the stock coolers of the past are still annoying with an obnoxious humming drone and pitch. At least they were on the three Ryzen builds I did a few weeks ago AND the temperatures were not compliant with Prime95 thermal testing even with AVX/AVX2 disabled despite them being at the stock configuration with PBO turned off. After installing aftermarket coolers on all three builds, which included two 3600x CPUs and one 3600, all systems were easily thermally compliant, did not exhibit any annoying or unexpected sounds and maintained their boost clocks a little better than before the cooler swap.

So that would be my recommendation, but as I said, not everybody will have the financial means to do this or to do it right this moment. If not, then sticking with the stock cooler for now and then replacing it with an aftermarket cooler at a later date might be an option for you if necessary.

I would however recommend keeping the 3600x. These are better samples than those which are relegated to use as 3600 models. People spend a lot more than 20 bucks trying to gain an extra 200mhz and considering that the plateau for overclocking the 3600x has been shown to be equally higher than what most are able to overclock the 3600 to, there is really no benefit to going with the 3600 UNLESS the 20 bucks is that critical to you.

 

[WeTakeThose]

I'd advise that you do both. But obviously, budget and what you can actually fit in your case might dictate what you do more than preference.

The fact is that with better cooling you can typically sustain boost clocks longer or higher than with the stock cooler, and the stock coolers, while much better than the stock coolers of the past are still annoying with an obnoxious humming drone and pitch. At least they were on the three Ryzen builds I did a few weeks ago AND the temperatures were not compliant with Prime95 thermal testing even with AVX/AVX2 disabled despite them being at the stock configuration with PBO turned off. After installing aftermarket coolers on all three builds, which included two 3600x CPUs and one 3600, all systems were easily thermally compliant, did not exhibit any annoying or unexpected sounds and maintained their boost clocks a little better than before the cooler swap.

So that would be my recommendation, but as I said, not everybody will have the financial means to do this or to do it right this moment. If not, then sticking with the stock cooler for now and then replacing it with an aftermarket cooler at a later date might be an option for you if necessary.

I would however recommend keeping the 3600x. These are better samples than those which are relegated to use as 3600 models. People spend a lot more than 20 bucks trying to gain an extra 200mhz and considering that the plateau for overclocking the 3600x has been shown to be equally higher than what most are able to overclock the 3600 to, there is really no benefit to going with the 3600 UNLESS the 20 bucks is that critical to you.

Thank you so much for your detailed response I really appreciate you taking your time to help me, that is very good information to know. I decided to add 3 120mm fans, as well as an aftermarket cpu cooler, the cooler master hyper 212 RGB black edition, is this cooler much better than the stock? Also the regular cooler master hyper 212 says I may need a separate mounting adapter to fit my motherboard, but it does not say this with the RGB black edition. Will the RGB black edition fit my motherboard with no separate bracket? Sorry for all the questions but It's a lot of money lol. I'll attach the part list below.
https://pcpartpicker.com/list/tBp6Pn

 

[Darkbreeze]

This cooler would be a FAR better choice, and will fit your case and has support for the AM4 socket.

https://www.newegg.com/p/1B4-0122-0...ect-_-9SIA7WFA0Z9263-_-Product&quicklink=true


What resolution are you planning to game at?

 

[WeTakeThose]

This cooler would be a FAR better choice, and will fit your case and has support for the AM4 socket.

https://www.newegg.com/p/1B4-0122-00002?Description=Macho direct&cm_re=Macho_direct--9SIA7WFA0Z9263--Product&quicklink=true


What resolution are you planning to game at?

1080 until I can afford a 1440p monitor lol. I think i found it on pcpartpicker but i'm not sure, is this the one you're talking about? So you're saying the 212 won't fit my mobo without an additional bracket, and the cooler you recomended would work a lot better? Sorry, just trying to learn. Thank you for the response though.
https://www.newegg.com/p/1B4-0122-00002?Description=Macho direct&cm_re=Macho_direct--9SIA7WFA0Z9263--Product&quicklink=true

Edit: Sorry, there just aren't any reviews for this fan, are you sure it's a better quality fan?

 

[Darkbreeze]

There are plenty of reviews for that cooler. It performs within a few degrees of the Noctua NH-D15 which is basically the best air cooler you can buy.

https://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/7981/thermalright-macho-direct-cpu-cooler-review/index6.html

The 212 EVO is an entry level budget cooler that really does not have the kind of performance that puts it anywhere near the category of the Macho direct or other high end coolers. It has nothing to do with the bracket. It doesn't matter WHICH version of the 212 you get. The 212 EVO, 212 Black, 212x, they are all the same basic heatsink with the same basic results. They are mediocre at best. Much better in most cases than old style stock coolers, but not much better than the Wraith coolers and certainly not in the same league as coolers like the Macho Direct or Macho rev.C. Here is my full list of standard cooler recommendations.

Below is my list of preferred CPU AIR coolers, also known as Heatsink fans (HSF).

Do not look here for recommendations on water/liquid cooling solutions. There are none to be found.

A good air cooler works just as well for most applications. There are very few instances I can think of where an AIO will work better than a good air cooler, and even fewer where an AIO will outperform an air cooler if you are willing to buy the right air cooler and then level up by adding some even higher end fans to it.

Loops leak. Heatsinks don't. Pumps fail, FAR more often and usually with far worse consequences, than fans do.

And unlike a heatsink fan assembly, when your pump fails for 99% of AIO coolers, you will be replacing the whole thing, for another 100+ dollars, rather than just a 25 dollar investment for the failure of a fan. Especially since I've rarely seen dual fan coolers have both fans fail at the same time, but even if you factor in two fan failures that's still only about fifty bucks compared to the 100+ it will cost to replace an AIO with a failed pump. And you WILL have a failed pump on most AIO coolers within three years of purchase. Seeing one last longer than five years is possible, but it is not particularly common and we often, very often, see them fail at around the 3 year mark. Sometimes much sooner.

Pump quality and longevity is an area that needs GREAT improvement before AIO coolers will become a primary recommendation for me.

I see a lot of AIO coolers leak and damage hardware as well.

Certainly there are situations where an AIO is called for, or even preferred, but those are MOSTLY aesthetic considerations, because let's face it, a build with an AIO or custom loop generally "looks" a lot cleaner than one that has a big heatsink taking up half the real estate inside your case. When that is the case, I have recommendations for those as well, but I don't offer them unless somebody is specifically asking to go that route.

They are basically listed in order of preference, from top to bottom. To some degree that preference is based on known performance on similarly overclocked configurations, but not entirely. There are likely a couple of units that are placed closer to the top not because they offer purely better performance than another cooler which is below it, but potentially due to a variety of reasons.

One model might be placed higher than another with the same or similar performance, but has quieter or higher quality fans. It may have the same performance but a better warranty. Long term quality may be higher. It may be less expensive in some cases. Maybe it performs slightly worse, but has quieter fans and a better "fan pitch". Some fans with equal decibel levels do not "sound" like they are the same as the specific pitch heard from one fan might be less annoying than another.

In any case, these are not "tiered" and are not a 100% be all, end all ranking. They are simply MY preference when looking at coolers for a build or when making recommendations. Often, which HSF gets chosen depends on what is on this list and fits the budget or is priced right at the time due to a sale or rebate. Hopefully it will help you and you can rest assured that every cooler listed here is a model that to some degree or other is generally a quality unit which is a lot more likely to be worth the money spent on it than on many other models out there that might look to be a similarly worthwhile investment.

Certainly there are a great many other very good coolers out there, but these are models which are usually available to most anybody building a system or looking for a cooler, regardless of what part of the world they might live in. As always, professional reviews are usually an absolutely essential part of the process of finding a cooler so if you are looking at a model not listed here, I would highly recommend looking at at least two or three professional reviews first.

If you cannot find two reviews of any given cooler, it is likely either too new to have been reviewed yet or it sucked, and nobody wanted to buy one in order to review it plus the manufacturer refused to send samples out to the sites that perform reviews because they knew it would likely get bad publicity.

IMO, nobody out there is making better fans, overall, than Noctua, followed pretty closely by Thermalright. So if you intend to match case fans to the same brand on your HSF, those are pretty hard to beat. Of course, Corsair has it's Maglev fans, and those are pretty damn good too, but since they don't make CPU air cooling products, only AIO water coolers, they cannot join the party.


Noctua NH-D14 (Replace stock fans with NF-A14 industrialPPC 2000rpm)
Noctua NH-D15/D15 SE-AM4
Noctua NH-D14 (With original fans)
Thermalright Silver arrow IB-E Extreme
Phanteks PH-TC14PE (BK,BL, OR or RD)
Cryorig R1 Ultimate or Universal
Thermalright Legrand Macho RT
Thermalright Macho X2
Deepcool Assassin III
Scythe Ninja 5
Thermalright Macho rev. C
Thermalright Macho rev.B
Thermalright ARO-M14G (Ryzen only)
Thermalright Macho direct
Scythe Mugen 5 rev.B
Deepcool Assassin II
Be Quiet Dark rock Pro 4
Noctua NH-U14S
Thermalright true spirit 140 Direct
FSP Windale 6
Scythe Mugen max
BeQuiet dark rock (3 or 4)
Thermalright Macho SBM
Cryorig H5
Noctua NH-U12S
Phanteks PH-TC14S
Phanteks PH-TC12DX (Any)
Cryorig H7
Deepcool Gammaxx 400
Cooler Master Hyper 212 (EVO, X, RGB. I'd only recommend this cooler if no other good aftermarket models are available to you.)


It may not be obvious, but is probably worth mentioning, that not all cooler models will fit all CPU sockets as aftermarket coolers generally require an adapter intended for use with that socket. Some coolers that fit an AMD platform might not fit a later AMD platform, or an Intel platform. Often these coolers come with adapters for multiple types of platforms but be sure to verify that a specific cooler WILL work with your platform before purchasing one and finding out later that it will not.

 

[WeTakeThose]

There are plenty of reviews for that cooler. It performs within a few degrees of the Noctua NH-D15 which is basically the best air cooler you can buy.

https://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/7981/thermalright-macho-direct-cpu-cooler-review/index6.html

The 212 EVO is an entry level budget cooler that really does not have the kind of performance that puts it anywhere near the category of the Macho direct or other high end coolers. It has nothing to do with the bracket. It doesn't matter WHICH version of the 212 you get. The 212 EVO, 212 Black, 212x, they are all the same basic heatsink with the same basic results. They are mediocre at best. Much better in most cases than old style stock coolers, but not much better than the Wraith coolers and certainly not in the same league as coolers like the Macho Direct or Macho rev.C. Here is my full list of standard cooler recommendations.

Below is my list of preferred CPU AIR coolers, also known as Heatsink fans (HSF).

Do not look here for recommendations on water/liquid cooling solutions. There are none to be found.

A good air cooler works just as well for most applications. There are very few instances I can think of where an AIO will work better than a good air cooler, and even fewer where an AIO will outperform an air cooler if you are willing to buy the right air cooler and then level up by adding some even higher end fans to it.

Loops leak. Heatsinks don't. Pumps fail, FAR more often and usually with far worse consequences, than fans do.

And unlike a heatsink fan assembly, when your pump fails for 99% of AIO coolers, you will be replacing the whole thing, for another 100+ dollars, rather than just a 25 dollar investment for the failure of a fan. Especially since I've rarely seen dual fan coolers have both fans fail at the same time, but even if you factor in two fan failures that's still only about fifty bucks compared to the 100+ it will cost to replace an AIO with a failed pump. And you WILL have a failed pump on most AIO coolers within three years of purchase. Seeing one last longer than five years is possible, but it is not particularly common and we often, very often, see them fail at around the 3 year mark. Sometimes much sooner.

Pump quality and longevity is an area that needs GREAT improvement before AIO coolers will become a primary recommendation for me.

I see a lot of AIO coolers leak and damage hardware as well.

Certainly there are situations where an AIO is called for, or even preferred, but those are MOSTLY aesthetic considerations, because let's face it, a build with an AIO or custom loop generally "looks" a lot cleaner than one that has a big heatsink taking up half the real estate inside your case. When that is the case, I have recommendations for those as well, but I don't offer them unless somebody is specifically asking to go that route.

They are basically listed in order of preference, from top to bottom. To some degree that preference is based on known performance on similarly overclocked configurations, but not entirely. There are likely a couple of units that are placed closer to the top not because they offer purely better performance than another cooler which is below it, but potentially due to a variety of reasons.

One model might be placed higher than another with the same or similar performance, but has quieter or higher quality fans. It may have the same performance but a better warranty. Long term quality may be higher. It may be less expensive in some cases. Maybe it performs slightly worse, but has quieter fans and a better "fan pitch". Some fans with equal decibel levels do not "sound" like they are the same as the specific pitch heard from one fan might be less annoying than another.

In any case, these are not "tiered" and are not a 100% be all, end all ranking. They are simply MY preference when looking at coolers for a build or when making recommendations. Often, which HSF gets chosen depends on what is on this list and fits the budget or is priced right at the time due to a sale or rebate. Hopefully it will help you and you can rest assured that every cooler listed here is a model that to some degree or other is generally a quality unit which is a lot more likely to be worth the money spent on it than on many other models out there that might look to be a similarly worthwhile investment.

Certainly there are a great many other very good coolers out there, but these are models which are usually available to most anybody building a system or looking for a cooler, regardless of what part of the world they might live in. As always, professional reviews are usually an absolutely essential part of the process of finding a cooler so if you are looking at a model not listed here, I would highly recommend looking at at least two or three professional reviews first.

If you cannot find two reviews of any given cooler, it is likely either too new to have been reviewed yet or it sucked, and nobody wanted to buy one in order to review it plus the manufacturer refused to send samples out to the sites that perform reviews because they knew it would likely get bad publicity.

IMO, nobody out there is making better fans, overall, than Noctua, followed pretty closely by Thermalright. So if you intend to match case fans to the same brand on your HSF, those are pretty hard to beat. Of course, Corsair has it's Maglev fans, and those are pretty damn good too, but since they don't make CPU air cooling products, only AIO water coolers, they cannot join the party.


Noctua NH-D14 (Replace stock fans with NF-A14 industrialPPC 2000rpm)
Noctua NH-D15/D15 SE-AM4
Noctua NH-D14 (With original fans)
Thermalright Silver arrow IB-E Extreme
Phanteks PH-TC14PE (BK,BL, OR or RD)
Cryorig R1 Ultimate or Universal
Thermalright Legrand Macho RT
Thermalright Macho X2
Deepcool Assassin III
Scythe Ninja 5
Thermalright Macho rev. C
Thermalright Macho rev.B
Thermalright ARO-M14G (Ryzen only)
Thermalright Macho direct
Scythe Mugen 5 rev.B
Deepcool Assassin II
Be Quiet Dark rock Pro 4
Noctua NH-U14S
Thermalright true spirit 140 Direct
FSP Windale 6
Scythe Mugen max
BeQuiet dark rock (3 or 4)
Thermalright Macho SBM
Cryorig H5
Noctua NH-U12S
Phanteks PH-TC14S
Phanteks PH-TC12DX (Any)
Cryorig H7
Deepcool Gammaxx 400
Cooler Master Hyper 212 (EVO, X, RGB. I'd only recommend this cooler if no other good aftermarket models are available to you.)


It may not be obvious, but is probably worth mentioning, that not all cooler models will fit all CPU sockets as aftermarket coolers generally require an adapter intended for use with that socket. Some coolers that fit an AMD platform might not fit a later AMD platform, or an Intel platform. Often these coolers come with adapters for multiple types of platforms but be sure to verify that a specific cooler WILL work with your platform before purchasing one and finding out later that it will not.

Thank you so much for this reccomendation. I switched the cpu cooler to the macho direct. There's a warning that says I might need a separate mounting adapter for my motherboard, do you know what mounting adapter that is? Or will I not need one. Thanks again for taking your time to help me, I really appreciate it!
EDIT: Also, is the thermal paste that comes with the macho direct good? Or would you recommend getting different paste?

 

[Darkbreeze]

The Thermalright paste is decent. Personally I think of all the non-liquid metal pastes (And I don't recommend the liquid metal pastes unless you REALLY know what you are getting yourself into and are prepared to go the extra mile, plus, the different isn't all that enormous anyhow.) that the Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut is probably about the best. The Noctua NT-H1 and H2 are also good. So is the Arctic Silver 5 and MX4. But the Kryonaut is probably my favorite of all the regular pastes.

The cooler should come with everything you need. It supports AM4 out of the box based on the information on the page and the Thermalright True spirit direct 140 coolers I just installed on an AM4 platform a few weeks ago all had exactly what they needed. I don't foresee any problems for you.