Question i7 9700K Air Cooler Advice

[boykale]

Hello. I am looking for an air cooler for i7 9700K temporarily. I just tried my friend's Thermaltake Contac Silent 12 with its stock TIM but I feel like it's not a great air cooler even if I will use it temporarily. The temp is around 68-78 while playing Battlefield V, it was sometimes hiting 80ish while playing Division 2 Beta, it usually around 65-77 while playing games. If the core usage is %100, it easyly hits 80-83. I don't know that if I use Arctic mx4, the temps lower or not. If not I will buy an new air cooler until I can afford to buy a new case and better liquid cooler.

These are the temps when I set my RAM speed to 3200 from BIOS as it also increases Volt. When it's set to default which is 2133Mhz, the temps are also lower than these values.

I just checked some models like Cooler Master MasterAir MA410P, FPS Windale 4 and MSI Core Frozr L . Do they perform better than Contac Silent 12? I won't OC until I buy better cooling system. Noctua D15 is not available in my country. FPS Windale 6 doesn't fit my case as mine supports up to 160mm. As I will use the air cooler I bought for at least 6-8 months, I am not sure whether if I stick with Contac Silent 12 or buy mentioned models.

I just checked CPU Cooler Tier list but so many models are not avaiable in my country or really expensive which are not worth to buy temporarily. I also really want to hear your options to check if they are available here.

Thank you.

PC SPEC
GeForce RTX 2080 Duke 8G OC
Intel Core i7-9700K
MSI MPG Z390 Gaming Plus
Gskill 16 GB (2x8GB) SniperX DDR4 3200MHz CL16 1.35V
ZALMAN Z9 NEO PLUS CASE

 

[maziech]

I am looking for an air cooler for i7 9700K temporarily

Hey @boykale ,

Could You be more precise what does temporarily mean? Any plans for the future, so You need temporarily buy something? What do You want to achieve for now?

What country are You from? What is the budget?

 

[boykale]

Hey @boykale ,

Could You be more precise what does temporarily mean? Any plans for the future, so You need temporarily buy something? What do You want to achieve for now?

What country are You from? What is the budget?

I will buy new case and liquid cooling system in a year. My budget is around 30-50$ and I live in Turkey. All I want is to have better temps compared to Thermaltake Contac Silent 12 as it is possible with this budget.

 

[maziech]

here is something for You. From what i see, newegg is shipping to Turkey.

However, don't expect serious overclocking on those. It's pretty hot in Turkey and this is quite hot CPU You have.

75C is considered very good, 80-85C is acceptable, above is not recommended. Last "safe" temp for this CPU is about 90-95C. At 100C it starts throttling.

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA9ZH6GN8650&ignorebbr=1
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA4UF7KA8600&ignorebbr=1

 

[maziech]

I will buy new case and liquid cooling system in a year.

Is it worth to invest 50$ in cooling for 1 year only, if You can buy Dark Rock Pro 4 for 90$ on newegg?
this is the high-end cooling, that is equivalent to mid+ AIO coolers.

 

[boykale]

Is it worth to invest 50$ in cooling for 1 year only, if You can buy Dark Rock Pro 4 for 90$ on newegg?
this is the high-end cooling, that is equivalent to mid+ AIO coolers.

My case supports CPU cooler up to 160mm. Dark Rock Pro 4 is 162.8. I think it's better to stick to Thermaltake Contac Silent 12 instead of buying a new air cooler for now as I already have Silent 12.
I just wonder that do "Cooler Master MasterAir MA410P, FPS Windale 4 or MSI Core Frozr L" lower temps 5-6°C compared to Thermaltake Contac Silent 12?

 

[rubix_1011]

I've only tested and reviewed the MA410P and the FSP Windale 4 - of these, the MA410P is better overall.

I would recommend the Dark Rock 4 or Pro version if you are planning to rebuild soon. I would also still recommend it if you're also considering an AIO cooler as part of that rebuild.

This sounds like such a specific 'stop gap' purchase - I would recommend either buying a cooler you intend to continue using in the future, or just wait until you update and then buy the cooler you want.

 

[Karadjgne]

Msi looks pretty cool, but doesn't cool all that well from every review I've seen. Solidly mediocre performance.

I'd just live with what you have. You have no idea what case you will move up to and any cooler restrictions it'll have. Many new cases have extra wiring space behind the mobo tray, so end up tight on the cpu cooler clearance, some being 157mm or even 152mm, so getting even a NH-D15S at 160mm can limit case choices. As can a 280mm AIO or even a 240mm AIO in some as you might want top mount but have to settle for front.

Get your case first, then get what fits.