Intel i7 960 needs a new cooler, one with overclockability

fireaza

Distinguished
May 9, 2011
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Hi guys,
My CPU currently has an all-in-one water cooler, it appears to be a Corsair with a different plastic shell (it came with my system). Even though my CPU is not overclocked, it was coming in at around 70c during a stress test! Clearly, this cooler has got to go. I'd been considering water-cooling, but I really didn't want the expense of a custom kit, and I'm still not thrilled with the idea and work of water cooling. So i thought maybe a better all-in-one system, or a kit, like Thermaltake sell. Having read some reviews, it seems that all-in-ones don't offer much of a cooling benefit over a good air cooler, especially when price and noise is factored in. Air cooling it is then!

I'd like to branch out into CPU overclocking, so a cooler that will allow me to get a great overclock is what I'm after. Which brings me to my first question: how overclockable is my CPU (are some CPUs unable to be overclocked?)? It's an Intel i7 960.

At the same time, I don't want to hear a roaring jet engine, I've put up with enough noisy fans in my time thanks. There's also the problem of space, my case is kinda cramped, so something like a Thermaltake FRIO is right out. Having a peek at the 2010 cooler charts (http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/cpu-cooler-charts-2010/benchmarks,104.html), it seemed like either the Zalman CNPS10X Extreme or the Zalman CNPS 10x Quiet would be a good choice. But I just read the manual for the Quiet, and it requires more width than I have available.

So my requirements are:
1) Able to cool the CPU well enough to allow for a good overclock (assuming my CPU is overclockable that is!)
2) Isn't loud. I'm not asking for pure silence, but it should kinda blend into the background.
3) Isn't too big for my case. (the biggest constraint is my motherboard's heatsink, it's rather close to the CPU, so it might get in the way). Here's the space I have to work with:
IMG_0004.jpg


My two local PC hardware stores are:
MSY
Umart
MSY is closer to me then Umart, and is often cheaper, but Umart has a bigger selection.

Here's some system specs for you:
CPU: Intel core i7 960
RAM: 9208MB DDR3 (I THINK they're 1333 speed...)
Video: eVGA NVIDIA GTX 570 SC