Just ordered a 4790k, looking for a good aftermarket heatsink

[Ezenemy]

Hey, I am upgrading from my 2700k to a 4790k and want to take the best care possible of this beauty. What's the best heat sink I could get? Price isn't really an issue (mind you I'm not going to pay $300 for one). I have a CM Storm Trooper, which is a huge case. Also, what's the best thermal paste to buy?

Thanks a lot.

 

[tomkis90]

I own a Noctua NH-D14 Its a great cooler it also comes with good quality thermal paste.
There also is the newer Noctua NH-15 But I haven't tested that one. Its look good tho.
If you're looking for air cooler those would be the ones that i'd personally suggest.

 

[Ezenemy]

I own a Noctua NH-D14 Its a great cooler it also comes with good quality thermal paste.
There also is the newer Noctua NH-15 But I haven't tested that one. Its look good tho.
If you're looking for air cooler those would be the ones that i'd personally suggest.

Yeah, I've looked into those and I suspected that's what I would be told. They're really ugly though.. hah. Is it hard to install?

 

[tomkis90]

No. they're really easy to install. I did it myself without any help from anothers.
I find the Noctua design to be unique and interesting. It's like as soon as you see weird looking fans you know you're buying some Noctua stuff.

 

[Ezenemy]

No. they're really easy to install. I did it myself without any help from anothers.
I find the Noctua design to be unique and interesting. It's like as soon as you see weird looking fans you know you're buying some Noctua stuff.

I checked the site and it's compatible with my motherboard. I don't know if it will fit into my case though. It's very large, in fact I don't think it gets much larger than mine. I'm about to order it, but I just want to make sure, do you know?

 

[synphul]

I just got a bequiet dark rock pro 3 installed on my 4690k (similar cpu) and it works really well. Quiet, cool - surprisingly. Granted my voltage isn't locked, but my cpu is idling at 20-22c and under prime95 v26.6 (small ffts) stayed at around 73-75 at 4.6ghz. I didn't use the installed paste, I used some prolimatech pk1 I had. My case is also a bit of an air restriction compared to newer ones, it's an old antec sonata ii with a single 120mm exhaust and single 120mm intake (if you can call it that). The 'intake' isn't up front like normal, it mounts behind the hdd cage and sits mid-chassis.

If you have over 170mm of clearance for a tower cooler, the thermalright true spirit 140 power will likely out perform the nh-d14 for a lot less. It's just tall and won't fit in smaller cases. I think most tower coolers max around 160mm and the ts140p is 170mm.

The be quiet drp3 looks a lot nicer than the noctua in my opinion. Can't speak for mounting differences, never installed a noctua. I've heard they're supposed to be good. My cooler installed easy enough, maybe a little more fiddling/pieces than the cooler master hyper 212 evo but way more solid of a mount.

 

[tomkis90]

My case is a Crosair 230T which is smaller than the CM storm trooper and I still have plenty of space left so you should have no problem at all with fitting that cooler.

 

[martinch]

Dunno if it's any help, but I have the Noctua U12S on my 4790K - I can't hear the fan (runs at 300rpm at idle), it idles at ~23C, and I've not seen it reach 60C yet (I haven't over-clocked it). It's very easy to install, other than getting the sprung screws to "take" (can be slightly tricky).

Apparently your case supports coolers up to 186mm, so just pick something shorter than that ...

 

[Ezenemy]

Everything is pointing to the DH-15 as the best option. However, there is this one as well, it has higher/more reviews and cheaper. Thoughts?

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608041&nm_mc=EMC-IGNEFL010715CA&cm_mmc=EMC-IGNEFL010715CA-_-EMC-010715-Index-_-CPUFansHeatsinks-_-35608041-L0D

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608045

 

[martinch]

The U14S is the bigger brother to the U12S. Whereas the D-series are twin-radiator heatsinks with 2 fans, the U-series are slimline (45mm) heatsinks that are supplied with a single fan (but can have another added if you wish) - they generally won't obstruct things on the motherboard.

Like I said, I've got the U12S - it keeps the CPU cool and is very quiet - the U14S is more efficient than it (U12S).

Basically, all 3 should be great.

Tech Power Up reviews:
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Noctua/NH-U14S/
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Noctua/NH-D15/
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Noctua/NH-U14S/