Question Opinion on Choosing Cooler

[amulsingh01]

I'm looking for an air-cooler for an i7-7700k that I'll be giving away to a buddy. Right now I got my eyes on the Noctua nh-u12s black and the Be Quiet dark rock 4 which are both the same price. Which one should I go for or are there other coolers for around the same price ($70) that can do better? Thanks in advance.

 

[velocityg4]

The NH-U12S and Dark Rock 4 aren't particularly heavy duty units. Some of the best performing options in your budget will likely be the Thermalright Macho Direct and Scythe Mugen Max Rev B. If you're lucky a Thermalright Le Grande Macho RT or Noctua NH-D15. These are all also substantially larger. Make sure there won't be clearance issues. Although the Mugen Max and Macho Direct are fairly low profile considering their size.