Question about CPU cooler fans

[deankenny]

I want to overclock my i5 3570k and have seen various forums recommending the Coolermaster 212evo cooler, but i want a led lit fan.

Question is, i see the size of the cooler fan is 120mm so can i just buy any 120mm fan and attach it, or do i need a certain one so it has a connector to connect to the motherboards fan control pins ?

 

[larrym]

Any one will work, just make sure it has the 4 pin CPU fan connection for the mobo. I would read the reviews and research the fans you want to buy to make sure they are quiet under load. The 212 evo also comes with extra brackets to attach two fans if you want and have the room.

 

[deankenny]

Thanks for the reply i have looked at this fan, as my case is the phatom special edition orange black, so an orange fan would go well with the already huge orange fan that comes with the case, so is this a decent fan for what i need? (just realised its made by nzxt too)

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/120mm-nzxt-fz-120mm-13-blades-fan-orange-led-1200rpm

 

[ryanrich83]

Exactly. As long as the fan is the right size and has the right connector for the motherboard, it will work.

If the CPU fan header on the motherboard is a 4 pin PWM header try, to get the same as this enables the motherboard to control the fan speed.

If it is a 3 pin fan header, either a 3 or 4 pin fan will work, but you can't control fan speed.

 

[Someone Somewhere]

You want a fan with the CPU connector (though you could run it of a molex, or normal 3pin connector, but it won't change speed depending on temp). Usually marketed as PWM.

 

[larrym]

Yes, that is a nice fan. I couldn't find what type of connection it has tho. Some come with adapters some do not. You can always buy an adapter for a few bucks if you need one.

 

[deankenny]

thanks guys, i have the extreme4 motherboard ill look up what cpu fan connector it has

 

[larrym]

I have the same MOBO it has the 3 and 4 pin connections for the cpu fan

 

[deankenny]

yes Larry i see this now, im wondering if i might aswell just leave the stock fan on the coolermaster cooler and buy some 120mm fans to go around the case, should still light it up nicely? or would you think a led fan on the cpu cooler would help much? with the lighting inside

 

[larrym]

i left my stock one on one pc and replaced it with another pc with a led fan. Both look nice, as the other fans in the case are led. But the fan that comes with the 212 is very quite, even under load and I have my pc OC'ed to 4.2.

 

[larrym]

You could always try it and replace it with a led fan if you want more light or add in some led light bars.

 

[deankenny]

Thanks again Larry if money was not an issue, is there any better cpu coolers on the market for the i53570k ?

Bearing in mind i have gskill ram with raised heatshields

 

[larrym]

There are a lot of better coolers but they cost a lot more. For the money, the 212 evo works great. I have corsair ram with raised shields and it still fits, barely, but they still fit.

 

[larrym]

here is one example...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608018

 

[deankenny]

im looking at the NH-D14 now, but not sure if i can get enough clearance for the ram, doing a bit of googling on the matter

 

[deankenny]

how about this, no clearence issues http://www.scan.co.uk/products/corsair-hydro-series-h60-2013-edition-high-performance-cpu-cooler-lga1155-1156-775-1366-2011-am2-am3

 

[larrym]

I can't really speak the the water coolers as i have never used one. But, from what I have heard on here, those types of water coolers are not much better than the air coolers. Most, I think would say, you have to go to a custom water loop to get any benefit over a good air cooler.

 

[deankenny]

I have gone with the Noctua NH-D14 in the end, after getting confirmation from Scan.co.uk that this will fit in my case and also doing research against my gskill ripjaws memory i found it fits just snug as you can see from the link pic.

http://i.imgur.com/KzEqvl.jpg