Recommended CPU cooler for MSI 970 Gaming

[Apoorv Srivastava]

I am planning to buy the MSI 970 Gaming motherboard with FX-8350 processor. What do I need to know before buying a CPU cooler for it?

 

[MeteorsRaining]

Unless you're going to Overclock, you don't usually need an aftermarket cooler. But if you're considering one to buy, look after these points:

-Make sure cooler can fit (height wise) inside your case.

-Make sure you get don't get a very loud cooler if you're sensitive to noise.

-Identify if you'll OC mildly, moderately or you're going to do some serious OC. And buy accordingly, a 4k INR cooler isn't ideal for extreme OC and in the same way a 10k cooler is a waste of money for a mild OC.

 

[logainofhades]

Do yourself a favor and get an i5 4460 and an H97 board. No need for aftermarket cooling or overclocking, as it will have better performance, out of the box.

 

[MeteorsRaining]

^That, with Z97 Extreme3 or Z97X-SLI if you want SLI ability.

 

[tiny voices]

Yep, forget the AMD setup and get an i5 4460.

Don't bother with a Z97 board. He wasn't getting SLI/CF with his AMD setup so he probably doesn't care about it.

Plus a cheaper board will mean better more money for the GPU. Get what Hades' listed.

 

[Apoorv Srivastava]

Unless you're going to Overclock, you don't usually need an aftermarket cooler. But if you're considering one to buy, look after these points:

-Make sure cooler can fit (height wise) inside your case.

-Make sure you get don't get a very loud cooler if you're sensitive to noise.

-Identify if you'll OC mildly, moderately or you're going to do some serious OC. And buy accordingly, a 4k INR cooler isn't ideal for extreme OC and in the same way a 10k cooler is a waste of money for a mild OC.

thanks a lot. I think this narrows it down for me. I won't be overclocking much. Mildly maybe, not even sure about that.

 

[Apoorv Srivastava]

Do yourself a favor and get an i5 4460 and an H97 board. No need for aftermarket cooling or overclocking, as it will have better performance, out of the box.

well, FX 8350 is cheaper and has 8 cores. The one you are suggesting is slightly expensive and has only 4 cores. I am aware of the fact that intel gives better per core performance but that's just double the cores and lesser money. I think 8350 will perform better. Let me know if I am wrong.

 

[tiny voices]

IF you are set on those parts, and a mild, no overclocking, het a hyper tx3.

 

[tiny voices]

Do yourself a favor and get an i5 4460 and an H97 board. No need for aftermarket cooling or overclocking, as it will have better performance, out of the box.

well, FX 8350 is cheaper and has 8 cores. The one you are suggesting is slightly expensive and has only 4 cores. I am aware of the fact that intel gives better per core performance but that's just double the cores and lesser money. I think 8350 will perform better. Let me know if I am wrong.

For gaming, you are wrong. the i5 will be quite superior. More cores means nothing when no games can use them.

 

[Apoorv Srivastava]

^That, with Z97 Extreme3 or Z97X-SLI if you want SLI ability.

No I don't want SLI or crossfire. I already have an AMD R9 270X 2gb and it works fine for me. Thanks for the response though.

 

[MeteorsRaining]

To solve your delimna:

Think of Intel's 4 cores to be 4 individual triple story mansions which can house lots of people and

FX's 8 cores to be 8 small single story houses with limited capacity and they're paired. Meaning a pair of two houses share the locality's resources.

Where would you like to live? It's exactly the same in gaming

 

[Apoorv Srivastava]

Do yourself a favor and get an i5 4460 and an H97 board. No need for aftermarket cooling or overclocking, as it will have better performance, out of the box.

well, FX 8350 is cheaper and has 8 cores. The one you are suggesting is slightly expensive and has only 4 cores. I am aware of the fact that intel gives better per core performance but that's just double the cores and lesser money. I think 8350 will perform better. Let me know if I am wrong.

For gaming, you are wrong. the i5 will be quite superior. More cores means nothing when no games can use them.

yeah that was the case a few months ago. 6 months ago i was planning on buying the FX-6350 since 8 cores were too much and no game was using them. But now with games like Assassin's Creed Unity and a few others, gaming companies have started using 8 cores. The recommended one for unity IS 8350. So I figured games are now using 8 cores, at least will in the near future.
Plus 4460 has 3.2 stock clock speed while 8350 has 4.0. Now with 4 extra cores and a better clock speed, it's hard for me to believe that this specific i5 is better than this specific AMD. I do agree with you on the fact that Intel is superior at equal specs.

 

[logainofhades]

Yep, forget the AMD setup and get an i5 4460.

Don't bother with a Z97 board. He wasn't getting SLI/CF with his AMD setup so he probably doesn't care about it.

Plus a cheaper board will mean better more money for the GPU. Get what Hades' listed.

Actually the 970 gaming supports CF and SLI.

OP, your really are not saving much going with AMD setup you proposed vs an Intel one. Could have went with a bit less expensive board, but that one has a nice feature set, for the money.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor ($159.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper TX3 54.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($17.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI 970 GAMING ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($89.89 @ Newegg)
Total: $267.86
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-17 11:09 EST-0500

vs

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($179.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H97-GAMING 3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($97.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $277.98
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-17 11:09 EST-0500

 

[tiny voices]

Do yourself a favor and get an i5 4460 and an H97 board. No need for aftermarket cooling or overclocking, as it will have better performance, out of the box.

well, FX 8350 is cheaper and has 8 cores. The one you are suggesting is slightly expensive and has only 4 cores. I am aware of the fact that intel gives better per core performance but that's just double the cores and lesser money. I think 8350 will perform better. Let me know if I am wrong.

For gaming, you are wrong. the i5 will be quite superior. More cores means nothing when no games can use them.

yeah that was the case a few months ago. 6 months ago i was planning on buying the FX-6350 since 8 cores were too much and no game was using them. But now with games like Assassin's Creed Unity and a few others, gaming companies have started using 8 cores. The recommended one for unity IS 8350. So I figured games are now using 8 cores, at least will in the near future.
Plus 4460 has 3.2 stock clock speed while 8350 has 4.0. Now with 4 extra cores and a better clock speed, it's hard for me to believe that this specific i5 is better than this specific AMD. I do agree with you on the fact that Intel is superior at equal specs.

You cannot compare clock speed across platforms. Sorry it holds no value at all. For example, a 3.5ghz i3 will BLOW AWAY a 4ghz fx4300 (both dual core CPUs) in every single application.

Also, what games use 8 cores? Generally speaking, the i5 beats the 8350 in all games. It is able to deliver WAY higher minimum FPS which is what correlates to smoothness of gameplay. An 8350 will NEVER run games as smoothly as an i5. Plain and simple. Get the i5. It WILL last longer, game better, and has an upgrade path and is not on a dead socket like the 8350.

You are getting held up with the more cores = more power argument which holds no truth in reality.

 

[Apoorv Srivastava]

To solve your delimna:

Think of Intel's 4 cores to be 4 individual triple story mansions which can house lots of people and

FX's 8 cores to be 8 small single story houses with limited capacity and they're paired. Meaning a pair of two houses share the locality's resources.

Where would you like to live? It's exactly the same in gaming

Very well explained. But I kind of have other uses as well. Of course the primary one is gaming only, but I also do a little of Video editing and making songs. Taking everything in account, wouldn't it be better to go for 8 cores?
Plus I have a budget limitation as well.

 

[Apoorv Srivastava]

Do yourself a favor and get an i5 4460 and an H97 board. No need for aftermarket cooling or overclocking, as it will have better performance, out of the box.

well, FX 8350 is cheaper and has 8 cores. The one you are suggesting is slightly expensive and has only 4 cores. I am aware of the fact that intel gives better per core performance but that's just double the cores and lesser money. I think 8350 will perform better. Let me know if I am wrong.

For gaming, you are wrong. the i5 will be quite superior. More cores means nothing when no games can use them.

yeah that was the case a few months ago. 6 months ago i was planning on buying the FX-6350 since 8 cores were too much and no game was using them. But now with games like Assassin's Creed Unity and a few others, gaming companies have started using 8 cores. The recommended one for unity IS 8350. So I figured games are now using 8 cores, at least will in the near future.
Plus 4460 has 3.2 stock clock speed while 8350 has 4.0. Now with 4 extra cores and a better clock speed, it's hard for me to believe that this specific i5 is better than this specific AMD. I do agree with you on the fact that Intel is superior at equal specs.

You cannot compare clock speed across platforms. Sorry it holds no value at all. For example, a 3.5ghz i3 will BLOW AWAY a 4ghz fx4300 (both dual core CPUs) in every single application.

Also, what games use 8 cores? Generally speaking, the i5 beats the 8350 in all games. It is able to deliver WAY higher minimum FPS which is what correlates to smoothness of gameplay. An 8350 will NEVER run games as smoothly as an i5. Plain and simple. Get the i5. It WILL last longer, game better, and has an upgrade path and is not on a dead socket like the 8350.

You are getting held up with the more cores = more power argument which holds no truth in reality.

yeah, okay I see your point. I compared the 2 CPUs on game-debate and it says exactly opposite. Now I am confused. :/ I think I'll put another question regarding this now. Thanks for your help.

 

[MeteorsRaining]

To go a bit deep into the topic:

'8 logical' cores for FX 8 is true. What is not-so-great is that they're housed in 4 modules, and share resources. Intel has 4 cores in 4 modules. A module basically divides resources to the FX's cores, so each core gets (non-technically) half the resources. That accounts to lower FPU and it can't use all 8 cores simultaneously as effectively as i5. A 3Ghz Pentium has better single core performance than FX 9590, I hope you're understanding the point.

To be honest, i5 is nowhere near weak in video editing or audio. There are VERY few softwares which are so well threaded that FX 8 can take beat i5 in those two tasks. Take this into account, the pros of Intel right now:
-More upgradable, ie, active socket.
-More efficient.
-Effectively more powerful.

I personally see no use in investing in a 3 year old dead socket.

For the financial part, i5 is 12k INR and you can pair it with a 6k INR MoBo flawlessly. No need for cooler.

If an i5 can't take up your Video editing needs, you certainly need Xeon or i7. Same with audio. No FX will meet your demands then.

 

[tiny voices]

Game-Debate is consistantly wrong. They use few parameters and introduce biases. I never use them for anything.

 

[Kohwali]

I am planning to buy the MSI 970 Gaming motherboard with FX-8350 processor. What do I need to know before buying a CPU cooler for it?

AMD stock coolers are known for being loud. So you should get an aftermarket cooler

 

[Apoorv Srivastava]

To go a bit deep into the topic:

'8 logical' cores for FX 8 is true. What is not-so-great is that they're housed in 4 modules, and share resources. Intel has 4 cores in 4 modules. A module basically divides resources to the FX's cores, so each core gets (non-technically) half the resources. That accounts to lower FPU and it can't use all 8 cores simultaneously as effectively as i5. A 3Ghz Pentium has better single core performance than FX 9590, I hope you're understanding the point.

To be honest, i5 is nowhere near weak in video editing or audio. There are VERY few softwares which are so well threaded that FX 8 can take beat i5 in those two tasks. Take this into account, the pros of Intel right now:
-More upgradable, ie, active socket.
-More efficient.
-Effectively more powerful.

I personally see no use in investing in a 3 year old dead socket.

For the financial part, i5 is 12k INR and you can pair it with a 6k INR MoBo flawlessly. No need for cooler.

If an i5 can't take up your Video editing needs, you certainly need Xeon or i7. Same with audio. No FX will meet your demands then.

Damn, I was trying to reply to you and chose this as the answer.
Anyhow this seems like the right choice then if you all agree. I am fairly new to this.
So is the i5 4460 the best choice in that range?

 

[Apoorv Srivastava]

Game-Debate is consistantly wrong. They use few parameters and introduce biases. I never use them for anything.

anything else I need to keep in mind? And please suggest a strong enough motherboard as well, if I go with i5.
I already own an AMD Sapphire Dual-X R9 270X.

 

[MeteorsRaining]

A great MoBo for the price:
http://www.amazon.in/GIGABYTE-GA-H97M-D3H-Intel-Micro-Motherboard/dp/B00K872FB2

There are cheaper options, but this one is a beauty.

 

[tiny voices]

That board is good. Really any H97 chipset board will be fine.

 

[Apoorv Srivastava]

A great MoBo for the price:
http://www.amazon.in/GIGABYTE-GA-H97M-D3H-Intel-Micro-Motherboard/dp/B00K872FB2

There are cheaper options, but this one is a beauty.

Looks good. Tell me, how about I go for a 4590 rather than a 4460. It's basically 2k INR more. I think I can stretch that much.

 

[tiny voices]

No point. It will not do anything better than the 4460. Nothing at all.