Question Ryzen 9 Cooling

[animationbruno]

Hi, I have a Ryzen 9 3900x processor that came with a box (cpu+cooler). The cooler is an AMD Wraith Prism RGB. I want to change my Ryzen 9 3900 to a Ryzen 9 5950x. Can I keep the same cooler? Is a good air cooling solution? I'm NOT going to overclock my new Ryzen 9 5950x CPU. Thanks

 

[Phaaze88]

Can I keep the same cooler? Is a good air cooling solution?

Not by a long shot. There is a reason only up to the 5700G in the Ryzen 5000 series is prepackaged with a cooler.

That said, no one can recommend any coolers(air or liquid) without knowing some of the limitations:
1)case model.
2)ram model. Reasons:
-front fan on SOME air coolers sit above the ram, and taller kits will increase the max height of those models.
-some of the more compact cases may not support thicker AIOs for top mounted installations.

3)gpu model. In case an AIO at the front is an option.
4)where are you shopping? Amazon US, etc.
5)prefer air/liquid cooler?
6)budget?

 

[Misgar]

I took an unused AMD Wraith Prism RGB cooler (sold with a 3800X CPU) and fitted it to a 5600X build. It cools the 5600X fine.

My 3800X is running with a Noctua NH-D14.

My 7950X is running with a Noctua NH-D15. It keeps the CPU around 90C on long video renders.

If you fit the Wraith to a 7950X, it will thermal limit at 95C during intensive tasks. NOT a good choice.

Ideally you should fit a cooler with a 180W TDP rating or higher.

Buy a large twin-tower dual-fan air cooler or a big AIO (at least 240mm).

 

[Owterspace]

I have an FC140 on my 5900X. I run it at 250/170/195 +200 with my curve, and its wicked. Phantom Spirit 120 SE is about as strong as a stock FC140 in the space of a PA120. But with all of those cores, you would want the mass, and the big heatpipes of FC140.

There are others I guess.. but I am a Thermalright fanboy.

 

[animationbruno]

Thank you for all the answers. The Noctua NH-D15 is 139 Canadian dollars in Amazon. And the Thermalright FC140 is 56 CAD. Why this huge price difference? Is the Noctua that much better and worth the price? 3x more almost? Which one should I buy? My case is the Fractal Design Meshify 2 XL Black ATX. I have 2 coolers in the front of my case and a big one in the back. No coolers on the top side of my case. I have an RTX 3090 inside for my graphics card. Thanks

 

[Phaaze88]

Why this huge price difference? Is the Noctua that much better and worth the price? 3x more almost? Which one should I buy?

You're paying for things like, socket support, R&D, and quality control.
Only you can really answer the question of worth. Everyone values a buck differently, and so there's no right or wrong answer.

 

[animationbruno]

Thank you @Phaaze88 for the answer, I agree with you that is a very personal decision. A better question maybe is: Is the Thermalright FC-140 cooler reliable and a good product? Thanks

 

[Phaaze88]

A better question maybe is: Is the Thermalright FC-140 cooler reliable and a good product? Thanks

Hmm... Good product, yes.
Reliable? Ehh, probably not as good as Noctua. Noctua's products go through more QC checks, so as a customer, you would be less likely to run into 'hiccups', but they're not impossible.

Noctua has like a couple variations of some of their coolers, whereas Thermalright has a number of lookalike variants with slight differences - I'm not sure why. Maybe doing LED and non-LED caused all that?
Like, I see a Frost Commander, Frost Spirit, Frost Spirit V3... What happened to V2?!
They might even have a SE version coming at some point, like how the Phantom Spirit and Peerless Assassin have SEs.
Noctua has NH-D15(S), NH-U12(Redux), NH-L12S(Ghost S1), and that's about it.

For some, the high cost of Noctua's coolers is going to be a hard sell when they can get one that performs similarly for around half the price. So what if the fans might not run as long or they can get a little louder - the upfront savings makes it well worth it to them.
I have a hard time recommending Noctua coolers, and I used to be a Noctua fanboy...
The NH-D15S is Noctua's current best - from a price to performance standpoint - IF it fits in one's case. Their other coolers get poorer in value, particularly their downdraft models.
Even then, Thermalright has their Silver Soul 135(not the 110) for well over 50% cheaper than the D15S. Geezus...


Sorry for long post. Part of your question wasn't quite that simple.

 

[Owterspace]

Noctua is all hype, cmon now. Dont elevate them because of their warranty lol. Do you honestly think they are the only company to offer the services that they do? You should know better.

 

[animationbruno]

Thank you guys!