[SOLVED] What are the best down-draft CPU coolers?

[bit_user]

I always prefer down-draft coolers, for the sake of VRM, memory, and chipset cooling. As I'm more interested in low-noise than maximum cooling, I'd rather not use additional fans expressly for that purpose.

So far, it seems the Noctua NH-C14S tops the list. Are there any others I should be looking at? I've gone through several professional reviews and checked which models it was compared against, but it's always seemed to top the rankings among down-draft coolers.

In the past, I've used the Scythe Big Shuriken 2 with pretty good results, but the Big Shuriken 3 seems a bit underwhelming. I wish there were something using direct-contact heat pipes, but I think Cooler Master patented that and their best down-draft coolers (GeminII S524 v2, GeminII M5 LED) don't seem on par with the NH-C14S. Maybe there's something with a vapor chamber?

I looked at the be quiet! Dark Rock TF 2, also. In spite of dual fans, it also seems a step below Noctua coolers, but I haven't yet found a direct comparison between it and the NH-C14S.

BTW, socket LGA-1700 compatibility is required.

 

[COLGeek]

I like the Noctua and use them in all of my builds. Back in the day, Zalman used to dominate the "down-draft" market with variants of this cooler (seems they are still around, updated, and available).

zalman | PSU, Cases, CPU Coolers

www.zalman.com

 

[bit_user]

Back in the day, Zalman used to dominate the "down-draft" market with variants of this cooler

I had a Zalman "flower"-style pure copper cooler in my Pentium 4 (3.2 GHz Prescott). It worked well, but I had to clean it 1-2 times/year, or else I'd get overheat/thermal-throttling alarms! Towards the center, those closely-spaced fins just trap too much dust! Noise-wise, it wasn't bad ...but also not ideal. It had an integrated 90 mm fan, I'm pretty sure.

It looks like the updated version added gaps between the fins, towards the center:

​

Zalman CNPS2X​

​

However, they rate it only for 65 W, whereas I had used the older version to cool a 100+ W CPU.

Here's a 2-heatpipe version, but they don't specify any TDP rating:

Zalman CNPS8900​

 

[COLGeek]

I had a Zalman "flower"-style pure copper cooler in my Pentium 4 (3.2 GHz Prescott). It worked well, but I had to clean it 1-2 times/year, or else I'd get overheat/thermal-throttling alarms! Towards the center, those closely-spaced fins just trap too much dust!

Noise-wise, it wasn't bad ...but also not ideal. It had an integrated 90 mm fan, I'm pretty sure.

Understood. I recall the same. For many years, those were my "go to" coolers and then much better designs came along.

 

[bit_user]

I've looked at be Quiet! Dark Rock TF 2 and a few others, but none seem as capable as the Noctua NH-C14S. I'll update, if I find anything else noteworthy.

I'm giving @COLGeek the trophy, since it's not a bad answer and still the only candidate. Feel free to chime in with any further suggestions.

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

https://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/9....html#Introduction-Specifications-and-Pricing
TF2 is a decent cooler for what it is. And very quiet.

 

[bit_user]

https://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/9....html#Introduction-Specifications-and-Pricing
TF2 is a decent cooler for what it is. And very quiet.

Hmm... in those tests, it did somewhat better than what I've seen elsewhere. Maybe I'll have to search for another set of reviews on it, because that review shows it almost hanging with the NH-D15S, which even Noctua says outperforms the NH-C14S. I wish they'd done a head-to-head comparison, so we didn't have to extrapolate.

BTW, they also show both being outperformed by the Zalman CNPS20X. But, in spite of the similar name to the CNPS2X I mentioned above, it's not a down-draft cooler.

 

[bit_user]

Okay, so I learned 2 things about the TF 2. First, it includes 2 fans. Before, when I'd see benchmark results for 2 fans, I thought that was an extra fan the reviewer added. So, I didn't pay much heed to those results.

Second, I found the bad review that's probably what's responsible for my sense that it's a sub-par performer:

be quiet! Dark Rock TF2 CPU Air Cooler Review - EnosTech.com

The be quiet! Dark Rock TF2 CPU Air Cooler is a top-down cooler that cand handle cooling most CPUs without being overly loud.

www.enostech.com

I have no idea where they went wrong. I'm not familiar with that site, with this probably being my first time seeing it. They list data on quite a few different CPU coolers, so one would presume they know what they're doing...

Toms review is not so bad, but if you look closely at the results, it's not exactly glowing either.

https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/be-quiet-dark-rock-tf-2-review/3​

BTW, I presume they intended to put "CPU VRM ^T ..." not PWM, in order to show how well they cool other board components.


TechPowerUp reviewed it. Like Toms, they found a significant gap between it and the NH-D15 (both S and original versions!). Not only that, but they tested it on both AMD and Intel, giving us 2x the results!

AMD: https://www.techpowerup.com/review/be-quiet-dark-rock-tf-2/6.html​

Intel: https://www.techpowerup.com/review/be-quiet-dark-rock-tf-2/7.html​

Here's another review that paints it in a decent light, but unfortunately compares it mostly just with other be Quiet! coolers:

be quiet! Dark Rock TF 2 CPU Cooler Review - PC Perspective

be quiet! Dark Rock TF 2 CPU Cooler Review There is an old saying that goes something along the lines of “another week, another new be quiet! cooler”. It is

pcper.com

They have the Noctua NH-L9a in there, but that's a fairly nonsensical comparison.


So, it's looking more and more like the TweakTown review is an outlier (though so is ENOS Tech). This leads me pretty much back to where I started. The NH-C14S seems like the safest bet. I'm contemplating upgrading the fan to their 150 mm oversized model.

 

[bit_user]

So, I doubt this will be competitive, but I noticed ThermalTake has a fairly recent ToughAir 110 model.

TOUGHAIR 110 CPU Cooler

A top flow designed CPU cooler equipped with an optimized 120 mm high static pressure fan and a newly designed heat sink, which guarantees its outstanding performance.

www.thermaltakeusa.com

It has direct-touch heat pipes, but only 4 of them and just a 120 mm fan. Seems designed to compete with Cooler Master's GeminII M5 (120 mm fan with 5 direct-touch heat pipes) or maybe Noctua's NH-L12S (120 mm fan with 4 heat pipes). TT claims the ToughAir 110 is a 140 W cooler, but I'm skeptical. Reviews aren't easy to find.