What is the best LGA1151 cooler?

[pierrelf]

Hi!
I was planning to build myself a skylake computer.
Until now, the stock cooler was my best friend, but as I'd like to overclock this time around, I'm obviously going to need something better.

After spending hours and hours watching comparison videos on youtube, I'm still not able to choose.

I've been looking around for a while, but even the manufacturers don't update their pages, so I'm having a hard time finding a cpu cooler that has been confirmed to work seamlessly (I'm not into ziptie modding) with the newer LGA1151 socket.

Here is my list of parts.

CPU Intel Core i5-6600K
CPU COOLER ?
Chassi Fractal Design Define R5 Window Black Pearl
MoBo Asus Z170 Pro Gaming
Ram Corsair Vengeance LPX Red 16GB DDR4 2133Mhz
SSD Intel 240GB SSD
HDD Seagate ST2000DM001 2TB
GPU Msi GTX 980 GAMING 4G
Led Mods NZXT. Hue+ Kit
Extra fans Fractal Design Dynamic GP-14 140mm White
PSU EVGA 750W SuperNOVA G2
OS Microsoft Windows 10 USB Eng

Quick note: On fractals website it says coolers up to 180mm high, so i'd like something that is a bit smaller than that (160 ich) so that I really don't have any trouble at all.

Note that I am using ram sticks with a pretty big heat spreader, so I don't want to run in to any trouble with that at all.

I was going to get an AIO liquid cooler until I posted another thread (for choosing the PSU) where I was told that I really had to check out some air coolers that apparently were cooling way better than a Corsair Hydro H55. Btw, does anyone know if the H55 is any good?

So, if you've read this far, you probably got an idea, so please let me know - note that I'd like you to be ENTIRELY sure that the cpu cooler isn't going to cause issues with the ram or the chassi!

Thanks!

Sorry for the long post! so as the 9gag rule says, here's a potato!
http://tinyurl.com/9gagpotato

 

[Dulith1118]

try the noctua nd15 or the be quiet rock pro 3 best air coolers

 

[pierrelf]

try the noctua nd15 or the be quiet rock pro 3 best air coolers

Thanks!

I'll check them out, though do you know if they're smaller than 180mm? they look really big on picture

Also, are they fully compatible with 1151 socket?
And - how loud are they

 

[pierrelf]

try the noctua nd15 or the be quiet rock pro 3 best air coolers

Sorry for not doing any research. I found out that they are both 165 tall (ich) and that they're compatible with 1151

Thanks!

Also, is it true that some big cpu air coolers bend the cpu and motheboard?

 

[Dulith1118]

they are not loud actaully not like some water coolers... and both are 165mm but u will love how cool they keep ur cpu

 

[Dulith1118]

lol no in my opinion i build a pc for my friend with the nd15 about a month ago and he loves it same cpu and the mobo

 

[lodders]

Advice on overclocking.

See how far you can overclock with the stock cooler and the stock Vcore voltage. Remember that Skylake runs cooler than previous CPUs

If you have a "good" CPU which overclocks well, you may well find that the overclock you achieve is good enough.
If you want more, buy a cooler, but beware that higher Vcore shortens the life of a CPU.

If you are unlucky, and your CPU doesn't overclock easily, then you will be stuck with just above stock speed, but at least you will have saved the cost of an aftermarket cooler.

FYI I have 2 identical PCs which I built several years ago, both with stock speed of 3.2GHz. One overclocks to 3.4GHz, the other to 4GHz. One has a good chip, and one has a bad one. It is as simple as that

 

[pierrelf]

lol no in my opinion i build a pc for my friend with the nd15 about a month ago and he loves it same cpu and the mobo

Thanks for the info!
The ND-15 looks great, but those fans just won't match with my red-black-white theme that I have in the computer...
I'll check if there are some cheap black and red fans to put on there that aren't too noisy, otherwise I'll consider the rock pro 3

 

[pierrelf]

Advice on overclocking.

See how far you can overclock with the stock cooler and the stock Vcore voltage. Remember that Skylake runs cooler than previous CPUs

If you have a "good" CPU which overclocks well, you may well find that the overclock you achieve is good enough.
If you want more, buy a cooler, but beware that higher Vcore shortens the life of a CPU.

If you are unlucky, and your CPU doesn't overclock easily, then you will be stuck with just above stock speed, but at least you will have saved the cost of an aftermarket cooler.

FYI I have 2 identical PCs which I built several years ago, both with stock speed of 3.2GHz. One overclocks to 3.4GHz, the other to 4GHz. One has a good chip, and one has a bad one. It is as simple as that

Actually, I think that the K processors don't even come with a stock cooler anymore.

Also, my chassi will have a window, so I'd rather go with an CM Hyper 212 Evo - they just look a bit better..
Obviously the 212 isn't really what I want, so that's why I ask this question here...

For the overclock, It's mostly just because I want to try out overclocking, not really to gain performance, so I would be happy with 3.6 GHz (stock is 3.5)

 

[Dulith1118]

yeah if it doesnt match rock pro 3 is good as well.. try the coolermaster v8

 

[pierrelf]

lol no in my opinion i build a pc for my friend with the nd15 about a month ago and he loves it same cpu and the mobo

So, after some more research, I found out the the Noctua ND H15 weighs 1.5kgs.
It may or may not bend the MoBo and CPU, but having a that heavy component really freaks me out.

I think that the Dark Rock Pro 3 is ahead for now!

Thanks!

 

[Dulith1118]

Advice on overclocking.

See how far you can overclock with the stock cooler and the stock Vcore voltage. Remember that Skylake runs cooler than previous CPUs

If you have a "good" CPU which overclocks well, you may well find that the overclock you achieve is good enough.
If you want more, buy a cooler, but beware that higher Vcore shortens the life of a CPU.

If you are unlucky, and your CPU doesn't overclock easily, then you will be stuck with just above stock speed, but at least you will have saved the cost of an aftermarket cooler.

FYI I have 2 identical PCs which I built several years ago, both with stock speed of 3.2GHz. One overclocks to 3.4GHz, the other to 4GHz. One has a good chip, and one has a bad one. It is as simple as that

Actually, I think that the K processors don't even come with a stock cooler anymore.

Also, my chassi will have a window, so I'd rather go with an CM Hyper 212 Evo - they just look a bit better..
Obviously the 212 isn't really what I want, so that's why I ask this question here...

For the overclock, It's mostly just because I want to try out overclocking, not really to gain performance, so I would be happy with 3.6 GHz (stock is 3.5)

if for fun yeah hyper 212 evo is okay... and 3.6 wont do any difference u need to try atleast 4.0 with the nd15 u can get 4.4-4.6 without any issues..

 

[martinch]

Personally, I have a Noctua U12S as it was very quiet, and not as heavy as the other options. It's expensive, and doesn't quite perform as well as some of the larger units, but it's very good (i7-4790K idle ~ 23C, tops out around 60-65C under max load), and very quiet.

I'm having a hard time finding a cpu cooler that has been confirmed to work seamlessly (I'm not into ziptie modding) with the newer LGA1151 socket.

Ignoring the "putting too much pressure on the CPU and bending it due to thinner materials" issue, the LGA 1150 and 1151 socket layout is identical, so anything that fits one should fit the other ...

 

[pierrelf]

Personally, I have a Noctua U12S as it was very quiet, and not as heavy as the other options. It's expensive, and doesn't quite perform as well as some of the larger units, but it's very good (i7-4790K idle ~ 23C, tops out around 60-65C under max load), and very quiet.

I'm having a hard time finding a cpu cooler that has been confirmed to work seamlessly (I'm not into ziptie modding) with the newer LGA1151 socket.

Ignoring the "putting too much pressure on the CPU and bending it due to thinner materials" issue, the LGA 1150 and 1151 socket layout is identical, so anything that fits one should fit the other ...

Good to know that 1150 coolers are compatible with 1151

For the bending part, it freaks me out too much, so I think that I'll be getting an AIO for now. The Define R5 has a window, so a huge heatsink would sort of block the view

I think that the CM Seidon 120V V2 seems like the best buy right now for an AIO in that price range

Now that I know that 1150 is compatible with 1151, I don't really have to think too much, just get the best AIO and live with it

 

[martinch]

For the bending part, it freaks me out too much, so I think that I'll be getting an AIO for now. The Define R5 has a window, so a huge heatsink would sort of block the view

Heh, fair enough. I must admit, I prefer air coolers (they can kinda passively cool the CPU if the fan fails), but I was worried about the weight of the heatsink (long-term weight on the motherboard, and also having to be mindful when moving it), although that's just a gut reaction. Can't say I've had any issues with mine, although it's only just over a year old (and I don't move my PC). Liquid coolers do look neat though!

I think that the CM Seidon 120V V2 seems like the best buy right now for an AIO in that price range

From what I've heard, that's a good choice