Which CPU Cooler for i5 4690k?

[Samurage]

I'm starting a new pc build,I was originally going to cheap out and just get a hyper 212 evo like everyone else seems to be doing,but I thought with an expensive build at hand I shouldn't cheap out here either,I'm really struggling to choose which cooler to get,a lot of the benchmarks I have been reading seem to contradict each other and seem inaccurate because of that reason,so i don't really know what to do, possibly water cooling could be an option but I wouldn't really want to spend to much on custom water cooling and time on maintenance either,I was looking at the h100i but I'm not sure whether its worth it or not and I don't really have a preference other than maybe having a black and red colour scheme would be nice as that`s the colour of my build,but not necessary,nonetheless I'm mostly concerned about the performance aspect so any help is appreciated,thanks!

 

[Ryanrenesis]

I highly recommend the Cooler Master Nepton 140XL. It performs even better than the larger Corsair H100i and a mere 0.2dB louder.

Or if you have the money and space, the Cooler Master Nepton 280L.

Click HERE for some benchmark results of these coolers.

 

[Thaisnang]

Corsair H105 would be a good choice. However water coolers are noisy. You have to optimize them for making them silent.
So if you don't like noise air coolers like Noctua NH-D15, CRYORIG R1 Universal, Phanteks PH14PE would also be a good choice.
Which case do you have?

 

[Samurage]

I've been looking at all of those AIO water coolers,but I just cant seem to push myself to buy them,considering a custom one would cost like a little more, I've also heard they can be really loud for what they do, also I have a Fractal R4 widowed if that makes a difference,do you know a site I can see the highest performing CPU cooler,like true benchmarks,because I see on frostytech that the benchmarks seem inaccurate, for example,on top 10 temperature coolers,the xigmatek dark knight is 5th yet I've seen benchmarks the hyper 212 evo performs better than it,and I know for a fact the noctua nh d14 is way better than the hyper 212 evo,yet on the frostytech bench the xigmatek is ahead of the noctua nh d14,I mean what the heck,Ive been looking at the thermalright silver arrow extreme,its the one that looks like it might blend in the most and seems good,but I'm still in the darkness about which cooler to get...

 

[kira70591]

Unless you are planning on doing extreme overclocking, the Hyper 212 Evo should be all that you need. AIOs perform similarly against high performance air coolers. The Hyper 212 Evo is a great choice and I would by no means say that you are "cheaping" out by getting one. The main benefit that you gain from AIOs is the space saving. Air coolers are massive; however, they take up a ton of case space which may not even be an issue if you are able to slide the fan up far enough to give your memory enough clearance.

With the price of a Hyper 212 Evo (there are some good black deals that I have seen floating around the past couple of weeks), I would get one and if it does not meet your expectations then you can always upgrade. Honestly though, an Evo is all that people ever normally need for their overclocks as long as it is within the realm or reason. The fan included with it is decent and you can add a Corsair SP120 on it if you want to for a push / pull configuration if you want it to remain quite quiet.

 

[Samurage]

Yeah,thats a good point,but at the same time,will it be able to reach 4.4 ghz on the i5 4690k, and still keep it low at max load,thats the only real difference ive seen with air and water coolers,the water coolers hold a better max load temp,

 

[kira70591]

What is your expected usage case? When are you expecting it to hit its maximum usage? It is not often that you are going to hit maximum usage unless you are running synthetic benches.

 

[Samurage]

Well that's the thing,I don't really know sate temps that well for these types of processors,I mean I've read below 75 is safe,but I want to prolong the chip life as long as I can so I don't really know what is right or wrong,but I do know that I want to hit 4.4 ghz at least without damaging it even on intensive tasks and long running pc sessions,so I know its not the best answer but I really cant think what would be an appropriate cooler.

 

[kira70591]

Unless there is a certain reason that you want to hit 4.4, if you hit below that I would not worry. Even at stock, the speed is still good for most of what you want to do (game wise). It still handles good for even intensive tasks such as encoding. These CPUs will shut themselves down if they get too hot to protect themselves. You still want to watch your temps for prolonged sessions, and I would say that anything under 75 for 100% usage is not bad as it will obviously be lower while under less usage. I would still go for a Hyper 212 Evo and see what you can get out of that. I use that for most of my builds, unless space is an issue. If you have the money I would go for the Noctua NH-D14 which will let you do whatever you want without having to worry about anything (within reason).

 

[Samurage]

I guess I could just get it and the SP 120 fans which would make it look quite nice, out of curiosity,what is considered safe temps?, and I do know that prime 95 and stress tests similar do really push the cpu and it never really gets that high in real life situations so that's another point to take in,do you know where I can find some true benchmarks for max load cpu cooling benchmarks by any chance, and what in your opinion are like the top 5 absolute best air coolers as im not really leaning towards AIO water coolers

 

[kira70591]

Honestly, everyone has their own "safe" temp range and will tell you different; however, I normally say anything right around 75 (give or take a few and lower is always better) degrees C for extended time under load is fine. People always talk about wanting to have lower temps to extend the life of the CPU... by the time the CPU is degraded to the point where it is causing errors, it is probably time for another upgrade anyway.

On one of my machines I have an i7 4770 with a Hyper 212 Evo sitting on it. It normally does not reach over 70-75 C depending on my ambient room temperature, which is normally quite high as I have other equipment in there. As long as your ambient room temperature is not super high there is really not much to worry about.

For the best, Noctua is normally the way to go but the price / performance ratio is not there and honestly, the degree difference between an Evo and something such as the NH-D14 is not worth the more than double price (unless you are want to push it to the utter useless extreme then the D14/5 may be worth the extra money). You can always do a google search for CPU air cooler benchmarks. Scythe, Be Quiet, Cooler Master, and Noctua all make good coolers. I would have to say though that the Noctua NH-D14/5 and the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo are some of the most popular coolers as they have performed well under heat so to speak.

 

[Thaisnang]

This one is the best air cooler on the market currently performs as good as the H110--> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA4UF1H68919
This cooler is capable of keeping the temps near 70's even at 4.4Ghz.
Here's a review--> http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/CRYORIG/R1_Universal/

 

[Samurage]

I think I'm just going to go for the hyper 212,it seems like the cheapest option and there must be a reason everybody loves it so much,if it isn't powerful enough I can always upgrade I guess,does anyone have any ideas what sort of OC I could possibly reach with the 21 EVO on the CPU I'm getting?

 

[Ryanrenesis]

I think I'm just going to go for the hyper 212,it seems like the cheapest option and there must be a reason everybody loves it so much,if it isn't powerful enough I can always upgrade I guess,does anyone have any ideas what sort of OC I could possibly reach with the 21 EVO on the CPU I'm getting?

I wouldn't go higher than 4.5Ghz @ 1.25V Vcore, 2.3V VRIN, and 1.3V RING.

 

[kira70591]

I would definitely start out around the 4.1 - 4.2 mark and then work your way up. Easier to work your way up in increments instead of having to deal with clearing CMOS out after setting it too high and then working your way back down blind.