X2 ECLIPSE IV Ulltra Quiet vs Noctua NH-L12

[joecalvert]

Anyone own or recommend these cooling systems? After putting up with the stock fan on my FX8350 for about a year, I can take it no more. Would this be a good cooler for my CPU. No overclocking. I'm leaning toward the Eclipse. It has 6 heat pipes compared to 4 with the Noctua. It also includes two 120mm fans compared to a 120mm and a 90mm with the Noctua. Plus, the Eclipse is $10 cheaper. Only 1 less year in warranty 5 compared to 6.

I'd go with the Noctua if I was shown that it is the better cooler. As I said, no overclocking and my main concerns are how well it will keep my CPU cool, keeping the noise level down and life of the product.

I just found on projected life, Noctua claims 150,000 hour MTBF, while Eclipse claims life expectancy of 70,000 hours. Are these numbers fairly reliable. If so, if the products are comparable, then it would definitely make sense to go the extra $10 on the Noctua.

 

[CallPain]

For a few more dollars, you can buy the Noctua NH-D14, which is the best CPU Fan you can buy for less than 100 dollars, better than the CM V8 Thermaltake Frio OCK and I'd recommend it over all

 

[joecalvert]

I'd rather have a 4 pin fan. I'm leaning toward the Noctua NH-U14S or the Be Quiet Dark Rock 3. Unfortunately, I have a very old case that I've reused throughout all my builds and it's only 7.75" wide and I'm not sure that either of these coolers will fit. So, now I need to either rethink which cooler to get or find a cheap case to go along with the cooler. Anyone have any idea on how wide my case needs to be to hold the NH-U14S?

 

[joecalvert]

I decided not to wait for an answer. I went with the Cooler Master HAF 912 case and the Noctua NH-U14S. Thanks to callpain for the response.