Which kind of CPU Cooler is better?

OK. .. I was at Comp USA the other day and the salesman was trying to sell me a water cooler for my CPU. I told him I was going to go with a  Nocuta CPU Fan (which was recommended on the board a few times) but he kept trying to tell me this corsair water cooler is better than any kind of fan.
 
So which is correc?
 
Let's just say that I have a Intel i7-2600k Sandy bridge CPU overclocked to 3.8 to 4.0.
 
which would be better. Fan Cooler or water cooler?
 
Clifford

While I can't say I've seen water cooling in person, I've usually only heard of people using it when they are highly overclocking the machine.  Typically in those cases the water cooling solution will work better and will be quieter than a million fans.  That said, I don't think you need to do anything crazy with a DAW machine and water cooling is going to be overkill. 

I don't think you are overclocking that processor so much that you need water cooling.  People on newegg are claiming to get that processor to 4.4 using aftermarket fans.  Usual comment however is the stock heat sink is a joke so it isn't recommended you OC with that.

tarsier


How loud is that water cooler's pump?  I say just go with a fan, there's less to go wrong and there are known quiet ones.  If the salesman that is pushing a water cooler has no experience building DAWs, then I wouldn't listen to a thing he had to say.

 
Well that is exactly what I was thinking as well........So we are on the same page...Thanks for your thought
 
Clifford

Jim Roseberry

but he kept trying to tell me this corsair water cooler is better than any kind of fan.

 
The Corsair self-contained water coolers are OK.
Top tier air cooling is slightly superior to the Corsair H50 (lower temps)
 
You have a fan either way.
The radiator has to have a fan blowing over it.
With water cooling, you also have a pump.
The Corsair pumps aren't particularly loud... but they're not silent.
Outside of self-contained units, water cooling is more of a PITA than its worth.
 
You can run a SandyBridge 2600k at 4.5GHz (cool and quiet) with a top-tier air cooler.
 
Jim
You know how much I respect your opinion and this is good reasoning for going with a fan.
 
I already have a fan picked out and intended to go that route.....but I still wanted other opinions....The Corsair unit he was showing me was a self contained unit....but I still thinking about what happens if they leak? or what kind of maintainence do they need and is it really more work that I need to put into it.....
 
So I am really thinking fan.......If I do OC it will be no more than 4.0 if that.... I really want a stable system......and of course quite as well.....
 
Thank you for your thoughts and guidance.
 
Clifford
 

jcschild


for water cooled i prefer the cool-it systems as they are quiet but as mentioned way overkill
the Noctua would be best. we do 4.5 to 4.7 GHz OCs all day long with them. and yes quiet.

Thanks for the  help on this. You and Jim provide a wealth of information to the rest of us and it is much appreciated.
 
I have a CPU fan picked out based on your suggestion to some one else in this column and intend on following that advice.
 
I have always been told Zalman fans are the quietest and have never heard of the Noctua fans before....but I figure since you build all day your two guys know way more than I will ever hope to.
 
but you OC that much huh?.....and you have no issues with stability? That is good to hear. Cause I really want stability.....and quiet.....
 
Clifford

 I am agree with u. Thanks for sharing good information.

I also agree with you all and you all give the best information regarding better CPU cooler. You and Jim provide a wealth of information to the rest of us and it is much appreciated.
 

avinwalls


The Noctua NH-D14 heatsink is the best, It comes bundled with two fans. Each vaneaxial fan characteristically SSO bearings, vortex-control notches and techniques like textured arch leading surfaces, all in an endeavor to reduce noise signature.

Thank you for the response........I will change my intended cooler for this Noctua cooler since I have seen it suggested before....
 
Thank you
 
Clifford

I found that the fan supplied with the i7-950 was quieter than I expected, so I decided to stick with it.  I only installed it initially as a temporary measure, intending to replace it later with something better.  But even with the (Antec P183) case open it wasn't particularly noisy and with the case closed it is barely audible.

Truckermusic

avinwalls


The Noctua NH-D14 heatsink is the best, It comes bundled with two fans. Each vaneaxial fan characteristically SSO bearings, vortex-control notches and techniques like textured arch leading surfaces, all in an endeavor to reduce noise signature.

Thank you for the response........I will change my intended cooler for this Noctua cooler since I have seen it suggested before....
 
Thank you
 
Clifford

Truckermusic:  I have the Noctua DH-D14.  Make sure that your memory is not too tall for this very large cooler.  Go to the Noctua site and they have a list of memory modules that are approved to fit this particular CPU cooler.  The DH-D14 is great, but big and covers the ram slots on some MBs.

Good luck!

Cecelius2

I run I7 920 (not overclocked) with a Corsair H60 water cooler. I removed every fan from my system (except for a silent Enermax UC-12EB fan for the radiator on the Corsair) which turns very slowly, but provides enough cooling. My system when under load only runs about 50 Cel. often even lower. Silent video card, silent power supply, no case fans. SSD drives. Super quiet machine!

One thing I've discovered is that with all of the components inside the box it adds alot more heat to the equation. So I moved the power supply outside, moved the DVD drive to the bottom computer with long cables, moved the cooler radiator as far away as I could get it, and also removed all pieces of the case that I could to create better airflow as there are no fans in the case. Works great! I highly recommend this power supply as well (Seasonic SS-460FL). You only need to use the cables needed as each one connects individually, and that helps with airflow as well. Notice the difference in cables between the top DAW and the bottom internet computer.
Runs quiet, cool, and quick. While the pump makes a small amount of noise I can't hear it unless I stand next to the machine. Here's a pic (and yes I leave the computer like that all the time to get as much airflow as possilbe). Also, with everything so far apart it runs alot cooler so the fan does need to spin fast at all, to it's silent as well (it's on the other side of the radiator. 




 
 
  
 

I've always wondered about doing just that ....leaving the case open.....

Anyone who suggests leaving the case open obviously doesn't keep pets.

Kev999


I found that the fan supplied with the i7-950 was quieter than I expected, so I decided to stick with it.  I only installed it initially as a temporary measure, intending to replace it later with something better.  But even with the (Antec P183) case open it wasn't particularly noisy and with the case closed it is barely audible.

My 950 overheated every so often with black screen of death with the fan that it came with without OC. Trying something else now. Forgot what.
John

Why not get a fanless Thermalright HR-02 CPU cooler? It runs passively, so it is completely silent.

Spire's Thermax Eclipse II heatsink is basically identical to the indefinable 3Rsystem Iceage 120 Boss II heatsink Frostytech before tested. That cooler was a big thermal solution.