Quiet Air Cooler for 3570K overclocking.

[noodles002]

Hi,

I'm looking for a quiet CPU cooler for the 3570K.
Initially I will be running it at stock, but will be aiming to overclock it to ~4.4-4.5 GHz at some point in the future (probably not anytime soon).
I want to place a greater emphasis on silence, but I also want bang for buck.

These are the ones i'm thinking about so far, but I am open to new suggestions:

Coolermaster Hyper 212 Evo
Arctic Cooling Freezer 13
Be Quiet BK017 Dark Rock Pro 2
Noctua DH-14

Parts I already have:

CPU - 3570K
Mobo - Asus P8Z77-V Pro
Case - Fractal Design R4
RAM - Corsair Vengeance 2x4GB Low Profile

I'm looking to make a quick decision and I would appreciate any suggestions.

Thanks in advance.

[iMike]

I'd say NH-D14 since it's one of the quietest ones there and is also very good value for money.
There are also some thermaltake ones that are decent but not as loud.
You can get a cheap NH-D14 on ebuyer with free delivery for £56.04 but I'd recommend going to Scan and pay around £65 including next day delivery.
The hyper 212 evo is not made for major overclocking and so I wouldn't choose it, minor oc's for example 3.4 -> 3.6/7 would be ok but any more than that and it will become too hot and unstable.

[noodles002]

Thanks for the suggestion.
I'm tempted by the NH-D14, but am concerned about it's suitability with my motherboard.
I understand that the asus CPU fan pins only support PWM whereas the Noctua fans are voltage controls.
I could plug it to the chassis pins which do support voltage control, is this likely to be an issue?

[dfour]

If your looking at noctua money why not just get a all in one water cooler like the Antec kuhler 620?

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...30&subcat=2359

Are you sure you cant change the cpu pins from PWM to dc in the bios? Most boards will allow this.

[Phage]

I have the Dark Rock 2. Lovely bit of kit.
I'm currently getting temps that are way too low if anything.

[noodles002]

If your looking at noctua money why not just get a all in one water cooler like the Antec kuhler 620?

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...30&subcat=2359

Are you sure you cant change the cpu pins from PWM to dc in the bios? Most boards will allow this.

TBH i'd prefer to stick with air coolers, less risk of any leaks.
The chassis pins can do voltage control it's just the CPU pin that is PWM only.

[noodles002]

I have the Dark Rock 2. Lovely bit of kit.
I'm currently getting temps that are way too low if anything.

The Dark Rock 2 looks tempting especially as the fans are PWM.
What does put me off it is that it only comes with a 3 year warranty.
At that price I would have hoped that the manufacturer would have had more confidence in their product.

Another cooler i'm looking at is the Phanteks PH-TC14PE.

[noodles002]

I was going to go for the Dark Rock 2, however the following review has put me off:
http://www.silentpcreview.com/Be_Quiet_Dark_Rock_2

I am now leaning towards the Thermalright Silver Arrow SB-E, however I am concerned that it is HUGE and may not fit comfortably in the Case/motherboard.

[simontompkins]

Hi, I had the same dilemma as yourself, same cpu and looked into either the NH d14 and the Be Quiet

Check out the following reviews:
Nh D14 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKHRPJfZ5Y8

Dark Rock Pro
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6YH_...feature=relmfu

Like yourself the priority was silence. So I went for the dark Rock and it's in my system now and its whisper quiet. There's little to recommend water cooling unless you love engineering. It does look cool but water cooling is for purists. As for overclocking - the headroom on the Be Quiet is more than adequate for a moderate to high overclock - sure its a free speed increase but again all this is for purists - frame rates are so high already with the latest CPU's and GPU that the amount of real benefit for overclocking is minimal.

In any case check out O C 3 D reviews on you tube - Tom, who reviews is much more knowledgeable than myself and will presents some really good reviews.

If you're worried about clearance give Scan Computers a ring the sales staff are brilliant and very knowledgeable and will be able to tell you any issues with mobo, ram and cooler

[Colquhoun]

I've used the Arctic Cooling Freezer i30, it's <£30, very quiet and competes with air coolers twice it's price. I can't link it but you can find a performance review of it on bit-tech.net, well worth looking into.

[Samwood]

For a 4.5/4.5Ghz OC it depends what temps you will be happy with (and how your luck falls with your CPU).

For reference, I have the hyper 212 EVO. With my 3770k (v.similar thermal characteristics to the 3570k), I run at 4.2Ghz with temps of 60*C-ish on stress tests. At 4.4Ghz temps rise to a little under the 75*C mark, at 4.5Ghz around 80*C, these are a little high for my liking, but many would be more than happy with that.

If these temps are too high for you, spend a little extra on either the "Be Quiet BK017 Dark Rock Pro 2" or "Noctua DH-14", they're both good choices IMO. Dark Rock will probs be quiter, DH-14 slightly better performance - just depends what you want.
But at around this price point, I would begin to consider one of the Corsair watercoolers, a decent one will give you significantly better temps than any aircooler.
Based on Scans prices this is only £11 more than the 2 you suggested:
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/corsa...6-2011-am2-am3

p.s. From the benchmarks i've seen the "Arctic Cooling Freezer 13" will give higher temps than the 212 EVO.

[vettieboo]

I was going to go for the Dark Rock 2, however the following review has put me off:
http://www.silentpcreview.com/Be_Quiet_Dark_Rock_2

I am now leaning towards the Thermalright Silver Arrow SB-E, however I am concerned that it is HUGE and may not fit comfortably in the Case/motherboard.

I own the Thermalright HR-02 Macho, as I couldn't fit the Silver Arrow in my rig. Very quiet fans, Thermalright seem to be very good for that.

[Phage]

This is my Dark Rock Pro 2

[ladcrooks]

Noctua DH-14 would be my choice.

[Butuz]

I've got the Thermalright HR-02 Macho too. Keeps my Phenom X6 1100T nice and cool and quiet so wont have any trouble with your 3570K.

/reccomended

Butuz

[cerebral744]

I've used the Arctic Cooling Freezer i30, it's <£30, very quiet and competes with air coolers twice it's price. I can't link it but you can find a performance review of it on bit-tech.net, well worth looking into.

i use this myself on my 3570k great cooler