stock fan installation for 3770k

[northernpcgeek]

bit of a newbie here for pc building.. not built one for over 10 years!
am thinking of going for a 3770k for a new pc build and starting off using the stock fan and later upgrading. non-stock fans ive seen require a thermal paste to be applied, is it the same for a stock fan? i'm thinking of the hassle it might be when i later upgrade.. also im thinking a water cooler would be a better option due to the fact they are much smaller? one advantage being that the RAM modules wont be in the way.

[Caveman]

If you're planning on OCing at all then the stock fan will not be ideal. IB Chips run hot, real hot. If you dont plan on OCing then it'll be fine. Thermal paste should come pre-applied on most coolers anyways. Even if its not, its not a hard thing to do. Put a pea sized drop onto the center of the CPU and mount the cooler.

As for Ram modules, get the LP version of said Ram.

[Willzzz]

IB doesn't run that hot compared to other chips, not unless you are going for a pretty hefty overclock.
However if you are going to overclock it is still worth investing in an after market cooler.

[siliveshere]

bit of a newbie here for pc building.. not built one for over 10 years!
am thinking of going for a 3770k for a new pc build and starting off using the stock fan and later upgrading. non-stock fans ive seen require a thermal paste to be applied, is it the same for a stock fan? i'm thinking of the hassle it might be when i later upgrade.. also im thinking a water cooler would be a better option due to the fact they are much smaller? one advantage being that the RAM modules wont be in the way.

The stock fan requires thermal paste also, the paste significantly improves the heat transition from chip to cooler regardless of whether the cooler is stock or OEM. My two 3770ks did not have thermal paste pre applied. As long as you buy standard RAM modules (i.e. don't buy ones with a tall heatsink) you should even be able to fit very large OEM coolers on top quite happily (though you may have to put in the RAM first into slot 1/2 depending on the mobo). The water cooler solution looks a bit tidier, look at some benchmarks on noise v cooling v price to make your decision. I went for Be Quiet! Dark Rock stuff on two of my PCs, and a Corsair H100 on the other. The H100 is significantly louder, temps are lower, price was higher - imo the Be Quiet stuff is better - just make sure you buy a deep enough case!