best CPU cooler under £25?

[Loxa]

+ for the "Hyper 212 evo"

[Obie]

+ for the "Hyper 212 evo"

Yeah CoolerMaster have superb quality and price/performance

[TheHypfTom]

The Hyper 212 Evo seems to have the best cooling capabilities at this price range, I would recommend it!

[Obie]

Just got myself the bequiet! Pure rock cooler for 29 pounds. It edges out the hyper 212 ever so slightly but I got it mainly for the reviews on it about being super silent. I'm very chuffed

[ERU]

I was just about to start a thread in a similar vein to this, so I'll just tag along. I've just bought a 'AMD Phenom II X6' with stock HSF - it sounds like an aircraft taking off... Therefore, I'll get either a Pure Rock or Hyper 212 Evo; whatever is cheapest. I'm about to buy a 2nd hand 212 off eBay, hopefully. I've also been looking at the Zalman CNPS9900.

My question is: What Arctic Silver thermal paste are people using now? In my overclocking days it was AS3, but my ancient tube is about to run out! I seem to remember AS5 wasn't as good as AS3? I'm not looking to break the bank.

EDIT:
After a bit of research - I bought some Arctic Cooling MX-4 4g Thermal Compound.

[Pullock]

A friend of mine got a Hyper 212 Evo and like many others say it's the greatest budget air cooler you can get, you can't go wrong with it.

[rapidracer10]

What they said, got 2 212 evos myself and they are great

Also check out the rajintek themis, got good reviews and think its a bit cheaper than the 212. great budget option

[f350]

212 is excellent but too tall for most cases. On the other extreme consider SilenX 100HA2. Unless you're buying a Noctua for an OC machine, no need to pay more than 25 anyway, diminshing returns.

[dirtylautrec]

I've got a thermaltake contac 29 that works great and was fairly cheap but I can't seem to find any online anywhere :/

[jag272]

Another +1 For 212 Evo. Installed one just the other week, my idle temps havent changed much but my temps during handbrake encodes have now dropped from 70-75c on stock with turbo mode disabled down to 50c solid with turbo mode re-enabled.

That said, perhaps it was because it was my first time fitting one, it was an absolute nightmare to fit. I'd probably be a bit more confident fitting one now I've got a bit of experience though.

[lankeyphil]

I'd go artic frezer pro 7 v2

I've got a 5yr old frezer pro 7 v2 running still no problems

I think that one is about 17 quid atm too so good buy and think it covers you up to 130w

[stephen0205]

+1 hyper 212 evo

[malice19]

I was looking at a Corsair H60 54.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler for my next rig but my mate said im better off with an air cooler that is half the price as will not make any benefit other than look smarter?? If that is the case then will probably pick a recommendation off this thread.

[Blackbod]

Cooler master Hyper 212 EVo you can get them for £24.99 off of Amazon

[madmantheonlyone]

You can get the Hyper Evo 212 for exactly 25, if you dont have a higher budget than this is probably the best you can get for this price

[malice19]

Thanks for all the help but went with this in the end after alot of hunting about i finally found a site that had it in stock at the right price....

Thermalright True Spirit 140. Well chuffed with it and its performance! Also only paid £33 for it when its £55 on sites that have it in stock