Which CPU cooler ~£40?

[foxrocks]

Hi guys,

Trying to decide on a new CPU cooler. Will initially be on an LGA1156 board but will probably get a 2500K at some point.

On Scan the ones of note are:

Akasa Venom - £35
Be Quiet! Dark Rock Advanced - £40
Alpenfohn Matterhorn The Beast - £40
Thermalright Venomous X RT - £42
Thermalright Archon - £44

Any other coolers around this price point I should be looking at?

And any comments on which one is the best?

Thanks!

[sweey]

I've only really considered the Gelid Tranquillo for a build I have coming up in December (i5 2500K) as I'm strictly limiting my own budget - not entirely sure how well it performs against the others you are looking at hough.

[timread]

I'm in a similar position to you. What are your main priorities? If it's noise levels then go for a mid-large size tower cooler with a low RPM PWM fan (or a cooler with a separate fan controller). And check out the reviews of most of these heatsinks on www.silentpcreview.com, it's an excellent review source for many of these big, (relatively) silent coolers (no disrespect to our host site here!).

I've looked at many coolers, but my shortlist is:

CoolerMaster Hyper 212+ (cheap, good performance. Consider replacing the stock fan for a better/quieter PWM fan)
Scythe Mugen 3* (Replacement for the great Mugen 2)
Scythe Ninja 3
Thermalright Archon (great cooler, very quiet fan but watch out as it stands 170mm tall and doesn't fit in some cases)
Thermalright Silver Arrow (/Cogage Arrow, same cooler, different fan. Big heatsink, fans on the Silver Arrow make it teh awesome but again it's massive)
Thermalright Venomous X RT (the SPCR review of the Venomous X Silent Edition version of this cooler with 2 600rpm fans suggest it is a very serious contender)
Prolimatech Megahalems/Armageddon (both do well in many reviews)
Zalman CNPS10X QUIET
Noctua NH-D14

*I was pretty much decided on getting the Scythe Mugen 2 after a LOT of research - however it's been replaced by v.3, which uses a different design. The Mugen 3 appears to be a little less efficient and a little louder that v.2, which prompted me to keep looking around and considering alternatives again. I might still go with the Mugen 3 but keep getting tempted by the Archon, Armageddon,

Also, check out this RWLabs review of the Mugen 3. It has some great charts comparing idle, load, and noise levels of many of the top CPU coolers around at the moment, including many of the coolers you're considering (or might be once you see the charts!)

[foxrocks]

Thanks Tim, that link was informative.

Personally I have ruled out stuff like the NH-D14, Silver Arrow and Phanteks, as I'm not looking to OC to the absolute limit and therefore feel there's no point spending £55+ on a cooler.

The CM 212+ obviously gets a lot of love, and I have no doubt it's excellent for the price, but if I can get something quieter and/or better performing then I don't mind spending a little more.

I've read some reviews and have ruled out a few, and added a few others. I'm now looking at:

Coolermaster Hyper 212 Plus - £22
Gelid Tranquillo - £24
Corsair A70 - £29
Be Quiet! Dark Rock Advanced - £40
Thermalright Venomous X-RT - £41
Thermalright Archon - £43

I want good performance, but I want it to be basically inaudible inside my P182, and I'm worried that the cheaper coolers won't be whisper quiet.

[Time Bandit]

Frosty Tech (http://www.frostytech.com/) do some interesting cooler reviews and provides rankings based on their own test bed. Obviously these figures won't translate directly into another chassis but a a relative indication of individual cooler strengths and weaknesses, I find it very interesting.

They also produce a top 5 (10?) coolers based on temps and noise for both and AMD and Intel setup which might intereset some. Some pretty inexpensive coolers perform very well against their more expensive counterparts.

[foxrocks]

I'm leaning towards the Archon if it will fit, for the best balance between performance and noise (without spending a small fortune).

If it doesn't fit in my P182 then I will probably get the Dark Rock. I think it looks a lot nicer than the Archon and from the reviews I've read it seems even quieter if anything, but it doesn't appear to perform quite as well and is also trickier to mount.

[timread]

This thread suggests the Archon won't fit in a P182. YMMV! http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/.../t-266699.html

The Venomous X-RT still looks like a winner, if it fits the P182. It has an excellent pressure mounting system, similar to the one used on the Prolimatech Megahalems. There's another useful roundup of coolers here, and the Venoumous X-RT comes out on top: http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.ph...=447&Itemid=62

The Zalman CNPS10X-Performa also rates very highly in that roundup and can be found for about £27 inc VAT, making it excellent value - better than the Hyper 212+ in the sub-£30 bracket, IMHO.

[hank]

my vote goes for the Gelid Tranquillo, I've just fit one on an i5 2500 + fractal case plus asus p8z68 board with two stick of mem - I would recommend the low profile mem sticks although the punky vengeance ones would also fit on this config.

[fazz]

i recommend the Noctua cpu fan

[timread]

A work colleague of mine recently built a i5 2500K system clocked to 4.4GHz (x44). He used a stock Coolermaster Hyper 212+ cooler and one of the HAF cases with a window. With the CPU at full load (all 4 cores) his temps hit 58'C after a few minutes. Idle temperature is around 23'C. Seems OK results for the outlay.

Hank, what temps are you achieving at idle and load with your Gelid Tranquilo, and are you overclocking? I'll be getting an i5 2500 + Fractal case (Define R3) plus Asus P8Z68-V so would be v interested to see how your rig is running. I'm also looking to hit a x44/x45 multiplier.

After checking out frostytech, The Zalman CNPS10X-Performa has fairly weak performance when run quiet, and only keeps up with the best when the fan is running full pelt at 2000rpm and putting out 59dBA. That one is off my list then!

The Be Quiet! Dark Rock Advanced does seem to put in a pretty acceptable performance if you're running it on a 2500K with a moderate overclock (and no overvolting). But its mounting system is tricky, as you said. It does look nice - always a bonus.

The Venomous X (or X-RT) seems to put in its best perfomance when running with a pair of low RPM fans in push-pull, as adding a second fan can drop load temps by 5'C. But buying a 2nd fan puts it close to a £50 outlay overall.

After re-reading the RWLabs review, the Mugen 3 is back on my shortlist, personally. Which is now:
£40+ bracket
Scythe Mugen 3 - £43
Thermalright Archon - £44
Themalright Venomous X-RT - £42 (/Silent Edition @ £45)

sub £40
Gelid Tranquilo - £24
Coolermaster Hyper 212+ - £22

I'm leaning towards the Archon, personally, for it's great mounting system and performance and the fact I've used Thermalright before and been impressed. It just better fit in the Define R3 case!

[foxrocks]

If the Archon doesn't fit in the P182 I wouldn't have thought it'll fit in the Define R3 sadly.

Does the Venomous X-RT have the same mounting system as the Archon?

I hadn't seen the 'Silent Edition' before with the two 600rpm fans. That looks quite interesting and gets a good write up on SPCR. It only seems to be available at OCUK from what I can tell and they'll probably want about £15 for P&P.

[timread]

Aargh! You're right, the Define R3 "supports CPU coolers with height of ~165mm" according to the FD website. That rules out the Archon at 170mm clearance.

The Venomous X-RT is 160mm tall and uses the pressure mount system - check it out here

I like the look of the Silent Edition too . Just not the only retailer it appears to be available from. Come on Scan!

[foxrocks]

Yeah they want £8.50 for P&P. For something that probably costs all of £4 tops, 1st Class Recorded.

If Scan carried the X-RT2 I'd go for that one I think. As it is I'll probably go for the Dark Rock Advanced.

[CK1]

Why is that some coolers (Artic Cooler Freezer 7 Pro / Coolermaster Hyper 212) costs about £10-12 and others go up to about £40+?

Is there that much difference between them?

[CivilDrone]

Why didnt you consider Thermalright Ultra-120 eXtreme Rev.C with 140mm Thermalright TY-140? totals around 40 and does the job..

[foxrocks]

Good shout, CivilDrone.

Gah, another one added to the mix. Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in.