Looking for CPU cooler to overclock i7 920

[-1nf1n1ty-]

He knows heat is dissipated in the room. Must we be repetitive? Looks like he is listening if you read the thread

I have been reading all of the comments, like I said I've been out of the loop for so long so if I am wrong about something....sorry? I don't know what to tell you all lol

I really do appreciate the help, so my update would be that I saw a H90 at a local computer store for $69.99. If all goes well I will probably be purchasing that since its cheaper and its a "liquid cooling system" which means it would be quiet.....right?

 

[sneekypeet]

not necessarily, no.
I have seen so many, I need to go check the charts, maybe the H90 was one of the better ones.

EDIT: Just went and looked, the H90 was one of the more silent AIO solutions out there.

 

[radrok]

I recently helped a friend with a CLC purchase.

I made him buy the H80i for a 3930k, he's getting great temps and it's very quiet.

It's basically a single 120mm radiator based CLC with an augmented thickness.

If you can find that for a good price I'd recommend it

 

[sneekypeet]

H80i is second gen tech with the older mounting hardware, H90 is third gen and should be more efficient with less pump heat dump into the loop.

Gen four products are right around the corner, so prices should be dropping more if you can wait a bit.

 

[-1nf1n1ty-]

H80i is second gen tech with the older mounting hardware, H90 is third gen and should be more efficient with less pump heat dump into the loop.

Gen four products are right around the corner, so prices should be dropping more if you can wait a bit.

How long does it usually take to see the prices drop?

EDIT: If they go down more I can look for a h80i for cheaper I would hope, I see a h100 at the store for $40 dunno how much worse or better that would be (has a $10 rebate too) I bring up the h100 cause I am always up for taking out those two fans on top of my case for the HAF 932

EDIT AGAIN: Here's the link http://www.frys.com/product/6792655?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG its actually 50 but I was gonna do the rebate regardless.

 

[Grey_beard]

How long does it usually take to see the prices drop?

EDIT: If they go down more I can look for a h80i for cheaper I would hope, I see a h100 at the store for $40 dunno how much worse or better that would be (has a $10 rebate too) I bring up the h100 cause I am always up for taking out those two fans on top of my case for the HAF 932

Both the H80/H80i and H100/H100i are great coolers.. but of course going with the larger radiator would put you a little over the edge, especially when system is under load so that depends on what apps you run and how long you run them. It is always a gain in performance from H80 to H100 cooler, regardless if its an "i" or "none-i" version.

 

[-1nf1n1ty-]

Hey Guys an Update

They did not have any of the H100 in stock and they told me the H90 was regular price even though online said differently, H80i was still the same price they just weren't interested in my business.

I went to another store 15 minutes away checked for those coolers and no deals, I went ahead and bought the Antec Kuhler 920. I am extremely happy with it only problem is my pc is booting up and telling me there's an error with the CPU fan dunno what I can do to take care of that. The new CPU cooler is so awesome I know some people don't like the LED's on the CPU cooler but it's nice and the cooler is extremely quiet.

Anyways thanks for all the help if you guys would like to help with the error let me know what i can try. Thanks Guys!

 

[drdeathx]

Hey Guys an Update

They did not have any of the H100 in stock and they told me the H90 was regular price even though online said differently, H80i was still the same price they just weren't interested in my business.

I went to another store 15 minutes away checked for those coolers and no deals, I went ahead and bought the Antec Kuhler 920. I am extremely happy with it only problem is my pc is booting up and telling me there's an error with the CPU fan dunno what I can do to take care of that. The new CPU cooler is so awesome I know some people don't like the LED's on the CPU cooler but it's nice and the cooler is extremely quiet.

Anyways thanks for all the help if you guys would like to help with the error let me know what i can try. Thanks Guys!

Disable fan in bios

 

[-1nf1n1ty-]

So far everything is running well, 4ghz well, I am running Prime95 right now and Im getting 95-100c on the full load so far so good nothing is turning off and its just flat out running really well the CPU cooler is awesome I think on idle I am getting 50-57c I think thats pretty good. Anyways thought I'd post on here again.

 

[silkstone]

That is too hot. Make sure the block is properly affixed to the CPU with the right amount of thermal paste.

As a reference, I get 35 C idle and around 75 C load at 4.6 Ghz

 

[-1nf1n1ty-]

That is too hot. Make sure the block is properly affixed to the CPU with the right amount of thermal paste.

As a reference, I get 35 C idle and around 75 C load at 4.6 Ghz

yeah, ill check it out reapply some paste or something

EDIT: Can't find thermal paste in my house so I have to buy some new paste, is arctic 5 still really really good?

 

[nleksan]

AS5 is old, and there are countless newer pastes that not only perform better but are easier to work with, don't require a burn in period, etc. I've been obsessed with cooling efficiency since ~2003 with my FX-51, as that thing could get HOT when running some "hot" clocks, and since then I have tried (literally) countless different thermal pastes.
Most are truly forgettable, as in their performance was bad enough that I have literally forgotten their names lol.
Prolimatech PK-1, if you want the best all-around TIM for use on CPU's, GPU's, Motherboard MOSFET/VRM heatsinks/blocks, or anything else. Frankly, nothing else is as consistently good as PK1, and it is THE best TIM for "tinting" applications. Get the 5gram tube, which is like $5-8 and has LOTS of applications in it (if you aren't getting at least 25 apps, you use way too much).

Everyone says "Pea Size Amount" of TIM is ideal; I disagree. Pea is way, way too big and will result in way too much TIM being used. The ENTIRE purpose of thermal paste is to fill in the gaps where the IHS and cold plate aren't making contact directly, and not to add another entire layer through which heat must pass.
For the "mainstream" sockets, such as 1155/1150, a single BB-sized dot (or actually about 3/4th's the size of a BB) in the center and then VERY EVEN PRESSURE when mounting the HSF is ideal.
For LGA1366 or 2011, which have MUCH bigger chips and thus a greatly larger IHS, I find that using a SMALL "X" shape in the center works best at getting an even spread (each of the two lines making up the X should be about 5mm at most).

Also, you actually DO NOT want the IHS to be completely covered by the TIM, that only means you've used too much. Ideally, it will spread in an even circle, whose diameter comes just short of each of the four sides of the IHS (and it should have a fair amount of "TIM free" IHS visible in the corners).
Here's a drawing:

 

[-1nf1n1ty-]

AS5 is old, and there are countless newer pastes that not only perform better but are easier to work with, don't require a burn in period, etc. I've been obsessed with cooling efficiency since ~2003 with my FX-51, as that thing could get HOT when running some "hot" clocks, and since then I have tried (literally) countless different thermal pastes.
Most are truly forgettable, as in their performance was bad enough that I have literally forgotten their names lol.
Prolimatech PK-1, if you want the best all-around TIM for use on CPU's, GPU's, Motherboard MOSFET/VRM heatsinks/blocks, or anything else. Frankly, nothing else is as consistently good as PK1, and it is THE best TIM for "tinting" applications. Get the 5gram tube, which is like $5-8 and has LOTS of applications in it (if you aren't getting at least 25 apps, you use way too much).

Everyone says "Pea Size Amount" of TIM is ideal; I disagree. Pea is way, way too big and will result in way too much TIM being used. The ENTIRE purpose of thermal paste is to fill in the gaps where the IHS and cold plate aren't making contact directly, and not to add another entire layer through which heat must pass.
For the "mainstream" sockets, such as 1155/1150, a single BB-sized dot (or actually about 3/4th's the size of a BB) in the center and then VERY EVEN PRESSURE when mounting the HSF is ideal.
For LGA1366 or 2011, which have MUCH bigger chips and thus a greatly larger IHS, I find that using a SMALL "X" shape in the center works best at getting an even spread (each of the two lines making up the X should be about 5mm at most).

Also, you actually DO NOT want the IHS to be completely covered by the TIM, that only means you've used too much. Ideally, it will spread in an even circle, whose diameter comes just short of each of the four sides of the IHS (and it should have a fair amount of "TIM free" IHS visible in the corners).
Here's a drawing:

http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=51788&stc=1&d=1373263639

WOW, thanks for all of this information!!!! I actually just bought Arctic Silver but I will probably get the one you suggested as well so hopefully they both arrive at the same time, I end up using the one you suggested and save the Arctic as back up

EDIT: Luckily I was able to cancel my order although the AS5 was kind of on it's way I did some digging around and you're right the PK1 will be pretty damn awesome, I just ordered it from newegg 4-7 shipping though I can still use my PC though so thats good thanks again.

 

[silkstone]

I just reapplied thermal paste to my gpu (about 10 times over 2 days) I found that a small grain of rice sized blob in the centre usually fills the entire gpu die. However I noticed on the last application that the corner of the die had no compound on there, even though it seemed to have spread to form a square on the heatsink.

I go for the 5 dot approach on all my applications now. one grain of rice in the centre followed by 1 small dot in each corner. This leads to a little compound spilling over the edge, but on things where it is important, it ensures that the full area is covered.

 

[drdeathx]

I just reapplied thermal paste to my gpu (about 10 times over 2 days) I found that a small grain of rice sized blob in the centre usually fills the entire gpu die. However I noticed on the last application that the corner of the die had no compound on there, even though it seemed to have spread to form a square on the heatsink.

I go for the 5 dot approach on all my applications now. one grain of rice in the centre followed by 1 small dot in each corner. This leads to a little compound spilling over the edge, but on things where it is important, it ensures that the full area is covered.

You don't have to cover the entire chip/ I dot the sizer of small pea and the heatsink spreads it. You should probably read uip before you apply tim 50 times

 

[drdeathx]

WOW, thanks for all of this information!!!! I actually just bought Arctic Silver but I will probably get the one you suggested as well so hopefully they both arrive at the same time, I end up using the one you suggested and save the Arctic as back up

EDIT: Luckily I was able to cancel my order although the AS5 was kind of on it's way I did some digging around and you're right the PK1 will be pretty damn awesome, I just ordered it from newegg 4-7 shipping though I can still use my PC though so thats good thanks again.

Temps between most Thermal compounds are only 2-4 degrees

 

[xvi]

Lots of people seem to be mentioning the H60, but I've found that my rebranded H60 (by CoolIt) doesn't really perform super-great. Mine's sitting on a stock C2D E8500 and holding it around 45c. I would look elsewhere. Keep in mind that high end air cooling is typically just as good as entry level water cooling for the same (or cheaper) price and has MUCH less risk of damaging anything.

 

[silkstone]

You don't have to cover the entire chip/ I dot the sizer of small pea and the heatsink spreads it. You should probably read uip before you apply tim 50 times

If I am covering the DIE on a GPU, you want to cover the whole chip.

On a cpu IHS, you don't need to cover the whole chip, just the area above the die. But, covering the whole IHS has no detrimental effect.

As I was talking about replacing the thermal compound on my GPU, I think you should read up.

Replacing the thermal compound was secondary to what I was doing. I was making a fan mod at the time. I was not doing it in order to test the different ways, rather I thought it'd be a good idea to test while removing the hsf anyway.

Edit - Also a pea sized drop really is too much for either a cpu or gpu.

 

[Vario]

If I was going all in one coolers, I'd go for the H80i. It cools about as well as the H100i but only takes up a single 120mm fan spot. The radiator is double thickness. You would need to run two fans push pull on it for maximum performance. The cooling difference between that and an h100i is at most <4 degrees. The i series corsair coolers have horrible fan controlling software. I use a NZXT Sentry Mesh fan controller instead and it works well with the included corsair fans.


You should also consider air cooling: Look into the Coolermaster 212, Phanteks PH-TC12DX dual 120mms, the Xigmatek Dark Knight, Xigmatek Gaia, Zalman Performa etc. These are the best air cooler designs for the money and will probably perform exactly the same as the H80i with the right thermal paste application and running dual fans push/pull.

 

[cdawall]

If I am covering the DIE on a GPU, you want to cover the whole chip.

On a cpu IHS, you don't need to cover the whole chip, just the area above the die. But, covering the whole IHS has no detrimental effect.

As I was talking about replacing the thermal compound on my GPU, I think you should read up.

Replacing the thermal compound was secondary to what I was doing. I was making a fan mod at the time. I was not doing it in order to test the different ways, rather I thought it'd be a good idea to test while removing the hsf anyway.

Edit - Also a pea sized drop really is too much for either a cpu or gpu.

No with the direct die you still just do a pea sized drop (or smaller depending on die) and allow the heatsink to spread it. Works just fine been doing that since the Athlon XP days and continue to get some of the best temps that way vs spreading it. It allows the excess to fill in the voids via pressure, something that just putting a thin layer on will not do.

 

[Vario]

No with the direct die you still just do a pea sized drop (or smaller depending on die) and allow the heatsink to spread it. Works just fine been doing that since the Athlon XP days and continue to get some of the best temps that way vs spreading it. It allows the excess to fill in the voids via pressure, something that just putting a thin layer on will not do.

I have done both and covering the entire die works way better in my experience, this was on my 7850 and on my 3570k. Even missing the corners of the die can cause strange heat issues. Temperature difference between full die coverage and center drop can be incredible.

But for heatsink to internal heat spreader, you are right to use only the tiny 0 sized drop.

 

[cdawall]

I have done both and covering the entire die works way better in my experience, this was on my 7850 and on my 3570k. Even missing the corners of the die can cause strange heat issues. Temperature difference between full die coverage and center drop can be incredible.

But for heatsink to internal heat spreader, you are right to use only the tiny 0 sized drop.

Maybe it is the amount I used I always make sure there is full coverage of the die to prevent hot spots...it's the same thing OEM's do when applying paste so judging from the tons of non-issues our there I am sure it will work fine.

 

[Vario]

Maybe it is the amount I used I always make sure there is full coverage of the die to prevent hot spots...it's the same thing OEM's do when applying paste so judging from the tons of non-issues our there I am sure it will work fine.

Yep, I usually use a small drop, much the same as you, but then i smooth it out when i do the bare die.

I don't spread it when I am applying to the IHS though.



This is the right amount for the OPs application:

He shouldn't bother spreading it because the corners of the IHS don't matter. The actual die is a rectangular portion under the center of the metal outer heat spreader.

 

[silkstone]

No with the direct die you still just do a pea sized drop (or smaller depending on die) and allow the heatsink to spread it. Works just fine been doing that since the Athlon XP days and continue to get some of the best temps that way vs spreading it. It allows the excess to fill in the voids via pressure, something that just putting a thin layer on will not do.

I know, I usually do the grain of rice drop, but I was finding it wasn't enough so I included a small dab in the corners. The temps are the same or better.

I don't spread it out on the GPU die.

The best way to apply thermal compound really depends on what compound you are using: http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/What-is-the-Best-Way-to-Apply-Thermal-Grease/1303

 

[-1nf1n1ty-]

I started doing the small line of the paste from the cent and then a little down