Air cooling rankings right now

[crazyeyesreaper]

You realize they also have the best warranty and if a new socket comes out they always have an adapter kit and you can request it free of charge right? Thus when you buy a Noctua cooler it is supported longer than any other manufacturer's product on the market. The build quality is exceptional. In fact I had two fans on a cooler recently and one of the fans had a vibration noise when in push pull Noctua sent me another fan so I had the best performing product I could buy. Its their support and service that you pay for.

Not everyone can afford the best of the best, but if you truly want a cooler that has the best support period along with good cooling low noise and no nonsense you buy Noctua.

 

[GreiverBlade]

but they are not the best of the best, but i reckon they offer a good support/warranty

Thermalright does not bad either my Macho is quiet perform well cheap and the package i had missed the fan clip at beginning, one mail and 2 day after i received it at home, ok the finish is not polished like a Noctua but i like that raw look, i got my 2nd TY-147 directly from Thermalright with a 15% reduction due to the little problem i had. (btw i never had to use warranty or support service on any of my cooler, they never failed me beside the missing clips )

 

[crazyeyesreaper]

Well the Noctua fan functioned as intended it was only in push pull on a thin heatsink did the vibration noise occur even then switching the two fans which were the same make / model around solved the problem. Still Noctua just sent me another fan no questions asked. I didnt have to rma the fan or anything they just took care of it. A single email and all was well. I myself am willing to pay for that. I am willing to pay for a 7 year warranty I am willing to pay for future socket support. AMD might keep the same design but intel with their HDT platforms constantly seems to change. Yet I dont have to buy a $10-15 adapter kit for my Noctua coolers they just take care of it for you. That along with the unrivaled attention to detail in the build quality makes the price worth while.

Example of this.

a cheap Ford Focus and a BMW will both drive the same roads at the same speed limits. They both have AC / Heat options for CD / XM radio etc they have everything a person needs to get by. However one is luxury with extra bells and whistles and far better attention to detail. At the end of the day it comes down to what you can afford.

my custom water kit while not miles ahead of loud push pull H110 or Kraken x60 or w.e with the 280mm rad has better expandability is far quieter etc. It cost me more but I got a better product.
Another way to look at it is Noctua might be expensive but most high end air coolers today rival or only slighly beat the Noctua NH-D14. It took competitors years to beat that cooler while being as quiet.

Now you have Noctua working on Active noise cancellation CPU coolers which even with fans = 0 noise output. I dont see Thermalright or Coolermaster investing in said technology.

Noctua tends to do it first or do it better all while having a far better warranty and support. I don't change CPU coolers often for my personal rig so long term support with exceptional cooling leaves either custom water or Noctua. But to each their own. In customers systems I tend to use Hyper 212 EVO / or w.e is on sale at the time as they are limited by a budget.

Regardless I would take say a Noctua NH-D14 which can regularly be found for $80-85 in the US over say the unavailable be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 2 or the Phanteks PH-TC14PE which ranges from $76-84 and its simply due to support.

In the high end category most of these coolers run the same $80-90 range yet Noctua stands far above in terms of support. Maybe things are different in Switzerland when in comes to prices but in the US Noctua is price competitive 80% of the time while being in the top 1% for support.