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Cooling solution for 9600K@ 5,0GHz

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Hi folks,

I started this thread in the hope that somebody can advise me on the selection of the right CPU https://www.techpowerup.com/forums/...ew-system-what-cpu-should-i-get-first.260207/

I am very pleased today as I have received the Intel Core i5-9600K and the Asus ROG Strix Z390-F motherboard.

I was nearly convinced by the performance of 9350KF when I saw a video showing the gaming benchmark of a 8350K. Then I thought why do I spend $120 more on the 9600K given that overclocking 9350KF to 5,0GHz is possible. Until I watched that video over and over again I noticed that 2 games stutter. I nearly finalized myself on 9350KF more than 8100 or even 9400F.

To save the trouble and hassle, I just then decided to go for the 9600K. Hope my decision is right. It does overclock to 5,0GHz with the proper cooling. It is 6c/6t though is not adequate for games which are coming out next year. But then when I sit down and think deeply, asked myself will I be playing those games? Or are ALL those games suit my expectations in terms of gameplay and the stories. Not 100% probability. A Youtuber called Tech Deals enlightened me with some of their videos. I remember he said "Very high is for actually gaming, whereas Ultra is for screenshots".

As to the reason of choosing Z390 and the ROG Strix version, some might say is that really necessary, that's nearly the top ROG Strix board of Asus. My thinking process is as follows:

Should the 9600K last for 5+ years, then so be it. Should 9700K and even 9900K drop by 10% next year when 10th gen comes out and 9600K fails to work because of some AAA titles handicapping it, then I can still have a board which can cope with the 9700K and 9900K.

Now I want to know though, what sort of overclocked temperature of the 9600K @ 5.0GHz? It's because I need a 120mm AIO or a 240mm AIO for that temperature? Anyone can advise? Thanks!
 
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get ninja 5 and call it a day for cpu cooling forever.
9600k at 5GHz is still mighty capable for gaming,even the multithreaded games are gonna run fine,might experience high usage and a few s tutters in some locations of some games but overall it's still better for high refresh gaming than 3600 IMO.It's just that it's not worth the price they're asking unless you get it with a discount.It should cost no more than R5 3600,or even less.Yes it's slightly better in gaming but IMO worse overall.
Inadequate for next year's games ? Where did you get that ? AMD's reddit ? Cause it's ridiculous.
If I were to choose a platform+cpu to run for next year I'd still get 9600K+z390.If I were to pick one to run for +5 years that'd be Ryzen.
 
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I had my 8600k (basically the exact same chip) @ 4.9ghz and around 58-62c gaming with a Noctua U12s. I also never experienced any real world "stuttering" issues with it that I could see with the naked eye.
 
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I had my 8600k (basically the exact same chip) @ 4.9ghz and around 58-62c gaming with a Noctua U12s. I also never experienced any real world "stuttering" issues with it that I could see with the naked eye.
even 9400f is fine for 60.
6c/6t is only gonna struggle at pushing very high fps on high refresh rate monitors in cpu heavy games.
 
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I have the 8600K, it's a fine CPU you will be okay with it for games for probably the next 4-5 years. Any large dual tower dual fan air cooler will give you 5GHz assuming the CPU is not a total dud.
 
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get ninja 5 and call it a day for cpu cooling forever.
9600k at 5GHz is still mighty capable for gaming,even the multithreaded games are gonna run fine,might experience high usage and a few s tutters in some locations of some games but overall it's still better for high refresh gaming than 3600 IMO.It's just that it's not worth the price they're asking unless you get it with a discount.It should cost no more than R5 3600,or even less.Yes it's slightly better in gaming but IMO worse overall.
Inadequate for next year's games ? Where did you get that ? AMD's reddit ? Cause it's ridiculous.

Well, I believe you may be referring to Far Cry 5, I have watched a video in which the commentator actually remarked that Far Cry 5 stutter at that particular point. I don't feel absolutely nervous about stuttering given that now it is a 9600K. I assume it is a rather moderately powerful CPU at the moment. If game running over it stutters, then I would try to convince myself that it's the problem of the coding. Actually, Assassin Creed Odyssey is not optimized. I'm going to run it on BenQ GW2270 a very cheap low end monitor so it should be a problem. Never mind, FC5 and ACO are not my games anyway.

The price is $53 less to get an 3600 (not 3600X). But I think the more you pay the more you get, at least this philosophy in 2019 does still hold.

If I were to choose a platform+cpu to run for next year I'd still get 9600K+z390.If I were to pick one to run for +5 years that'd be Ryzen.
In the matters of "future proofing", I think I can write an article of debate on the topic, in short, here are my opinions.

Let's assume for a minute that up til Summer 2020, major AAA titles are still not using more than 6c/12t. Then why would anyone worry about the capability of the 9600K? Now the domain of PC games are not fully comprised of AAA titles. There are other games which are not XBox nor PS4 oriented. Take for example, Romance of Three Kingdoms, a similar genre of War Hammer; unless you run it on a i7-9700K or i9-9900K with a 2080 Ti, you will never get a decent 60+ stable framer rates. And there are many games like GTA V and The Honour which are more or less optimized and 9600K with a RX 570 can run them fine with 60+ FPS on Ultra.
Now between 2020 and 2025, I may be still playing the game I am playing now and new ones which I have fall for. But as I get older and older, my interests in other new AAA titles might change. This is related top one's growing up and life experience and that's more on the psychological development of one's life. So unless you are a casual gamer who play each released game every single time, otherwise, buying a so called future proof setup like the Ryzen might not be applicable to everyone. Besides, excuse me for being rude, AMD is claiming that their CPU and Chipsets are forward and backward compatible, it's more like promising something for the future but I am concerning about what I am getting at the present moment. I dare not say AMD will end up giving their fans empty promises, but if you are a realistic person, you will not believe in what which are not coming out yet will you?
 
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I was watercooling my TR4 chip with the Alphacool Eisbaer and was not happy with the temps. I decided to take the plunge on the Noctua (140MM) TR4 cooler and I must say I am very impressed. I can suggest getting a Noctua cooler for that chip as my 1920X does not go over 50C ever.
 
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I had my 8600k (basically the exact same chip) @ 4.9ghz and around 58-62c gaming with a Noctua U12s. I also never experienced any real world "stuttering" issues with it that I could see with the naked eye.
Thanks for the information, 58-62C, that's an important piece of information. If I may, which games get your 8600K up to that temp? Looks like a 120mm AIO will do....

I have the 8600K, it's a fine CPU you will be okay with it for games for probably the next 4-5 years. Any large dual tower dual fan air cooler will give you 5GHz assuming the CPU is not a total dud.
Any recommendation on AIO coolers? 120mm or 240mm?

I was watercooling my TR4 chip with the Alphacool Eisbaer and was not happy with the temps. I decided to take the plunge on the Noctua (140MM) TR4 cooler and I must say I am very impressed. I can suggest getting a Noctua cooler for that chip as my 1920X does not go over 50C ever.
I find that is game-dependent. Some old games will keep my current 3570K at 59C at most. But for Civilization 6, it soars to 65C and I can feel my dated H60 AIO radiator really warm.

I have bought the MasterBox MB511 which is a superb deal and excellent case in terms of airflow, and gorgeously spacious inside, it can even accommodate a 280mm. But I want to save some space for another AIO cooler for the GPU later.


That's why I want to know the gaming temperature and whether a 120mm will suffice or I need a 240mm.
 
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Thanks for the information, 58-62C, that's an important piece of information. If I may, which games get your 8600K up to that temp? Looks like a 120mm AIO will do....


Any recommendation on AIO coolers? 120mm or 240mm?

Deepcool has some pretty good AIOs. I also love the fact that they have a pressure release valve on their new ones.
 
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Thanks for the information, 58-62C, that's an important piece of information. If I may, which games get your 8600K up to that temp? Looks like a 120mm AIO will do....


Any recommendation on AIO coolers? 120mm or 240mm?

Off the top of my head I was playing WoW BoA, Titanfall2, Battlefield 1, Fallout 4 around that time.

Personally I avoid AIO coolers but there are plenty of reviews here to help you out
https://www.techpowerup.com/review/?category=CPU+Coolers&manufacturer=&pp=25&order=date
 

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Hands down the Fuma 2 - Its cheaper than most of the big coolers while performing around the same level. When i say cheaper i dont mean by like $5 - I mean by almost $20. YMMV though.
 
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Well, I believe you may be referring to Far Cry 5, I have watched a video in which the commentator actually remarked that Far Cry 5 stutter at that particular point. I don't feel absolutely nervous about stuttering given that now it is a 9600K. I assume it is a rather moderately powerful CPU at the moment. If game running over it stutters, then I would try to convince myself that it's the problem of the coding. Actually, Assassin Creed Odyssey is not optimized. I'm going to run it on BenQ GW2270 a very cheap low end monitor so it should be a problem. Never mind, FC5 and ACO are not my games anyway.

It's the GN review and has been the "purchase justification" for anyone who has a CPU with more then six cores. I have a 9700k so I have no dog in that fight but that review shows the 9600k "stuttering" at .1% but clearly ahead of CPUs with more threads and cores at 1% lows which is a much larger sample. It's also just one game using an updated engine from Far Cry 2 (at least ten years old). Digital foundry had the stock 9600k matching or beating all new Ryzens at 1% & 5% lows, average, best 5% and best 1% in Far Cry 5. In my opinion a better ndication of smooth game play then a .1% sample. Anandtech and PCgamer also offered similar results in their 9600k & Far Cry 5 benchmark reviews.
 
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Here is my thoughts on the i5-8600K/9600K versus Ryzen, upgrade paths, and future proofing:
  • I sell old parts to fund upgrades, and I try to deal hunt in the first place, often buying used parts, rebated parts, open box deals, Microcenter CPU, etc to keep the basis lower. If I waited any longer from 2017, I wouldn't have been able to sell the Z77X-UD3H for $140, the 3770K for $205, and the Samsung Green 16GB (4x4) for $120. I basically sold it for around the MSRP for what I bought it for initially less fees, keeping boxes helps a lot.
  • The trick with upgrading is deciding when you are on the cusp of the next trend shift, like quad core to hex core, DDR3 to DDR4 and when it makes sense to dump what you have and go for the next.
  • Worrying about the longevity of the socket and upgrade paths is futile, just sell what you have and move on. It was only a net cost of $210 to move from 2012 3770K to 2017 8600K, less than the cost of the 8600K.
  • I bought the 8600K for ~$225 from Microcenter, the Z370 Taichi for ~$220 less $10 rebate, and the G Skill 3200C14 Bdie for ~$230, DDR4 and Bdie was really overpriced back then.
  • If I waited until July 2019's Ryzen 3600, I wouldn't have enjoyed the same single thread gaming speeds of the 3600 for the past 2 years.
  • Quibbling over which AMD or Intel CPU to buy is rather pointless for games because the graphics card is really what one should pay attention to
  • Worrying about upgrade paths doesn't make sense, liquidate what you have and get the next system. Then you get a new motherboard, and more features, for me I gained M2 NVMe storage, onboard bluetooth, and I was really unhappy with my Z77's instability.
If I was deciding now between a 9600K and a Ryzen 5 3600, I'd do the Ryzen 5 3600, no question. I still don't think it matters for your longevity, 9600K should be good for 4-5 years, its not going to hold back your gaming enjoyment.
 
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Well, I believe you may be referring to Far Cry 5, I have watched a video in which the commentator actually remarked that Far Cry 5 stutter at that particular point. I don't feel absolutely nervous about stuttering given that now it is a 9600K. I assume it is a rather moderately powerful CPU at the moment. If game running over it stutters, then I would try to convince myself that it's the problem of the coding. Actually, Assassin Creed Odyssey is not optimized. I'm going to run it on BenQ GW2270 a very cheap low end monitor so it should be a problem. Never mind, FC5 and ACO are not my games anyway.

The price is $53 less to get an 3600 (not 3600X). But I think the more you pay the more you get, at least this philosophy in 2019 does still hold.


In the matters of "future proofing", I think I can write an article of debate on the topic, in short, here are my opinions.

Let's assume for a minute that up til Summer 2020, major AAA titles are still not using more than 6c/12t. Then why would anyone worry about the capability of the 9600K? Now the domain of PC games are not fully comprised of AAA titles. There are other games which are not XBox nor PS4 oriented. Take for example, Romance of Three Kingdoms, a similar genre of War Hammer; unless you run it on a i7-9700K or i9-9900K with a 2080 Ti, you will never get a decent 60+ stable framer rates. And there are many games like GTA V and The Honour which are more or less optimized and 9600K with a RX 570 can run them fine with 60+ FPS on Ultra.
Now between 2020 and 2025, I may be still playing the game I am playing now and new ones which I have fall for. But as I get older and older, my interests in other new AAA titles might change. This is related top one's growing up and life experience and that's more on the psychological development of one's life. So unless you are a casual gamer who play each released game every single time, otherwise, buying a so called future proof setup like the Ryzen might not be applicable to everyone. Besides, excuse me for being rude, AMD is claiming that their CPU and Chipsets are forward and backward compatible, it's more like promising something for the future but I am concerning about what I am getting at the present moment. I dare not say AMD will end up giving their fans empty promises, but if you are a realistic person, you will not believe in what which are not coming out yet will you?
three things
1.games are already using 12-16 threads.if 9600k can handle games like shadow of the tomb raider,odyssey or watch dogs 2,you're gonna be fine in 2020.
2.you get what you need to serve the purpose you intend it to,and try to keep the price at the same time.that's bang for the buck.bang for the buck is not just taking a few most recent games and counting cost per frame.I want both very good framerates in recent cpu heavy games like sotr and odyssey as well as consistent 120fps in older ones where I can run locked 120hz w. ulmb
mode.3.futureproofing is a concept that many pay too much attention to.I'd rather present-proof my pc to run how I want it and upgrade when it stops.
 
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It depends on the amount of watt your overclocked cpu uses. Most of the air coolers out there are designed for a specific TDP. Non oc cpus also have their TDP like 95W for my 8700k. But when I oc it to 5 GHz all Core turbo it uses 200 Watt at max in latest Prime 95 torture test. The 9600K has also a 95W TDP but if you oc it to 5 GHz all core turbo it might use 200 W also. So look for air coolers with 200W TDP or do water cooling.
When it comes to water cooling you can say for every non oc component you need a 120mm radiator. If you oc it then take an 240mm radiator. If you have for example an oc CPU and oc GPU in your system you need one 480 radiator or two 240 or similar.

If your main task is gaming without streaming then go for the 9600k. The same recommendation is for 9700K vs 3700X. Only for gaming go for 9700k, for everything else or gaming and streaming go for Ryzen ;-)
 
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The Fuma from Scyth outperformed the $90 flagship coolers from Noctua and Cryorig at half the price and beats just about any 240 CLC model. It's still one of my favs ... their new Ninja coolers do sacrifice a degree or 2 in favor of a lower acoustics. I an effort to stay relevant ... CLC manufacturers have cranked up the fan rpm to finally edge the better air coolers... but I don't find 40m dbA acceptable in any cooler and if it cools better than the Scyther models ... it's noticeable and sometimes terribly louder.

If you want a AIO but not one that uses mixed metals .... the EK models are great but cost more than a car payment. The Swiftech performs just a hair eblow thermally but are reasonably priced $135 for 2 x 120 model ... $165 for 3 x 1290) . What's also important about the Swiftech AIOS is:

Includes reservoir
No mixed metals creating a science experiment on galvanic corrosion
Expandable .. add a water block for GFX card(s), memory, MoBo whatever ... more rads whatever you want
The pump can do will over 1.0 gpm ... not the measly 0.11 you find in CLCs
Corrosion inhibitors lose effectiveness after 18-24 month ... you can add more or even replace coolant w. Swiftech / EK AIOs


or if ya want a kit custom loop ... they start about $250 ... all out kit is $375-ish

And soundwise the difference between the Swiftech option and typical CLCs is incredible ... with the Corsair, I gotta leave the room when CPU load = 55%

Custom loops are the cats meow as grandpa said ... if ya want dead silence that's the way to go.

Future proofing is not real ... but we have dozens of builds out there 4 - 6 years old still gaming just fine at 1080p. Nothing wrong with buying Intel 9xxx series ... I would not invest in 8xxx tho
 
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freeagent

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I like Thermalright. Nice and cheap, performs as good or better than Noctua. True Spirit 140 Power for fifty bucks is tough to beat. 6x 8mm heatpipes suck up alotta heat. Got one on my x5690.
 
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The Scythe Fuma is a great fit for this CPU and I wouldn't go further up in price. Don't go overboard on cooling expense on a midrange CPU, its bad balance = bad way to spend money (after all, could've bought a better CPU then instead).

Temps, you can count on seeing and aiming for the 80 C mark with an OC.

AIO's I would simply stay far away from. They're not any more quiet, they don't perform noticeably better and they are generally more prone to failure and never last as long as a simple heatsink and fan. Tower heatsinks you just stick on there and forget about - I love it. My 3570k is still under a Gelid Tranquillo and has been since 2013 :p Performs as new.

As for the 6c/6t discussion. Its not optimal but its certainly fine for 99% of all games and will be for the coming 1-2 years. Some lazy console ports may struggle and we've seen a few anomalies with 6c6t performing below the mark. Nothing anywhere close to unplayable.
 
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It's the GN review and has been the "purchase justification" for anyone who has a CPU with more then six cores. I have a 9700k so I have no dog in that fight but that review shows the 9600k "stuttering" at .1% but clearly ahead of CPUs with more threads and cores at 1% lows which is a much larger sample. It's also just one game using an updated engine from Far Cry 2 (at least ten years old). Digital foundry had the stock 9600k matching or beating all new Ryzens at 1% & 5% lows, average, best 5% and best 1% in Far Cry 5. In my opinion a better ndication of smooth game play then a .1% sample. Anandtech and PCgamer also offered similar results in their 9600k & Far Cry 5 benchmark reviews.
Could you send me the link to those reviews?

Here is my thoughts on the i5-8600K/9600K versus Ryzen, upgrade paths, and future proofing:
  • I sell old parts to fund upgrades, and I try to deal hunt in the first place, often buying used parts, rebated parts, open box deals, Microcenter CPU, etc to keep the basis lower. If I waited any longer from 2017, I wouldn't have been able to sell the Z77X-UD3H for $140, the 3770K for $205, and the Samsung Green 16GB (4x4) for $120. I basically sold it for around the MSRP for what I bought it for initially less fees, keeping boxes helps a lot.
  • The trick with upgrading is deciding when you are on the cusp of the next trend shift, like quad core to hex core, DDR3 to DDR4 and when it makes sense to dump what you have and go for the next.
  • Worrying about the longevity of the socket and upgrade paths is futile, just sell what you have and move on. It was only a net cost of $210 to move from 2012 3770K to 2017 8600K, less than the cost of the 8600K.
  • I bought the 8600K for ~$225 from Microcenter, the Z370 Taichi for ~$220 less $10 rebate, and the G Skill 3200C14 Bdie for ~$230, DDR4 and Bdie was really overpriced back then.
  • If I waited until July 2019's Ryzen 3600, I wouldn't have enjoyed the same single thread gaming speeds of the 3600 for the past 2 years.
  • Quibbling over which AMD or Intel CPU to buy is rather pointless for games because the graphics card is really what one should pay attention to
  • Worrying about upgrade paths doesn't make sense, liquidate what you have and get the next system. Then you get a new motherboard, and more features, for me I gained M2 NVMe storage, onboard bluetooth, and I was really unhappy with my Z77's instability.
If I was deciding now between a 9600K and a Ryzen 5 3600, I'd do the Ryzen 5 3600, no question. I still don't think it matters for your longevity, 9600K should be good for 4-5 years, its not going to hold back your gaming enjoyment.
Gamers Nexus Steve Burke has done a thorough review on the CPU, I have the information in hand. It's not a top-notch CPU, but sufficient for playing the games I am playing. I wouldn't say I will be playing because I don't know if I would like those new games. For FPS. Battlefield and Ghost Recon are my favourites. I like Call of Duty but for some reasons which I don't know what that is, that CoD's engine make me feel nausea when playing for the first 5 minutes or so. At first I thought, it is because of the FPS being too high, but I found it not the reason. Battlefield and Ghost Recon give me no such problems, it's a pity. For Real time strategies, I play Age of Empire 2, a very old game, and the forthcoming AOE2 Definitive Edition too. Since Company of Heroes is dead so I have no chance to try that on. Others are Railway Empire, Crysis 3, Mafia II, DCS A-10, The Sims 4, The Outer Worlds and a few old games. So I think I m ok.

The Scythe Fuma is a great fit for this CPU and I wouldn't go further up in price. Don't go overboard on cooling expense on a midrange CPU, its bad balance = bad way to spend money (after all, could've bought a better CPU then instead).

Temps, you can count on seeing and aiming for the 80 C mark with an OC.

AIO's I would simply stay far away from. They're not any more quiet, they don't perform noticeably better and they are generally more prone to failure and never last as long as a simple heatsink and fan. Tower heatsinks you just stick on there and forget about - I love it. My 3570k is still under a Gelid Tranquillo and has been since 2013 :p Performs as new.

As for the 6c/6t discussion. Its not optimal but its certainly fine for 99% of all games and will be for the coming 1-2 years. Some lazy console ports may struggle and we've seen a few anomalies with 6c6t performing below the mark. Nothing anywhere close to unplayable.
My 3570K is still under the old version of the Hydro Series H60 by Corsair. I guess that's why Corsair has earned the place in my heart since then. My first AIO LCS, except it didn't come with a stock fan, it lasts. And it is very good.

Let me tell you what I think about Air Cooler, I did that before H60, they are very hard to maintain. I live in a place which is dust magnet for some reason, city life I guess. Every 3 months, when I open the case, it was full of dust between the fins. It is very hard to clean them. The other thing is it somehow blocks the airflow. Since I used the AIO, it brings down the temperature by so much.

I think I am okay with future games. Everyone has their own favorites. If CPU manufacturers want to convince me about AMD then they definitely will be disappointed. Because I have excellent experience with Intel, namely user friendly. Very easy to use. About games, maybe I will fall for one or two in the future, but definitely this CPU and the kits which I have bought will keep me happy with all the "OLD" games which I have got and I will be getting, they are rather cheap one of these days. Many good titles I have missed before I will definitely buy them.
 
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Let me tell you what I think about Air Cooler, I did that before H60, they are very hard to maintain. I live in a place which is dust magnet for some reason, city life I guess. Every 3 months, when I open the case, it was full of dust between the fins. It is very hard to clean them. The other thing is it somehow blocks the airflow. Since I used the AIO, it brings down the temperature by so much.

i got an air purifier for my apartment and since then it has cut down alot on dust. I had a look inside my newly built pc after 2 months... hardly any dust, and ive got 6 case fans running :). Not gaming related but hey better air, less dust, better lungs and less dust cleaning :).
 
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It depends on the amount of watt your overclocked cpu uses. Most of the air coolers out there are designed for a specific TDP. Non oc cpus also have their TDP like 95W for my 8700k. But when I oc it to 5 GHz all Core turbo it uses 200 Watt at max in latest Prime 95 torture test. The 9600K has also a 95W TDP but if you oc it to 5 GHz all core turbo it might use 200 W also. So look for air coolers with 200W TDP or do water cooling.
When it comes to water cooling you can say for every non oc component you need a 120mm radiator. If you oc it then take an 240mm radiator. If you have for example an oc CPU and oc GPU in your system you need one 480 radiator or two 240 or similar.

If your main task is gaming without streaming then go for the 9600k. The same recommendation is for 9700K vs 3700X. Only for gaming go for 9700k, for everything else or gaming and streaming go for Ryzen ;-)
Thanks for your reply, it's the most relevant and useful.

I have the following have been purchased already.

CPU = 9600K ($253
MOBO = Asus ROG Strix Z390-F ($228)
AIO =
PSU = Corsair RM 850W ($128)
RAM = Corsair Vengeance LPX 3000MHz CL15 ($88)
M.2 = Sabrent Rocket 1TB PCIe 4.0 (recommended by Tech Deals, pity that I finally decided on Z390 instead of X570) (120)
GPU = Asus ROG Strix RX 570 4GB Overclocked version (know this is going to be the bottleneck, maybe upgrade next year) ($189)
CASE= MasterBox MB511 ($79) (This one is the best airflow choice, it is a bit under-rated, not many reviews mention about it, it's a great case, saw it in one of Tech Deals videos about a build)

I do know that it's 95W TDP. I also have a feeling that it will be very hot when overclock to 5GHz and a 240mm is needed for that. I wonder if I stick to the stock speed of 4.6 (Turbo) will 120mm be enough but anyhow, I'll get the 240mm for peace of mind. If I choose a 120mm wrongly, I will have to spend more to replace it with a 240mm later.

The case MB511 is good for a 480mm at the front. But I like to have the 240mm cheaper and it can go to the roof (the beauty of the case, very flexible), so the 3 stock front fans can maintain the push-pull configuration. In the near future I will get NZXT' G12 bracket and another 120mm for cooling the RX570 see if that helps to reduce the temp when playing games. That is the hottest component inthe rig.

i got an air purifier for my apartment and since then it has cut down alot on dust. I had a look inside my newly built pc after 2 months... hardly any dust, and ive got 6 case fans running :). Not gaming related but hey better air, less dust, better lungs and less dust cleaning :).
You're lucky. You must be staying in urban area. I live in the city so can't complain too much
 
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You're lucky. You must be staying in urban area. I live in the city so can't complain too much

nah im staying in city area, im surrounded by new apartments being built, main roads and very so often i get haze i had to leave the windows open so that my clothes can dry!!! and dust comes in. Those air purifiers doesn't cost much, mine cost around $120usd and its portable.
 
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I had an Corsair h115 i PRO AIO before I did my custom loop. It's a very good AIO but a little expensive. I never got higher than 65 degrees with my delidded Core i7 8700K@5 GHz even in Prime 95 with it.
But it's a little bit oversized, only for the CPU a 240mm rad will do the job also. I would go for the 240 rad cause you have more headroom for oc.

- The CPU is fine for gaming
- The Mobo is good for oc, plenty of VRM and good VRM cooling
- Your PSU is a little bit oversized for your system ;-) (I have an be quiet straight power 11 650W for an 8700K@OC and a RTX 2080@OC and this is sufficient)

Edit:
In my opinion water cooling outperforms air cooling. Water transfers heat better than air and you don‘t have to mount such a huge monoblock on your cpu, so it‘s also more aesthetic. My custom loop runs now for nearly one year and there was not 1ml loss. But more interesting than water cooling your CPU is water cooling your GPU. You will achieve much higher boost clocks cause Nvidia‘s Boost 4.0 has three limits which decide how far the boost goes. Temp Limit, Power Limit and Current Limit. Besides the last two ones water cooling helps getting higher temp boost clocks.
 
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Could you send me the link to those reviews?

The digital foundry review is linked in the reply you quoted (in the blue text)
Anandtech and PCgamers latest suite test is below





 
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