What are the best current CPU coolers?

BloodTotal · Dec 19, 2008

I've reasearched lots, but sites can't seem to group coolers together, it's alway some random coopers compared with some random coolers, and the tomshardware one is confusing

What is the best CPU cooler on the market right now, *only air coolers* as I can not afford a water cooler. From why I've read so far the cnps9700 zalman is still the best one, but I also cam across som thermaltake tx-14 or something that's supposed to be really good.

It has to fit into an anted 900

What can you suggest for me?

Is there any simple chart comparing the performance of the coolers

Thanks

v12dock · Dec 19, 2008

Thats what i've been using for like 4 years now works GREAT!

3xploit · Dec 19, 2008

top 5 intel and amd heatsinks:

http://www.frostytech.com/top5heatsinks.cfm

BloodTotal · Dec 19, 2008

Thank you so much, thatchart was exactly what I was looking for

MRCL · Dec 19, 2008

Zalman CNPS9700 is great, but when it comes to overclocking, it quickly fails.
ATM I use a Xigmatek S1283, wich can handle high voltages with ease, even on the lowest fan speed.

Furthermore, I heard the Thermalright Ultra Extreme and IFX are great coolers, too.

BloodTotal · Dec 19, 2008

Go to the link in post three (I'm on my iPhone so I can't ctrl-c/v) go to the best cooler, then go I the last page which is final comparisons, and there you see all the coolers with all the temps etc.

Is it right? , that best cooler by sunbeamtech is like $40, whole the zalman is $70 , semme suspicious?

What do I do?

LittleLizard · Dec 19, 2008

the BEST air cooler is by far the thermalright ultra 120 eXtreme, the point is that is very expensive, dificult to get and it does not come with a fan

BloodTotal · Dec 19, 2008

At would be a good cooler for like $75 ?

MopeyMartian · Dec 19, 2008

Just get the Xigmatek for ~$30

BloodTotal · Dec 19, 2008

can anyone provide links I reviews that are credible and good?

ascstinger · Dec 19, 2008

agreed about the xigmatek s-1283, and if you want the led-look of the zalman, you could always buy another fan. The s-1283 offers almost the same performance as the sunbeam and has much better build quality

that frostytech site is probably the most accurate review site out there atm

BloodTotal · Dec 19, 2008

What about the thermaltake v14?

Can it even fit in an antec 900?

BloodTotal · Dec 19, 2008

Reasearching the best CPU cooler is more confusing than searching for the beat motherboard

Wile E · Dec 19, 2008

BloodTotal said:
Go to the link in post three (I'm on my iPhone so I can't ctrl-c/v) go to the best cooler, then go I the last page which is final comparisons, and there you see all the coolers with all the temps etc.

Is it right? , that best cooler by sunbeamtech is like $40, whole the zalman is $70 , semme suspicious?

What do I do?

The sunbeam and the Xigmateks are all better than the Zalman. The only thing that comes close to them is the Thermalright Ultra Extreme 120. Zalman coolers are ALWAYS overpriced for their performance. I'd just get the Xigmatek HDT-S1283. It's easily within a degree or 2 of the Thermalright, but is half the price.

francis511 · Dec 19, 2008

Those reviews are reliable - they just don`t look it !

Fastmix · Dec 19, 2008

http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=45&Itemid=1

MopeyMartian · Dec 19, 2008

I wish I could have finished my brother's PC by now. I'd be able to tell you exactly how temps would be with the S-1283, Q6600 & MX-2 in an Antec Three Hundred.

red268 · Dec 19, 2008

I spent a long time looking around at reviews and charts for coolers before I bought my Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme, shortened to TRUE. It is fantastic and does a really good job.

Lots of the reviews I read on websites that test these things differ from other ones. Some of them test in cases, some outside cases. Some test with a real CPU, others test with a heater to emulate a CPU.

It's hard to decide from these reviews since they are different in some ways and occasionally you get bias results.

The reason I chose the TRUE over the Xigmatek S1283 is simply because of the use of a backplate on the TRUE. The S1283 is supposed to be very good though.

MopeyMartian · Dec 23, 2008

Okay, so I got my brother's PC going and here are the temps with the Xigmatek and no OC.

Is it normal for 1 core to be 8 degrees lower than the others? I have to admit, I had a hell of a time putting the cooler on this time (I've done it several times now). I was so happy when i finally heard that distinctive *click* for each pushpin. Hopefully, it will now survive the trip to my brother's house (3 hour drive). If he cushions it well there shouldn't be too much vibration.

MRCL · Dec 23, 2008

red268 said:
The reason I chose the TRUE over the Xigmatek S1283 is simply because of the use of a backplate on the TRUE. The S1283 is supposed to be very good though.

There is a backplate kit available for the Xiggy, which is not too expensive. I've bought mine with a backplate, I mean with it it already looks more reliable than this Pushpin mechanism. And I can tell you: There is a difference in temps.

red268 · Dec 23, 2008

Core speed 1600?!

hv43082 · Dec 23, 2008

TRUE is still the best in terms of performance but it's also the among the most expensive. The best bang for the buck is Xigmatek.

MopeyMartian · Dec 23, 2008

red268 said:
Core speed 1600?!

Gigabyte boards come with power saving features that downclock at idle. I'll be sure to turn those off when I'm OCing.

red268 · Dec 23, 2008

MopeyMartian said:
Gigabyte boards come with power saving features that downclock at idle. I'll be sure to turn those off when I'm OCing.

Brilliant!! I was looking at a Gigabyte board earlier. Might think about it more seriously after Christmas.

MopeyMartian · Dec 23, 2008

Okay, here's my 1st OC attempt. It easily hit 3.2 with CPU volts set to Auto. There was also and option I've never seen before that said it compensated for Vdroop, so I turned it on. Does the Vcore look high to anyone or is that normal for 3.2GHz?

I'll get back to everyone with temps after everything is stable.

System Name	Blood
Processor	Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 @ 2.4Ghz
Motherboard	ASUS P5Q PRO @ stock settings
Cooling	Antec Case fans (max) OCZ Vandetta 2 CPU cooler with a Kaze Jyuni 120mm fan 1200RPM+-100RPM 67.5CFM
Memory	Patriot Viper Series 4GB 2x2GB DDR2 800Mhz 5-5-5-15
Video Card(s)	BFG NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260 OC MAXCORE 896MB PCIe 2.0 Core 216 @ stock settings
Storage	Seagate Barracuda 500GB SATA 3.0Gb/s
Display(s)	Acer AL2616Wd 25.5" 1920x1200 800:1 178degrees viewing angle 5ms S-IPS Panel
Case	Antec Nine Hundred
Audio Device(s)	Auzentech X-Plosion 7.1 with a coaxial cable connected to a Logitech z5500
Power Supply	BFG ES-800 800W
Software	Windows Vista (soon to be Windows Xp, Vista, and Windows 7 triple boot)

Processor	i7 920 @ 3.9ghz 1.33vLoad
Motherboard	evga x58
Cooling	TRUE
Memory	6x1gb Aeneon 1600
Video Card(s)	GTS 512 820/2052/1107 + accelero s1 (2x 120mm fans)
Storage	Western Digital 500gb SATA
Display(s)	ViewSonic 22" 1680x1050
Case	Antec Three Hundred
Audio Device(s)	ONBOARD
Power Supply	Tuniq 5501
Software	Windows 7 x64 7100

System Name	Blood
Processor	Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 @ 2.4Ghz
Motherboard	ASUS P5Q PRO @ stock settings
Cooling	Antec Case fans (max) OCZ Vandetta 2 CPU cooler with a Kaze Jyuni 120mm fan 1200RPM+-100RPM 67.5CFM
Memory	Patriot Viper Series 4GB 2x2GB DDR2 800Mhz 5-5-5-15
Video Card(s)	BFG NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260 OC MAXCORE 896MB PCIe 2.0 Core 216 @ stock settings
Storage	Seagate Barracuda 500GB SATA 3.0Gb/s
Display(s)	Acer AL2616Wd 25.5" 1920x1200 800:1 178degrees viewing angle 5ms S-IPS Panel
Case	Antec Nine Hundred
Audio Device(s)	Auzentech X-Plosion 7.1 with a coaxial cable connected to a Logitech z5500
Power Supply	BFG ES-800 800W
Software	Windows Vista (soon to be Windows Xp, Vista, and Windows 7 triple boot)

System Name	Fractality 1.0
Processor	Intel Core i7-860 @ 3.6GHz
Motherboard	EVGA P55 SLI
Cooling	Prolimatech Megahalems and four Fractal Design 120mm fans, sleeved
Memory	16GB Kingston Hyper RAM
Video Card(s)	PNY GeForce 580 XLR8
Storage	64GB and 180GB SSDs / 1TB and 2TB HDDs
Display(s)	24" Acer V243W
Case	Fractal Design Define R2, sleeved all I/O cables
Audio Device(s)	onboard
Power Supply	Corsair HX750W modular, sadly only stock sleeving
Software	Win 7 64bit

System Name	Blood
Processor	Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 @ 2.4Ghz
Motherboard	ASUS P5Q PRO @ stock settings
Cooling	Antec Case fans (max) OCZ Vandetta 2 CPU cooler with a Kaze Jyuni 120mm fan 1200RPM+-100RPM 67.5CFM
Memory	Patriot Viper Series 4GB 2x2GB DDR2 800Mhz 5-5-5-15
Video Card(s)	BFG NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260 OC MAXCORE 896MB PCIe 2.0 Core 216 @ stock settings
Storage	Seagate Barracuda 500GB SATA 3.0Gb/s
Display(s)	Acer AL2616Wd 25.5" 1920x1200 800:1 178degrees viewing angle 5ms S-IPS Panel
Case	Antec Nine Hundred
Audio Device(s)	Auzentech X-Plosion 7.1 with a coaxial cable connected to a Logitech z5500
Power Supply	BFG ES-800 800W
Software	Windows Vista (soon to be Windows Xp, Vista, and Windows 7 triple boot)

What are the best current CPU coolers?

BloodTotal

v12dock

Block Caption of Rainey Street

3xploit

New Member

BloodTotal

MRCL

BloodTotal

LittleLizard

BloodTotal

MopeyMartian

BloodTotal

ascstinger

New Member

BloodTotal

BloodTotal

Wile E

Power User

francis511

Fastmix

New Member

MopeyMartian

red268

MopeyMartian

MRCL

red268

hv43082

MopeyMartian

red268

MopeyMartian

System Name	The Lizard v2.4
Processor	Intel Celeron G1840 (for the time being
Motherboard	Gigabyte GA-H81-S2PH
Cooling	Intel Stock Fan
Memory	16GB Kingston HyperX 1600
Video Card(s)	MSI Gaming GTX 750Ti (For the time being)
Storage	500GB Samsung F1, 160GB Maxtor "Older than god"
Display(s)	AOC 28' LCD
Case	Coolermaster N200
Audio Device(s)	Onboard
Power Supply	Antec VP500P
Software	Windows 7 Ultimate x64
Benchmark Scores	No crashes in the last 24 minutes.

Processor	AMD R5 3600 @4.4GHz
Motherboard	MSI B450 Tomahawk Max
Cooling	Scythe Fuma 2
Memory	PNY 16GB DDR4-3200
Video Card(s)	EVGA RTX 2070 w/2 Arctic P12 fans
Storage	Samsung Evo 250GB & many more
Display(s)	ASUS 24" + Acer 24"
Case	Corsair Carbide 200R
Power Supply	Cooler Master V650
Mouse	Logitech G305
Keyboard	Corsair K70
Software	Win 10 64

System Name	F34R T3H 0R4NG3
Processor	AMD Phenom II 945
Motherboard	DFI DK 790gx LP JR
Cooling	Scythe Mugen II
Memory	G.SKILL Trident 4GB DDR3 1600
Video Card(s)	EVGA GTX260 Core216 55nm
Storage	Western Digital 80gb Vraptor
Display(s)	Westinghouse 19" LCD
Case	Antec Mini P180 Black
Audio Device(s)	Onboard :/
Power Supply	Antec Signature Series 650w
Software	Vista x64 SP2

System Name	The ClusterF**k
Processor	980X @ 4Ghz
Motherboard	Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD5 BIOS F12
Cooling	MCR-320, DDC-1 pump w/Bitspower res top (1/2" fittings), Koolance CPU-360
Memory	3x2GB Mushkin Redlines 1600Mhz 6-8-6-24 1T
Video Card(s)	Evga GTX 580
Storage	Corsair Neutron GTX 240GB, 2xSeagate 320GB RAID0; 2xSeagate 3TB; 2xSamsung 2TB; Samsung 1.5TB
Display(s)	HP LP2475w 24" 1920x1200 IPS
Case	Technofront Bench Station
Audio Device(s)	Auzentech X-Fi Forte into Onkyo SR606 and Polk TSi200's + RM6750
Power Supply	ENERMAX Galaxy EVO EGX1250EWT 1250W
Software	Win7 Ultimate N x64, OSX 10.8.4

Processor	Core I5 4440 / 4430
Motherboard	Asus z87-k / Gigabyte ga h97- d3h
Cooling	Arctic freezer / Generic
Memory	8 gb Mushkin / Various
Video Card(s)	Radeon 7850 cf / Gtx 690
Storage	Samsung 850 EVO 250 gb / 2x1 terabyte hdds Wd 256 gb nvme
Display(s)	Technika 32" / Asus 24` ips
Case	Corsair
Audio Device(s)	X-fi Titanium
Power Supply	Corsair 850 w
Software	Windows 10

Processor	Intel® Core™ 2 Quad Q6600 Quad Core Processor(2.4GHz,8MB Cache,1066MHz)
Motherboard	ASUSTeK - P5N-E - SLI nForce 650i SLI(C55) - ATX
Cooling	TRUE with Xilence Red Wing 120mm fan
Memory	OCZ 4GB (2x2GB) DDR2 800Mhz/PC2-6400 GOLD XTC
Video Card(s)	Sapphire HD3870 XT 512MB Arctic Cooling Acellero S1 Rev. 2
Storage	Seagate ST3500320AS 500GB SATA II 7200rpm 32MB Cache
Display(s)	HANNS-G HU196D 19"
Case	Antec 1200
Audio Device(s)	5.1 High Definition onboard sound card - 6 Channel Cinema sound
Power Supply	550W PSU
Software	Windows Vista Home Premium 32bit
Benchmark Scores	10713 3DMark06 - No overclocking on anything

System Name	Battle Station
Processor	AMD Ryzen 5900x
Motherboard	Asus ROG Strix x570-I
Cooling	Lian Li Galahad 240
Memory	Crucial DDR4-3200 32 GB
Video Card(s)	1 x Gigabyte RTX 4090
Storage	Adata 1Tb NVME
Display(s)	Samsung G9 Odyssey
Case	Hyte Y60
Audio Device(s)	Asus Xonar DX + Ultrasone Pro 900 + JBL SLR 308 speakers and SLR 310 subwoofer
Power Supply	Corsair SFX 750W
Mouse	Logitech G903
Keyboard	The rabbit hole of custom mechanical keyboards
Software	Window 10 Ultimate x64