Do CPU coolers really matter any more?

S

SharpieFiend

Gawd
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Nov 8, 2005
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I starting to spec out a new rig, which will most likely contain an Intel quad core CPU (my AMD years have come to a close). So, I'm wondering if it's really worth while to upgrade the cooler that comes in the box - I'm currently thinking that it's not. If it is still a good purchase decision, which cooler(s) would you recommend?
 
Depends if you plan on overclocking, or if you care about noise. If you answer yes to either, the answer to this thread is also yes.
 
It does matter, it's just that when you're getting up to the 50$~ air cooling units, they are all about the same IMO. I just went for the bang for buck factor Artic Cooling Freezer Pro 7
 
As for overclocking - yes, I will be, but am not looking for an extreme overclock. As far as noise goes, I don't care about the PC being absolutely silent, but quiet is nice.
 
Then yes, you need a better HSF. The xigmateks are popular, as are the TRUE's if you want to shell out for one.
 
The cooler that came with my QX9650 was better at cooling that I thought, but it literally made more noise than all the other fans put together. I'm on a Xigmatek RS1283 and it looks to be doing its job.


I'm still a little puzzled by my temps, at least when doing Prime 95 Small FFT testing. My temps are in the upper 70's. Nothing else is breaking 60C so I don't know if I should be concerned. I hear people bragging about there temps never going on 60C or even lower, I wonder if that's the case with this test.
 
To OP definite Yes. Aftermarket Heatsink air coolers have come a very long way and worth every penny. Best bang for your buck would be the Xigmatek. Just did a e6320 cpu system build for a client and was able to do a nice mild overclock of around 2.5ghz and it stayed about 1-2C above stock idle/load low 30s (30C ambient). This was using the stock cooler. Anything above that overclock desired I would get an aftermarket cooler.
 
I'd say it's not necessary, it just depends on your own needs. From what I've read, the Quad stockcoolers are good enough to provide enough cooling. They should do of course, otherwise Intel wouldn't include them in the boxed versions.

An aftermarket coolers becomes interesting to customize your rig. Do you want medicore or heavy overclocking? Do you want a silent or even as passive as possible setup? Maybe you just would like some eyecatcher cooler in your case.

If you are looking for a great all-in-one package, take a look at the Noctua NH-UP12 cooler. It comes with the heatsink itself, a great fan with low-noise adapters and rubber screws as well as a very good thermal compound.
If you are just looking for cooler and fan, you could also check out the Xigmatek S1283, which comes at an attractive price and delivers very good cooling.
The classic Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme and Scythe Ninja/Infinity are also good choices for heavy overclocking. These coolers usually come at a higher pricetag, ranging from 30 to 60 €uros, but they deliver the best possible aircooling.

You have cheaper options like the Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 which is quite cheap, quite silent and is still good enough for some lower overclocking experiments. This one is often used to replace Intel stockcooling.

For passive/silent there is the new CoolerMaster Hyper Z600 which delivers great performance, it comes without any fans though. Also keep in mind that this thing is huge, you have to carefully check your mainboard, RAM modules and case to be sure if it fits. If you give it an active fan (or two, enogh brackets are included) this thing performs good enough to compete with the best aircooling solutions up to date.

Then of course there are many eyecandy coolers, especially from CoolerMaster, Gigabyte, Asus and Thermaltake. These interesting looking coolers often deliver only medicore (better than stock cooling though!) performance, especially at the given price, but they simply look great in your rig.


It's your choice.... if you don't plan to overclock, don't want a very silent PC and don't care about how the cooler looks then no, you don't have to buy an aftermarket cooler.
 
Yeah, it matters, there is a huge delta between the Intel stock HSF and a good aftermarket cooler. Especially if you are overclocking, you want a good cooler. These things aren't that expensive, its worth it to spend the extra $50 on a heatsink and another $5 for some good thermal paste (I used OCZ Freeze). No point in cheaping-out on this when it only costs like $60 to do right.
 
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