Best CPU air cooler for Sandybridge atm?

hughythomas · 4 Apr 2011 at 15:25

Hi guys!

Not really up to date with air coolers but need to spec a rig for a friend.

I use custom water so any help would be greatly appreciated.

Ideally I'd like it to be below £50 in price and be more than capable of clocking an i5 2500K as far as it can go on air.

Many thanks in advance

Tom

richardirv · 4 Apr 2011 at 15:38

I could reccomend the Thermaltake Frio in this price range and if you have the case space for it, I use one on my i7 2600k with push pull fan config,

Although it is not overclocked currently, it has been at 4.8ghz and stable. The frio didn't break into a sweat. Although temps would depend on how well ventilated your case is.

Bit-Tech think very highly of it too.

Shayper · 4 Apr 2011 at 16:34

2 of my mates (I built their PC's

[You owe me BJN

]) are using Corsair A70's on their 2500k setups, very cool, very quiet and look awesome

trisp · 4 Apr 2011 at 20:57

Theres quite a lot of options for under 50 pounds i believe that the Noctua NH-U9B SE2 will probs be the best bet for that amount.

Helios1234 · 4 Apr 2011 at 21:39

trisp said:
Theres quite a lot of options for under 50 pounds i believe that the Noctua NH-U9B SE2 will probs be the best bet for that amount.

Not quite. That Noctua only uses 92mm fans which at this price point will get you superior coolers with 120mm fans. The Noctua is good in small cases where height restrictions limit your choice of cooler. The Thermaltake Frio is decent but it doesn't compare to a Thermalright VX with a couple of 120mm fans which can be had for under £50. The Silver Arrow is not much more than £50 and is one of the best coolers around alongside the more expensive NH-D14.

postmanfw · 4 Apr 2011 at 22:09

What about the TR Archon?

trisp · 5 Apr 2011 at 04:18

Helios1234 said:
Not quite. That Noctua only uses 92mm fans which at this price point will get you superior coolers with 120mm fans. The Noctua is good in small cases where height restrictions limit your choice of cooler. The Thermaltake Frio is decent but it doesn't compare to a Thermalright VX with a couple of 120mm fans which can be had for under £50. The Silver Arrow is not much more than £50 and is one of the best coolers around alongside the more expensive NH-D14.

Agreed though i was going to suggest Prolimatech Megahalems but you have to buy the extra fans which would cost another 10 pounds ish and he seems to want to spend less then 50

Helios1234 · 5 Apr 2011 at 11:10

trisp said:
Agreed though i was going to suggest Prolimatech Megahalems but you have to buy the extra fans which would cost another 10 pounds ish and he seems to want to spend less then 50

The Megahalem is ok but has nothing on the Thermalright VX from experience. The Super Mega is slightly better but again not as good as the VX and far too expensive.

Zaim · 5 Apr 2011 at 11:29

Hi mate, the one Helios1234 suggested is a good cooler, but if it was me i'd get the Noctua-NH D14, best air cooler imo, very quiet and excellent performance.