Best cooler available

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Hi guys,

Just wondering what is the best cooler available for my i5 2570k. I heard that custom water cooling loops cool the best but I saw in a review somewhere that a corsair H100 beat a custom water cooling loop.

If this is the case and I made a custom loop with two dual rads would cooling increase dramatically or will it be a 1 degree change whilst spending £50 more.

Thanks.
 
Well, if you want the unbeatably best cooler available, then you'd want a custom loop with a water chiller, but that's silly. Really, it depends on your budget
 
Would cooling increase dramatically compared to what? An H100?

I have an H100. In all honesty I doubt it is significantly better than the high end air coolers in terms of cooling performance. Where the enclosed water coolers come into their own is you can afford to have lower fan speeds and thus a quieter system as the radiator will passively cool the moving water.

These kinds of all-in-one water coolers also come into their own when you have a case that hasn't been designed for high airflow (e.g. Corsair 600/800D).

Reference point: currently running i5 2500k @ 4.5GHz, 1.38v, 100% load (drawing ~80watts) and temps are 61-63'c on each core. Ambient temp is ~18'c. Idle temps hover ~30'c. Running 4x Akasa Vipers in push-pull at ~1800RPM. I should think a decent air cooler would be able to match that cooling performance.
 
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I would doubt that the performance would be significantly better, and a custom loop is better in terms of noise and the ability to cool graphics cards and other things
 
H100 vs top air is six of one and half a dozen of other.
H100 has a long history of pump noise issues that Corsair is still dealing with.

Alpenfohn K2, Noctua D14, Phanteks TC14PE and Thermalright Silver Arrow SB-E are all within 3c.

H100, Silver Arrow SB-E & Silver Arrow SB-E Extreme test results:
i7 3820 @4.75GHz
Temperature is delta.

H100 . . . . . . . . 41c 2500rpm. . . . . . . . 55dBA 2
SA SB-E . . . . . . 42c 1000rpm & 1300rpm 38dBA TY-150 & TY-141
SA SB-E Extreme 34c 2500rpm. . . . . . . . 56dBA 2x TY-143

jump in to 3:40 for results
 
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H100 vs top air is six of one and half a dozen of other.
H100 has a long history of pump noise issues that Corsair is still dealing with.

Alpenfohn K2, Noctua D14, Phanteks TC14PE and Thermalright Silver Arrow SB-E are all within 3c.

H100, Silver Arrow SB-E & Silver Arrow SB-E Extreme test results:
i7 3820 @4.75GHz
Temperature is delta.

H100 . . . . . . . . 41c 2500rpm. . . . . . . . 55dBA 2
SA SB-E . . . . . . 42c 1000rpm & 1300rpm 38dBA TY-150 & TY-141
SA SB-E Extreme 34c 2500rpm. . . . . . . . 56dBA 2x TY-143

jump in to 3:40 for results

Meaning that top air is simple yet efficient solution?
 
Meaning that top air is simple yet efficient solution?

I guess that's for you to decide...

I prefer air cooler to H20 and best air cooler perform as good as or better than closed loop H20...

No pump noise, no chance of water leaking, quieter, cheaper, etc.

If H20 pump dies CPU overheats.

If fan on big air cooler dies CPU goes up 3-10c. :D
 
Liquid nitrogen. Accept no substitutes.

overclocking.jpg
 
Silver Arrow SB-E and SB-E Extremes are almost silent at low rpm. At 1300 both are about the same as a whisper or fridge hum.... and 1300rpm is a lot of cooling!!

All of the top coolers will cool stock CPUs at 100% load with NO fans without overheating.
 
I have an H100. In all honesty I doubt it is significantly better than the high end air coolers in terms of cooling performance. Where the enclosed water coolers come into their own is you can afford to have lower fan speeds and thus a quieter system as the radiator will passively cool the moving water.

These kinds of all-in-one water coolers also come into their own when you have a case that hasn't been designed for high airflow (e.g. Corsair 600/800D).

Reference point: currently running i5 2500k @ 4.5GHz, 1.38v, 100% load (drawing ~80watts) and temps are 61-63'c on each core. Ambient temp is ~18'c. Idle temps hover ~30'c. Running 4x Akasa Vipers in push-pull at ~1800RPM. I should think a decent air cooler would be able to match that cooling performance.

I've been singing that song for a while now :) Glad to see someone with an H100 who knows what the real deal is.
 
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