BEST i5 2500k air cooler?
- Thread starter Shaye87
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Noctua NH-D14. Roughly 31C idle currently and max of around 56C under Intel stress test @ 4.2GHz currently. Great fan blade design, build quality and fan bearings. This is a heatsink which will last you many years without problem!! 
As above, but as you mentioned you don't care about price you may also want to consider the prolimatech genesis:
About £20 more than the Silver Arrow plus you have to buy the fans separately...
Personally, i would (and did) buy the SA.
I thought the Noctua edged it? but was more expensive/heavy and not as pleasing on the eye.
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The fan colour grows on you 
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.I've only looked at a couple of review/videos and the Silver arrow edged it by one, maybe two degrees in both. To be honest you'd just buy the one that's the cheapest of the two (Currently the SA) since the difference is so minimal.
Yeah the Silver Arrow is the cheapest of the two and comes with two very decent fans, would be my choice. There is one or two reviews floating about with a faulty Silver Arrow review sample, so ignore those. They are neck and neck either way, so get the cheapest.
On a budget the Cogage Arrow is a good buy, based on the same design as the Silver Arrow although you will need fans as the one provided isn't exactly brilliant.
On a budget the Cogage Arrow is a good buy, based on the same design as the Silver Arrow although you will need fans as the one provided isn't exactly brilliant.
personally i think the Noctua > Silver Arrow
- noctua looks far more substantial
- noctua has better quality fans
- noctua has better warranty and RMA
- noctua securfit is a lot easier and secure
-It may look more substantial but the SA performs just as well.
-See above.
-What's really going to go wrong with a CPU cooler in the longer term except maybe a broken fan which can be easily replaced.
-SA fitting does the job well enough.
.personally i think the Noctua > Silver Arrow
- noctua looks far more substantial
- noctua has better quality fans
- noctua has better warranty and RMA
- noctua securfit is a lot easier and secure
I'd agree on the warranty and that the Noctua fans are excellent quality. The D-14 may look more substantial but its looks are let down by the awful fan colour. The Silver Arrow fans are also excellent quality and offer great performance.
The mounting system on the Silver Arrow is one of the strongest and most secure I've used. It might not be as elegant as the Noctua setup but I've installed a D-14 and SA. The two curved mounting bars on the D-14 do their job but they are not nearly as ridgid as the full plate the Silver Arrow uses.
All that aside the price is what lets the D-14 down, if it was £10-£15 cheaper then it could go toe to toe with the Silver Arrow. As it is, there is no way of justifying the extra money for exactly the same and in some setups 1-2c better performance. If money is no object, then maybe self contained water is a better option? £65 for the D-14 is very close to the £75-£80 asking for the H80/H100.
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H80 cooling performance does not even enter the same bracket as the D-14s.
Edit: Meant H70.
Edit: Meant H70.
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There are reviews already? I couldn't see any, although I didn't look very long.
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My mistake, I was thinking of their older range (70 etc)
Yeah, their older range isn't great. The new ones are still more expensive than the D-14 but I'd be very suprised if the dual rad H100 @ £85 didn't produce excellent results. Only time will tell I guess.