best cpu cooler for £40 to £50?

Akagi

Akagi

Akagi

Caporegime
Joined
29 Jul 2011
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In acme's chair.
for an i5 2500k with a 4.2ghz overclock (and some headroom for higher oc's in the future)

I am currently looking at the Antec Kuhler H2O 620 for £46.

i do not mind if it is air or water, just so long as it will fit in with a black-blue-silver themed rig. (so no bright yellow akasa's please)
 
hi u might want to look at a corsair hydro h60 or a Noctua NH-U9B SE2 both coolers are good i currently have the noctua in my comp upstairs cooling a q6600 under load is about 35 and i have a h60 cooling my i5 2500k standard temps are 28 under load 39 and when OC to 4.3 29-30 idel and under load 49 hope this helps
 
thanks, i might look into the h60, but i forgot to mention that i hate noctunas lol, it would be ok if i never had to look at it, but i would
 
if your happy to paint the fans, have a big enough case for a 163mm tall cooler and have standard height RAM then the thermalright silver arrow is the best air cooler on the market* its over budget but im sure you could find another 98p if you really wanted it

*possibly being beaten by a new kid on the block who's name i forget that OcUK doesnt sell any more, and would be out of budget anyway


if you dont want to do any painting then the bequiet dark rock pro or the antec khuler 620 would be my recommendation
 
The BeQuiet Dark Rock range would fit your criteria for black and blue (well the black at least) - and still has great cooling qualities.

One of the best coolers for ~£50 is the Silver Arrow - but i'm guessing the fans would screw up your colour scheme (dispite the light blue blades)?

Edit: Hehe, beat me to another Reaper
 
acme15 said:
thanks, i might look into the h60, but i forgot to mention that i hate noctunas lol, it would be ok if i never had to look at it, but i would
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yeah the thing about air coolers is that they always big and take up a lot of room 2 the thing i like most about my h60 is how small it is theres still a radiator but it gets strapped to the back of your case with a fan xD
 
The zalman flower shaped coolers are really nice! The cooling to loudness is exceptional, they are the ones to go for if you are looking for something that doesn't sound like a jet plane parked in your house :)
 
rarryawn said:
The zalman flower shaped coolers are really nice! The cooling to loudness is exceptional, they are the ones to go for if you are looking for something that doesn't sound like a jet plane parked in your house :)
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as much as i would like to agree with you there i cant, because the silver arrow will be quieter. however, if you are like me and have a small case then the zalman CNPS9900MAX is probably the best your going to get for quietness
 
Thanks for the responses so far guys, truth be told I have looked into most of the coolers you have mentioned already :)

I just wanted some more experienced opinions. (This is to be my first ever build :D)

Ok so, the silver arrow seems like a good option, although I will be honest, the aesthetics aren't for me.
The dark rock coolers were the ones which I initially looked at, and I have also looked into h50 and h60 watercooling.

For me its between the dark rock advanced and the kuhler 620 right now. Out of those two, which has the better cooling in your opinions..? And also how much would the second fan of the dark rock pro help to reduce temps over the single fan of the advanced?
 
Ok, you guys are probably going to laugh at this, but remember my blue-black- silver colour scheme..?
Well my refurbished graphics card just arrived and its BRIGHT GREEN! XD

Looks like I'm going to be spending a lot of time with the label remover >.<
 
if noise isnt a massive issue try a thermaltake frio. Beast of a cooler. My old E8400 was at 4ghz at 1.325v 24/7 and load temps never went past 57c and that was only on half fan speed which isnt that loud.

Will be trying to clock my i5 later so see how it handles these chips as well. Use artic silver 5 ;)
 
hardkore said:
http://www.vortez.net/articles_pages/thermalright_silver_arrow_cpu_cooler_review,9.html
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THIS IS THE PART TO TAKE NOTICE OF

Most of you are probably more interested in the overclocked results so I will analyse the results here in more depth.

Stock configuration comparison

First of all, it's not hard to see that the Thermalright Silver Arrow has topped the chart, an impressive feat considering the competition it's up against. But let's start by looking at the stock configuration. When teamed with the two bundled TR TY-140 fans, the Silver Arrow falls behind the stock Noctua NH-D14 by a mere 0.25C and when both use their own branded 140mm fans, the Silver Arrow outperforms the Noctua (2xNF-P14s) by 1C. With both running their stock fans at low RPM, the NH-D14 comes out top again by 0.5C. So users not looking to change the stock fans should definitely consider the Thermalright cooler as a viable alternative to the Noctua. Furthermore, Thermalright are pricing their cooler at around £10 less making it a bargain.

*Note: The Noctua NH-D14 was tested with Thermalright Chill Factor II thermal paste rather than the stock NT-H1 paste which is inferior. So unless users buy some aftermarket paste, the Silver Arrow will perform better straight out of the box thanks to the inclusion of the Chill Factor III thermal paste.*
 
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