best CPU with limited cooling

gambitt

gambitt

gambitt

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Joined
18 Oct 2002
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I've been out of the overclocking game for a while so this might sound a bit noobish... I'm building a new machine next month and for me it all hinges on easy cooling.

I want to keep my nice quiet current set up of a big heatsink (obviously buy a new heatsink since I'm still on s775) with only a 120mm fan pointed at it running at 7v. The question is, which CPU will give me a better overclock with this cooling system? 2500k, 2600k.. dare I ask - Bulldozer? (obviously nobody knows in practice :o )
 
The sandy bridge CPUs are really quite efficient and run cool. As for bulldozer - I have no idea, though top-end AMD chips usually kick out 125W (compared to 95W from the Intel SB Quad core chips) they may require better cooling.

As for the cooler you will be using, do you have any space restrictions? If you just want something quiet then you can get this - its a beast of a cooler and due to the dual 500-800rpm 140mm fans it runs very quiet (also make sure you use low-profile RAM with it).
 
Oh that's a point - I have an old Coolermaster ATCS-500 which has the PSU hanging over the CPU area... although the PSU is currently sitting inside on the bottom of the case with the 120mm balanced on top (yes I am ghetto). I'd prefer to do it properly when I buy new kit but space will be an issue. I don't want to swap cases though, I love this one! :(

edit: oooh what about one of these heat exchanger things:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/productlist.php?groupid=962&catid=1532
 
If you have a rear 120mm fan and not much space in the CPU zone for a large cooler then a captive liquid cooling kit like these would be a good option. Though please bear in mind these are not the quietest solutions since they have to run a pump as well as a fan, and the fan has to push air through a relatively high resistance radiator so they often use high speed (and this relatively noisy) 120mm fans.

Looking at the case - it has the PSU basically sitting on top of the CPU. If you want a low noise system and overclock then I would strongly suggest replacing the case. For example, this is a nice case, and has plenty of room for a large, quiet cooler like the thermalright and the PSU is well out of the way (so it can stay cool and quiet).
 
CPU temperatures these days can easily be maintained with coolers of any size. However, to maximise cooling without sacrifising higher noise levels, I'd recommend getting a larger heatsink. Like cmndr_andi mentioned, a Thermalright cooler would be ideal and I personally managed to use the Silver Arrow to cool my i7 920 passively even at 4GHz. And what was even more amazing was its ability to keep up with some other tower coolers and the H50/CoolIT ECO without the noise.

The problem however is that the cooler may be too big for your case but it's worth checking. Running something like the Silver Arrow passively also requires good airflow but since it comes with two fans, you might as well just use them. Thankfully they are quiet and you can control the speed through its PWM functionality. If the Silver Arrow is out of your price range, there's the Cogage Arrow which is pretty much the same thing with a single fan.
 
Man, that Silver arrrow really is a beast :)

I've had my eye on it for a while but I didn't realise it worked so well passively. I will definitely be investing in one of them for my sisters new architecture PC build

As for the OP, the problem really is with the ATCS-500 case - if you look at this picture (sorry its so tiny) the PSU is the obsticle for large (and awesome) coolers.

atcs5006a.jpg


Also, it doesn't seem to have any 120mm fans on the outside, so you couldn't install one of the sealed watercooling systems without modding it.
 
Ah I googled some pictures but didn't realise this was where the PSU went. That definitely puts a lot of heatsinks out of the picture. The Scythe is probably the best option then.

cmndr_andi said:
Man, that Silver arrrow really is a beast :)

I've had my eye on it for a while but I didn't realise it worked so well passively. I will definitely be investing in one of them for my sisters new architecture PC build
Click to expand...
It really surprised me when I tested that worked so well. As long as airflow is decent, it's the perfect passive solution. :)
 
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