Cooler for overclocking?

Phil2008 · 1 Sep 2011 at 22:46

Hi. I'm going to be buying either Bulldozer, or more likely i5 2500k. Can you please recommend me a good, reliable cooler suitable for overclocking up to a target of around 4.5ghz?

A mate has recommended the Black True and and also the Thermalright Venomous X black edition. Do I actually need something a little more expensive like that, or would I get just as good cooling with a cheaper £30 to £35 one that already comes with fan, such as the Thermalright Mux?

Theme of my new rig will be black, so I really do want a black cooler.

stulid · 1 Sep 2011 at 22:52

A Gelid Tranquillo is good (it has a black bit on the top

) for a i5 2500K, but you need to check it fits your case, which is?

The other problem is no one knows how well Bulldozer overclocks or what sort of TDP it is.

Aretenon · 1 Sep 2011 at 23:01

Phil2008 said:
or would I get just as good cooling with a cheaper £30 to £35 one that already comes with fan, such as the Thermalright Mux?

It probably won't be just as good, but neither will it be inadequate. So if you only want to spend up to £35 then I think the MUX is a good option.

Phil2008 · 1 Sep 2011 at 23:14

Cheers for the advice. So, are we talking about only maybe 2c difference between the cheaper ones and the more expensive ones, or more?

stulid said:
A Gelid Tranquillo is good (it has a black bit on the top) for a i5 2500K, but you need to check it fits your case, which is?

Im not sure on the case yet, I was going get the Fractal arc midi, but some people are having problems with it.

Phil2008 · 1 Sep 2011 at 23:20

oops, double post

olivier renault · 1 Sep 2011 at 23:33

Phil2008 said:
Cheers for the advice. So, are we talking about only maybe 2c difference between the cheaper ones and the more expensive ones, or more?

Im not sure on the case yet, I was going get the Fractal arc midi, but some people are having problems with it.

Depends. Top coolers are usually 15-20C lower at high overclocks. For 4.4GHz, the difference will be lower (I'd say 5-10C at most). Aim for under 70C for sustained full load (Prime95 is a good bench, Intel BurnTest a bit extreme).