CPU Cooler

JimAroo · 6 May 2008 at 20:24

Hello fellow OCuK's, what do you people recommend when it comes to a quiet / efficient CPU cooler, I was thinking of something like the Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme but it's always out of stock, same applies to the Tuniq Tower, so what would be the best to get?

At this moment in time i am leaning towards the Thermalright IFX-14 CPU.

I am wanting to keep my E6750 at decent temps for plenty of headroom when overclocking, I have a Thermaltake Shark with an exhaust fan if that helps.

Thanks for any input. :cool:

iviv · 6 May 2008 at 20:26

I've just bought the IFX14, and its been great. Well, its annoying to fit, you need to get at the back of the motherboard. Its also big, not just height wise, but you have to remember the secondary cooler bit it comes with. It reaches around the side of the mobo and sticks up somewhere in the case. Unfortunately, on my P5Bb in the Antec 900 there's no room for it, so its sitting in the box, looking shiney.

JimAroo · 6 May 2008 at 20:33

iviv said:
I've just bought the IFX14, and its been great. Well, its annoying to fit, you need to get at the back of the motherboard. Its also big, not just height wise, but you have to remember the secondary cooler bit it comes with. It reaches around the side of the mobo and sticks up somewhere in the case. Unfortunately, on my P5Bb in the Antec 900 there's no room for it, so its sitting in the box, looking shiney.

From looking at some pictures of the IFX's Backplate cooler, i think i won't be able to fit it in my case either. Btw did your IFX need lapping? and if so do they normally?

iviv · 6 May 2008 at 20:42

I'm pretty new to the whole overclocking scene, so I didn't check. I'm getting some good clocks from it, though. Used to have my E6600 at 2.54Ghz, running around 55C. Now getting 3.3Ghz at the same temperature.
Though admittedly the first overclock was with the stock cooler, and it had fallen off once and wasn't reattached very well

[KH]Shadow · 6 May 2008 at 20:43

i've just bought the silent knight II cooler, it fits my antec 900 case and is very asthetically pleasing as its completely copper and has a shiny blue light inside.

i believe it's a pretty decent cooler and is not all that loud to be honest.

EDIT
iviv your stock cooler fell off :O thats pretty amusing. lol. some people have all the fun.

iviv · 6 May 2008 at 20:47

[KH]Shadow;11637322 said:
EDIT
iviv your stock cooler fell off :O thats pretty amusing. lol. some people have all the fun.

It was when I took it to a mates LAN party. I was a total numpty and put my case in flat and upsidedown. So the whole way in the car, the heatsink was being pulled by mavity. And the speedhumps didn't help either D:

JimAroo · 6 May 2008 at 20:52

iviv said:
It was when I took it to a mates LAN party. I was a total numpty and put my case in flat and upsidedown. So the whole way in the car, the heatsink was being pulled by mavity. And the speedhumps didn't help either D:

lol, the last LAN party i went to my DVD-ROM magically died on me on the way home.

So the IFX then by the looks of things, unless anyone else has any better ideas.

iviv · 6 May 2008 at 21:05

I got it thanks to the review here. As it mentions, it doesn't come wiht any active cooling, so you'll need to buy a fan to go with it.

It comes with a tube of thermal paste as well, though I got some AS5 at the same time.

Anyway, thats just from my experiences from it. Other people will undoubtably reccomend other coolers, its all down to how much you want to spend. I got this one arguing that I may as well shell out now and have a cooler thats kick ass for a long time, rather than skimp, then need to get a new one later when I get a new CPU I want to overclock more.

JimAroo · 6 May 2008 at 21:12

iviv said:
I got it thanks to the review here. As it mentions, it doesn't come wiht any active cooling, so you'll need to buy a fan to go with it.

It comes with a tube of thermal paste as well, though I got some AS5 at the same time.

Anyway, thats just from my experiences from it. Other people will undoubtably reccomend other coolers, its all down to how much you want to spend. I got this one arguing that I may as well shell out now and have a cooler thats kick ass for a long time, rather than skimp, then need to get a new one later when I get a new CPU I want to overclock more.

Wow, not seen that review, looking at the benchmarks it's an extremely good cooler, also quiet.. which is what i'm looking for.. will read the rest thanks.