Need a new cooler

a66as

a66as

a66as

Associate
Joined
13 Jan 2012
Posts
2,400
Location
United Kingdom
Hey guys i need a new cooler so i can overclock my i5 2500k to around 4.4 - 4.6 ghz. My budget is ideally £50 max but i can push it up to £60 if i need to, was thinking the Corsair H60 ?
 
I'm on 4.6 with my £25 gellid tranquillo..

On the same mobo as you aswell - load hits 65-72, with idle at 25-35 depending on room temp.
 
Gelid Tranquillo can easily handle the I5 at 4.4-4.6ghz. Save the extra cash for anything else you need. Hows the cooling in the case? ;)
 
Get something like the K2 and you'd never have to worry about cooling for a very long time. It will cool the most demanding CPU should you ever upgrade down the line and Alpenfohn has brilliant support, plus it's quiet. And it can easily match the Gelid Tranquillo's performance at much lower fan speeds. If you can afford it, get it.
 
Xigmatek Aegir, it's pretty good, but i keep thinking about Megahalems, so i'm not sure what to get
 
Last edited:
Yeah im gonna go for the Gelid tranquillo so i can spend the rest of my cash on a hard drive, thanks for your input guys.

ps. i have 5 fans in my pc
 
I have been reading good things about the phanteks coolers as well but they are a bit pricey! I think i may well bite the bullet and go for this Z68-AP board that you guys are using as it seems to clock to 4.5ghz pretty well and thats all i want and the price compared to the asrock exteme 4 gen 3 is amazing! Could be a good little money saving upgrade just need to maybe convince myself to get a gelid instead of one of these massive phanteks coolers.

How big are these gelid coolers you guys have?
 
Last edited:
The gelid coolers are a single fan option and arent that big (big enough to cause some cases issues though, you will need to measure the depth of your case from the mobo to the edge of the case to see if they will fit, the phanteks on the other hand can support up to 3 fans and its huge. Both coolers ive found to obstruct the dimm1 slot i could fit 3 fans on the phanteks in a corsair 600t if i put the exhaust on the outside of the case at the back with i guess 25-30mm to spare, honestly though the gelid will be more then enough the difference between the two in cooling at 4.6ghz is less then 4 degrees the phanteks is insane at cooling higher voltages/clocks so if your looking to really push overclocks the phateks for sure. For the average overclocker gelid or a50.
 
4.8GHz 4core and 5GHz single core on my 26 dollar Hyper 212

Don't bother spending a lot on a cooler these days, it's not needed. Processors are extremely efficient right now and will only get more so.
 
gurusan said:
4.8GHz 4core and 5GHz single core on my 26 dollar Hyper 212

Don't bother spending a lot on a cooler these days, it's not needed. Processors are extremely efficient right now and will only get more so.
Click to expand...

but the CPU still isn't flat nowadays, i checked my brand new i5 2500k two days ago, i ended up having to lap it, it's now a mirror finish
it took 20 mins to get it flat, so it was pretty bad !

the cooler base will be the same too, yes they're machined flat, but i still wouldn't trust it, simply because they look so much better when they're lapped.

this will reduce your temps by about 5 degrees..... maybe more!

as for these new coolers, i can guarantee you that my Xigmatek Aegir with these mods, will be very close indeed, this Phanteks is a waste of money.

just get yourself a cheap cooler, lap both surfaces, upgrade the fans and you'll be ok.....
 
Last edited:
a66as said:
What do you mean by lapping mate?
Click to expand...

it's when you grind down the heat sink surface until its flat, so when both surfaces touch, you get the best heat conduction you can.

use 800 grade first and then 1500 grade wet and dry to finish, it takes ages to get it dead flat.

you dont really need to do it, it just something ``Geeky``:D

it's also worth doing if you cant afford a top end cooler
 
liamcrane said:
Why would you say the Phanteks is a wate of money? im guessing if it was lapped it would produce even better results perhaps?
Click to expand...

because the CPU wont crash with a Xigmatek or a Tranquillo etc, so there's no real need to spend 70 quid, because that's what you're trying to avoid, the cpu crashing under extreme OC and most modern coolers are ok.

i'm also guessing that your case is well cooled too, because this has to be right as well, my new case is freezing cold inside, but my existing pc is totally useless, the fans are blocked by the Hard Drives and the Disc drives etc, it's hard to believe that pc cases were designed like this 6 years ago. !

a Phanteks will be very hard to lap, it'll be too hard to hold steady whilst you're moving it back and forth, it'll dig in and tear the sand paper.
i wouldn't try lapping a big cooler like this, only something that you can grab hold of easily, because lapping is quite hard, the wet and dry keeps ripping and lifting off etc.

the wet and dry is held down by masking tape onto a piece of large glass, but as it gets wet the masking tape starts breaking loose, it's a technique that needs loads of practice, you move the cooler back and forth slowly, keeping it dead vertical... the CPU is much easier, but you have to be foolhardy/ stupid and brave to do this, because it voids the warranty !!!!!!! and i wont know yet until late summer if i havent screwed it up, i think it's ok, but i cant be sure
 
Last edited:
I have the Xigmatek Aegir with a second fan (Noiseblocker m12-P, a great fan). 4.5GHz under full load is 48-53 degrees. I do, however, have two case intake fans shifting up to 120cfm on one manual controller and two exhaust fans shifting about 140cfm on another pot. The push and pull cpu fans can shift about 90cfm at full whack but they are PWM controlled. I adjust the intake/exhaust fans to balance temp and noise.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom