Need a new CPU Cooler

spoogle · 3 Sep 2013 at 10:35

Morning Gentlemen,

Looking for advice on a new CPU cooler, replacing the Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 that broke away from it's holding down bracket last night :mad:

I have a Fractal Design Mini Case and an Intel 2500k, I'm out the loop with all the latest coolers, I bought that one at least a couple of years ago. What's the recommended cooler these days?

I was thinking about going for the Corsair H80 seeing as it's under £40, or would I be as well spending money on the equivalent air cooling setup?

jonnyp1993 · 3 Sep 2013 at 10:58

I had a corsair A50 and it was flawless to be honest. and for the price, you can't beat it.

I don't know if one of them would fit your case as they are pretty big, yo would have to check that.

do you have a budget at all ?

spoogle · 3 Sep 2013 at 11:18

I've never really had a problem with high temps or anything, so just willing to spend what's needed for a cooler I can fit and forget about. I've had a quick google and it appears it's simple enough to fit even the H100 in the case.

doyll · 3 Sep 2013 at 11:34

I suspect they are RMA refurbs.. only have 90 day warranty.. and with a known history problems... no thank you.
Fractal Design says Define Arc Mini supports up to 161mm tall coolers.. and FD cases usually have a couple of millimeters more than spec. All of the top coolers are less than 7c different... and H80 is no better.

Single towers that will fit include NH-U12S, Megahalems, Macho HR-02, PH-TC12DX and Matterhorn are also quite good... and are only a couple degrees warmer than best twin towers.

I've underlined a few twin tower that will fit. Akasa Medusa may fit Specs say 160-163mm depending where you look:

Cooler size comparison (Width x Depth x Height looking from front of case with motherboard laying flat)
Alpenfohn K2. . = . 8x 6mm pipes 140x128x158mm 146x154x160mm w/ 120mm & 140mm PWM fans 43.2mm*
NH-D14 . . . = . . . 6x 6mm pipes 140x130x160mm 140x158x160mm w/ 120mm & 140mm fans 44mm*
TC14PE . . . = . . . 5x 8mm pipes 140x134x160mm 140x159x171mm w/ 2x 140mm fans, PWM adaptor 40-45mm*
Silver Arrow . = . . 4x 8mm pipes 147x123x163mm 151x149x168mm w/ 2x 140mm Fans 40.87mm*
SA SB-E . . . .= . . 8x 6mm pipes 155x105x164mm 170x130x170mm w/ 140mm & 150mm PWM fans 31.9/39/46mm**
SA SB-E Extreme . 8x 6mm pipes 155x105x164mm 155x130x165mm w/fans Smaller because of 140mm fan vs 150mm fan.
Silverstone HE01 = 6x 6mm pipes 140x119c160mm w/ 140x38mm PWM fan 42mm*
Dark Rock Pro 2. = 7x 6mm pipes 133x124x166mm 133x149x166mm w/ 120mm & 135mm PWM fans
Akasa Medusa . =. 8x 6mm pipes 144x129.5x160-163mm w/ 140mm & 120mm PWM fans 49.6mm*

*cooler base to bottom fin. (add 8mm for motherboard to bottom fin.)
**fins are at 3 different levels

K2, D14 & TC14 are about same size cooler. TC14 with 2x 140mm fans can be problematic with ram clearance.

Good Luck with your search!

spoogle · 3 Sep 2013 at 11:53

A very comprehensive answer :cool:

thanks very much!
Time to do some research then I guess

doyll · 3 Sep 2013 at 11:58

Unless you are going for maximum overclocking it's really more about which cooler you like. How well your case airflow / cooling works will make as much difference in peak CPU/GPU temps as cooler.

Any other questions just ask. I'm sure others will make suggestions too.

And please do let us know what you decide and how it all works out.

spoogle · 3 Sep 2013 at 12:52

Decided to go for the Phanteks PH-TC12DX - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-012-PT&groupid=701&catid=2330&subcat=2348

Looked a decent performer after checking some reviews, and it should fit in the case just fine. As you say, unless I decide to go for the limits with overclocking I doubt I'll have any issues, I'm sure it'll out perform my old one and it never really struggled to my knowledge.

Thanks for the help, I'll post up a pic when it arrives (hopefully tomorrow)