Recommendation for cooling i5 2500k?

[rippling]

as title can someone recommend a good cooler to keep my i5 chilly i want to push the cpu ..... i had a corsiar h50 long ago but dont know if the cheap watercooling is as good as high end air ?

 

[Plec]

If your case accomodate the height i would recommend the Silver Arrow - it's the best performance cooler i've owned also the best relative value.

 

[rippling]

my case is a coolermaster 201 , think this will fit?

 

[beejjacobs]

well you need 160mm clearance above the CPU socket, so best way to check is to measure it first!

 

[Plec]

my case is a coolermaster 201 , think this will fit?

I'm afriad i can't answer that - you will have to look up the spec of your case (if it exists) or measure the clearence for yourself as suggested below.

well you need 160mm clearance above the CPU socket, so best way to check is to measure it first!

The above is accurate according to the manufacture spec but the reality is that most Silver Arrows vary in height and some, like mine can be considerably (relatively) taller than the advertised spec.

A couple of images:

These show it at 166mm but one of the heat pipes was closer to 168mm - so average of 167mm

 

[rippling]

Cheers for help my case is 180 wide so will need to get a smaller cooler I didn't think the i5 needed a huge cooler anyway ?

 

[Plec]

Cheers for help my case is 180 wide so will need to get a smaller cooler I didn't think the i5 needed a huge cooler anyway ?

You're right it doesn't - it will get a respectable clock and keep very cool with a Gelid Tranquillo at ~£25 (great bang for buck).

The Silver Arrow will keep things very frosty with minimal noise (if set up properly in the BIOS)- which is why i bought it.

 

[logi-cat]

Is there a budget?

 

[rippling]

i have a corsair h50 water cooler , would this be good enough ? i used it on my amd set up ..... but will need to modify the case to fit it ?