The Best Air cpu Cooler

david_xr · 1 Jun 2011 at 23:53

Wasnt sure if anyone had already asked this but is there such a thing as ''the best air cpu cooler''?
Just wondering if there are any that stand out from others as they all seem much of a muchness or is it just me?

cmndr_andi · 2 Jun 2011 at 00:01

Thermalright Silver Arrow is probably the best at the moment

It is a monster, but it cools great and is very quiet (due to the large, low speed fans).

setter · 2 Jun 2011 at 00:13

The silver arrow, then probably the noctua nh-d14. Theese are great coolers, but if you have high heatsink/finned ram they can clash with ram sticks. Others of note are the thermalright venomous x or the prolimatech megahelims. The latter two should be fine with all types of ram.

hanluc · 2 Jun 2011 at 00:22

Never tried the silver arrow, but the Noctua NH-D14 is by far the best CPU air cooler I've ever had, for both cooling and noise. I got a thelmalake frio and a Fenir evo and they don't come close.

sk82jack · 2 Jun 2011 at 00:25

I've heard the SR Arrow, although one of the best of not the best air cooler at the moment, is a pain in the backside to install...don't know of the truth in this so I would be interested to hear from someone who has installed one

panyan · 2 Jun 2011 at 00:28

sk82jack said:
I've heard the SR Arrow, although one of the best of not the best air cooler at the moment, is a pain in the backside to install...don't know of the truth in this so I would be interested to hear from someone who has installed one

+1 i vote for the D-14 as the best air cooler, the silver arrow mounting is not as good

setter · 2 Jun 2011 at 00:30

I found the thermalright brackets to be pretty ok to fit, (had a TRUE black). The silver arrow bracket looks similair. However the bracket on my current prolimatech super mega is far better than the thermalright one was.

Helios1234 · 2 Jun 2011 at 08:37

The Silver Arrow is just as easy as the Noctua to install. Where are people being told that it's not good?

MeddlE · 2 Jun 2011 at 11:20

If I was buying now, and I had to buy a complete cooler, I would get the Silver Arrow but to be honest I'd just get the necessary mounting kit for my IFX-14. If I could find another IFX-14 I'd get that instead though.

psychas · 2 Jun 2011 at 12:20

there is review about d-14 and silver arrow , and d-14 edges in front .

i think new silver arrow has bigger fans im not so sure?

http://www.overclock3d.net/reviews/cases_cooling/thermalright_silver_arrow_vs_noctua_nh-d14/1

WingZero30 · 2 Jun 2011 at 12:26

You have to remember that any heatsink design only plays a role up to certain point in cooling the cpu i.e passively. The type of fans that you use coupled with case cooling and ambient temps also make significant difference aswell.

MeddlE · 2 Jun 2011 at 12:27

Or checkout the Vortez review here
http://www.vortez.net/articles_pages/thermalright_silver_arrow_cpu_cooler_review,1.html

Helios1234 · 2 Jun 2011 at 13:29

psychas said:
there is review about d-14 and silver arrow , and d-14 edges in front .

i think new silver arrow has bigger fans im not so sure?

http://www.overclock3d.net/reviews/cases_cooling/thermalright_silver_arrow_vs_noctua_nh-d14/1

The OC3D review is contradictory. In fact, if you look at his own results, the SA beats the NH-D14 in 2 out of 3 cases and yet he totally rips the Thermalright. Have a look at the 10s of review that show both being very similar. It just so happens that the SA is cheaper and quieter.

sithlord · 2 Jun 2011 at 14:56

Had my silver arrow for a couple months now.. and its great.. cant hear it at all.

I wouldnt trust the overclock3d review either, theres many reviews online that show the Silver Arrow is a better cooler than the Noctua.

Muzy · 2 Jun 2011 at 21:06

Why OCUK don't stock them ?

sithlord · 3 Jun 2011 at 15:41

Muzy said:
Why OCUK don't stock them ?

They do, I bought mine from here.

They must be out of stock.

mayebaza · 5 Jun 2011 at 18:26

MeddlE said:
Or checkout the Vortez review here
http://www.vortez.net/articles_pages/thermalright_silver_arrow_cpu_cooler_review,1.html

If you look carefully at the Vortez review the SF only out performs the DH14 with 3 fans at 4 Ghz. IMO the DH14 is the best, it easier to fit than the stock fan on a AMD.

MeddlE · 5 Jun 2011 at 18:39

mayebaza said:
If you look carefully at the Vortez review the SF only out performs the DH14 with 3 fans at 4 Ghz. IMO the DH14 is the best, it easier to fit than the stock fan on a AMD.

I'll call you on this one as the difference between the coolers as they are shipped when OC'ed in that review is 0.25deg in favour of the Noctua. I would buy the Thermalright as the fans are quieter while giving basically the same performance. The Noctua is currently £69.98 and the Thermalright is currently £50.99. So it's quieter and £19 cheaper too but your CPU will be 0.25 of a degree warmer.

Just for clarity I have 2 of the TY140 fans fitted to the IFX-14.

WingZero30 · 5 Jun 2011 at 20:57

MeddlE said:
Just for clarity I have 2 of the TY140 fans fitted to the IFX-14.

MeddlE

Did you attach them to IFX-14 with the IFX-14 fan clips?

How is the TY-140 cooling performance. I bet your TR IFX-14 with Ty-140 gives similar performance to TR Silver Arrow

I also have IFX-14 and have attached two Akasa Vipers to it.

MeddlE · 5 Jun 2011 at 21:14

WingZero30 said:
MeddlE

Did you attach them to IFX-14 with the IFX-14 fan clips?

How is the TY-140 cooling performance. I bet your TR IFX-14 with Ty-140 gives similar performance to TR Silver Arrow

Yeah, attached using standard IFX fan clips.

Cooling is very good, tops out at 61deg when running Shift2, E8500 clocked at 4.2GHz.

Pic is more of my GPU cooler mod but you can see the IFX at the top.