Which cooler to pick.

Count_Zero99uk

Count_Zero99uk

Count_Zero99uk

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Back in the day cpus used to come with coolers in the retail pack. Its really annoyed me that they have stopped doing this.

How do you know now that the cooler your going to get will adequately cool the cpu of your choice?

Is there any figures that are accurate? This cpu outputs x heat and this cooler can dissipate y heat?

Thanks for your time
Brian.
 
They have a rating or at least the reputable brands do. But there are also reviews and group tests which is how i assess coolers personally.

And you have to take into consideration noise levels, if the cooler has to work hard and ramp up fan speeds then the PC is louder than a cooler that can cool it with much lower fan speeds.
 
What cpu u trying to cool?

They stop packing CPU coolers for high end chips because most enthusiasts would use their own cooler, which I think makes sense. If they did still include a crappy cooler with all CPUs, then the end user will have to pay for it whilst never use it.
 
Dg834man said:
That's about it, most folk are going to recommend the thermalright phantom spirit for £35
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This is kinda what i expected someone to say, which i suppose 95% of the time would be great. Its just im thinking of doing a SFF build and was hoping to learn how to chose the right part rather than just saying what do i need on this. Teach a man to fish you know. Thanks for the advice though :-)
 
BornEvil said:
What cpu u trying to cool?

They stop packing CPU coolers for high end chips because most enthusiasts would use their own cooler, which I think makes sense. If they did still include a crappy cooler with all CPUs, then the end user will have to pay for it whilst never use it.
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Havent picked one yet, was hoping to learn a little something first. And yeah thats what i suspected had happened.
 
Count_Zero99uk said:
This is kinda what i expected someone to say, which i suppose 95% of the time would be great. Its just im thinking of doing a SFF build and was hoping to learn how to chose the right part rather than just saying what do i need on this. Teach a man to fish you know. Thanks for the advice though :-)
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If you can be more specific about which case you're looking at and the height restrictions on the cooler we might be able to recommend some, but I'll be honest, most height-restricted SFF coolers are not good enough for modern midrange/higher-end CPUs, because they run hot and use a fair bit of power. If you do choose a height restricted cooler, you'll have to choose the CPU carefully and may need to use power limiting or undervolting to tame it enough that it isn't stuck at 100 degrees 24/7.

Count_Zero99uk said:
Back in the day cpus used to come with coolers in the retail pack. Its really annoyed me that they have stopped doing this.
Click to expand...
They haven't, many CPUs still come with coolers, but K-CPUs and most X-CPUs do not, I assume because they assume a PC-enthusiast will buy them and most wouldn't be seen dead with a stock cooler seen through their PC's window.

They're not really suitable for use though, except for lower-end CPUs like Intel i3. The one that comes with the Ryzen 7700 is better than the Stealth, that is pretty usable.
 
Count_Zero99uk said:
Back in the day cpus used to come with coolers in the retail pack. Its really annoyed me that they have stopped doing this.
Click to expand...

I don't think I've ever used one of those, they're literally packaging waste to me.

How do you know now that the cooler your going to get will adequately cool the cpu of your choice?

Is there any figures that are accurate? This cpu outputs x heat and this cooler can dissipate y heat?
Click to expand...

The coolers that come with CPUs are drekk. The best of them is worse than even a cheap aftermarket cooler, and I doubt a single one of them comes close to actually dissipating the amount of heat the CPU they come with will actually produce under load. The heat output of a CPU is literally the same as its power draw, so if you have a TDP for your CPU then you have the amount of heat it produces. Cooler makers will quote TDP figures for their coolers but these are rather unreliable between manufacturers.

Look around for reviews and you'll find plenty of comparisons between coolers, and if you're really lucky you can find one for the exact CPU you're looking at. Or you can just buy the Phantom Spirit and call the job a good 'un.

Oh, and make sure that you check that the cooler you're interested in will fit in the case you've chosen.
 
Mr Jack said:
Maybe the title on that video is misleading, but if not: why would you consider one of these low profile coolers when you don't have to? If your case has room for a full size cooler, use that every time.
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OP didn't mention what size case other than SFF... A lot will depend on what case he uses... If he goes for a home cinema type case...
 
A lot of SFF cases support 240mm AIOs unless you're going really small. I went for an EK 240 as it was one of the options that fit in my Dan A4. That's on the rather small size at 11L and it cools a 12600K (and previously a 12700K) without issue.
 
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