Will a new CPU cooler make much difference?

Rusty0611 · 22 Aug 2012 at 19:05

I have an i7 3770k at a moderate overclock of around 4.5 Ghz at the moment. The temperature while well under the max I would deem acceptable are still a little high. (around 75c at full load after 1 hour in Prime)

I have a Gelid Tranquillo which is a decent budget solution but I can't help but feel a better cooler would drop temperatures somewhat.

Obviously with Ivybridge you have the issue of the IHS and TIM used which doesn't do a good job to get heat up into the heatsink so will a change of heatsink do much good?

What kind of drops in temperature will I be looking at by changing from my Gelid?

lajus · 22 Aug 2012 at 19:43

http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/gelid_tranquillo/4.htm There is few comparisons. If you can spend a little bit of $ then take noctua nh-d14 or corsair h80/h100. I personaly bought h100 and im very happy with it. With h100 i never saw my fx4100 (4.6ghz) go above 51celsius in prime95 on idle now is 26celsius (room temp now 24celsius). These coolers should drop about 20celsius from the available yours cpu temperature

sadbuttrue · 22 Aug 2012 at 20:00

5c at most. Your temps are already on the low side. As you've mentioned, the heat transfer issue makes large heatsinks rather useless on Ivybridge. I recently compared the mighty Phanteks with my trusty Megahalems and the Phanteks lost by a few degrees...

j.col · 22 Aug 2012 at 20:38

you may see a few degrees drop, but i dont think its worth the cost imo.
your pc will never reach the temps prime cause in day to day use

BrianB · 22 Aug 2012 at 21:01

Probably better off improving general airflow. I opened up the fan areas on my pc (cut the mesh out with tin snips) and it lowered my temps and made fans quieter too.

I don't know what the fans are like in the HAF X but my Silencio ones were 600rpm and moved less as much air as the heat was. Got new fans and what a difference it made!

Uncle Petey · 22 Aug 2012 at 21:42

BrianB said:
Probably better off improving general airflow. I opened up the fan areas on my pc (cut the mesh out with tin snips) and it lowered my temps and made fans quieter too.

Ditto.

Rusty0611 · 22 Aug 2012 at 23:14

Airflow is good in HAF X. Both my graphics cards are under 60c while overclocked at full load to quantify it.

I didn't think I'd get much drop from a new heatsink but the usual blanket search didn't throw up anything so thought I'd ask.

Thanks for the replies.

j.col · 23 Aug 2012 at 13:40

i cant really find any comparisons with the Gelid vs high end air coolers.
here is a cpu cooler roundup from helios1234
http://www.vortez.net/articles_pages/alpenfoehn_k2_cpu_cooler_revisited,10.html
it may be worth dropping him a trust message, as he will tell you for definate