30-40$ I7 920 Cooler

[Yapok]

Hi everybody! I am a newbie of the forum, although I have already appreciated the "environment" browsing around before subscribing...

I need advice regarding a decent cooler for an i7 920 D0 in the 30-40 bucks range... I do not plan to do extreme overclocking (I have an Asrock x58 Extreme, so there is no real danger of hitting the 4.4Ghz...), but I'd like to reach 3.6-3.8Ghz, possibly with temperatures under 80°C

I focused on these ones so far:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...k=hyper%20n520

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835150113

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835185096

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835887023

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...&_trkparms=algo=LVI&its=I&otn=2#ht_1955wt_937

The one which attract me the most is the 520: apparently honest cooling, not too bulky and has nice screws to keep it in place (not quite a fan of push-pin systems).

The Masscol looks nice (although it is certainly not lapped...), has screws too, but it is kind of "terra ignota"

The Zerotherm, the Scythe and Thermalright seem all to be on the same level (of the n520), but I wasn't able to to find any comparison with all of them, nor to establish if any of those is slightly better than the others... I have red about the CM 212+ too, but lately is not easy to find it around with competitive price...

Anyhow, my aim is just to get something which cools decently, is not too noisy, and does not cost more than 40$ (I know that real overclocking start from 50+, but I am not interested...)

thanks in advance to all of you...

(btw: I am planning on using a HAF 932, so space is not a problem, although memories and heatsinks may be...)

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

Quick search of amazon.com shows the hyper 212+ for $28 free shipping. Best cooler for the money period.

 

[Zap]

Cooler Master Hyper 212+
$29.99
free shipping
$5 off w/ code HONEYBEE5, ends 5/2
Bing cashback too!

 

[Yapok]

Quick search of amazon.com shows the hyper 212+ for $28 free shipping. Best cooler for the money period.

Whoops... Well, apparently I did not look for the 212+ that well... However, is it significantly better than the others?

 

[ClockHound]

True Spirit is another good one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...=true%20spirit

 

[Yapok]

True Spirit is another good one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...=true%20spirit

It was actually already listed among the ones I considered (the link to ebay)...
Reading around it appears that the only one being any better (but very slightly) than the 212+ is actually the Cogage... however, considering the offer from Ewiz (25$ shipped for the 212+) I think I will go for the "old" Cooler Master...

 

[Schfifty Five]

Bumping a semi old thread.

I am looking for a HS/F for my i7-930. I plan on OCing it a decent amount, maybe try to get 4.0ghz.

Will the Cooler Master Hyper 212+ be sufficient to achieve that? I'll be putting in an Antec P180 case.

Thanks.

 

[HumblePie]

The Hyper 212 is good for the normal price of most air coolers. It is not the best air cooler, but it is a good one. When most of the top air coolers are within 2C degrees of each other typically, the relative differences could be accounted in terms of seating, paste, paste spread, or other nominal factors. Which means with the top cooler, price is a big factor in consideration.

I have the Noctua U12 for $60 but only because it came with 2 awesome fans for the price and was cheap when you factor that in for a top air cooler. That and I liked their bolt down design.

If you have a microcenter or frys nearby I recommend going over there and checking out their clearance/open box section. I've found some really nice heatsinks there for under $10 but only because they were open box. Heatsinks really aren't like other computer parts. They are either visibly damaged or not. If not, then they will work just fine.

 

[RussianSensation]

Any of these will be good:

http://www.heatsinkfactory.com/scythe-mugen-2-rev--b-cpu-cooler---scmg-2100.html

http://www.heatsinkfactory.com/thermolab-baram-universal-cpu-cooler.html

http://www.svc.com/truespirit.html

http://www.svc.com/zm-cnps10x-flex.html

http://www.ncixus.com/products/41337.../COOLERMASTER/

http://www.ncixus.com/products/?sku=41865&promoid=1114&vpn=CNPS10X%20QUIET&manufacture=ZALMAN%20TECH

 

[Schfifty Five]

The Hyper 212 is good for the normal price of most air coolers. It is not the best air cooler, but it is a good one. When most of the top air coolers are within 2C degrees of each other typically, the relative differences could be accounted in terms of seating, paste, paste spread, or other nominal factors. Which means with the top cooler, price is a big factor in consideration.

I have the Noctua U12 for $60 but only because it came with 2 awesome fans for the price and was cheap when you factor that in for a top air cooler. That and I liked their bolt down design.

If you have a microcenter or frys nearby I recommend going over there and checking out their clearance/open box section. I've found some really nice heatsinks there for under $10 but only because they were open box. Heatsinks really aren't like other computer parts. They are either visibly damaged or not. If not, then they will work just fine.

Is this the noctua that you bought?

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...A15YNZR7YB053N

Those 2 fans included alone cost $15-18 each from what I can tell. $65 total Seems like a good price for a top notch hs/f.

Do you think it's worth the extra $35-40 over the cooler master hyper 212+ ?

 

[Nurn]

I am running 4.0 GHz i7 920 @ 1.21 vcore, with HT 24/7 using the Coolermaster Hyper 212+ in a well ventilated case (ATCS 840). If you are hell bent on going beyond 4.0, I think you will need a better cooler like the noctua or prolimatech megahalem.

 

[RussianSensation]

Do you think it's worth the extra $35-40 over the cooler master hyper 212+ ?

No. If you are going to spend extra $35-40 above CM212, then the 4 coolers worth spending $$$ on are: Noctua NH-D14, Prolimatech Megahalems, Cogage Arrow and Thermalright Venemous X/TRUE 120.

 

[Schfifty Five]

No. If you are going to spend extra $35-40 above CM212, then the 4 coolers worth spending $$$ on are: Noctua NH-D14, Prolimatech Megahalems, Cogage Arrow and Thermalright Venemous X/TRUE 120.

I guess I will be getting the 212+ then. I don't think I'll be doing any real aggressive OCing with my 930. If I am able to hit 4.0ghz w/ this I'll be happy, but it sounds like even at 3.6-3.8ghz, the 212+ will be more than sufficient.

Thanks.

 

[modestninja]

You could also consider for about $40 the Scythe Mugen 2 which isn't far behind the big boys mentioned above, but is apparently a PITA to install.

 

[lopri]

I have to say Mugen 2 for $40 is a great deal. I have used Mugen 1 (Infinity) for 3 years to great satisfaction. Zerotherm Nirvana 120 is also a good heatsink for $40 and it comes with a fan.

 

[manimal]

I am running 4.0 GHz i7 920 @ 1.21 vcore, with HT 24/7 using the Coolermaster Hyper 212+ in a well ventilated case (ATCS 840). If you are hell bent on going beyond 4.0, I think you will need a better cooler like the noctua or prolimatech megahalem.

What does your prime load look like? How many runs of Linx did you do? 4.0 with HT makes a TON of heat. I didnt think the 212 would be able to dissapate that much heat.

 

[RussianSensation]

I guess I will be getting the 212+ then. I don't think I'll be doing any real aggressive OCing with my 930. If I am able to hit 4.0ghz w/ this I'll be happy, but it sounds like even at 3.6-3.8ghz, the 212+ will be more than sufficient.

Thanks.

3.8ghz should be fine. 4.0ghz with HT may be a little difficult with a single medium speed fan:
http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/foru...rmalright-venomous-x-cpu-cooler-review-9.html

If you can live with the size, as has been mentioned by lopri and modestninja, the Mugen 2 is a monster: http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/coolers/display/core-i7-coolers-roundup_18.html#sect0

EDIT: Just found one for $29!! http://www.aerocooler.com/shop.cart?action=ITEM&prod_id=FANSCMG2

It looks good in the CM case:

 

[faxon]

i totally didnt read the thread at all, but you seem to have overlooked the hyper 212+ from coolermaster. only $26 on newegg right now and it generally performs better than the N520, plus it comes with brackets for 2 fans so you can use a fan you have spare for even better cooling

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-065-_-Product

 

[Schfifty Five]

i totally didnt read the thread at all, but you seem to have overlooked the hyper 212+ from coolermaster. only $26 on newegg right now and it generally performs better than the N520, plus it comes with brackets for 2 fans so you can use a fan you have spare for even better cooling

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-065-_-Product

well maybe read the thread next time? the 212+ has been mentioned numerous times.

 

[Nurn]

What does your prime load look like? How many runs of Linx did you do? 4.0 with HT makes a TON of heat. I didnt think the 212 would be able to dissapate that much heat.

I didn't do Linx, but Prime95 full load temps go up into the mid-70 degree range. I think my low voltage is the main reason I can go to 4 GHz, you're probably right that if I had to crank the volts up to 1.3 or higher, my temps would be unacceptable and I would need something better than the CM212+. Before I did that, I would probably just back down from 4.0 to 3.8, though.