Advice on CPU cooling

Hi, new forum member here



I've been using my system (specs below) for 2 years now and everything works great until summer comes. During the summer I have to lower my OC because the temps get too close to 70 C° while rendering. Now I live in Peru and summer is here although not at its peak but manifesting pretty hotly already.

I have 2 potential reasons to upgrade my CPU cooling. One is that I know that my cpu will reach 4.8 but the temps are too much for my hyper 212. And the other is to be able to work more efficiently during the summer. I've read about custom loops but where I live theres nowhere to get the parts and shipping them would get expensive fast.

On the other hand shipping a single AIO water loop would be cheaper and most likely better than my current setup. I have also considered a better air cooler but most are bigger than my 212 and the 212 has about 5-10mm of clearance. (less than 1/2 inch)

So, I'd apreaciate some suggestion that would be the best bang for the buck whether air coolers or closed water loops. Most importan would be to be able to reach a higher OC and to keep the CPU below 70 while rendering.

For reference, rendering during winter I get about 60-62 C° and in summer about 10-15 degrees more.

 

Any help is greatly apreciated.

 

 

Tempest 410 Elite

i7 2700k @ 4.6

CM Hyper 212 Evo

XFX 6970

Asus P8P67 Deluxe

Kingston HyperX Blu 16Gb 1333Mhz

Corsair TX 850

What is your budget and where do you plan on purchasing this part?  Do you have a particular website you like to use?

Word of advice: most air coolers will outperform an AIO water cooler for less money, while remaining quieter.

My budget is 150$ but I think I could push that if i had to buy better fans for the cooler. I dont really have a favorite site, whichever has the part at the lower price and is able to ship to Peru is fine.

I am aware that air coolers are pretty darn good even compared to water loops I just dont think theres any that beats my 212 by a decent ammount and fits my case.

On regards to noise, its not really a problem, I get my daily dose from the 6970 =)

I'm not sure what sites will ship to Peru, so that's why I asked, lol.  :)  No worries, here's a few suggestions...

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/nzxt-cpu-cooler-havik140

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/noctua-cpu-cooler-nhd14

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/phanteks-cpu-cooler-phtc14pebk

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/xigmatek-cpu-cooler-darkknightiisd1283nighthawkedition

For the absolute best performance, I recommend either the Noctua or the Phanteks.  The NZXT and Xigmatek are great coolers as well.  I personally have the NZXT Havik 140 in my system.  It works extremely well and is for the most part whisper quiet...even more so than my Hyper 212 Evo.

Also...

http://www.vortez.net/articles_pages/nzxt_tempest_410_elite_review,7.html

For CPU cooler clearance we have a maximum height of 170mm – the CPU cooler used here is the Noctua NH-U12P so there is more than adequate space here. Those with popular coolers such as the Noctua NH-D14 and Thermalright Silver Arrow will be able to install these coolers inside Tempest 410 Elite as they are 160mm in height.

All of the aforementioned CPU coolers should fit in your case.  The only one you will likely have trouble with is the Phanteks...and even that shouldn't be too much trouble.  I think the fans would be the only problem.  They can easily be adjusted and lowered on the heatsink.

Well the noctua looks like a great option although price/performance isnt that great. I'm also not sure if an AIO liquid cooler would allow to me reach a higher OC, or for that matter if the noctua could.

Whats certain i guess is that the noctua would allow me to maintin my current OC during the summer without a problem. But would it be a good choice to try an reach 4.8?

 

4.8 shouldn't be much of a problem. I'm fairly certain the Noctua will allow you to reach 4.8 and yield better temps than what you have now. The Noctua NH-D14 is a fairly large step up from the Hyper 212 Evo. I'm sure summer temps will be manageable as well.

The Noctua will perform the same as an AIO water cooler and will have lower noise levels. I know you said you didn't really mind the extra noise, but if they both perform virtually the same, it would only be logical to choose the one that produces the least amount of noise and costs less (depending on prices in your country). If the price difference between an AIO and a cooler such as the noctua isn't that large in your country, then an AIO may be a better option. I know that AIO here in my country are more expensive than similar performing air coolers.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/h100i-elc240-seidon-240m-lq320,3380-12.html

i personally own the coolermaster seidon 120XL, cools pretty good, i would defenetely reccomend that one.

I gotta say I'm a bit surprised on the noctua and the phantek performance, I was under the impression that they were good but I thought that some AIO could beat them easily. That settles it then. Ill be price hunting for a noctua or a phantek, thank you very much for your help =)