Im currently running a stock cooler on my FX 8350, and saw the Noctua Nh u14s on sale for about 65$ Canadian. Are there any other recommendations for a decent air cooling unit and could i have your thoughts on the u14s with an 8350? Is it worth the buy?
edit* I also plan on doing some small overclocking
The only other coolers that I know compete with the Noctua in terms of temperature are:
Phanteks PE-TC14PE: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/phanteks-cpu-cooler-phtc14pebk
and
Be Quiet! Dark Rock Pro 3: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/be-quiet-cpu-cooler-bk019
It is hard to find accurate noise readings, but from what I've found, they are all pretty similar in noise, with the Phanteks being slightly louder and the Be Quiet! being slightly quieter than the Noctua.
As for temps, I THINK (can't recall for sure and can't find where I read it) that the Phanteks is runs a CPU slightly cooler and the Be Quiet! runs a little warmer than the Noctua. Temps are within a few degrees though.
If you don't mind the colors and your case has enough room, I would say (and I think many others would too) that the Noctua is a very good cooler. I'm not sure of the price of the others in Canadian $, but if it is significantly cheaper, yeah, it's probably a good investment.
I have a NH u14s for my Intel I7 with dual fans, great quality all from the packaging to the tower itself and the fans are really quiet and keeps my cpu very cool.