Hey there,
I tell you, I had some serious trouble finding the right cooler that fits into my criteria, but I think I nailed it.
So let me first show you the inside of my rig:
Intel i5-4670
Gigabyte Z87-D3HP
G.Skill Ares 8GB DDR3-1866
Gigabyte GeForce GTX 770 WindForce 3X OC
Cooler Master G600 600W
Samsung 840 EVO 120GB
The pic is about 3 months old, but mostly up to date.
I didn't like the stock cooler. It did its job, but it was the loudest part in my rig and the temps weren't that great (around 80°C at 100% load).
So I ventured out to the dense jungle of CPU-Coolers to find the right cooler for me. But the jungle was too dense and I couldn't see the cooler for the fans!
I was looking for a quiet cooler that would fit into my case physically and aesthetically (so basically black) and give me around 60°C at full load.
My case (Aerocool Mechatron Black with side window) allows for a maximum clearance of 176mm minus 20mm for the side fan equals 156mm max. Which basically took all my favourites out of the game. Which where (ranked):
- be quiet! Dark Rock Advanced C1 (Which looks amazing)
- Enermax ETS-T40-BK
- Xigmatek Dark Knight Night Hawk Edition
- Xigmatek Prime (least favourite, because not black)
With those options gone, I couldn't find a good looking quiet air-cooler and so I looked at some liquid closed loop solutions like H60 and H75. But the internet seems to think they are expensive crap.
So I had to lower my standards and look for air-cooling again. And somehow as by a miracle I found a small enough cooler to fit into my case and also look really great; The Spire TME III. It isn't really black nor is it really the plain aluminum. And I actually like that a lot more than the black coolers.
Now, if you are still reading: Thank you! Long story short, I'm just looking for different opinions on this cooler and maybe the thermal paste I plan on using: Arctic MX-4.
Regards,
Pp