Recommend a CPU cooler for me

[yonyon]

I'm really not up on modern PC hardware at all these days so maybe you guys could point me in the right direction?

The CPU fan that came with my desktop CPU has chosen to die at a very young age. It's making more noise that I would expect of a CPU fan ten times it's age so I'm concerned that it will stop spinning and leave me with a cooked CPU that didn't last a year.

I don't need anything with tremendous capacity. The AMD FX-4300 is only a 95W and I don't overclock it by much. OTOH, cooler is better, right? More important than a large cooling capacity would be longevity of fan bearings and ease of installation. I'm okay with a loud fan so long as it makes fan noise, not bearing noise.

What should I buy?

Also:
The case is pretty roomy. Environment is very dusty.

 

[OVERKILL]

With that kind of buying criteria I'd just pick up a cheap coolermaster in the appropriate socket config.

 

[Rand]

hiper 212

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065




the newer "EVO" version is 30 at microcenter
http://www.microcenter.com/product/373900/Hyper_212_EVO_Universal_CPU_Cooler

and 35$ at newegg.

 

[redhat]

^+1

I have a Hyper 212 on my i5 Sandy Bridge that I beat the junk out of regularly. I do not overclock but run 'er hard.

Never a problem.

 

[mattwithcats]

Sealed liquid cooler.

Not a DIY kit, this is a pre-assembled CPU cooler attached to a radiator and fan.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2028293/l...ed-to-know.html

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: mattwithcats
Sealed liquid cooler.

Not a DIY kit, this is a pre-assembled CPU cooler attached to a radiator and fan.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2028293/l...ed-to-know.html


Yeah, based on his criteria that's a bit of overkill, LOL! I have a liquid cooling rig myself but I'm also overclocked significantly. He's not.

 

[901Memphis]

You could get what i have, on a Thuban based AMD chip; Thermaltake Frio EXTREME

http://www.thermaltake.com/products-model.aspx?id=C_00001826

 

[LazyPrizm]

Lately I've become leery of buying heatsink/fan combos sight unseen (or without good measurements in the manual). At least eyeball the area around the CPU socket on your motherboard. On mine (old Socket AM3) the RAM slots and a row of capacitors restrict me from using the "chunkier" heatsinks.

Ditto for height considerations, check the headroom you have to the lid of the case. Larger fans tend to be more quiet (more CFM for less RPM) but the dang thing's gotta fit first, right...

 

[901Memphis]

Yeah my heatsink required low profile RAM to work properly.

 

[Voltmaster]

212 is a GREAT cooler... I've used it over and over, never disappointed me.

but if you wait you can find deals on much better coolers, the problem is that they are too many of them out there...

I was able to get a coolermaster X6 for 30 bucks before, also a thermaltake water PRO water cooler for 40 before. both at frys.

I saw a zalman water cooler on sale for 50 last week also.

if you willing to spend about 50 bucks, it greatly increases your options. Havik 140 is one of my favorites, dont try to clean pc too much tho the fan holders are bound to fail if you keep removing them.

Just remmeber the bigger the cooler the better, and if the base ( where meets cpu ) is straight surface ( unlike the 212) and price is right just buy it.

 

[Warstud]

IDK..If this is any good or not but I just found this deal.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=8340655&sku=Z20-1215&SRCCODE=LINKSHARE&cm_mmc_o=-ddCjC1bELltzywCjC-d2CjCdwwp&utm_source=Linkshare&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_campaign=*7WaaTN6umc&AffiliateID=.7WaaTN6umc-f4KQGNmPdWlgFGaEJWr7Bg

 

[yonyon]

The idea of hanging less weight on the board using a water cooler sounds interesting, but relying on both a pump and a fan... Does that make it less dependable or does the water pump usually outlive the fan?

 

[1 FMF]

i have a corsair H60 for my "dead end" lga1366,
i think a liquid cooler is the best choice for the money if you want a performace cooler. i don't scour the web looking for liquid cpu cooler failures but i have not seen anyone report a failed pump or a leak on an all-in-one sealed liquid cpu cooler. as for the fan that you use against the radiator, it can be any fan and you can set it up however you like.

 

[Virtuoso]

Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
With that kind of buying criteria I'd just pick up a cheap coolermaster in the appropriate socket config.


Yep no need to over-think this one.