Windows 7: Ready to try Overclocking, which cpu cooler?

Hi all, I've been considering an upgrade but before I spend that money, I'd like to see what kind of performance I can get from my present system.

The big question now is, which cpu cooler should I get? I know that the stock cooler is inadequate and will have to be replaced before any tweaking takes place.

I'm trying to decide between the Corsair H100 and the EVGA Superclock. According to this graph Prolimatech Lynx CPU Cooler Review | Hardware Secrets they're pretty close in performance.

The price difference between the two doesn't bother me much, but I'd like to think that I'm getting what I pay for. What does bother me is a significant number of H100 consumer reviews complaining of pump noise or failure.

So, is hardwaresecrets.com trustworthy (the linked article claims that all the listed coolers were re-tested on the same rig) and is the H100 reliable?

Does anyone have either of these coolers?

Opinions?

I don't overclock myself, and I only have the stock cooler that I purchased with my CPU installed, so I can't answer any specific questions on either of these coolers (or any others that you might consider). The main advice that I can give is to read as many reviews as you can for the cooler(s) that you are tinking about, paying particular attention to the satisfaction rating. Another thing to be aware of is whether it will fit in your case and not interfere with motherboard components.

Depends entirely on what CPU you have as to what I can recommend to you.
Personally, I've overclocked my Q6600 and used an Arctic Cooling Freezer 13, which is quite cheap but delivers a good performace for the money (around 15degrees C lower than stock at idle, slightly more under load). It's got brackets and the like to broaden the range of CPUs it can be attached to, if yours is in the list then I recommend you give it a shot.

Arctic Cooling Freezer 13 Intel and AMD Socket.. | Ebuyer.com

I don't know about the H100, but I am using a H80 on my i7 860 that is overclocked to 3.8 with HT and my max temps is 69, and I am using a push pull config with 2 noctua. I hope this could atleast give an idea on temps. And I would strongly advise you from not using the corsair fans that comes with the H80/100 at full speed those fans sounds like a motorboat

I completely agree with Andreas, the corsair fans are insanely noisy.
My rig has an i7 2600K @ ~5.0Ghz and my H100 with quad Noctua NF-S12B's in push/pull keep it frosty.

If you do end up going with the H100, plan to spend extra cash on better fans. Noctuas are the way to go IMO.

My experience is quite different, although I will agree about the Noctuas with V43L1N. I have the H100 with 4 Noctuas in push/pull. I am not happy. My temps are way too high for me. However, I can't blame it on the H100. I have tried to cool it with a Thermaltake FRIO and an NH-D14. They couldn't do it either. And I have used IC Diamond thermal paste, as well as Artic Silver and Noctua's paste which is quite good. It may just be the chip. I have found none of the coolers mentioned above or the thermal pastes to make much difference. As far as it fitting your case, you have the HAF 932 listed. I have a HAF X which are basically the same case. It will fit perfectly in the top of the case. I will also agree with the advice above to not use the corsair fans. They sound like you are standing next to a 747. Go, Noctua. They are expensive, but do an excellent job. 5 year warranty and I have all 4 connected to the PSU dorectly thus running 100% all the time. I can't even hear them. And no adapters to slow them down was used. That's just my experience.

I overclock on my stock Intel cooler and have no problems. My Q9550 was bumped from 2.83Ghz to 3.40Ghz on the Stock cooler, with a minor DROP in voltage and I idle between 28-32c and max around 65c under Prime95.

I find the Antec 620 does a real good job on my Overclock but the 620's Big brother Antec 920 Is about 30 to 40 bucks more but worth it

I wanted to go the Corsair route but when i seen them in person and how many returns and open boxes i passed

Thanks, y'all, I appreciate the input.

I would really like to go for the H100 but I can't ignore the numerous consumer reviews and comments about the noisy pump and/or pump failure.

I'm not ready for a "full on" water cooling solution so it looks like I'll go for an air cooler.

The thing is, the various hardware review websites have it in their own best interests to NOT give a bad review, to do otherwise would probably lead to their new hardware submissions drying up. I'm not saying that they're dishonest, you just have to carefully read (sometimes between the lines) the reviews to get the whole picture.

Still haven't made a choice, I'm off to read even more reviews.

Hyper 212 is always a good choice. Great cooler and low price.