H80 or Silver Arrow

Hi,

Looking to upgrade my cooling, I want something that is not too loud but can cool very good at medium to high overclock. I currently have a hyper 212+.

I would immediately jump on the silver arrow except it will barely fit into my case (fractal R3) by orienting the fans correctly.

Anybody with experience with the H80? One option might be to use my CM blademaster PWM fans on it instead of the stock fans - they are fairly good.

I am thinking about the TPC 812. I think I am going to get that one,

You should be happy with the Coolermaster, I would say that any of the Corsair H series are best with quality replacement fans and this can add an extra 50.00 usd to the cost but well worth the effort.

My experience is different than most. I have a Noctua NH-D14 and a Corsair H100. The H100 is set up with 4 Noctua fans in push pull. And my experience, it won't come close to matching the D14. If you want an H 100, I happen to know where you could get one at a reasonable price. I believe a NH-D14, Silver Arrow or a Phanteks (sp?) are better choices. That's my personal experience, others mileage will vary.

Gene, I was hoping that it would work out well for you. I have read some good reviews on it. I'm glad to hear some first hand experience. I probably own enough CPU coolers to open my own shop. What I have learned about air cooling is exactly what you said. If you are going to air cool, get a well designed cooler with almost massive size, and good fans. Then you will most likely get good results. as far as I'm concerned, if a D14, Silver Arrow or Phanteks won't cool it, start looking for a good water loop.

GeneO, it's a bummer that your new cooler didn't work out much better for you, but it does reaffirm that the 212+ cooler is a really solid cooler for a great price.

Thanks for posting your results. I don't have much experience with aftermarket coolers, as I've never really had a heat problem that warranted them, and I don't overclock far enough to make it necessary.

One of the problems that we have as tech enthusiasts is that often our upgrades are accompanied with diminishing returns. We end up spending more, to get a smaller return on investment.

GeneO said:

Well I knew I was taking a chance. No more CM cooling offerings for me. I did learn you can't trust 90% of the reviews out there,

+1 on that. Based on reviews, I spent a lot of money on coolers that could not do the job. Right now on Frosty Tech, they have the Corsair H 100 with 2 fans listed as the #1 cooler for Intel chips. I have one installed right now with 4 fans. Yesterday I hit 82C at 4.5. I know a lot of people get good results with them, but not me. Of course, I really think that some CPUs just run hotter than others, and some a lot hotter. I can say that I have never found an air cooler that will beat the D14, and that includes the enclosed water coolers. It does help if you live in a cooler climate. Florida does not fall into that catagory.