Good cooler for I7-920 OC

[TanyaC]

I have 5 PCs with GA-EX58-UD3R mobo's, I7-920 CPU's and Corsair Dominator DDR3 RAM (Either 4 x 1gb or 3x2gb).

The PCs idle at 58 degrees celcius with MCH temps around the same when the ambient temperature outside the case is 30 degrees celcius. Under load, at the same ambient temperature the PCs run at 72-78 degrees celcius.

The CPU's are running stock coolers with 2 case fans (80mm side fan + 120mm rear fan). One of the PCs has a Noctua NH12P - which disappointingly appears to make not a single degree of difference to the temperatures.

The PSU's are 700w Coolermaster's I believe.

The PCs are running Gigabyte GTX460OC 1GB PCIe cards.

They have 1 HDD and a DVD Drive each, except for mine which has 2 x DVD + 1 x Blu-Ray player + 1 HDD.

I want to cool the CPUs enough to overclock. They are 2.66ghz stock. I'd like to push them to 3.0ghz to start. I believe they can go to 4.0ghz, but I'd be concerned I'm really shortening the CPU's life at that speed.

So the question is, given that there is not alot of space in the case (The NH12P is 120mm x 120mm x 145mm IIRC and it only just fits) - what is a good cooler that might lower the temps by 10 degrees or better, or if that is not achievable, what sort of reduction might I be looking at?

I'd prefer to keep the cost to around $80 per cooler, but not more than $100 each AUD if can't keep it under $80.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

thanks
Tanya

 

[A Guy]

There are so many, these will all suit your needs:

Corsair H70

Corsair H50

Prolimatech Megahalems Rev.B

Noctua NH-U12P SE2

I'm sure you'll get other suggestions, and thoughts on these. Google the name of the cooler, and reviews (EX: Corsair H70 Reviews) and look for Tom's Hardware, Overclockers Club, Frostytech, etc. for good test reviews.

A Guy

P.S. US to AUD is about 1:1 now a days

 

[TanyaC]

There are so many, these will all suit your needs:

Corsair H70

Corsair H50

Prolimatech Megahalems Rev.B

Noctua NH-U12P SE2

I'm sure you'll get other suggestions, and thoughts on these. Google the name of the cooler, and reviews (EX: Corsair H70 Reviews) and look for Tom's Hardware, Overclockers Club, Frostytech, etc. for good test reviews.

Thanks A Guy.

The Noctua one is the one I already have, and it appears to do nothing.

The review of the H70 seems to suggest that the Noctua NH-D14 is the better way to go, according to Overclock3D :: Review :: Corsair H70 Review :: Testing

However, looking at the NH-D14 it won't fit inside my cases, nor will the ProlimaTech Megahalems, and here I thought I'd bought big cases :-(

The Corsair H70 appears to retail for around A$160, which is not encouraging, since to get a quieter solution that fits inside my case (since reviews say that the H70 is loud compared with many others), with as good as or better performance I'll be looking at more than $160 each.

The pricing on the megahalems is similar. At $70-$90 for two fans, the price is slightly higher than the H70.

So is my expectation of spending under $100 per cooler unrealistic?

I'm wondering now if I have installed my Noctua properly. I have set the two fans in a push-pull arrangement with air flowing towards the PSU, since the PSU has a fan at it's base which I believe pulls air from the inside of the case ... is this the correct way to install it?

 

[A Guy]

Your 58c idle temp is excessive. My i5 750 idles at 26-30 with the Coolermaster Hyper 212+. The 4 I listed are all better rated than my cooler, although I don't need more. I'd be concerned in correct mounting of the Noctua and the application of the thermal paste. Are your ambient temps exceedingly high? A Guy

 

[TanyaC]

Your 58c idle temp is excessive. My i5 750 idles at 26-30 with the Coolermaster Hyper 212+. The 4 I listed are all better rated than my cooler, although I don't need more. I'd be concerned in correct mounting of the Noctua and the application of the thermal paste. Are your ambient temps exceedingly high? A Guy

I don't believe so. The cooling in the house is not that good. When it is 35 degrees outside, it climbs to 30 degrees inside the house.

The current ambient temp is 25 degrees celcius @ 8:30pm. The idle temp of my PC with Noctua NH-U12P is 51 degrees celcius.

Yesterday it was 32.8 degrees celcius outside. It was 29 degress inside. My idle temp was 57 degrees. I played Simcity 3000 and after 5 mins the CPU temp was 73 degrees.

I pulled apart one of the computers. I could fit the megahalems in the case if I oriented it front to back, not top to bottom (That is pull from front of case and push to rear of case or the other way around). The clearance between RAM and northbridge is only 120mm, and since the length is 130mm it won't fit in the current orientation of my Noctua (top-bottom). - But is that an acceptable approach?

Dominator RAM is quite high (with the heat fins on top), so the bottom of the Megahalems fins are lower than the top of the RAM so it doesn't fit.

 

[TanyaC]

Just reading on a few other forums, the concensus seems to be to blow the air out the back, not through the PSU, so I'm going to turn of this system and turn the HS around and see what happens.

If there are no improvements I'd still like additional advices from the gurus here

 

[smarteyeball]

One of the PCs has a Noctua NH12P - which disappointingly appears to make not a single degree of difference to the temperatures.

The Noctua one is the one I already have, and it appears to do nothing.

Whilst not as effective as the newer models - it's still no slouch. Is it in a single fan, or a dual push/pull config?

A push/pull will help knock a few degrees off the top,.

I want to cool the CPUs enough to overclock. They are 2.66ghz stock. I'd like to push them to 3.0ghz to start. I believe they can go to 4.0ghz, but I'd be concerned I'm really shortening the CPU's life at that speed.

What paste (the supplied Noctua NHT-1 paste) / method did you use when installing? (assuming you used the 1366 socket kit)

Too much / insufficient / badly applied thermal paste will result in poor temps at idle/high loads.


That Noctua with a push/pull config will net you 4.0ghz . Obviously our high Aussie summer temps don't help - but it's still achievable without CPU life shortening.




Exhaust as much as possible. Depending on case, orientation will have an impact.


Exhaust from rear Cooler orientation out back - exhaust fans in top / vertical 'up and out' is the way to go.

 

[TanyaC]

One of the PCs has a Noctua NH12P - which disappointingly appears to make not a single degree of difference to the temperatures.

The Noctua one is the one I already have, and it appears to do nothing.

Whilst not as effective as the newer models - it's still no slouch. Is it in a single fan, or a dual push/pull config?

A push/pull will help knock a few degrees off the top,.

I want to cool the CPUs enough to overclock. They are 2.66ghz stock. I'd like to push them to 3.0ghz to start. I believe they can go to 4.0ghz, but I'd be concerned I'm really shortening the CPU's life at that speed.

What paste (the supplied Noctua NHT-1 paste) / method did you use when installing? (assuming you used the 1366 socket kit)

Too much / insufficient / badly applied thermal paste will result in poor temps at idle/high loads.

That Noctua with a push/pull config will net you 4.0ghz . Obviously our high Aussie summer temps don't help - but it's still achievable without CPU life shortening.

Exhaust as much as possible. Depending on case, orientation will have an impact.

Exhaust from rear Cooler orientation out back - exhaust fans in top / vertical 'up and out' is the way to go.

Thanks for your reply.

Ok, I've changed the orientation of the noctua to pull from from of PC, push to rear, with a rear 120mm case fan pushing out as well. On the side, at the bottom, I have an 80mm fan pusing air into the case (this was as before). There are two fans on the HS.

I cleaned the CPU and HS and reapplied the Arctic silver thermal paste; a small dob in the centre of the CPU. No bleeding out the sides.

Running stock 2.66ghz the CPU temperature, according to coretemp is 50 degrees celcius. 1 degress cooler than before, but then the ambient room temperature has dropped from 25 to 23 degrees too.

Yes, I used the 1366 kit to install.

I think I'm still going to be looking for a better cooler. When we get back to 35 degree days, my idle temp is going to run around 58 - 60 degrees even after changing the fans/HS around.

thanks

 

[Golden]

Mmm...OK, Im suprised by this. I have the same Noctua cooler in the same arrangement venting air up towards a large exhaust fan at the top of my Thermaltake Element S.

At idle, my CPU is no more than 32 degrees celcius, even though it touches 34 outside, 30 inside. Is there any chance of fitting an additional/improved intake fan at the front of the case? Perhaps the existing fan cannot pull enough fresh air into the case?

Blue arrows = intake (+ large intake on removed side panel)
Red arrows = exhaust

Regards,
Golden

 

[TanyaC]

Mmm...OK, Im suprised by this. I have the same Noctua cooler in the same arrangement venting air up towards a large exhaust fan at the top of my Thermaltake Element S.

Regards,
Golden

Your picture is the way I had it before. I now have the HS and fans pulling from the front and pushing out the back. Before, it was pushing air out into the PSU, which is at the top of my case, not the bottom.

I dont think there is a fan on the front of the case atm. There is a spot for one, I'd have to find a new home for my HDD but I guess I could squeeze one in there.

 

[Golden]

OK. I think a good intake fan might make all the difference - what size is the bracket for the fan?

You might also consider playing around with spot fans - Antec Spot - I've never used them though, but the look ideal for moving air into/out off specific areas.

 

[bobkn]

I'm using this one:

Product | Thermalright Ultimate CPU Cooling Solutions! USA

(Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme.) They don't list its real height, but it appears to be less than 170mm above the plane of the motherboard, mounted in place.

I run an I7-920 (original stepping; what was, that, C?) at 3.8 GHz. I don't recall what temperatures I've gotten. I pretty much stopped paying attention to CPU temperature in the absence of any lockups.

I generally keep my house below 26C in the Northern Hemisphere summer, though.

 

[TanyaC]

OK. I think a good intake fan might make all the difference - what size is the bracket for the fan?

You might also consider playing around with spot fans - Antec Spot - I've never used them though, but the look ideal for moving air into/out off specific areas.

Either 80mm or 92mm. I'd have to pull it apart again.

The computer is starting to get rather noisy. It has 4 fans now..

 

[linnemeyerhere]

Tanyan,
If you need air volume with low noise then may I suggest slowly or all at once if you can afford it, replace you fans with Noctua's or similar premium fans. Yes add the front mounted case fan ASAP and then look into the Antec spot fan I have one and like it a lot. Air flow through the cpu cooler should be clear and clean so if you have a card up against or even near the intake then flow will be compromised. If this is the case then orient the intake to another direction either low to high or front to rear.

 

[TanyaC]

I'm using this one:

Product | Thermalright Ultimate CPU Cooling Solutions! USA

(Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme.) They don't list its real height, but it appears to be less than 170mm above the plane of the motherboard, mounted in place.

I run an I7-920 (original stepping; what was, that, C?) at 3.8 GHz. I don't recall what temperatures I've gotten. I pretty much stopped paying attention to CPU temperature in the absence of any lockups.

I generally keep my house below 26C in the Northern Hemisphere summer, though.

The height is 159mm. My case is 160mm from top of CPU to inside of side panel. Test show that the HS can maintain a temp of about 18 degrees over ambient under moderate load, which would put my temp at 48 degrees. That's good.

It produces around 45DbA of noise, which is moderately quiet, but louder than the fans I have now.

How do I identify my chip's stepping?

Keeping my house below 30 degrees on a hot day is not easy. There is no cooling to speak of, and electricity prices have skyrocketed in Australia - Increased over 250% in the last two years. My average bill is $325 per month, so running lots of fans is not affordable

The most recent comparison of coolers that I can find that compares more than a doen coolers is 18 months old. Anyone know of a recent comparison (Toms hardware cooler comparison is 10 years old)?

 

[TanyaC]

Tanyan,
If you need air volume with low noise then may I suggest slowly or all at once if you can afford it, replace you fans with Noctua's or similar premium fans. Yes add the front mounted case fan ASAP and then look into the Antec spot fan I have one and like it a lot. Air flow through the cpu cooler should be clear and clean so if you have a card up against or even near the intake then flow will be compromised. If this is the case then orient the intake to another direction either low to high or front to rear.

Since i rotated the HS front to back yesterday there is more space between MCH and HS than there was before. Unfortunately rotating it didn't reduce my temp.

I am going to visit my local computer shop today to get a new 2TB drive for my server, so I'll see what fans and coolers they have..

 

[A Guy]

The most recent comparison of coolers that I can find that compares more than a doen coolers is 18 months old. Anyone know of a recent comparison (Toms hardware cooler comparison is 10 years old)?

This comparison is new. I saw a member here had the new Silver Arrow and it gets great reviews BTW.

FrostyTech - Best Heat Sinks & PC Cooling Reviews

Thermalright Silver Arrow Review - Overclockers Club

I have to say, your cooler should be performing much better than it is.

A Guy

 

[TanyaC]

I have to say, your cooler should be performing much better than it is.

A Guy

Yes, that seems to be the general consensus. It seems to be working hard. And since it only has 3 pins, the speed management function don't work, so it's flat out or stopped :sarc:

I've purchased some Zalman quiet fans for the front of the cases - 120mm. I'll install that and see what happens, though with the 4 I have now, it is already quite noisy.

thanks

 

[linnemeyerhere]

The intake fan in my opinion is critical. So by added them yes your hard drives will love you and the CPU and GPU will be thanking you as well. Noise can be greatly reduced via quality fans and or a fan controller which allows you to run 100% when gaming or in summer then back way down when doing less intense computing and in the winter months. I would think about replacing the other case fans in time with quite models as cash permits....it makes a huge difference.

 

[bobkn]

I'm using this one:

Product | Thermalright Ultimate CPU Cooling Solutions! USA

(Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme.) They don't list its real height, but it appears to be less than 170mm above the plane of the motherboard, mounted in place.

I run an I7-920 (original stepping; what was, that, C?) at 3.8 GHz. I don't recall what temperatures I've gotten. I pretty much stopped paying attention to CPU temperature in the absence of any lockups.

I generally keep my house below 26C in the Northern Hemisphere summer, though.

The height is 159mm. My case is 160mm from top of CPU to inside of side panel. Test show that the HS can maintain a temp of about 18 degrees over ambient under moderate load, which would put my temp at 48 degrees. That's good.

It produces around 45DbA of noise, which is moderately quiet, but louder than the fans I have now.

How do I identify my chip's stepping?

Keeping my house below 30 degrees on a hot day is not easy. There is no cooling to speak of, and electricity prices have skyrocketed in Australia - Increased over 250% in the last two years. My average bill is $325 per month, so running lots of fans is not affordable

The most recent comparison of coolers that I can find that compares more than a doen coolers is 18 months old. Anyone know of a recent comparison (Toms hardware cooler comparison is 10 years old)?

My estimate of the height of the Ultra was above the mainboard, not the CPU heat spreader. It's probably still too tall for your case, though. There are designs other than towers. For example:

Noctua.at - sound-optimised premium components "Designed in Austria"!

(Expensive, though.)

Stepping? CPU-Z can tell you, or you can look it up if you have the CPU's Intel S-Spec (on the box, or on the CPU itself):

http://download.intel.com/design/processor/specupdt/320836.pdf

For example: My S-Spec is SLBCH, so my stepping is C0.

Your electric bill averages 325AUD? And I thought that power was expensive here in Connecticut, USA.

I'm not sure what to suggest. My case is a Cooler Master Stacker 830. It seems to give decent cooling, but it's a full tower. It's all-aluminum, so it's not unusually heavy, but it takes up a great deal of space.