Can anyone recommend a good CPU cooler for overclocking that is less than $90?

Question

Okay, I honestly do not want to spend more than 60-65-70 dollars.

I was recommended this

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835209049

It is a water cooler.

But I want to know will this cooler be good for overclocking ??

Specifically at speeds of 5.0 and up ? Even to around 5.8 ?

Will this cooler do ? Or is there another that I may want instead ??

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835106150 was the original cooler I desired until someone recommended me the Antec Kuhler H20 620.

My specs are

Video card - GTX 580 Superclocked

RAM - G.Skill Sniper 8GB Low Voltage

PSU - hec Zephyr MX 750 750W

MOBO - GIGABYTE GA-Z68A-D3H-B3 LGA

CPU - Intel i5 2500K

Case - Rosewill Challenger

Any please do not lecture me about overclocking, and the stress it puts on your system specs.

I am well aware. And may only go as far as 4.0 - 4.8.

I just want a cooler that will support 5.0ghz and higher for whatever reason.

Answer 1

I recommend you get something such as a Coolermaster V8. It's around the $60 price point, 180W TDP. V6GT is also very good, TDP of 200W.



You cannot go too far, maybe only up to 5GHz with a V8 using a 2500K. If you want to go higher, you would need custom water cooling and big radiators which would cost a lot more, $250+.



Also, If you do get a water cooler, make sure it's one with a big RADIATOR.



The ANTEC watercooler you linked is not very good because the radiator size is fairly small and thin. To overclock to like 5.5, you need a radiator around the same or bigger than the Corsair H100.



If you do plan to get water cooling (custom), consider getting an EK kit or XSPC kit. They include all the parts you need and all you need to get going is some cooling fluid.



Also, the 2500K has an multiplier limit of 57, max overclock with multiplier is 5.7GHz.



Just don't push the voltages too much, as this will create more heat.

Answer 2

George and Goerge gave you some good recommendations. Obviously, they take cooling seriously enough to do their homework.



You're not going to do any better than the D-14, Thermalright Silver Arrow, H80 and moreover... the H100. If you're pushing the processor as high as you can take it, those are the way to go. With the Rosewill Challenger, it looks like you would never be able to use the H100. Honestly, I don't recommend that case you're using if you're shooting for the stars.



You're going to crap-out before you ever reach 5ghz with the H60, Antec 620, Frio, V6GT, and definately the V8. Those are for people who want to run a moderate overclock.



I wasn't able to push my 2600k safely past 4.8ghz using an H70 with 2 aftermarket High-Static-Pressure fans wrapped inside a Cooler Master HAF 932... it hit 71c.



Another thing to keep in mind is, these 1155 processors will hit a wall between 4.6ghz and 5.2ghz. With most of the chips ending up at the lower end of the spectrum.



You could get the H80 and the final results will be a degree or 2 within the D-14. Just don't forget to find a way to Cool the MOSFET while you're doing this.

Answer 3

When you get into the realm of 5.0 overclocking your well into the high end water cooling device! Even the Noctua NH-D14 would be hard pressed to keep your 2500K cool at that MHz! About the best of the ready made commercial water coolers would be the ....http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835181017

better would be way expensive...up in the $200 price bracket. Yo not going to find a "safe" overclocking cooler at your price range. Even the lesser...http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835181016

is out of your range. You may want to rethink you overclocking or save up a bit more money.

Answer 4

Coolermaster Universal Hyper 212+ $32

Answer 5

Nice build ,would of went with a coolermaster haf x pc case, here's a good one when overclocking

http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item+n82e16835181016&tpk=corsair%20hydro%20h80 in other words a corsair hydro h80 high performance liquid cpu cooler, for about 94 dollars

Answer 6

I agree with George. I was unaware that you wanted such an EXTREME overclock. If you were to go to about 4.8 then that one would be good. The Corsair 100 would be better. I would head on over to http://www.overclockers.com/forums/ and see what they are using for those types of overclocks. Maybe something like a Koolance 370. I would also go up to a Full sized case like the Hafx or the one I have which is the Azza 2000R or the standard Azza 2000 if you want to stick with blue. My case can hold a water cooling radiator up to 360MM and already has the 3 grommets in the back for the hoses should you want to have an external radiator. There is no way I would set my cooling budget @ $90 when 5.5+GHZ was my goal. If http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Performance-Liquid-Cooler-CWCH80/dp/B0051U7HMI is your bottom line then go ahead with that but use something like http://download.cnet.com/HWMonitor/3000-2094_4-10793486.html, http://download.cnet.com/Speccy/3000-2094_4-75181811.html?tag=mncol;1, http://download.cnet.com/Core-Temp/3000-2094_4-10794077.html?tag=mncol;1 AND http://download.cnet.com/CPU-Z/3000-2086_4-10050423.html?tag=mncol;1 to keep track of your temps. You want to stay under 72.6°C which is shown http://ark.intel.com/products/52210 here as the tCase. That is the maximum surface temp the chip can get before Intel suggests it is unsafe to run. You want to verify your temp in your BIOS and then adjust the displayed temps in each of those programs by the offset so you won't be at 80+ and your monitor says 70. I recommend HWMonitor and CPUz. I use speccy & core temp. Once you reach 65°C I would cease and desist with the overclocking. I would use Prime 95 http://files.extremeoverclocking.com/file.php?f=103 and run it on blend for as long as you usually leave your computer on and active for. If you leave it on all the time then I would absolutely run it( Prime95 on BLEND ) for 24 hours to ensure system stability. This test can easily raise your temps an additional 10°C more. As you can see here https://answersrip.com/question/index?qid=20110715122520AAVPwVd my max temp was 51°C during a prime 95 test. These are my current temps



Core Speed 1596.4 MHz

Multiplier x 16.0

Bus Speed 99.8 MHz

Temperature 24 °C

Thread 1

APIC ID 0

Core 1

Core Speed 3591.9 MHz

Multiplier x 16.0

Bus Speed 99.8 MHz

Temperature 28 °C

Thread 1

APIC ID 2

Core 2

Core Speed 1596.4 MHz

Multiplier x 16.0

Bus Speed 99.8 MHz

Temperature 32 °C

Thread 1

APIC ID 4

Core 3

Core Speed 1596.4 MHz

Multiplier x 16.0

Bus Speed 99.8 MHz

Temperature 24 °C

Thread 1

APIC ID 6



as you can see there is a substantial rise in temps. The temp difference won't be as drastic on water but I am just trying to say be careful your goal isn't too high and you end up cooking your CPU/board. Yes your BIOS should shut your computer down if it exceeds the temperature set in your bios but still.......

Answer 7

- Intel i7 3770K 3.5GHz - 3.9GHz - ASUS GTX 680 4GB - Corsair TX 750W PSU - ASRock Z77 Extreme4 MoBo - Corsair 16GB RAM DDR3 1600MHz ^^ certainly liquid cooling in case you this gadget for a pair of hours of heavy gaming.