New CPU Cooler, or clean stock cooler?

jerxpert

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Aug 21, 2013
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So I have an issue with heat in my PC. I have a AMD Phenom II x4 965 BE and its been reaching high temperatures lately. My idle is 35c-40c and when I play Battlefield 3 (at full load) my temperatures shoot up to 52c-60c, nearly reaching its Tj. Max (70c).

I built my computer a few months ago so I'm assuming its because of the dust build-up. I was wondering if I should:
1) Dust out my stock AMD heatsink and fan and apply an after market thermal paste
2) Buy a new CPU Cooler (thinking about getting Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO)

If I were to do Option 1, then I would add a fan to the side panel mount of my case (Using a Rosewill Challenger) facing the CPU for extra cool air. As for Option 2, I cannot do this because the fan will not fit there due to the height of the cooler.

ALSO:
I'm NOT overclocking! Is it worth it to spend $40 on CM 212 or stay with the stock cooler? I heard the stock cooler is fine if you are staying at stock clocks.

Sorry that this is a long post. I just wanted to be informative about my situation so that I can find the best solution. I appreciate any answers :)
 
Solution
A clean PC is a happy PC. Dust bunnies are your worst nightmare (that and liquid spills :O ) . And like others have stated a stock cooler will do the job if you're not overclocking and have airflow to support. However if you have the money to do so, I'd recommend an aftermarket solution. They keep the temps down, are usually quieter, and can extend the life of the chip especially if you put it under load regularly.

USAFRet

Titan
Moderator
I'm NOT overclocking! Is it worth it to spend $40 on CM 212 or stay with the stock cooler? I heard the stock cooler is fine if you are staying at stock clocks.

It's 'fine', because you are staying below max temps, even under load. Do you want it somewhat cooler? Then get a better cooler. The 212 EVO is a good choice, as are any of the other highly regarded aftermarket coolers. Noctua, etc.

And yes...if there is too much dust, clean it out. See what happens.
 

npsgaming

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Mar 31, 2009
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A clean PC is a happy PC. Dust bunnies are your worst nightmare (that and liquid spills :O ) . And like others have stated a stock cooler will do the job if you're not overclocking and have airflow to support. However if you have the money to do so, I'd recommend an aftermarket solution. They keep the temps down, are usually quieter, and can extend the life of the chip especially if you put it under load regularly.
 
Solution

jerxpert

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Aug 21, 2013
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Cool! Thanks for your answer. I might just stick to cleaning my stock heatsink, as it preforms well for stock clocks.
But I have one more question: Would it make any temperature difference if I switched out the FAN on the AMD Stock Heatsink for a better performing (or quiet) one? Has anyone ever done this before/is it possible? Or should I just buy an aftermarket CPU cooler?
Though, I don't want to spend much on an aftermarket cooler. So will a better fan help the stock heatsink perform a little better in terms of temperature?

Thanks again :)
 

npsgaming

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Can you replace the fan on a stock heatsink? Sure.
Will it help temperatures? Maybe.
Should you? Probably not....

Most of the time a stock heatsink has very little well "sink" material. Changing the fan does not make enough difference (in my opinion) to warrant doing so. I would rather just buy a heatsink straight out.

And buying an aftermarket cooler can set you back as little as 20$ or as much as 150$ How much you spend is entirely up to you. An average price range for what I would label a good heastink/fan setup is around 35-40$.

 

legendkiller

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Jun 19, 2011
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I agree with you there. The CMH212+ is available for $25 and sometime even available for $19... The CMH212+ could beat some $40-$60 cooler.
 

jerxpert

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Aug 21, 2013
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Yeah I didn't see why changing the fan on the stock heatsink was going to do much either. I think I'll get the CM 212 EVO and have a push-pull configuration with high quality fans. Thanks everyone for your replys! :)
 

USAFRet

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Yes, switch to the EVO. But two fans in push-pull does very little over just the one fan.
 

jerxpert

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Aug 21, 2013
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BTW, Does the CM 212 EVO come with thermal paste? If so, should I use that or get an aftermarket thermal paste/grease/compound? Or does the one that it come with already perform well for the heatsink? I was going to get either the Cooler Master Thermal Fusion 400 or the Arctic Silver 5.
 

USAFRet

Titan
Moderator


Yes it comes with paste, and yes it will work just fine.