Choosing an aftermarket cooler and Overclocking for FX-6300

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Jerm0510

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Oct 23, 2013
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I recently completed my first full build, in which I didn't plan to OC at all, so I didn't purchase an aftermarket cooler. My temps are stable enough (it tends to peak at 59-62C during use and torture testing for 12 hours), but when my PC is on load (I solely use it for gaming - Battlefield 4/Dota 2/Dark Souls, to give some examples), it has a tendency to heat up my room quite a bit. I imagine investing in a quality aftermarket cooler would help alleviate that, and if so, I think it would warrant the purchase for that reason alone, as I live in Florida, so going from a hot environment to an even hotter one isn't terribly enjoyable.

All that said, I figure if I do buy a cooler, I might as well try and take advantage of it and OC a bit. However, I've read reviews about my motherboard (MSI 970-G43), many of which say it doesn't take too kindly to too much OC, so I'm not sure how much would be safe to do, if at all. I'm pretty much clueless when it comes to OC'ing, as I never planned on doing before now, so I could really use some insight.

My build:
Case - Rosewill Blackbone Mid-ATX
Motherboard - MSI 970-G43
CPU - AMD FX-6300
GPU - ASUS GTX650 Ti Boost
PSU - Corsair CX600
RAM - Corsair CMV8GX3M2A1333C9 2x4GB Sticks
HDD - Seagate ST500DM002 500 TB Drive
Disk Drive - Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE

EDIT: Also, should I look in to trying to OC my GPU as well, assuming it would be safe with my motherboard?
 
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AndyC53
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AndyC53

AndyC53

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Oct 31, 2013
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Good Air coolers:
Hyper 212 EVO
Noctua NH-D14

Good Liquid Coolers:
H80i
H100i
Switech H220
 
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Jerm0510

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Oct 23, 2013
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Thanks for the quick reply. After clicking your links, it looks like Liquid is out of my price range, but for ~$30-40, Air seems doable. However, your second link, the Noctua NH-D14, is broken and simply 404s.

Is there a good way to compare coolers as far as which would be best to choose, or should I just go with the cheapest reputable brand I can find?
 
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geofelt

geofelt

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Any cpu cooler will have NO different effect on your room temperatures.
The heat extracted from your pc is the same.

If you want to oc your cpu, some sort of an aftermarket cpu cooler is a good idea.
I like the $30 cm hyper212.
Whatever else, your cpu cooler fan will be quieter.

Yes, you can spend a bunch more on exotic cpu and gpu coolers.
I think it is better strategy to spend those funds on faster graphics cards or cpu's in the first place.


 
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Jerm0510

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@geofelt

I certainly agree with your stance on buying higher end cpu/gpus in the first place, and I wish I'd have known I would've ended up with more funds than I thought after I did the build (would've sprang for a better mobo/gpu, but at the time I literally had $15 to spare after getting everything I needed). As for the OC issue, I only brought it up because I figured I may as well if I bought a better cooler, but if what you're saying is true about it not affecting my room temp, I may not bother and just leave it at stock, since the more I read about this board, the more frightened I am of OC'ing with it. Granted, most seem to be going to 4.4+, but still.

The fan noise, while it would be nice to lower it, doesn't tend to bother me since I wear a headset the majority of the time I have it on load, so really, my main motivation to do anything is room temp, since I live with roommates and can't simply turn down the AC to the house. I'm a tad surprised though that you're saying it won't have any effect - I figured that if the fan cooled the CPU more, that the heat it gave off would be "cooler" as well. But if you're certain about this, then I imagine I may as well save my money and buy a better GPU and Mobo in 8-12 months.

Or maybe I should just invest in a stand up fan for my room, haha.

PS - If you have any suggestions for anything else I should do, or if you have any suggestions for what my top priorities should be in the aforementioned 8-12 months, feel free to let me know.
 
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geofelt

geofelt

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It is basic thermodynamics. The heat generated in the cpu and gpu have to go somewhere. A more efficient cooler just gets the heat off the component better, but it then enters your room, raising the room temperature.
Open a window or turn up the ac to get the heat out of your room.

 
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AndyC53

AndyC53

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If you want to compare CPU Coolers then check out this link:http://www.anandtech.com/bench/CPUCooling/774
 
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geofelt

geofelt

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It is all a matter of what is most important to you.
1. cost.
2. best cooling under load vs. ambient.
3. Noise at your required cooling level.
Benchmarks are fine, if they compared using the same fans at the same noise level in YOUR case.
Unfortunately, cooler tests are more convenient in an open test bed.
Coolers use different fans, at different rpm's and some are even proprietary, so using a standard fan is not possible.

Fortunately, it does not matter all that much.
If a cooler fits in your case(some are 160mm+ tall), on your motherboard(check the mounting socket compatibility), your budget,
and has at least a 120mm fan, then you will get decent cooling that is much better than stock.

Without overclocking, the stock coolers will do the job. The main reason for an aftermarket cooler would be for a larger fan so it will be quieter under load.

With overclocking, better coolers can raise the limits of your oc. But, not by all that much. Once you have a decent aftermarket cooler like the $30 cm hyper212, I might guess that a top air or liquid cooler might increase a conservative oc by 5%

If you seek record oc levels, then you are looking at a custom liquid rig or liquid nitrogen.
 
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Jerm0510

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Wow, thought I'd responded a few days ago, but I guess it didn't take. Sorry about that!

Relevant factors to me would be, starting with highest importance:
-Overall temp, which appears stable (and since there's apparently nothing I can do inside of my case to help with my overall room temps, how it is now is good enough)
-Cost - college life!
-Noise - I wouldn't mind reducing it, but it's tolerable as is. I wouldn't spend the money just to reduce this.
-Performance - After looking more into my motherboard, I've discovered that it lacks the heatsinks I would need to safely OC (read: do so without threat of flames). So I may pursue this further on down the line if/when I decide to replace my motherboard, but until then, it's a moot point. And "record" levels aren't important to me - as long as I can reach a speed that can handle current-gen games on high, or make it so that the limiting factor isn't my CPU bottlenecking my GPU, I'll be satisfied. Which I'm assuming means air cooling would be sufficient, if and when I need/am able to OC.
 
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AndyC53

AndyC53

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I would just go with a cheap and cheerful Hyper 212 EVO by Cooler Master. It's the best bang for your buck! If you want to compare CPU coolers then check out this link: http://www.anandtech.com/bench/CPUCooling/774
 
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