Cheap good APU cooler for AMD A10 7850K

JBBill

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Hello there and thanks for coming to my thread. I would like suggestions for a good APU cooler that costs ~$20 for my AMD A10 7850K. It needs to be able to cool my APU well while playing Minecraft on high settings. I would also like to overlock my APU so if the cooler can handle that that would be even better
 
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I've shopped on amazon for awhile and can say that most of the used products are not clean. It's dumb to assume that everyone is a computer expert and understands that they should clean their heatsinks or even how to clean them properly. What's the point of getting an aftermarket cooler if the thermal performance is hindered by a crappy cleaning. It's always good to be on the safe side when buying used products.

$60 will buy more than an entry level closed loop cooler and this whole "risk of leaking" fear is just from inexperience using them. If leakage was really such a big issue, it sure hasn't bogged down their reviews at tech outlets and shopping websites.

That aside, as I said in my previous post, an A10 isn't worthy of a...

JBBill

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Thanks for the quick answer but I'm sure there is something out there for $20. Also my brother suggested the hyper 212 but I'm trying to build it for as cheap as possible. I may just end up buying his old cooler from him for $10
 
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186092&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

Unless you can find a Hyper T4 on sale for less than $20, this is pretty much the best you can do that will give noticeable performance over the stock cooler.
 

slyu9213

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Pure Performance, the 212 beats the T4 I believe.

I agree with the other users that Cooler Master's Hyper Series are good for their price. You can often find Hyper 212 as low as $20ish with rebate or coupon a few times a year. I bought a Refurbished TX3 for $7.99 + Tax/Shipping from Cooler Master directly several years ago. Works well and I added a spare fan.

If cost is really a problem don't forget about used heatsinks on sites like eBay.
 


Remember that if you buy a used cpu cooler, you are going to need thermal cleaning compound to get the old beloved patriot off. Normal cleanings won't work. You should add this to the price of a used cooler. I really don't see much wiggle room at all in the budget though. At the price point you are looking at, it's just better to buy new to avoid the issue.
 

slyu9213

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Yes you can. Long time builders recommend using the actual product when it comes to cleaning the heatsink but I usually don't. Unless using isopropyl alcohold will lead to an early death for my CPUs or make it perform drastically worse I don't see the point in buying thermal cleaning compound. Many people already have Isopropyl alcohol at home (not that expensive) or at least what I would think. Not all used heatsinks have the old thermal paste still on the heatsink.
 

JBBill

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Would a Cooler Master Seidon 120V be significantly better than a Hyper T4 or 212? I'm thinking it would be worth the extra money to get the Seidon if it allows me to overclock without worrying about overheating
 


A used heatsink, like he said he could be getting, will most definitely have in on there unless his brother already cleaned it with alchohol. To me, if you have Isopropyl on hand, I would use that. Otherwise its best to buy the cleaning solution. In addition, you have to wipe the surface with something that won't leave traces behind. Coffee filters do the job.
 


At that price point you should be looking at entry level cloosed loop liquid cooling. Performance wise, they top out cpu coolers.

There's a pretty big issue with spending that much on a cooler for that cpu though, cost. You are spending so much on trying to get a little bit more out of your cpu that you're at the point that you might as well just buy an intel i5. When the value of your processor in around the value of the heat sink, there's an issue.
 

slyu9213

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Again, it depends on the seller. The used heatsink from his brother will probably have the old paste if it is removed at that moment, but if it's been removed for a while you would think it's common logic to clean it before you store it somewhere. As far as buying online most sellers will say if they have cleaned the heatsink or not. OP has the isopropyl on hand so there should be no issues.

As for the closed-loop watercooler. In general the entry level watercoolers will perform better than the entry level heatsinks. At that point you could put more money into buying a better heatsink and fan instead of a watercooler that has risk of leaking at somepoint.

 
I've shopped on amazon for awhile and can say that most of the used products are not clean. It's dumb to assume that everyone is a computer expert and understands that they should clean their heatsinks or even how to clean them properly. What's the point of getting an aftermarket cooler if the thermal performance is hindered by a crappy cleaning. It's always good to be on the safe side when buying used products.

$60 will buy more than an entry level closed loop cooler and this whole "risk of leaking" fear is just from inexperience using them. If leakage was really such a big issue, it sure hasn't bogged down their reviews at tech outlets and shopping websites.

That aside, as I said in my previous post, an A10 isn't worthy of a high end cooling solution. If your sending so much on getting a smidgen more power, why not just buy a new processor with the money instead?
 
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mdocod

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Decibel for decibel a 120mm radiator has no advantage over a 120mm heatpipe tower. They are both liquid coolers with similar effective thermal resistance. I own both a Seidon 120V and an Arctic A30 heatpipe tower. If I use the same fan on each their cooling performance is almost exactly the same. The Arctic A30 may even be a tad better and is far nicer to live with as there is no pump noise/vibration.

After my experience with the 120V, the only time I would ever use a 120mm AIOCLC again would be for a small form factor build that didn't have room for a heatsink above the CPU, and I would try to pick out one with the quietest, lowest vibration pump possible.
 


Yeah, traditional cooling solutions still rule the value and lower-mid segments of the cpu cooling market. You need a quality, quiet, closed loop system. You should be able to pick up a good closed loop system around this black Friday at a good price. Conversely, the same applies to head spreader solutions.
 

slyu9213

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Like mdocod and thor220 said I agree that closed loop watercooling isn't a good option compared to the air cooling counterparts. The fans that come with them in general are a bit noisy which adds to the cost of buying quality/quiet fans. CM's Nepton series seem to have a quiet pump but they aren't on the lower side of the cost spectrum.

I can also agree with thor220 that used computer components bought from Amazon (Marketplace) is pretty nasty. The prices seem a bit higher also. That being said I never said I assume that everyone is a computer expert, and suggested you contact the seller before buying anything used. Plus cleaning something is not a thing that only "computer experts" or "experts" should know about it. It's a common thing that kids are told over and over again when parents make them clean their room and other things.

What kind of "bad cleaning" can you do to a piece of metal that hinders the performance of it? Cleaning it which a metal scrub? I honestly don't know and it would be interesting to see what kind of performance changes happen with things like leaving the old paste on for a long time before cleaning, cleaning with different materials (paper towel, tissue, sponge, etc), different solutions.
 
I've seen some really weird things stuck in used parts before. Just for CPU heatsinks - toilet paper, paper towels, and of course dust. Found one or too with some carpet stuck to it. I've seen a few that have been touched up with iron wool before. It's pretty easy to distinguish as instead of one consistent grain on the heatsink you will usually notice a circular and uneven pattern. Performance wise, it's terrible. It creates more gaps for the paste to fill which in turn increases temperature. Copper is much better heat conductor so removing it and replacing it with paste will always result in poor performance.

It's fairly easy to tell when the surface hasn't been cleaned enough too. Usually the metal gives off a certain amount of light so it isn't quite light enough or appears a hint of grey, it probably needs another cleaning. I've found that certain CPU heatsinks could not clean no matter what I did, remaining a gray-copper color.

remember that the job of thermal paste is just to fill in the tiny gaps between the cpu and the heat spreader. Any other material will reduce it's effectiveness. Damage (like iron wool) will reduce it's effectiveness. Crusted on old thermal paste won't mix well with new stuff or may not even detach it's self from the sink at all.
 

JBBill

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My brother is currently using the Cooler Master Hyper T4 but if he gets a better one (which I'm hoping) then I'll buy his old one for $10. As long as the thermal paste he will probably clean it for me and put it on the APU as he built my computer in the first place. If he continues to use that cooler then I will probably just get the Hyper 212
 


Sounds like a perfect plan. Good luck with the future overclocking!
 

JBBill

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Thanks! I chose your post as the solution as you were the first to reply and have been very helpful through this whole thing