Best short CPU cooler (under 150mm) for the FX-8350 to keep it cool?

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JonnyD97

JonnyD97

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May 12, 2015
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I have a SPEC-01 case which only allows up to 150mm CPU coolers, and my current Hyper TX3 doesn't do the job anymore with demanding games, making it very hot and just overall very unpleasant to play games for over an hour. I was looking at Corsair's Hydro Series, but I keep hearing that you can get better cooling with normal CPU coolers that are much cheaper. The only problem is that I can't find any of these cheaper recommendations that actually fit in my case, like the Hyper 212 which is too long. Does anyone have some recommendations?
 
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ajitesh

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Jan 30, 2014
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Get a liquid cooler. Don't think twice about it. Its never the case getting better cooling with Air Coolers except the huge and massive ones which are extremely expensive. The Corsair H80i GT is what I would recommend.
If you still insist on an air cooler consider the Noctua NH-C14. I personally own one and it works great on my i7 3770K at 4.4Ghz.
 
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ajitesh

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Jan 30, 2014
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Don't listen to him. Do your research and check out temps for your CPU on Google. AIOs with thick radiators and dense fins beat the Air Coolers of that price range hands down. Quality AIOs like the H80i also run much quieter.
 
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Gam3r01

Gam3r01

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Jan 12, 2013
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Compare the H80i to any cooler in its price range, such as the NH-d14. The air cooler wins hands down. They can hold the same temps, for less money, and are much quieter.
The only time water cooling becomes viable is with 240mm rads or larger, and even then most perform much louder for only a few C difference compared to large air coolers. Only coolers such as the H240-X have enough cooling potential to warrant the change.
 
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ajitesh

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Jan 30, 2014
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You can make it run it at silent mode in the Corsair Link Software and it will still perform practically the same. Also the Noctua NH-D14 is a huge cooler and you can run into RAM incompatibility. Also the D14 is 160mm tall and the case mentioned here (Corsair Carbide SPEC-01) cannot accommodate a 160mm cooler.
 
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GhislainG

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Jul 16, 2008
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I know the NH-D14 is too large; I simply wanted to point out that the H80i could also be very noisy; when running in quiet mode (no fan or pump can be silent), then it isn't much better than a good air cooler. The OP should be satisfied with the very quiet Cryorig H7, but if noise isn't a concern, then the H80i is an excellent solution. Personally I'd rather not have to deal with a pump as that's an extra point of failure.
 
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bicycle_repair_man

bicycle_repair_man

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Jan 10, 2014
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The first thing to remember with AIO liquid coolers is that performance depends entirely on ambient temperature. Whereas an air cooler exhauts air away from the CPU, AIO coolers do the opposite. The air passes over the radiator which cools the liquid inside, so if the ambient temperature is hot, the liquid temperature is also hot.

A top-of-the-range air cooler (Noctua NH-D15) will certainly match, and usually surpass, entry and mid-level AIO coolers (Hydro H80/H90) and both cost about the same. In its favour, an AIO cooler is able to bring high temperatures back down again much quicker than an air cooler and they do look considerably better.

As said, AIO coolers aren't particularly quiet. Yes, the fans can be replaced, but the pump can't. The pump is also another potential point of failure, and whilst unlikely, there's also the possibility that an AIO cooler will leak.

I completely agree with Gam3r01; 120mm and 140mm AIO coolers aren't worth it and an equivalently-priced air cooler will do a better job with less risk. An AIO is only worthwhile if the radiators are 240mm or 360mm and the CPU has a large overclock.
 
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