Which CPU Cooler is better?

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foolishcreature

foolishcreature

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I have had the legendary Coolermaster Hyper 212 for years now and looking for a bit of upgrade.

I have had my eyes on a few CPU Cooler and have come down to 2 choices.

CPU COOLER #1 http://

CPU COOLER #2 http://

If you have a better suggestion for a CPU Cooler please link below

Case LINK http://

If you have any other suggestions make sure the Cooler is silent.
 
Solution
synphul
The nzxt phantom has clearance for cpu coolers up to 170mm in height.

Dark rock pro3, 163mm tall.
Dark rock 3, 160mm tall.
Noctua nh-u14s, 165mm tall.
Noctua nh-d14, 160mm tall.

All of them will fit your case. They're within 1-2, maybe 3 db of each other and cooling performance is very similar again within 1-2, maybe 3c of each other. They're all nearly the same identical price so the choice is really up to you. They're all high quality, regardless which one you pick you're getting a high end air cooler with some of the best cooling air coolers can provide and at the quietest noise levels.
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synphul

synphul

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Either would be a good choice. The noctua may cool a couple degrees better while the be quiet runs a little quieter. In that price range the noctua nh-d14 and be quiet dark rock pro 3 are also options. All 4 are similar in noise and cooling, may be down to which one you find more appealing in looks.

http://uk.hardware.info/reviews/5629/11/39-cpu-coolers-review-what-is-the-best-choice-final-thoughts

http://us.hardware.info/comparisontable/products/183459-131517-207089-150826-115948-207090-193572-207088-198437-129860-157971-131531-129859-198502-206389-193576-205066-193575-118622-129087-193564-193573-185292-124545-213967-165695-183458-180508-198438-204192-186947-193567-186512-161543-187748-167332-159659-166277-184857

Here's another review of the dark rock pro 3 and the next page gives similar noise levels as the others as well.
http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/6072/be-quiet-dark-rock-pro-3-cpu-cooler-review-a-winner-in-terms-of-performance-and-quietness-/index7.html

This is a link to it since pcpartpicker doesn't always have the most up to date info.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA68V21E0640&cm_re=dark_rock_pro_3-_-9SIA68V21E0640-_-Product

It's $75, same as the nh-d14, nh-u14s and dark rock 3. The dr3 has 1 fan, the dr pro 3 has 2 fans similar to the nh-d14. If using some of the bigger coolers you just have to make sure there's ram clearance. I'm running the dark rock pro 3 and with the leading fan it covers all 4 ram slots of a z97 motherboard. The g.skill ripjaws x just barely fit and I'm sure the g.skill trident will also fit with the top of the cooling fin removed (it has screws). I can't say for sure the ram height tolerance of the nh-d14. Taller ram like corsair vengeance may be an issue, they're a bit taller. Team elite, g.skill ares and g.skill sniper are all shorter than the ripjaws x so they should fit just fine.

Honestly between these coolers, if the noctua's are just about as quiet as the dr pro 3 either will be the quietest fan(s) in your system. They're both excellent cooling solutions with top quality quiet fans.
 
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synphul

synphul

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Mar 11, 2011
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The nzxt phantom has clearance for cpu coolers up to 170mm in height.

Dark rock pro3, 163mm tall.
Dark rock 3, 160mm tall.
Noctua nh-u14s, 165mm tall.
Noctua nh-d14, 160mm tall.

All of them will fit your case. They're within 1-2, maybe 3 db of each other and cooling performance is very similar again within 1-2, maybe 3c of each other. They're all nearly the same identical price so the choice is really up to you. They're all high quality, regardless which one you pick you're getting a high end air cooler with some of the best cooling air coolers can provide and at the quietest noise levels.
 
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foolishcreature

foolishcreature

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I can't figure out which one to go with Noctuas fans are really ugly and Be Quiet fans seem to hender a bit of performance to the noctua fans. Do you think the dark rock pro 3 is the best option for Quietness and the noctua NH-U14s is best for performance?
 
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synphul

synphul

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Either way. I wouldn't worry about the looks too much, if it's the case you linked to. The phantom has ventilation on the side but no window so the cpu cooler won't really show either way. I know the dark rock pro 3 is about dead silent, but I'm sure so is the noctua. Once you have a graphics card installed it won't matter much anyway, the gpu is almost always the loudest fan in the system.
 
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foolishcreature

foolishcreature

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Yes I have 2 GPU's installed at the moment, i think I might have to go with the Be Quiet Dark Rock Pro 3, but is there alot of difference between the pro 3 and regular dark rock? Also which one is better performance wise?
 
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synphul

synphul

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There's some difference, not a lot. The dark rock 3 has a smaller heatsink and one fan. Under the metal plate of the dark rock pro 3 is a second fan, even though it looks like one big square heatsink it's a dual tower like the noctua nh-d14/d-15 with 2 fans. I don't know what cpu you're putting it on but the dr pro 3 is designed to handle up to 250w tdp heat. Since they're both the same price right now I'd get the bigger one but that's me. Usually bigger coolers don't have to work as hard to keep things cool and run quieter. Your case is large enough to handle any of them. Depending on the platform and motherboard depends if there will be any issues with the first video card slot. There's no fitment issues with the z97 motherboards that I can tell, a good inch or more space between the dr pro 3 and top of the gpu in the top slot.
 
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