Need advice regarding a cpu cooler for i7 6700k please

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electrickn

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I'm building a system and am currently stuck on which cooler to get.
I plan to do no, to mild overclocking.
I decided against going with water cooling. And some of the air coolers I looked at like the Cryorig H7 and the Noctura NH-D15 have great reviews but they're stupid big. Is there something out there comparable with a lower profile than those two? Money isn't so much an issue as cooling is important, but I just hate the looks of those coolers.
The cpu is an I7 6700k, so no stock fan is included.

The motherboard is the MSI ATX 170 1151 M7. I'm going to go with the Corsair 760t or 780t case. Video card is the EVGA 980ti FTW. Ram is the Corsair vengeance ddr4 3200.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/NFG4XL


 
Solution
Barty1884
Ok, so it's scale not colour scheme etc. That's good to know.

Ultimately, if performance & noise are your primary concerns, there's no better option than the NH-D15.
There are a couple of cooler that get close in cooling performance (also huge) but are significantly louder.

Sure, the D15 is a monster, but it does it's job extremely well.

Noctua have a compatibility chart on their website which lists the majority of motherboards & any known issues.
http://noctua.at/en/nh-d15.html?comp=1#LGA1151
As far as DIMM slots go, you can raise the front fan on the cooler (or forgo it if you really wanted to, for some weird, unknown reason) to allow greater RAM clearance, but that'll depend on the case as to whether you have the room to go...
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JQB45

JQB45

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You need a large cooler like the H7 to effectively cool the i7-6700k, especially if you over clock it, even mildly.
If you compare the H7 and NH-D15, the H7 is quite a bit smaller and weighs less so you would have less trouble with weight being a possible strain on your motherboard.

Have you looked at reviews for this CPU Cooler:

CPU Cooler Noctua NH-L12 37.8 CFM CPU Cooler
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/noctua-cpu-cooler-nhl12
 
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Barty1884

Barty1884

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You're not going to get comparable cooling performance to the NH-D15 is a smaller profile, the size & layout if what allows the cooling performance.

You're looking at coolers in two different brackets though. The D15 is more 'performance' and would allow pretty good OCing. The H7 (a bit better than a 212 EVO) fills more of the 'budget' space. Great cooling at stock, and allowing smaller OCs (albeit with a little higher temps than the D15).

Ultimately, you'll have to clarify what objective you're trying to meet. Performance or budget. Some examples of what looks 'good' to you would help too. The H7 and D15 look dramatically different, and you don't like either. Kinda hard to gleam what would look good to you only knowing those two don't.,

How do the Be Quiet! coolers look to you? http://www.bequiet.com/en/cpucooler/482
 
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Barty1884

Barty1884

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Guess it depends what the OP dislikes about the "look" of the D15........if it's color scheme, the U14S isn't going to help much, but if it's sheer size, that might well be a good option.
 
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electrickn

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Thanks for the responses guys! To reiterate, cost isn't a concern. I would choose performance, then noise level over budget. Keeping the CPU cooled is the main concern.

Barty: I do like the look of those Be Quiet coolers. But then again all the aforementioned coolers look ok until you see them next to a motherboard and realize how big they are. I'll read up on them though. thanks. I hadn't considered that brand.
JQB45: I didn't look at that model, but I'll check that out too.
Assassin: The CRYORIG gets great reviews. I did look at that one, but would you choose that one over the Noctua?

If the Noctua is the best option in everyone's opinion, I'll go with it, regardless of how I feel about the aesthetics.

My only other issue with the Noctua however is case logistics. Will that cause an issue with the DIMM slots?
 
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electrickn

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Is there diminished performance with the U14S?

 
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Barty1884

Barty1884

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Ok, so it's scale not colour scheme etc. That's good to know.

Ultimately, if performance & noise are your primary concerns, there's no better option than the NH-D15.
There are a couple of cooler that get close in cooling performance (also huge) but are significantly louder.

Sure, the D15 is a monster, but it does it's job extremely well.

Noctua have a compatibility chart on their website which lists the majority of motherboards & any known issues.
http://noctua.at/en/nh-d15.html?comp=1#LGA1151
As far as DIMM slots go, you can raise the front fan on the cooler (or forgo it if you really wanted to, for some weird, unknown reason) to allow greater RAM clearance, but that'll depend on the case as to whether you have the room to go 'up'.



Yes, a little. The D15 is the newer model with some improvements in airflow and layout which results in slightly improved cooling. http://www.overclock.net/t/1493091/ohhgouramis-noctua-nh-d14-vs-nh-d15-comparison

That's the D14 vs D15 - the 'S' was a slight revamp of the D14 so the gap is even closer.

The range can be anywhere from a degree or so, to maybe 5 at the highest gap between them, so you really can't go wrong with either. For the negligible price difference most places though, the D15 would be the way to go IMO.
 
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Bearmann

Bearmann

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I think you would like the U14s the best. No RAM issues since it's a single tower. Cools only a few degrees less than the D15, which is still overkill for a Skylake i5 or i7. Double check the Noctua link above with your MB to make sure it doesn't block the GPU, etc.
 
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electrickn

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I will check that out. I saw some pictures of it and it looks good. I'm going to read up on it more later tonight. Thanks for the suggestion.
 
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Bearmann

Bearmann

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Noctua will tell you if it blocks the first PCIe x16 slot, but if you have a small PCIe x 1 slot in the first position (which you would not be using for your GPU), they don't mention it. In other words, you a good to go. I have the D15 on my Asus Hero VIII with an overclocked i5 6600K at 4.6, but I only use the middle fan. I took the front fan off and repurposed it a rear exhaust fan. My Max CPU temp was 59C with Realbench stress testing. It's not the temperature that limits Skylake overclocking, it's the maximum V Core that you are willing to allow.
 
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electrickn

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Thanks. I went with the D15

 
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