i7 4770k Cooler for overclocking

Fatal_1

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im not looking to oc alot, but id like to keep a 4.2-4.3 ghz overclock but id like to keep the cpu under 70c, any ideas? i dont care if its air or water
 

Fatal_1

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my case doesnt have a the bays for the rez;(

 
There exists no CLC type water cooler that will cool as well or be as quiet as a comparably priced air cooler. But there's two things missing from your post (or I missed it). Case and budget ?

$30 - Coolermaster Hyper 212 Evo
$50 - Scythe Mugen 4
$70 - Phanteks PH-TC14-PE
$90 - Noctua DH-15
$140 - Swiftech H220-X2

Most of the better case manufacturers list how high a cooler can fit in their case. Responsible cooler manufacturers will give you yes / no compatibility advice on their web sites with regard to MoBo compatibility.

http://www.phanteks.com/Enthoo-Luxe.html

"CPU Cooler Clearance = 192mm"

http://noctua.at/en/products/cpu-cooler-retail/nh-d15/comp

 

Fatal_1

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i have a Phanteks Eclipse, i dont have a budget i just need whats best
 
Quick answer:
I'm leaning towards the NZXT Kraken X61.

Just FYI, some coolers are still 3-bit (voltage) and not all modern motherboards support that. Make sure the cooler fan is 4-pin (PWM).

I'd suggest one of the Noctua's for air, though some may have issues with:
a) memory clearance, or
b) top PCIe slot clearance.

Case:
- you support up to 160mm coolers in height
- you CAN support liquid coolers according to the web site. 12cm, 14cm, 240mm, or even 360mm if removing a portion (I wouldn't)

Liquid coolers:
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/nzxt-cpu-cooler-rlkrx4101
or
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/nzxt-cpu-cooler-rlkrx6101

Air coolers:
*Note the Noctua NH-D15 is 165mm as is the U14S. Your case again states a max of 160mm. In theory MAY fit due to case flex but don't risk it.

NH-D15s

NH-U14s is only slightly better than the U12s which as I discuss is probably fine, but not the best.

Great cooler, I use the NH-D14 with my i7-3770K. It's 160mm so should be fine. The only possible issue is it's a 3-pin, voltage controlled fan.

*You can find out if you support VOLTAGE control by adding a 3-pin, variable fan (must be variable) to the CPU_FAN header and try to control it with motherboard fan software. They seemed to drop voltage on a bunch of boards, then bring it back again (PWM or Voltage control via same headers). Other than testing it's hard to know.

NH-U12S:
Some claim it's not ideal for overclocking, but I've got it installed with an i5-4670K and at the default settings it's pretty good. I got 4.2GHz tweaked and under full load I was between 60 and 70degC. Of course the ambient room temp matters too, nor does that case have a video card.

Overclocking: http://www.overclockers.com/noctua-nh-u12s-heatsink-review/

It's a bit tricky to interpret the results, but basically at 4.8GHz they were at 90degC approx with 100% fan load (too noisy). Down at 4GHz they were closer to 70degC, though they'd raised the voltage more than they probably needed to.

Getting 4.2 or 4.3GHz whilst tweaking and staying mid 70degC is probably quite doable. Remember also that mid 70's is the recommended for OPTIMAL life of the CPU. It doesn't actually throttle until 100degC.

So staying under, say, 80degC at max load and about 50% fan speed to keep noise down is probably where I'd aim. So it's BORDERLINE depending on how picky you are.

Summary:
I'd go with a good liquid cooler.

Regardless of what you look at, be very careful to ensure it fits whether air or liquid.
 
My issue with reviews, hence my ridiculously long post, is that they are often very baffling to read.

Since the fan noise, speed, cooling all varies so much we often see a chart showing cooling potential with fans put to 100% for easy reference. Then maybe after that a NOISE graph, but comparing apples-to-apples can be hard.