Best cooler for 4.4Ghz Turbo Mode i7-4790k CPU?

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hoover1979

hoover1979

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Hi I have a perpetual Work In Progress home build rig. 3 weeks ago I upgraded the GPU again (3rd time in 1.5 years) to a water cooled Gigabyte Xtreme Gaming GTX1080 OC.

Today I turned my attention to the outdated Antec 600w PSU removing it from the equasion and rewiring my rig to a Corsair HX850i Platinum Grade PSU. Its now time to give the old Antec 600w a dignified funeral as it served me well for over 4 years.

next on my list is changing my CPU cooler from my current one (Noctua NH-L12) to something more substantial as I now have a full-tower ATX case and more room for a grunty cooler.

At the moment I am not fussed if the best performer is water or air, I am pleased with my Water Cooler on my new GPU so I am looking for the best cooler as of this current date that will fit on my i7-4790k in my Fractal Design Define XL-R2 full tower case and blast the hell out of my CPU with a coolness that can allow me further Overclocking wiggleroom without hitting thermal threshold. Other posts about cooling this cpu are out of date and I am looking for latest tech (that's available in Australia though) to give me the edge for high end gaming.

I am not fussed if it is a couple of hundred dollars as I work part-time as a graphic designer and am reaping the financial rewards of quitting smoking.

I get 30Deg(C) in idle on the Noctua but wish to bring those temps further down for more overclocking wiggle room.

I will list my current specs in case they are needed for cooler suggestions.

SPECS:

Windows 7 Professional 64bit on Kingston HyperX Fury SSD (120Gb)
ASUS Z97-k Mobo
Corsair HX850i Platinum Grade 850w PSU
Intel i7-4790k in turbo mode 4.4Ghz via BIOS XMP settings
Noctua NH-L12 air cooler (current cooler)
32Gb Corsair Vengeance pro 2400 DDR3 RAM set to 2400Mhz in Bios XMP settings
Gigabyte Xtreme Gaming GTX1080 OC PCIe GFX Card with Waterforce Cooler and 8Gb GDDR5x RAM
Sound Blaster Zx PCIe Sound Card
Logitech Z906 THX Certified 5.1 Surrond Speakers and LFE
Seagate 8Tb Internal HDD
WD 4Tb internal HDD
WD Caviar 1.5Tb Internal HDD (My oldest Drive)
WD Elements 1Tb External USB 3.0 HDD
WD Elements 3Tb External USB 3.0 HDD
ASUS VG278 27" 120Hz 3D Monitor with Nvidia 3D Vision 2 (tm)
AVERMedia Volar Green USB2.0 HDTV Tuner
Targus Bluetooth 4.0 Adapter
AfterGlow Wired Xbox360 Controller (wireless controllers gave me more input lag)
Logitech K260 Wireless Keyboard (changed from Logitech G710+ Mechanicle when moving PC to lounge room)
ASUS PCE-AC68U AC1900 PCIe WiFi Card paired with:
ASUS RT-AC68U AC1900 Dual-Band Router on 5ghz band
Fractal Design XL-R2 Full Tower ATX Chassis
 
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raisonjohn

raisonjohn

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Feb 22, 2015
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Some suggestions:

For Air Cooler: be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 3 or Cryorig R1 Universal/Ultimate
For AIO: Corsair H115i or H110v2 or NZXT Kraken X62 or X52

Also, is that an all-HDD setup? Would you also consider adding an SSD in there for better performance (Samsung 850 EVO or Pro)?
 
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hoover1979

hoover1979

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I have the boot sector as a Kingston HyperX fury SSD. It's easy to miss in the specs readout as it is on the same line as the OS. I am planning on getting an even faster and bigger SSD once I have my main hardware in line,as well as a further 2 8Tb internal HDDs for games and Media center. then it's onto the 120Hz projector and retractable screen and wall mounting my THX 5.1 speakers for a true home cinema.

That Corsair H115i looks friggin badass!!!

I would have to swap the Water cooler from my GTX1080 from the top of my case to the spot on the back of my case where I have a fan, so I can hook the radiator to the 2 top slots as it is double the size of the GTX1080's cooler, but that's doable.

Thanks for the suggestions!
 
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hoover1979

hoover1979

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That looks like a badass cooler too, but my local retailer doesn't sell it. I checked their parts list and they have the H115i but they don't stock any Enermax coolers at all.

all Online Australian retailers that have it on their list the Enermax is marked as "No Longer Available"

Thanks for suggesting it though. I urge others to keep the suggestions rolling in I would have 3-4 weeks to ponder and do research before buying my new cooler.
 
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hoover1979

hoover1979

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thanks for your help

how good is the NZXT KRAKEN X61? My local retailer doesen't stock it but on a link you sent (aussie online store) it has a heafty price tag of $229.00. (plus Shipping) I know expensive does not always mean better though

With a cooler like that could I overclock the bejeezus out of it (like to 5Ghz) or will it still hit thermal threshold in idle at that OC?
 
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The Paladin

The Paladin

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hoover1979

hoover1979

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Jan 8, 2015
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My Noctua died yesterday causing my rig to overheat and BSOD with a CPU Stop Error, after 5 mins of idling. I guess it was working only as a fan at the end, it did serve me well but now needs a dignified funeral. I bit the bullet and installed the Corsair H115i Liquid Cooler and moved the GTX1080's water cooler from the top of the case to the rear of the case, so that my case could accomodate the 280mm radiator. So far so good. I can also finally have the side panel on my case to keep more dust out. My case has a high density lining which keeps sound in, but also heat. I get 27-29 degrees with the side panel on. My CPU used to do 38 degrees on idle with the side panel off, and overheat in half an hour with the side panel on. My CPU is still not one to overclock. It is at stock turbo speed of 4.4Ghz, and when I set to 4.5Ghz (within the Z97-k BIOS) I got BSOD CPU Stops without the CPU overheating. I guess even a small OC on my CPU is making it unstable, so I have accepted my i7-4790k CPU can't be overclocked (I must have lost the sillicon lottery there), and I won't try a CPU OC again as if the CPU dies, I would need a new CPU, Mobo and RAM, as I can't find anywhere that sells the 4th gen i7's anymore and my Mobo can't accomodate a 6th or 7th gen i7 or DDR4 RAM (which I think all the new mobo's might require). Having to replace all this would cost me $2,000.00AUD or more (money I currently don't have) as I live in Australia.
 
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