Best cheap cpu cooler?

IGetKillsFTW

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I am planning on getting the 6600k, 7600k, or maybe a i7 that i can find if around that price point but i doubt i will rn. I plan to mildly oc and i will be gaming with this pc. I have been looking at ghe cryoig c7, and 212 evo. I have a pretty small atx case vut size doesn't really matter as i have a large cooler master haf series case that i can use instead. I want to stay around 20- 40 bucks but preferrably the cheapest but best performing cooler around there.
 
Solution
don't go the C7, its a low profile cooler and not going to be up to the task you want. Comparable to the 212 Evo would be the Cryorig M9i. A better cooler, while still being in your price range would be the Cryorig H7. It's shorter than the 212 Evo and doesn't have any RAM clearance issues like a lot of tower coolers have.
don't go the C7, its a low profile cooler and not going to be up to the task you want. Comparable to the 212 Evo would be the Cryorig M9i. A better cooler, while still being in your price range would be the Cryorig H7. It's shorter than the 212 Evo and doesn't have any RAM clearance issues like a lot of tower coolers have.
 
Solution
I recommend going with the 7th generation, and get a motherboard with an M.2 slot. This gives you the option to support Intel OPTANE which when used as a cache mechanism works pretty well and is very cheap (even shows benefit to systems with an SSD already).

I'm not sure how you verify if it works with Intel Optane, though the motherboard page may state that.
 

Rexper

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Apr 12, 2017
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Could you please link your source of this required information about the 7700 performing better than an i5 7600K whilst gaming?
 


It's clocked at 4.2GHz boost out of the box, which is roughly a moderate OC on the i5 anyway, and has twice the threads, wherein games are becoming more multi-thread oriented, requiring more than 4 cores to be utilized to fully push themselves.
Compare the OC'd i5 and i7 7700k stock for a good comparison.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3MfL6MVdj8
 

Rexper

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The benchmark was using the 7700k with higher out-of-the-box clocks than the 7700. According to silicon lottery almost a half of the overclocked 7600ks were able to hit 5.0GHz or above. A moderate overclock should be above 4.5Ghz, not 4.2.
 
The PROBLEM with an i7-7700 is that it costs more than the i5-7600K, so depending on the budget the difference in cost could make a big jump in the graphics card (which is usually the bottleneck).

But... as said the BUDGET for the entire build is necessary because balancing the parts is tricky.

Chugalug knows likely, but I've been recommending RYZEN in general, in particular the R5-1600 which is a 6C/12T CPU (has its own cooler but the "X" models don't). It compares in price to the i5-7600K so here's one source you can watch though there are many.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wYLmdHfFRg&t=39s

It's DIFFICULT to explain RYZEN vs similar Intel quickly. Roughly speaking, Ryzen has more cores/threads for the price but they operate slightly slower; it's more FUTURE PROOF but even in many games where it operates at the same or slightly slower it seems to STUTTER LESS (not sure what's going on). Now the HUGE differences you'll see are with an i7-7700K overclocked at 1080p, but that's not the whole picture. Anyway, too much to explain here so I recommend looking up several recent (last few weeks) videos and reviews from somewhat reputable sources.

You should have a dual-channel kit of 3000MHz DDR4 (2x8GB ideally) for Ryzen. Intel needs less.
 
https://pcpartpicker.com/list/nhfqyf

That's probably way over budget, however it's a build I already made. I like the core parts (CPU with cooler, motherboard, DDR4 memory) and the rest you could change to fit your budget. Just an idea.

*UPDATE*
In the above video I linked (post just above this) it seems to recommend the i5-7600K. Please watch the ENTIRE VIDEO. If you stop part way through you'll draw the wrong conclusion which is basically the RYZEN comes close but has much more processing power left because of the unused cores (again, comparing price at 6C/12T Ryzen vs 4C/8T Intel CPU).
 
Yeah, Ryzen is a better option, but the Hexacore models won't see much utilization for a while to come, DX12 needs to mature more and become more mainstream before games start optimizing for it fully.
Until that stage in about 1-2 years time, the 1500X will be the best option in terms of balance over an i5, but an i7 7700 will still outperform all the Ryzen CPUs if it can be afforded.
By the point in time where you get a 1600X and cooler, you're pretty much getting an i7 7700.
 


The i5-7600K, overclocked, is already starting to hit 100% in some titles. There's also some STUTTERING issues which may be due to the lack of overhead left but I'm not sure the reason.

I don't think the R5-1500X is a very good value at all. Last I checked the R5-1600 was only $40USD more at about $220 (it has a cooler as well). That's a 6-core vs 4-core model so you throw away all that future proofing capability with the R5-1500X. Yech.

There's also multi-tasking like playing games and doing other things that benefit from the extra threads, converting videos etc. There's also more IMPROVEMENTS to be had with Ryzen, especially when games optimize for the architecture (that's been discussed, and we saw noticeable jumps in a couple games that did that to show it's possible).

It's really not simple, but hands down I agree with the VIDEO I linked (jump to about SEVEN MINUTES if you can't watch the entire ten minute video).

*Sorry to confuse the OP, but don't take our words for it. You can get the general consensus with the above video, then look around for more info*
 
I did say 1600X you know... :(
This is a purely theoretical discussion, i'm just stating that generally in the price range where one can afford to put in a 1600 and a decent GPU like the 1070, that money is better spent elsewhere, whether that be in a better graphics card or upgraded components if they were previously being skimped on.
That's my experience with Ryzen builds so far for the most part, if someone is streaming though the criteria changes to the 1600.
All variable, don't get so into a debate. xD
 


Well you said "the 1500X will be the best option in terms of balance over an i5" so not sure what you mean.

But again, at the time I posted it was about $220 vs $180 for a 6-core vs 4-core so theoretically almost 50% more processing power.

$40 is a pretty small price to pay for that; 4% if the total budget is $1000 (which is easy to hit if you include games etc). It will already benefit SOME games, provides future proofing and means better multi-tasking. In fact, several games that had about the same FPS where STUTTERING LESS with the R5-1600 than the R5-1500X.

I have recommended the cheaper, 4-core Ryzen CPU's but only with really tight budgets.

Not sure how to say that any more clearly. I would think anybody that went with the R5-1500X instead of R5-1600 would be kicking themselves later on.
 
I meant in reference to "By the point in time where you get a 1600X and cooler, you're pretty much getting an i7 7700".
As in at the point where you spend the money on a 1600X and B350 board + cooler, it's about the same as an i7 7700, meaning in regards to gaming performance it would be the better choice.
For rendering, the 1600 is the best value.