Choosing a CPU Fan/Heatsink Combo that will do what I need it to do

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Discopickle975

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I am looking to upgrade my fan or both my fan and the heatsink of my PC since upon upgrading my old video card, the stock CPU fan that came with my pc no longer does the trick at cooling down the PC while being quiet. I have a Gigabyte GA 78LMT USB3 as my motherboard with an AMD FX-6300 Processor. The fan that is on there now is a Foxconn PVA070F12H. It works well except is loud. I have little room for a bigger fan and am looking for either two things: A fan with the same or more CFM with a quieter decibel level, or a better fan and heatsink combo altogether. The fan socket is AM3+. What requirements does a fan have to meet to fit on my heatsink? Are there any HSF combinations that will fit on my CPU and do a better job of cooling?
Any help provided is much appreciated as I have spent much time working on a solution for my jet engine simulator machine.
 
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Discopickle975

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The case I have is the Apevia X-Sniper case, the one that comes with the cybertron borg ds-9 computer. I have a link to an imgur page with the space I have in my pc to get a bigger fan :http://discopickle976.imgur.com/all/
If by clearance you meant height, that won't be an issue as I've got plenty of space for a taller fan.
 
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Aeacus

Aeacus

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Your case is X-Sniper2 and not the X-Sniper. Those are two different cases,
X-Sniper, specs: http://www.apevia.com/ProductsInfo.asp?KEY=X-SniperG-BK
X-Sniper2, specs: http://www.apevia.com/productsInfo.asp?KEY=X-Sniper2-BL

Did some digging and X-Sniper2 has CPU clearance about 160mm since found proof that Hyper 212 EVO (159mm) does fit into it.

With ample CPU cooler clearance, you can go with any mid-sized CPU tower-type air cooler. Your current CPU cooler is top-down and while those are cheap, they also offer the least CPU cooling performance.

For your AMD build, i suggest going for Arctic Freezer A32 CPU tower-type air cooler (150mm tall),
specs: https://www.arctic.ac/eu_en/freezer-a32.html
pcpp: https://pcpartpicker.com/product/bF8H99/arctic-cooling-cpu-cooler-acfre00005a

In my Skylake build (full specs in my sig), i have the same CPU cooler. But since i have Intel build, my CPU cooler name is Arctic Freezer i32 (due to the Intel mounting bracket). Performance vise, there's no difference between i32 and A32.

Reasons for going with A32 are plenty;
1. It comes with semi-passive fan that doesn't turn at all until CPU reaches certain temp (it's 52°C for my i5-6600K).
2. You can upgrade it from push configuration to push-pull with any additional 120mm fan.
3. No RAM clearance issues. So, you can use high-profile RAM sticks.
4. Stock fan has fluid dynamic bearing that is more quieter and lasts considerably longer than the sleeve bearing fan (e.g Hyper 212 EVO fan).
5. CPU cooler comes with hefty, 6 years of warranty.
6. It's also one of the best mid-sized CPU air coolers,
further reading with review: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-cpu-coolers,4181.html
(scroll down, past big-sized air coolers)

While the Arctic Freezer A32 has cooling performance up to 320W and is designed for CPUs up to 150W, it may sound like it's too much for your 95W CPU. But it's semi passive fan (for quiet operation) and ability to upgrade cooling performance (in push-pull configuration) are the two reasons why i suggest going with it.
Oh, Arctic Freezer also comes with Arctic MX-4 thermal paste in a small bag, so you don't need to buy thermal paste separately. I used about 3/4 of it when i mounted my CPU cooler.

The most that i've seen out of my CPU when OCd to 3.9 Ghz and during Cinebench15 was 55°C. My CPU idles at about 26°C. Though, i'm using push-pull configuration for optimal cooling. If you're interested, then under the spoiler is a combined image of my Arctic Freezer i32 as it sits in my Skylake build.
top left: retail package
top right: push-pull with stock semi-passive fan and Arctic F12 PWM PST (bought separately)
bottom left: push-pull with 2x Corsair ML120 Pro red LED fans
bottom right: Corsair fans in action
ncrFmNw.jpg
 
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Discopickle975

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Does this mean that I can get a big fan that isn't 70mm because I thought that in order to install a fan it had to fit face down like the one I currently have, I was unaware that they could go sideways like you have installed in yours. If this is true, which I am not sure if it is but I hope, then this opens up a world of possibilities of fans I can install into my PC. I would like to avoid something as big as the one you have as I will probably not need something that big, but I appreciate the offer. So once again does this mean that I there are fans I can get that are sideways and not flat against the mobo like the one I have? Also, I'm not looking to spend about $50 if I don't need that much cooling.

Edit: I was looking at fans that you can mount sideways and noticed the ARCTIC - Freezer 7 Pro Rev.2 45.0 CFM Fluid Dynamic Bearing CPU Cooler. Would it do the trick of cooling down the CPU effectively while fitting in my case and being quiet?
 
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Aeacus

Aeacus

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You can install any tower-type CPU cooler that isn't taller than 159mm. But you need to uninstall your current CPU cooler first. That includes the 70mm fan and the heatsink it sits ontop. Oh, old thermal paste too which is between heatsink and CPU. You can use 90+% pure isopropyl alcohol to remove the old thermal paste.

Arctic Freezer 7 Pro will do just fine. Though, you might want to check the RAM clearance before you buy it. There's nice guide on Arctic Cooling page, under Technical Data, which shows how to measure on your MoBo, to see if you get RAM clearance issues with Freezer 7 Pro or not,
specs: https://www.arctic.ac/eu_en/freezer-7-pro-rev-2.html

Fan on Freezer 7 Pro @ 2200 RPM produces 0.5 sones which is about 24.4 dB(A). Your Foxconn fan @ 5000 RPM produces about 44.3 dB(A). So, the noise reduction is huge. Anything under 19 dB(A) is considered silent in the fan world. While over 30 dB(A) is loud and over 40 dB(A) is very loud.
 
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Discopickle975

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I measured the ram stick and it looked to be borderline 29mm but I went to the website for the ram stick and it said it was 1.1 inches tall, or about 28mm so I think I will be okay there. I'm going to take more measurements of the space inside the pc just to ensure it will fit. Thank you for all of the help you have provided, it is much appreciated! The only thing I'm worried about is it colliding with this odd shaped figure to the left of the CPU heat sink and fan I've got in there now that reads ultra durable with no other markings as to what it is on it.

Edit: I measured the space available and with the raise from the mobo provided by the heatsink it will be close but it should fit.
 
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