Best CPU heatsink and fan???

JonnyLo

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Jan 22, 2016
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Hi, I am running a PC that I built from a Compaq Presario. I basically gutted it kept the hard drives and upgraded to a Gigabyte GM-78LMT USB3 6.0 with a FX 6200, EVGA 500w psu, 8gb of Ripjaw RAM and an EVGA 750ti gpu. It's my first attempt at a build and I'm already building my next one in my head, there are some things I will definitely do different next time now that I have more understanding of how it all works together. I have a qustion about the heatsink and fan though. I am using the wraith cooler that came with the cpu but not only is it noisy but it also tends to rev up and down on occasion. It makes no sense to me why and it is pretty loud. The BIOS are updated and I am not at all knowledgeable on tweaking them in any way to adjust things like this. Any help with the reason or solution to keeping it at a steady speed would be appreciated. My main question though is trying to find a good low-profile heatsink and fan that is quiet. I have searched and have not found anything that fits my needs, this fan is noisy whether at lower or higher speeds. I thought the Nocturna looked good but after more research it does not dissipate all the heat that FX chips give off. As I said it is built in a Compaq Presario case so there is not alot of room for clearance. It is clean on the inside also so I know that it's not a dust or dirt issue with the varying fan speeds. Thanks in advance for any help!
 

JalYt_Justin

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Jun 12, 2017
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There are only compromises between keeping fan speeds low and keeping temps low. You can only have that kind of performance by paying out $50+ for a good CPU fan. Hyper 212 Evo is one of the best, but it's loud. Noctua fans are quiet but can't dissipate the enormous amount of heat generated by FX CPUs. FX CPUs run very hot, so fans must run faster, and louder, to keep it cool. There's no way around that.

I doubt you'll find a reasonably priced fan that will be quiet AND keep temps cool. Water cooling is usually the solution to that.
 
I think you are doomed on several fronts.

1. For starters, FX processors are slow and obsolete. I would not put any more money into that platform.

2. Low profile coolers are inefficient. There are some that will use a 140mm fan that are likely to be quieter.

3. Compaq Presario is not a well ventilated case. You need decent intake capability to be able to feed any cooler and graphics card. a pair of 120mm intakes in front is what I would consider as ok.

4. Noise comes from fans running at high rpm. Unfortunately, an inefficient cooler needs to habe the fan run at high rpm to try to do its job.


What to do???

I suggest you first buy a case with decent airflow.
Make it one with two 120mm front intakes or better.
Have that intake filtered and you will have a cleaner pc.
Make the case wide enough to hold an air cooler 160mm high.
FX-6200 is a 125W TDP processor. More if you overclock.
If you like noctua(and I do) look at their TDP guidelines chart to get a better idea of what you need.
http://noctua.at/en/tdp-guide

It is likely to require something better than a hyper212.

I would not put much faith in a aio liquid cooler either.

My canned rant on liquid cooling:
------------------------start of rant-------------------
You buy a liquid cooler to be able to extract an extra multiplier or two out of your OC.
How much do you really need?
I do not much like all in one liquid coolers when a good air cooler like a Noctua or phanteks can do the job just as well.
A liquid cooler will be expensive, noisy, less reliable, and will not cool any better
in a well ventilated case.
Liquid cooling is really air cooling, it just puts the heat exchange in a different place.
The orientation of the radiator will cause a problem.
If you orient it to take in cool air from the outside, you will cool the cpu better, but the hot air then circulates inside the case heating up the graphics card and motherboard.
If you orient it to exhaust(which I think is better) , then your cpu cooling will be less effective because it uses pre heated case air.
And... I have read too many tales of woe when a liquid cooler leaks.
google "H100 leak"
I would support an AIO cooler only in a space restricted case.
-----------------------end of rant--------------------------

Your pc will be quieter, more reliable, and will be cooled equally well with a decent air cooler.
 

JonnyLo

Honorable
Jan 22, 2016
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10,630
Thanks for the input guys. Like I said it was a first attempt at a build of any kind, the tower was actually given to me and came stock with a tiny sempron chip. The first upgrade I did was changing the cpu, after that it kind of snowballed into what it has become but I gotta say I only sunk about $400 into it and I have a pretty decent gaming rig and some knowledge about putting a pc together. I can't complain but definitly have ideas for a new build once I get the cash. Guess I just gotta deal with the noise! Thanks again!
 

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