Please suggest a cooler

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doors666

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My Config -

CPU - Intel i7-8700
Motherboard - gigabyte Z370-HD3P
GPU - On board, not much of a gamer, might or might not get one.
memory - corsair vengeance 16*2gb lpx 3000mhz
chassis - corsair spec-03

I am currently running the stock cooler. Whenever I run any heavy duty tasks, the cpu temp rises to 90C (chassis open) and I guess it throttles around that. I switched off the turbo mode for now. I want to be able to run in turbo mode for a few hours without throttling the cpu while mantaining a decent temp.

I have 4 chassis fans right now, 2 in the front, one at bottom and one in the back. There is space for two at the top, I think I can add only one as the space at the top of the chassis is really tight.

Memory should not be blocked, I want to keep the option open to add two more sticks of LPX.

The chassis supports a max cooler height of 157mm, which rules out some of the nicer ones like cm hyper evo and gammax 400. Looks like my choice boils down to these -

antec c400
arctic cooler i32
deep cool gammax300
thermaltake contac silent

I am in india, so my choices are limited, i havent seen much of the likes of scythe, cryorig etc. Noctuas are too expensive for what they are offering.

Some of these support two fans using metal wires as support for the fan. I have a spare 120mm fan that I can use and attach it to the cooler. Any issues with using a cpu fan header for one and 3 pin fan header for the other. They need to be attached in push-pull, one blowing in and one blowing out? If I use only one fan, should it be facing the rear exhaust fan?

From what I read about the liquid aio coolers, with 120mm fans they are just not worth it.


 
Solution
Karadjgne
The TT water 2.0 is the better of the 2. It's running the thicker radiator with dual fans = higher cooling capability. Same with the H80i GT. Both those AIO's are close to the capability of a 240mm rad like the H100i.

But understand, AIO's are different than aircoolers in 1 very large respect. It's not about the cpu temp number, it's about the moderation. An AIO at 50° is working just as well as a aircooler at 40°. The difference comes when workloads push the aircooler upto 70° and the AIO is at 55°. As long as cooling ability is under @70°, it makes absolutely no difference if the cpu shows 32°or 62°. This makes it hard to really compare AIO's to aircoolers in a temp battle, as the way they work is different.

Between the water 2.0...
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Karadjgne

Karadjgne

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Sounds like your best option would not be a 120mm AIO, but a 240/280mm AIO mounted in front, replacing the intake fans, with the 1x rear and at least 1x top mount. You won't need more than 2x intakes and 2x exhaust.

The problem is 3-fold, first being availability, you have limited options, second being the case itself. Third is heat. Those smaller budget coolers aren't all that much better than what a stock cooler can do, you don't really have access to a Cryorig H7, your case won't fit anything bigger and that i7 puts out @140w of heat when taxed.

Something along the lines of the Corsair H100i v2 should fit your case at the front as intake, solves heat issues, is totally non-ram invasive, has no issues with cpu mounting heights and at 240w+ is more than capable of dealing with that i7, even if subjected to your summer days.

A 120mm aio is @150w capable. The hyper212 is 150w, gammax 400, Cryorig H7, etc all @150w. That puts the 120mm aio basically in direct competition with an air cooler, same basic performance for 2x the price. Most ppl will say 'not worth it'. I own a Corsair h55 on my 3570k, max temp at 4.3GHz is 70°C, gaming runs 50-55°C. Exactly the same as a hyper212. I just prefer the looks of the aio over the tower cooler, so for me it's worth it.
 
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electro_neanderthal

electro_neanderthal

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If you're not overclocking, then the stock heatsync and fan should be fine. Is it possible one or more of the pins holding the stock cooler have come loose?

In an attempt to save you from having to buy a new cooler: If you can, clean off the old thermal paste, replace it with something of good quality (arctic silver 5, for example), and make sure it's making good contact with the CPU.

And I'm pretty sure you've probably done this, but just to cover all bases, make sure there isn't any dust gathered in the heatsync.

I hope I'm not coming across as insulting, but the stock cooler should work for anything not overclocked.
 
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doors666

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its a new system, so no dust buildup.
it works fine at idle, low temp, close to ambient. With load, it works fine without turbo, temp stays below 60. When turbo is on and system is getting hammered, it goes to 90C. I dont mind putting a new cooler, it will give me peace of mind..
 
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adamscurr

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I've had a lot of luck with corsair AIO coolers... I'm running an H110i (it's 280 mm so too big for your case I think) and it keeps my 6700k around 60c OCed... There are some smaller versions of it that probably would fit that are cheaper and smaller, but effective...

Personally, I would opt for an AIO mainly because you have such limited space. If you can't fit a evo 212, then most decent air coolers are not going to fit. PLus you mentioned that you wanted to add some more ram in the future; which is sometimes hard with any air cooler due to height problems...

To piggy-back off what electro mentioned... Your stock cooler should be working fine... I'm suspecting there is a problem with first air flow in the case. You mentioned to had it opened so it might be you need some more intake/out going fans to increase air flow. Also, as was mentioned earlier, the thermal paste might not be spread correctly or the heatsink could be loose. I typically hand tighten them, the do a quarter turn with the screwdriver after that...

Hope that helps...

Adam
 
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electro_neanderthal

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Alright, peace of mind is always a nice thing to have. As far as temps go, any of what you listed in the OP should work if they all fit within the case.

However, I'd like to contradict the thing said about 120mm AIO coolers.
I recommend Corsair H50 if you really need the space for RAM access (and can fit a slightly wider than 120mm radiator). I've been using it with my i7-4770k (stock speeds of 3.5 with turbo of 3.9) for 4 years now, and my temps are around 40C under full load (if I remember correctly, I know my operating temps are 24C - 29C).

I mostly game, but use Unity 5, Blender, and G.I.M.P. 2 a few times a week; just to give an example of what my CPU workload is like. It's one of the cheaper AIO coolers, but I have no idea if that is within your budget. Most of the ones you listed should be alright.

Hope that helps, good luck.
 
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mrfungi

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In keeping temps down when using the turbo feature you should manually set the vcore, rather than letting the BIOS set it. The BIOS will opt for a higher vcore, resulting in higher temps, when the reality is you'll need a lower voltage.

With coffee lake processors an aftermarket cooler is certainly a must, so I'm not surprised you have high temps under heavy load with a stock cooler. Personally I'd opt for a corsair h80i as I love AIO cooling and it would be very effective in a chassis such as yours but air cooling is also an option depending on what is available.

It would best if you tell us what your options are regarding availability of air coolers in your area/country if you're 100% behind wanting an air cooler.
 
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doors666

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first post has the 4 coolers that fit the chassis and are available here.

these are the AIO coolers that are available here in increasing order of price.

COOLER MASTER LIQUID COOLER - MASTERLIQUID LITE 120
CORSAIR H45
DEEPCOOL GAMER STORM MAELSTROM SERIES AIO LIQUID COOLER
ANTEC KUHLER H600 PRO
CORSAIR H55
Thermaltake Water 3.0 Performer C
Corsair Hydro H60 High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler
Antec KUHLER H2O 650 Water/Liquid CPU Cooler
 
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Karadjgne

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First. That's a 95w TDP cpu. That's Thermal Design Properties. TDP is the rating applied to a cpu under normal usage. It's not maximum heat output. Peak is maximum. It's around 1.5x the TDP. When you game, or do office work or surf the web, you'll hit around 95w heat output. When you render, stress test, or any other kind of software that runs @100% load on all 8 threads, you'll hit Peak wattage output. That's closer to 140-150w of heat output.

Add in case airflow, ambient temps, stock cooler and you'll max out the stock cooler in no time. Stock coolers (or aftermarket coolers) are designed around wattage. At nominal usage, not Peak usage.

If you put a 95w cooler on a 95w TDP cpu, you will hit 100°C at 100% loads. You need a 150w TDP cooler to maintain a 95w TDP cpu somewhere @70°C at 100% loads.

Out of those AIO's listed, I find it hard to believe that there's no 240mm coolers available and no 240mm radiator will fit your case.

What case? Corsair Spec 03? Can fit 2x fans on top, 240mm/280mm radiator in front. Just means you relocate a hdd and remove the drive bay. There's plenty of room.

Out of the list, the Corsair H45 and TT Water 3.0C are the highest performance, both getting results higher than a Hyper212 or Cryorig H7.
 
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Karadjgne

Karadjgne

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Op has 57mm of clearance for the cpu cooler. Those 160/160mm towers just don't fit, whether they are the jumbo Noctua NH-D15 or the budget hyper212. OP is also in India, so options like Noctua and Cryorig are either not available or shipping cost prohibitive.

India is hot most of the year, and electricity is expensive, so household cooling is minimal at best. Not too many hold 22°C ambients, usually you are looking at 30+°C. Add in a hot cpu like the i7, coupled with heavy workloads, and cpu cooling needs to be closer to 200w TDP than 140w, just to keep temps in check.

Basically Op is up The creek, and is searching for a paddle....
 
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rubix_1011

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doors666

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I have three hdds in there, so removing the hdd bay is not an option. I dont want to loose the hdd fan also as my data is more important than cpu cooling. There is a dvd drive also in there.

There are more options for 120mm liquid coolers, but those were expensive, I can go for those if there are some that give good benefits. What are some of the best 120mm aios, regardless of price. I didnt list the 240mm ones as i didnt think those would fit.


The top slot for 2 fans, its quite tight there, I had to remove the fans to even put the motherboard in. the small power cable for the motherboard also might interfere with a big rad and fan.

The reviews for h45 looks quite good. Is it possible to add another fan on that to improve its performance, i have a spare 120mm case fan with 3 pins.

Will this fit at the rear exhaust fan slot.
 
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rubix_1011

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Without changing your case or making any other updates, you are really limiting your options. Also, it seems we are only focusing on AIO coolers, which I really am not going to recommend, mainly due to the fact that all 'good' AIO options appear to be out of your price range, like the NZXT Kraken X42.

So you will need to sacrifice here, either go with a budget air cooler that fits or resort to using an under-performing AIO cooler which isn't going to benefit you any more than a decent air cooler will.

Also remember that regardless if you choose air or cheap AIO, you still are not going to be able to cool below ambient room temperature.
 
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electro_neanderthal

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Karadjgne

Karadjgne

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Yes you can push/pull any radiator, and the nzxt x32 (x42 is 140mm) or Corsair h45 is about the best of the bunch when it comes to 120mm AIO's.

So a 240/280mm rad is off the table, the better air towers are either too large or not available. Ugh.

OK. So. Being at your location, you have 2 viable options. Local(ish) stores and any websites that'll deliver to your neck of the woods. So here's my suggestion. Go shopping. Spend some time on the net, searching your available websites (there's plenty, but they are all in a language I don't read/speak) and write down the names of any that look promising. Then Google those individually and look for max height, you might need to get creative and look at blueprints or sketches or sometimes figure out LxWxD dimensions. Toss all options that don't fit your case. Try to find any Pro reviews of any that'll work, weigh pros/cons etc. Just whittle your way down until you get the best option, that fits, does the job.

Figure 120mm AIO's as being about the same performance as a hyper212, gammax 400, Cryorig H7. If none of the aircoolers available to you measure up to those 3 in performance, then an AIO will be the better option by default.
 
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doors666

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I dont see any options here that can beat the popular big boys. There is an option to import them, but the cost is more than the AIOs we are looking at and more importantly, there is no warranty.
The x31 is not available here.
The reviews for both the h45 and thermaltake water 2.0 performer look really good. Which one is the better of the two, I cant find any comparison review which has both of them. Cost difference is insignificant. I think I am pretty much ready to pick one of the two.
H80i GT is also available. Its twice the cost of the other two. Is it worth spending so much as compared to the other two.
 
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Karadjgne

Karadjgne

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The TT water 2.0 is the better of the 2. It's running the thicker radiator with dual fans = higher cooling capability. Same with the H80i GT. Both those AIO's are close to the capability of a 240mm rad like the H100i.

But understand, AIO's are different than aircoolers in 1 very large respect. It's not about the cpu temp number, it's about the moderation. An AIO at 50° is working just as well as a aircooler at 40°. The difference comes when workloads push the aircooler upto 70° and the AIO is at 55°. As long as cooling ability is under @70°, it makes absolutely no difference if the cpu shows 32°or 62°. This makes it hard to really compare AIO's to aircoolers in a temp battle, as the way they work is different.

Between the water 2.0 Performer and the H80i GT, the H80i is marginally better, but the cost isn't worth the difference.
 
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