B360 with i7 8700?

majed.qutub

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Feb 2, 2018
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Hello

Is a gigabyte B360M DS3H good for i7 8700? I dont plan to oc anything, dont need any specs for additional slots. Just need a good basic mobo that can power this cpu in a stable manner thats all.
 
Solution
It'll work. But I would suggest an aftermarket cooler as the stock cooler does not work well with that CPU. A good budget cooler like a Cryorig H7($35) would be more than adequate.

majed.qutub

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Feb 2, 2018
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Thank you for your replies.

Since I wont be pushing the cpu to the max alot, I ordered Cryorig M9i just to keep in the safe side. and also got an m.2 SSD 256gb. other than that I dont really see any thing needing me to get a higher end mobo to just get more slots and sli. Thats why I went for a budget B360 from a good brand for my needs. Next upgrade will be after 7 years for cpu and mobo.
 
AUDIO info:
Just FYI, but the Realtek chip (most common) is just one component. You may have a fairly modern "ALC887" chip but there's also the OPAMP, capacitors and shielding which can affect how well audio works which sometimes prevents electrical NOISE coming through the speakers.

That would be one of the main reasons I might suggest spending more.

You may also find that the CAPACITORS and other components chosen for the slightly more expensive boards can help the motherboard last longer. That was my motivator with my Asus board after my Gigabyte board died (not saying Gigabyte is better) so I spent more. No guarantees you'll get longer life but it's statistically more likely.
 


Okay, but the M9i is going to be a lot louder than a better CPU cooler, especially under heavy load.

I don't understand why someone would spend $20 rather than $35 or more on a CPU cooler when likely spending $1000 or far more on the entire system.

It's not just "it works or it doesn't" with CPU coolers but also how NOISY the fan gets. Personally I would have gone with the Cryorig H5 Ultimate (not Universal), or Noctua NH-U12S, U14S or similar (if brown fan doesn't bother you).

Don't forget to fine-tune the fan control.
a) download motherboard fan software
b) adjust based on max 80degC sustained usage (not in Prime95 but 100% usage in tool like Handbrake)

The minimum RPM should be based on light usage not affecting the fan RPM as fluctuations get annoying. I have 20% max fan RPM until 50degC then ramp up... you may end up choosing 40% if cooling isn't sufficient to keep CPU below 50degC in light usage.
 

majed.qutub

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Feb 2, 2018
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I read about the M9i in lots of sites and they said it was small and not loud in idle and good in coolin the cpu, thats why I chose it since I wont be doing heavy load just want it for some idle. I will try it after I assemble my system and if it didnt work well with me then i will return it and get a Cryorig C7 instead.
 

bignastyid

Titan
Moderator


The M9i is better than the normal C7, but not as good as the H7. The C7 is louder than the M9i, max fan speed the C7 is 30 dbA, the M9i is 26.4, and the H7 is 25 dbA. For $20 the M9i is hard to beat.
 


I'm not sure if there's much difference between the H7 and the M9i; possibly the H7 is slightly quieter. Perhaps the noise will be sufficiently low for you. I always spend a little more on the CPU cooler to keep the noise down since the overall cost as a percentage is pretty low.

Cooler REVIEWS are almost always very difficult to dissect since they rarely compare apples-to-apples. They may compare the fan at max vs min RPM etc for NOISE but I rarely see a NOISE comparison with the fan RPM's adjusted down to the same temperature so you can say "oh this is cooler is 2x as noisy as that cooler at the same cooling potential" (there are good reasons like different CPU power draw but it's still annoyingly difficult to extrapolate the data you need).

Anyway, the M9i is an impressive cooler for its size and price, however my point is there are better coolers for a little more money if noise matters to you.
https://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/7426/cryorig-m9i-cpu-cooler-review/index7.html

So you read the review and it seems to suggest an overclocked i7-4770K would still run great and be virtually silent with this cooler right? Then why do MY and OTHER peoples results never seem to reflect these reviews?

Perhaps my opinion of what is "noisy" and other peoples opinions differ. All I can say is my Noctua NH-D14 (3-pin fans) that I got over six years ago has kept my i7-3770K@4.5GHz virtually silent with occasional low volume fan noise under heavy load.

The Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO I put into a similar system (even with tweaked fan profile) was far noisier.