Looking for a good universal CPU cooler

[shotgunwinner]

Hi, I want to buy a new CPU cooler, as my current CPU is running fairly hot due to big overclock. I also heard that the coolers generally fit on a wide range of sockets and that is what I am looking for.

At the moment I have a Pentium Celeron D 3.33GHz running at 4.33GHz on an asus P5L-MX mobo (Im not sure what socket that is )

So basicly I want a good relativly cheap ( I live in the UK) overclock friendly heatsink for that processor and for a new one, which would be a i7 930 in a few months.

 

[wolfram23]

Well there's an article on this website comparing a few, which gives a good comparison for cooling ability and noise levels. A lot of people recommend the Hyper 212+. Myself tho, I bought a Zalman CNPS10X Extreme. It was about $65 CDN. Runs very quiet, keeps temps quite low, and looks sweet - even has a blue fan light. Only problem is it is large and if you run 4 RAM sticks it will probably cover a slot. Oh and it has a little fob you can remove and stick to the outside of your case to control fan speed. 3 auto settings and a manual setting with a little wheel to adjust speed.

 

[shotgunwinner]

Yeah, I saw many people recommended the 212+ here, seems cheap too. But does it work on my socket at the moment ? (Still not sure what it is )

Also I read that a bigger fan makes for more efficient cooling and lower sounds, is that correct ? I am not sure of the size of the 212 but since I am only going to use 2 ram sticks and my box is relatively accommodating I think I would prefer that kind of cooler.

Finally I would much prefer the fan's rpm to be automated depending on usage, like on my labtop.

 

[wolfram23]

Hm well about the socket, to be honest I'm not entirely sure. You might be able to find out from the manufacturer's website to see what the compatibility is.

Bigger fans are generally slower and therefor quieter, as their size makes up for speed in moving air. The slow auto setting on the Zalman is a very quiet 1600rpm, and the highest setting is around 2700rpm. I actually leave mine at 1600rpm 100% of the time, and at a 3.6ghz OC temps don't get above 61C (lowest core at 57C), and at 3.8ghz I think the highest was still only 65 or 66C

You may want to check this article http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/cpu-cooler-charts,1967.html

 

[shotgunwinner]

Thanks a lot, I will check it out.

 

[shotgunwinner]

I checked the article you posted, and also read a more recent one focusing on LGA1156 coolers - http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/lga-1156-heatsink,2535.html

Based on cooling abilities, PWM compatibility, noise and price ( from most to least important to me ) I think I am going to go with Scythe Mugen 2 Rev B.