Upgrade from TX3: H50 or Alternatives

prolimatech megahalems if your not gunna be moving it around and the h50 if you are

The H50 is a great cooler in my opinion. I idle at 24c and load at 40-41 using the push pull configuration. Your case pretty much mirrors the airflow of the Antec 900 which is what I use. I have two front intake+side+H50 with all hot air exhausted via the 200mm at the top. I do recommend it but I would wait for feedback from someone that has first hand experience using it with AMD.

I highly recommend the H50. I have it hooked up to a Silverstone 120 at the back of an Antec 182 case. There's an exhaust basically right above it that I have a scythe hooked up to which moves a lot of air...it's also the loudest fan in the case now. I am using the recommended reverse fan config as well.

My 940 is overclocked to 3.74ghz with 2 OCX 285s in SLI below it. My old idles were about 42 celcius, and now they are down around 38. With the ac on, they can be as low as 35.

I have a Prolimatech Megahalems...it's a really good cooler (I upgraded to the H50 just out of boredom), but, at least in my experience, not as good as the H50.

Thanks very much to all for the replies. It's encouraging to hear people giving good reviews of their H50 experiences. Like I said in my OP, I'd definitely be interested in the Megahelms, but I don't think there's any way it would fit in my case. I haven't done exact measurements based on dimensions, but just from looking at how huge it is in pics, I sincerely doubt it would fit comfortably. I'm probably going to end up getting the H50, though I'm gonna do a bit more investigating before pulling the trigger. For those who do use a H50: do you use 2 fans for push/pull?, also what are opinions on whether to use the fan(s) as intake (per Corsair's recommendation) or exhaust? As always, thanks very much for your help.

I use H50(single fan intake) on Antec 900. The average highest temp @ 100% CPU is 7C lower (49C). The average idle temp is down by 9C to 34C.

You will get better performance with DUAL FAN setup.

The other big benefit... It is extremely quiet and free up a lot of space/weight on the motherboard.

I'm almost definitely going to get the H50 soon. I'm hoping it will go on sale somewhere (pretty much 79.99 at most places I've checked) but I have a few Best Buy gift cards, so I'll probably just end up going that route. Another question I had, however, deals with the fans. I plan to use 2 120mm fans for push/pull and was wondering which 120mm fans would be best. I assume that fans with high cfm/low dB are optimal, but am not positive. I have a local Microcenter so I could get the fans there or order them off Newegg. Could I use the stock Corsair fan and just add another, or am I better off getting 2 identical fans? Also, I'm not sure about which connections to plug the fans into on my MOBO. With my TX3 I'm currently using I have one fan plugged into the CPU_FAN connector on the MOBO but the other fan is plugged into a case fan (CHA_FAN) connector. I'm assuming this prevents the fans from running at identical speeds, which probably isn't optimal. I do have a fan controller (FrozenCPU Thermalstar LCD Media Panel fan controller) which I connect my case fans to, but I'm not sure if I can use that for the cpu fans. As always any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Here is a link to my local Microcenter...feel free to let me know if they have a fan you would recommend for the H50.

http://www.microcenter.com/search/search_results.phtml?...

I would hardly say that I would get the H50, i mean everyone does say it is a good cooler, but I'd rather stick to air. Going with the Venomous X   Don't get the X-RT the fan is terrible if you consider the CM R4 is 10$ (so the same price) but quieter and lower dBa compared to the fan on the X-RT. Anywho http://www.overclockers.com/thermalright-venomousx-revi... that review shows the H50 versus the Venomous X in which the Venomous X beatout the H50, but in higher it lost but only barely. However, if put in consideration of price, the Venomous X actually is cheaper. Say you want to go for a dual fan setup for both. The Venomous X plus 2 CM R4's is 85$, while the H50 with 2 CM R4's will run you at 100$, sooo For the small amount of cooling difference (practically just 1*C) I think it's better to save 15$ and go with the TR Venomous X.   Just saying though.

OK, I'll bite. Forget the H50. I have one and didn't work any better that my Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus. The TX-3 is only really effective on CPU's with a TDP of 95 and less, and if I recall that CPU you are using is a 125W model. Get a 212+ and throw in a second fan and it'll perform perfectly fine for your usage. If you google around you can find the 212+ for about $25. Get some AS5 or whatever compound you like and be happy with it. I'm using mine on my 1055T at stock speeds with turbo on and never break 34 C with an ambient temp of about 19C. Idle is actually around 19C- 21C. I only mention it because both are 125W chips. Oh and I am only using the 1 120MM fan that came with the 212+.

It's really a good budget cooler and you don't need to worry about liquid cooling, any possible leaks (although the H50 IS sealed so its really a non-concern) or the pump eventually going out. It's just more simple and the only part you ever need to worry about is the fan dying after something like 50,000 hours of use.

To the OP you say you find the 212 to be to similar to the TX-3 in terms of appearance? Well I hate to break it to you but almost all of the heat pipe/aluminum fin coolers out there (not just coolermaster) are based on the same thermal principals. draw heat away and cool it off. The TX-3 is MUCH smaller and uses less copper to transfer the heat (3 thick tubes vs the 212's 4 medium tubes). So while they look the same, almost all coolers of that variety do as well. I also am not 100% on this but I think the purity of the copper plays a critical role in cooling as well. If it's not pure or close to it and has some other metals mixed in, it won't perform as well. Anyhow, I am going off on a tangent. I will just sum it up and say the 212 is better IMHO and from my OC'ing endeavors. And it's just simple design and easy to mount. With the H50 you have a pump, radiator, and 2 fans. Also if you have a graphics card that blows warm air out of the case, be careful since you will probably end up sucking some of that warm air back in through the radiator if you have your PC near a wall or anything where the warm exhaust from the graphics card doesn't have a chance to disperse effectively. Same problem if you have a case with a top mount PSU. The warm air will get drawn into the radiator and you won't as good results. With the 212 it's just 2 fans (I like gentle typhoons but can't afford them.) and spend the money on some good thermal paste.

Hope that helped.

The H50 is good, and works on par with a highend air cooler. Some day it will leak, and some day the pump will fail. If you fine with that get it.

http://www.3dgameman.com/reviews/1167/coolit-vantage-ad...


MRFS

Every now and then BB puts the H50 on sale for $60, best time to buy. With giftcards and a nephew working there, my first H50 cost me less than $15 out of pocket.

You could use the stock fan along with a similarly rated one ( 1700 rpm/50CFM ) to help keep costs down if that's a concern.

That's my local MC as well.
Finding what they claim to have in stock is PITA most of the time.
If you don't mind some color CM R4 Reds are on sale for $6 each, not particularly high pressure, but that's not something that's to big a deal due to the H50 rad being very thin.

I went to my local Microcenter to get a few things and ended up getting a Hyper 212 that was onsale for 19.99. I figured for that price I cant really go wrong and I'll probably hold onto it at least until I hear more about the H70 once it comes out. My next question relates to the best way to remove the old thermal paste (AS5) from my CPU before I install the 212. Someone at the Microcenter recommended I use a rubbing alcohol swab to clean it off, but I wanted to get more opinions. Also wanted to see thoughts on the best way to apply the paste to the 212 when I go to install it. As always, thank you.
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Well Nice i'm clad you got it for a good deal, just make sure to get it on a dual fan config for the best performance, the Cooler master R4s are great for a budget. Anywho, You rub AT LEAST 75% isopropyl alcohol for the best results, it can be less but its best to get all of that stuff off because you don't want air bubbles or grease. Then after that while your applying the paste, DO NOT touch the paste with your fingers or the cpu's area where you put the paste. As then you'll have to wipe it off again because grease will create grease bubbles and cause thermal problems.
http://innovationcooling.com/applicationinstructions.ht...