Best Bang for your Buck Heatsink or Liquid Cooling?

[purple stain]

So i'm intrested in overclocking my phenom ii 965BE but i need a new cooler.So here is my question i ask to you guys...
What would be the best bang for your buck heatsink i could get with $90.

 

[ortoklaz]

http://www.frostytech.com/top5heatsinks.cfm
http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=436&Itemid=46

Edit; make sure it will fit..some of them are big waffles :lol:

 

[purple stain]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103055

Would that be a good one?

 

[purple stain]

http://www.frostytech.com/top5heatsinks.cfm
http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=436&Itemid=46

Edit; make sure it will fit..some of them are big waffles :lol:

My board is AM3 but they have a AM2 bracket on it.

 

[ortoklaz]

AM2 or AM3 it still should be compatible (same bracket) ,I'm not heatsink expert ,maybe some other guys can help and comment on it
I know that Scythe Mugen 2 is good and cheaper

 

[V8VENOM]

Corsair H70 Water cool unit. It's very simple to install and self contained, no mess with filling anything, priming pumps, etc. etc. I'm running a QX9770 @ 4 Ghz without a single problem -- Prime95, OCCT, 3DVantage, etc. etc. - rock solid results with 1600Mhz bus. It's about $100 for the H70.

I've done many cooling methods over the years with some of the very earliest Koolance water cooling systems to my own dual pump home brew TEC setup, but the complexity and heat those systems produced (dual power supplies etc. etc.) it just wasn't worth it for a 200-400 Mhz CPU increase over what I run with the H70.

One of the MOST important aspects of the H70 (and why I think it's very superior to any prior method I used) is how the CPU block is attached to the CPU. The H70 distributes the pressure over many many more contact points providing a very solid and even distribution. I think this is why the H70 does so well for such a low cost solution.

 

[purple stain]

I was looking at the H70 as i myself have a no-name brand H50.But the H70 is still a little high in terms of price.

 

[jockey]

AM2 or AM3 it still should be compatible (same bracket) ,I'm not heatsink expert ,maybe some other guys can help and comment on it
I know that Scythe Mugen 2 is good and cheaper

Backplates / mounts are the same for am2, am2+ and am3.

 

[re-play-]

just look for the Xigmatek Aiger best AirCPUcooler ever made

 

[ortoklaz]

just look for the Xigmatek Aiger best AirCPUcooler ever made

It's Aegir 4 pipes vs. 5 on Mugen

 

[purple stain]

I just read a review on the Xigmatek Aegir and it looks really good,air flow is phenominal, priced only at$60-$70 which is right up my alley.

Where could i find one? I don't see any on newegg.com

EDIT:I did find one on newegg but it has no picture and it is priced at $80.

Is it better than liquid cooling? or would a liquid cooling system perform better for the same price?

 

[re-play-]

I just read a review on the Xigmatek Aegir and it looks really good,air flow is phenominal, priced only at$60-$70 which is right up my alley.

Where could i find one? I don't see any on newegg.com

EDIT:I did find one on newegg but it has no picture and it is priced at $80.

Is it better than liquid cooling? or would a liquid cooling system perform better for the same price?

its new maybe havent arrived yet to newegg, i think its better than a liquid cooling
in long term because u dont have to buy coolant

 

[ortoklaz]

its new maybe havent arrived yet to newegg, i think its better than a liquid cooling
in long term because u dont have to buy coolant

man ..you just made my day :lol:

 

[purple stain]

Is it good for overclocking a phenom ii965BE to around 4.0GHZ(is my goal)

Cause i mean at that price i might as well pay $10 more for a Noctua NH-D14,they seem to be the best i've heard,do you know how they compare?Btw i am trying to keep the budget below $70.

Noctua NH-D14

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608018

 

[ortoklaz]

Is it good for overclocking a phenom ii965BE to around 4.0GHZ(is my goal)

Cause i mean at that price i might as well pay $10 more for a Noctua NH-D14,they seem to be the best i've heard,do you know how they compare?Btw i am trying to keep the budget below $70.

Noctua NH-D14

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608018

If you can fit this thing in your case I would say go for it,make sure is going to clear the RAM
http://www.noctua.at/main.php?show=compatibility_gen&products_id=34&lng=en

 

[purple stain]

My mobo is on the list and if i have to i can move my 2 sticks of ram over to the other 2 slots away from it.

But i was trying to make a point,the heatsink he reccomened is $10 cheaper than the Noctua NH-D14,so i don't see why you wouldn't spend $10 more dollars for that.
Still trying to keep my budget below $70,i'm still searching for the bang for buck deal.

 

[ortoklaz]

the Scythe Mugen 2 in previous post is cheaper
http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=buy+Scythe+Mugen+2&um=1&ie=UTF-8&cid=11272092000892312206&ei=5ccDTZ_vJIinnQfHnOzlDQ&sa=X&oi=product_catalog_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CDIQ8wIwAg#
but if you looking to hit 4.0 you would need high end heatsink and they don't come cheap

Please read the links i provided you in the other thread about overclocking and then some

 

[purple stain]

I reached 3.7(but it overheated) without using the HT multiplyer so i think it could be done withought uping the voltage.
I will look into it.

 

[ortoklaz]

you can't go wrong with Hyper 212 Plus it was on sale for like 15~30$

 

[re-play-]

you can't go wrong with Hyper 212 Plus it was on sale for like 15~30$

that cooler is UGLY, how can u compare that with Sigmatek http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfI8bFH0yc8

 

[re-play-]

My mobo is on the list and if i have to i can move my 2 sticks of ram over to the other 2 slots away from it.

But i was trying to make a point,the heatsink he reccomened is $10 cheaper than the Noctua NH-D14,so i don't see why you wouldn't spend $10 more dollars for that.
Still trying to keep my budget below $70,i'm still searching for the bang for buck deal.

the noctua could brake your mobo to huge lol

 

[rubix_1011]

I reached 3.7(but it overheated) without using the HT multiplyer so i think it could be done withought uping the voltage.
I will look into it

How are you sure it overheated and shut down? I'd be willing to bet it was unstable and shut down. Overclocking failures are rarely due to heat; 99% of the time OC failures are due to hardware limitations (chip just can't go that high, RAM isn't allowing FSB clocks, etc) or that you have voltages incorrect for the clocks you are pushing either on the CPU or on the FSB...depending on how your board clocks.

 

[purple stain]

temps reach 65c under a load when i'm just gaming,although i wasn't looking at the temp when it shutdown i could only guess that it was very high(i was using the auto clock tool within AMD Overdrive when that happened)

I have read many,many reviews of people successfully O.C.ing the 965 to 3.9ghz and some with very good coolers have reached 4.0ghz

 

[jockey]

Auto clock in Overdrive will shut your system down. When you restart/ reopen AMD OD, the last "good" o.c. level will be displayed in "auto-clock".
Not a good way to O.C., but the readings will give you an idea of where you can start with bios settings.
By the way, check out Cooler Master N520. Fits in a small tower.

 

[rubix_1011]

Just because other people have reached those clocks, doesn't necessarily mean you will, too. Hardware is different, and depending on the system as a whole, you might have completely different results.

Considering you were using GUI based tools to clock your CPU/board, i'd say that is part of your problem. All good, solid OC's come from BIOS clocking, testing and setting values.