i7 920 Cooling

[vanillacena]

Hello everyone,

I've encountered a problem with my motherboard and have to send it to Asus for an RMA, so I figured I'd take this opportunity to pick up an aftermarket CPU cooler. There are quite a few choices, and it's all becoming pretty overwhelming! All of the charts and guides for my particular socket/CPU are pretty dated, so I'm not sure which to choose.
I've been looking at the following so far, although I am open to any other suggestions:

Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus
Xigmatek Dark Knight
Prolimatech Megahalems

Along with the heatsink, I'm looking for two fans to run in a push/pull set-up. I'm looking at the Scythe Ultra Kaze or Slipstream, but have heard good things about Yate Loon. It doesn't matter how loud they are as I am usually listening to music anyway. Also, price doesn't really matter to me, as long as I'm getting my money's worth. I am using an Antec 1200 case, if it matters.

I would appreciate any suggestions you could give me. This is my first time purchasing any heatsink or fans so I have absolutely no idea what I'm looking for.

 

[LoneWolf_53]

In my opinion for air cooling since money is not an issue I would go with the Megahalems and Noctua NF-P12-1300 120MM fan(s).

That gives you something that should the urge hit will be capable of handling some decent overclocking and if not will do a really nice job of keeping your CPU as cool as possible with air.

I'd even try to get the thing with extra wire clips so that two fans can be used if wanted.

I use the Noctua fans and really like them because they move a lot of air and do it quietly.

The other coolers you listed will work too though especially if you don't push your system too hard.

When pushed the Megahalems will outperform those others though.

 

[d1rtyju1c3]

^
I agree

 

[dhongkool1]

i've got an i7 920 hitting 4.0 at 66 ish degrees with a megahalems
great cooler

others:
thermalright venemous x
scythe mugen 2 (cheap and good)
coolermaster 212 (cheap)

 

[vanillacena]

In my opinion for air cooling since money is not an issue I would go with the Megahalems and Noctua NF-P12-1300 120MM fan(s).

That gives you something that should the urge hit will be capable of handling some decent overclocking and if not will do a really nice job of keeping your CPU as cool as possible with air.

I'd even try to get the thing with extra wire clips so that two fans can be used if wanted.

I use the Noctua fans and really like them because they move a lot of air and do it quietly.

The other coolers you listed will work too though especially if you don't push your system too hard.

When pushed the Megahalems will outperform those others though.

Very informative! Thank you very much for your post. Unfortunately since posting I just found a couple more heatsinks that have caught my eye, namely the Thermalright Silver Arrow and Noctua D14. Ahh decisions... decisions...

i've got an i7 920 hitting 4.0 at 66 ish degrees with a megahalems
great cooler

others:
thermalright venemous x
scythe mugen 2 (cheap and good)
coolermaster 212 (cheap)

Nice! Which motherboard are you using? I am planning on buying additional RAM today (for 12GB total) so I'm hoping the Megahalems doesn't cover one of the slots on my Asus P6T Deluxe.

 

[dhongkool1]

no the megahalems doesn't cover any slots
why would you get 12 GB of RAM?
if i remember correctly more RAM=harder to OC
i'm using a Gigabyte UD7

 

[dhongkool1]

and also what RAM are you getting?

 

[vanillacena]

no the megahalems doesn't cover any slots
why would you get 12 GB of RAM?
if i remember correctly more RAM=harder to OC
i'm using a Gigabyte UD7

That's good to know. It's unfortunate that most manufacturers do not list their heatsinks clearance from the board...

Newegg is having a fantastic deal on the RAM I have, and I just can't pass it up.
CORSAIR XMS3 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TR3X6G1600C9
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145222
($42.04 after coupon code and mail-in rebate)
If it becomes an issue I'll probably just remove it and use it in a family member's build or something, can't beat the price!

 

[dhongkool1]

oh my god that is an amazing deal

 

[vanillacena]

oh my god that is an amazing deal

Definitely! Then again, anything seems like a deal on them to me considering I paid $234.00 for them 2 years ago!
I just HAD to splurge for new tech at the time!

 

[vanillacena]

I ended up going with the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus, if anyone was wondering.
Newegg gave me a generous $10 discount on it.

■GELID Solutions 350 mm PWM Y Cable Model CA-PWM

■CORSAIR XMS3 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TR3X6G1600C9

■COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus RR-B10-212P-G1 "Heatpipe Direct Contact" Long Life Sleeve 120mm CPU Cooler Compatible Intel Core i5 & Intel Core i7

All for $78.04 after coupon code, mail-in rebate, and discount... not too shabby!

 

[dhongkool1]

case closed!
hyper 212 is a great cooler
it just won't go as high when u OC though