Four sinks to chose from

[Draneico]

I'm trying to make what I think is the final decision on my rig - the cpu cooler.

The system is setting out to be (gaming, home enthusiast photo&video editing) -

case: Fractal Design Define R3 - space above mobo ~165mm
cpu: i5-2500k, likely to overclock
ram: Ripjaw X, 2 sticks for 8g - height 40mm
mobo: ASRock z68 Extreme 4

My cooler choices are with heatsink dimensions:

Coolermaster Hyper 212+ $40 122*92*160 - note this one is sold out right now on newegg
Zerotherm Nirvana NV120PWM $50 128*95*150
Noctua NH-D14 $90 160*140*158
Noctua NH-C14 $90 105*140*160mm

chart for noise and thermal profiles

According to the good folks at frostytech the Noctua NH-C14 is the cat's meow. The Coolermaster Hyper212+ is generally the communities choice.

I have to add that I have a personal affinity for the name Noctua - which has nothing to do with their capability, but the superstitious side of me says Noctua FTW.

What say you?


EDIT: I fixed the URLS - shame on me

 

[sap chicken]

Noctuna NH-D14, just to show off. It's the biggest of those and it wil just fit... it will get that cpu to huge overclocks but has a big price tag.

the C14 wont do you much becouse of the colosed side of the Fractal Design Define R3.

Coolermaster Hyper 212+ is the onlay 'normal' cooler, it's still extreme for slight overclocks but the price is good for it's preformance.

 

[Draneico]

Best answer selected by Draneico.

 

[Draneico]

Thanks - I had the same concern on the mid-tower. I like the Noctua not only for its thermals and dbs, but also the name is sentimental to me - and it comes with great compound

 

[sap chicken]

no problem, just keep in mind that the fan on the Noctua might need to shift a bit becouse the RAM stiks are quite high.

 

[Draneico]

thanks, I think that cooler should clear them, but I can move to the B set since I'm going with only 2 sticks -- at least I think that's a good plan

 

[JackNaylorPE]

The Scythe Mugen 2 beats the 212 by 7C.

If ya gonna do $80, then the Silver Arrow would be my choice. It tops all those mentioned and is dead silent.

http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=674&Itemid=62&limit=1&limitstart=4

See how the others stack up here:

http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=447&Itemid=62

 

[Draneico]

Jack - sorry about your addiction.

I went Noctua because a) they perform as good or better than I need and b) I pulled the name out of Gene Wolfe's the book of the New Sun series years ago for use in gaming - while its irl a type of moth, in his series it means the daughter of the night. Love that for a female thief/stealth. So common sense and practicality did not win out this time.