Best CPU cooler for my PC

[Erithlor]

Hello,

I'm planning to buy new CPU cooler. I bought new PC a month ago, everything is perfect, just that boxed cooler becomes noisy at 3k rpm and at 7-10k rpm the noise becomes unbearable. So, I decided to buy better and quiet cooler.

Can you recommend the best one for my PC which could fit fine and work quiet when playing demanding games please? I don't look for best cooling, I just hope that CPU won't reach more than 60C. Right now I'm limiting boxed cooler speed to avoid noise so sometimes temeprature goes to 62C.

I need to finally decide but I still can't chose which one to buy. I looked Zalman, Be Quiet and some other coolers but some sites like frostytech says, that they are very noisy. Now I came to Scythe Zipang. For me it looks pretty good. People says it's quiet. What do you think?

My case is Antec Two Hundred V2.
Gigabyte GA-990XA-UD3 AM3+ motherboard. AMD Phenom II X4 955 processor.

Thanks.

 

[vigilante212]

Why not just replace the fan on your current cooler?

Also the hyper 212 is a great cooler an it should fit inside your case.

 

[saint19]

Hi and welcome to Tom's forum.

What budget do you have? I'd go with a CM V6GT but check that fit in your case.

 

[davcon]

His case is only 7.9" wide saint19.
I would go with a Gelid Tranquillo or a Zalman Performa.
Both are as good, the Zalman, even better then the 212+ cooling wise and quieter.

 

[saint19]

Didn't check the case but I trust in your word. +1 to the zalman.

 

[Erithlor]

I can spend up to 80$.
I know Zalman Performa, I wanted to buy it, but the guys who use it said that it becomes very noisy at 2000rpm speed but I heard Zalman provides some kind of resistor cable with every cooler which can reduce both fan speed and noise. What is that?

Some say Scythe Zipang is a good option for me because I'm very sensitive to noise.

 

[davcon]

Any of these budget coolers would be fine for you and operate at or below 30db.
I'm also sensitive to fan noise,anything above mid 30's drives me nuts.
Many companies use line resistors to slow the fan speed = lower noise but with somewhat lesser cooling performance your choice to use them or not.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Productcompare.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100008000%2050002108%20600035313&IsNodeId=1&bop=And&CompareItemList=574%7C35%2D118%2D059%5E35%2D118%2D059%2DTS%2C35%2D426%2D023%5E35%2D426%2D023%2DTS
Any HSF with specs under 30db is quiet.
You could also buy the Performa and use Thermalright fans.
I have two push/pull i can't even hear them pc is two feet away.
TR FDB-1000
Speed: 1000 RPM.
• Airflow: 38.9 CFM.
• Noise Level: 15.8 dB.
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/thermalright-120mm-fluid-dynamic-bearing-fan-at-max-1000rpm
Thermalright X-Silent
http://www.specialtech.co.uk/spshop/customer/Thermalright-X-Silent-120-x-120-x-25mm-Case-Fan-pid-13695.html

 

[Erithlor]

Well, looks like I'm going to buy Zalman Performa then. I hope I won't be disappointed. And hope that fan noise won't make me mad.

Why in some games my boxed fan cooler doesn't make noise at all? While in some others like Battlefield 2: Bad Company 2 starts making a lot of noise?

And why no one comments about Scythe Zipang? What advantages and disadvantages this cooler have?

 

[davcon]

Well, looks like I'm going to buy Zalman Performa then. I hope I won't be disappointed. And hope that fan noise won't make me mad.

Why in some games my boxed fan cooler doesn't make noise at all? While in some others like Battlefield 2: Bad Company 2 starts making a lot of noise?

And why no one comments about Scythe Zipang? What advantages and disadvantages this cooler have?

Some games are much more cpu intensive then others so your cpu has to work hard.
The Scythe Zipang might be quiet but it's not very good at cooling.
The Thermalright IFX-14 is a much better cooler and just as quiet.

 

[DJRWolf]

Hyper 612PWM (not yet available)
Pros: Strong performer on overclocked processors
Cons: Massive size can interfere with memory; maybe other components too

GeminII S524 ($40 on Newegg)
Pros: Thoughtful design clears any potential component interference
Cons: Lacks some performance when overclocked heavily

The raw temperature numbers from testing are on page 4.

http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/cm_hyper612_s524/