Is there anything better than the Noctua-DH14 for Air cooling?

[cyborg34572]

Im thinking about buying the best aircooling solution i can get right now because i am seriously pissed off about my processor temps. I am idling at 50c and playing BF3 im maxing at 70c which is a little too high for my liking, i am afraid i am damaging my processor.

Atm i have a corsair H70 but i seriously regret buying this piece of *, it cannot cool down the processor even at stock, my brothers Hyper212+ is taking care of his processor ALOT better, like insanely better, on full load BF3 hes at 40-45c! and im at 70c wtf?!?. I have reseated my damn cooler alot of times trying out different ways of applying the thermal paste and nothing is getting better, even tries different push/pull configs, still nothing, hell dropping my overclocks from 4.5GHZ to stock, my temps did NOT change a single bit!, that to me is BS.

So yeah im throwing this garbage out and replacing my cooler tomorrow with a BRUTE force air cooler. So please recommend me the best i can get for air cooling, no water cooling though as i dont really want to deal with water, im not a heavy overclocker or anything, i just want great temps while playing games.

Atm alot of people say the Noctua DH-14 is great, but what i want to know is, is there anything better than it so i can get that instead. I dont really even care about RAM clearance anymore, if there is RAM clearance issues ill also buy myself a couple low profile RAM sticks. Im just really pissed off at this heat, its like 33C where i am right now and that is OUTSIDE, inside my house is like a damn oven with no air blowing or anything, its even hard to breath !$!~$#!~.

Please help and sorry for the Raging, im just about ready to throw this whole piece of *** system out because seeing my brothers system full load @ 45C for processor and video card just seriously made me hate how my system is heating up so much.

 

[cyborg34572]

And whoops i made a mistake, i meant Noctua NH-D14*

 

[DJDeCiBeL]

Well, there are a few in its general performance range like a Thermalright Silver Arrow, Phanteks PH-TC14PE, Evercool HPJ-12025, Coolermaster TPC-812, and Spire Thermax Eclipse II, but none that are really that much better.

And yeah, it sounds like you found out how useless low-mid end closed loop water cooling really is. :lol: I never recommend them myself (maybe a H100 or a Antec Kuhler H2O 920, but that's it).

 

[cyborg34572]

Well, there are a few in its general performance range like a Thermalright Silver Arrow, Phanteks PH-TC14PE, Evercool HPJ-12025, Coolermaster TPC-812, and Spire Thermax Eclipse II, but none that are really that much better.

And yeah, it sounds like you found out how useless low-mid end closed loop water cooling really is. :lol: I never recommend them myself (maybe a H100 or a Antec Kuhler H2O 920, but that's it).

Thanks for the reply, im really liking this "Phanteks PH-TC14PE", much better looking than the Noctua one, the Noctua is hella ugly. But i will get one that performs the best, i dont really mind if its ugly as my case doesn't have a window anyway's.

And yeah H70 is really bothering the hell out of me, its not performing good, ontop of that its screw holes are messed up, i am VERY careful when putting in screws but no matter how much care you put into it, its screw holes just mess up, now i cant fully tighten 2 screws =.=.

But i also have to take care of the real problem, which is my ambient temps, seriously i live in canada and it feels like an oven here right now. I have lived in hot countries like the Philippines and this right now definitely feels like im in some rainforest, humid,hot grr. Needs some air conditioning/ ceiling fans maybe idk. Cannot wait for winter.

But thanks for the reply, keep em coming guys. And again sorry for the attitude/rage, this heat is messing with my head. But im gonna go check out how the Phanteks PH-TC14PE performs against the Noctua.

 

[gorz]

The Phanteks and the Noctua perform pretty much the same, but the Phanteks come in different colors. You can't go wrong buying either cooler, though if you are worried about aesthetics then by all means go with the Phanteks.

 

[amuffin]

If you want better performance than an NH-D14, custom watercooling is the place to be.

 

[Rawhader]

Noctua = the bomb.

Silver arrow performs about the same as the Noctua, but @ higher volts the Silver arrow has trouble transferring heat: http://www.overclock3d.net/reviews/cases_cooling/thermalright_silver_arrow_vs_noctua_nh-d14/1

Here in the Netherlands the Thermalright Venomous X is pretty cheap atm, so that's also a great alternative if you don't want to spend too much money. Its pressure mounting system is renowned.

 

[cyborg34572]

Hmm im leaning more towards the Noctua atm, great reviews and just so many people are approving it, people are inlove with this thing.
But if the Noctua is the best air cooler i can get right now then that's gonna be it, its a bit expensive where i am but oh well (also going to buy a third fan for it). not going to mess with custom watercooling right now, atm i just want to slap on a great cooler and continue on gaming, if i ever am going to go watercooling its going to take sometime planning it, choosing the best parts and actually learning the best way to do it as i dont want to damage anything.

Now the question is, will i be able to install the Noctua without taking out my motherboard?. My guess is that i can because the processor backplate hole is pretty big, will have no problem accessing that area. But i wanna know what you guys think.

Also are the stock fans great? or should i get different ones?, if so which ones would you recommend?

And another question (yes sorry for so many questions). Which position will be best for the Noctua?
Should i have it horizontal pushing air outside the rear of the case?
Or should i have it vertical sucking hot air from the video cards and pushing all that air outside the top of the case?
Which do you think will be better

But thank you for all the suggestions on what i should buy, i have reviewed all of them but most people say the Noctua is like the king of Air cooling and every review i searched so far agrees. So if that is true then it definitely will be the Noctua i will get.

 

[amuffin]

Noctua Fans=GREAT!

This really depends on your case, also, make sure it can fit.

 

[cyborg34572]

Noctua Fans=GREAT!

This really depends on your case, also, make sure it can fit.

Alright, ill just buy a third fan then ( the same as the 120mm one it comes with) and that should be good.

But idk if it will fit in my case, my case is a CoolerMaster Storm Trooper, do you think it will fit?

EDIT:
Also i just found out they do not include a third fan clip damn, but i heared emailing Noctua will get you some fan clips for free if you can prove you own the cooler so thats good. But problem is they say it might take awhile and i cannot wait to mount a third fan so i was wondering if my Scythe 120mm Fan clips will work with the Noctua cooler, Here';s the fan clips
http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/MX27642

Inspector the thing it "looks" like it will actually work with the Noctua, what do you think?

 

[amuffin]

Yes it will fit!

 

[Mousemonkey]

This topic has been moved from the section CPU & Components to section Overclocking by Mousemonkey

 

[4Ryan6]

@cyborg34572

It actually would help if we knew what you were cooling in the first place?

Depending on the fan combination the older TRUE (Thermalright Ultra Extreme), or the Thermalright Venemous X as previously suggested will out perform the Noctua NH-D14, of course you can upgrade the fans on the Noctua also to some 110cfm range or faster and gain cooling performance with it as well.

Case airflow is important as well, no cooler can fully do its job without fresh air supplied to it, your frustration sounds just like me overclocking my 2500K to 5ghz in the beginning of it's release, seemed nothing could cool it.

The Noctua NH-D14 will probably be your best bet, the fans it comes with are ugly (that Tan color matches nothing in my computer!), it looks and performs very well with 2 Scythe Slipstream 120mm, (shown in cooling fan roundup in sig), of course you'll need a fan controller to stay in the same room with them when you're not gaming.

 

[beanoslim]

Everyone seems to be moaning about Corsairs watercoolers.

I have just switched to a H100 and am seriously impressed.

It beats the hell out of a Ven X with dual push/pull and a Zalman MAX.

The Noctua has been the king cooler for a while, not sure if it still is but it does look like dirt and is massive.

I'd rather just have the side off with a 20" deskfan blasting everything cool. :lol:

 

[DarkOutlaw]

If you want better performance than an NH-D14, custom watercooling is the place to be.

gonna go with this one. the H100 might get you 2-3c cooler, but really a custom water loop is the 'next' step.