Best cpu cooler for overclocking amd fx 8350

I will spend what I have to to get this thing up to potential.

I'd suggest sticking with the custom water cooling to reach the chips maximum potential. Just be prepared to invest just as much in the cooling as you did the processor.

If you don't want to invest that much money than get yourself a top of the line air cooler like the noctua DH-14 or a top end closed loop cooler. These options will set you back approx. 90-110 dollars.

I just started water cooling a few months ago and ever since the "bug" bit me I've been hooked on it, total invested so far about $260.

I'm currently using the Antec Kuhler 920 and loving it. I replaced the stock fans with Scythe Gentle Typhoons. I bought it on sale for $90, plus the fans, so the total investment is $130. I'd also suggest the H100i from corsair, or as mlcaouette said a high end air cooler.

May I ask what mobo and case you are running the CPU with? That's going to make a difference in terms of what cooler is justifiable or even meaningful for your OC potential. I would submit the opinion that the Xiagmatek Gaia posted by mlcaouette would be more than enough for the majority of situations. If you pair it up with a good second fan to make it a push/pull configuration, the odds of you being limited by heat before something else becomes the limiting factor is slim. The exceptions I would note would be if you either have an excellent motherboard (Sabertooth, Crosshair V, ect) or if you have a case with limited space for intake/exhaust fans. In my case, the $20 Xiagmatek cooler almost certainly is netting me the same result as if I were to buy a $100 air cooler, or possibly even a liquid cooled rig. Using a NZXT Source 210 case that has space for three 120mm exhaust fans, two 120mm front intake fans and a 140mm side intake fan, heat isn't even a factor- I'd have to move up to a motherboard with better power phasing before I could imagine gaining anything.

Point being, if this is your first build, I'd advise being careful to not allocate a huge sum of money on a cooler until you've assessed any other overclock bottlenecks first. It's only the extreme circumstances when there is really merit to doing so.

Mobo is GIGABYTE 990FXA UD7. I have a Thermaltake Level 10 GT case. It has three 200mm fans. Two for intake and one for exhaust. There's a 120mm fan on the rear for exhaust as well. My CPU never gets over 45 degrees C under full load, BUT I haven't overclocked it yet.

Wow, nicely done. I see that you came to play and not fool around. Now I'm curious what power supply you're running just out of curiosity.

You have an interesting circumstance that not many people are fortunate enough to find themselves with. On one hand, your motherboard is among the flagship-level models that should have the ability to squeeze every bit of performance out of the processor. On the other hand, you have a well designed, quality case that should make it fairly simple to dissipate whatever heat is created while pushing the limits on the overclock. Usually it's pretty easy to point out a weak spot that should be addressed instead of spending the money for the very best air cooler model. In your case, it might actually be justifiable to consider a top-notch unit.

The three best options would be the NH-D14, Thermaltake Frio, or Spire Thermax Eclipse II. Those are the three highest rated air coolers by FrostyTech, who rates them each as being around -4c compared to the Xiagmatek Gaia under 125w thermal load. The question is whether or not you want to spend ~$80+ instead of $20 to net that improvement in cooling. There is a definite possibilty that the Gaia would be more than enough and that you wouldn't actually reach any higher clock speed with better cooling. That said, cooler temps are always better and it certainly would be a nice luxury.

Bottom line, if you are looking for the best, the three units I listed are all fitting. If you are considering the point of diminishing returns, the $20 Xiagmatek Gaia would be truly difficult to imagine actually pegging past the FX8350's heat limits. Can't go wrong either way; it's a matter of preference and resources.

 

My PSU is a CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX850 V2 850W. Would these air coolers you mentioned be better suited than a water cooler?

Very solid PSU. In terms of H20 cooling, there is always going to be more potential for water than air, especially if you are willing to build a custom unit. I don't have enough experience with water cooling to know precisely how to quantify the amount of time or money required to plan and install a custom system, but there is a whole section here dedicated to the topic if you are considering it. I do know that any water cooler that I've seen "off the shelf" hasn't impressed me enough to catch my interest.

I don't know about custom water cooling as of yet. I watched a youtube video of a guy installing one and it consisted mostly of him springing leaks! I do want to get max potential so I believe liquid cooling is the way I'll go. Looks like research time for me. I have way too much money tied up in this thing to risk frying stuff. Thanks for the input. I'll let you know how it works out! (fingers crossed)

Leaks in a custom loop are a result of poor installation and improper parts. So long as you take the time to do the job right, leaks won't be a concern. Closed loop coolers can leak too.

OC headroom should be fairly decent with a closed loop cooler, best of luck. Be sure to post up your overclocking success in the AMD OCing club found in my sig.

Ok so I went with the XSPC Raystorm 750 RS240 Extreme kit. I saw a lot of good reviews on the water block that comes with it. I had my eye on Thermaltake's Water 2.0 Extreme, but after my research I found several bad reviews on it-most of which said that the "one piece" liquid coolers are garbage, plus the Raystorm is around the same price.. It should be in tomorrow! I'm going to mount the rad on the outside because I just can't bring myself to take out the 200mm fan in the top of my case. I got dust covers and 4 new 80CFM fans waiting in the wings for my next venture so I can set up push/pull.

Glad I could help convince you to go with water cooling, you won't be disappointed. Just be sure to take your time planning your loop carefully, and remember at some point you're going to have to drain said loop (planning ahead how you're going to accomplish this is not a bad idea).

If you haven't read the water cooling sticky in it's entirety yet I highly suggest that you do. Also look through the water cooling member gallery for ideas on how to plan your loop (I look forward to seeing your pics in there).

If this thread is solved I suggest you select a best answer so the mods will know it is ready to be closed.

Best of luck and happy water cooling!

Than you and will do. Thanks guys for your input and help!

Best answer selected by llkooljo.