Which cooler would you recommend?

Which platform (also include the CPU) and how much is your friend's budget.? The Thermaltake Frio is a very good cooler which can handle pretty high overclocks adequately.. But if your friend is looking forward to just cool down on his stock temps and/or perform very mild overclocks, then the CoolerMaster Hyper 212+ is an excellent option at a bargain price.. It is pretty silent also..

he has an i5 760 cpu and a p55a ud4p motherboard, hes planning to overclock the cpu quite a bit so hes looking for something with a bit more power than the hyper 212+

I agree with Emperus. The Coolermaster Hyper 212+ is an excellent cpu heatsink at a bargain price. I have one in my own personal pc.

When I built my latest system I installed the Thermalright Venomous X. I did a little experiment and discovered my Hyper 212 produced a little bit better results for me. Individual results will vary.

If I am not mistaken the Thermalright Ultra 120 True Copper was a limited edition model that commanded a high premium price. It was for those who wanted to show off the heatsink.

Here is a link to a recent Tom's Hardware article with useful information about 10 popular cpu heatsinks:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/lga-1156-heatsink,2...

Here is a link to a very good web site with more useful information about cpu heatsinks that will help you make an informed decision:

http://www.frostytech.com/top5heatsinks.cfm

You can use the Google embedded search feature at the Frosty Tech site to find more information about heatsinks for specific cpu sockets.

i have an i5 760 myself. i use the akasa venom cpu cooler. it is fantastic to be honest.

I guess the Thermaltake Frio (look at the CM V6GT also) will suit his needs pretty fine if he is willing to spend that much..

The best performing three air coolers are, in order of best to worst performing, the Noctua NH-D14, ThermalRight VenemousX, Cogage Silver Arrow.

The Hyper 212+ is a good value.

Didn't xbitlabs just do a test and gave the Silver Arrow top performance?

Hyper 212 will always been king of bang for buck while it's at 30 bucks.

Gotta have love for the H70 too.

The Silver Arrow is a hit or miss cooler. It will beat out the VenemousX in some case, but will be behind it in others. The Noctua D14, however, is completely unrivaled. The H70 is right up there too and can be a good alternative for many.

the noctua is a bit pricy but the silver arrow and the thermaltake frio are at around the price i am willing to spend

I using the True 120 Black Rev C. from Thermalright. Its doing by job just fine. Hardly ever cross 42 deg even on load.
I agree the D14 is the best.

Cheaper option can be the Venomous-X by about $20. Otherwise absolute winner will be Hyper 212+ at around $30.

It all depends on how fanatic about cooling and OC'ing your friend really is. Just give him the options.

Thermalright Silver Arrow is big hit according to 10 or so professional reviews on the web. Almost all of them have the Silver Arrow beating the Noctua Nh-d14. Calling the Silver Arrow the new king of air coolers.

Don't know where your getting your info from, but I run both coolers than they are almost identical in performance, but the Silver Arrow is quieter by far.

The only thing going against the DH14 is bulky design. It really needs a huge cabinet and a motherboard whose RAM's slots are far away from the CPU socket and the if not then the RAM's should not be too much in height. Too many factors to consider!  

The Frio doesn't fit in a standard case, the 760s don'y run that hot (compared to 9XXs) so again I recommend the 212+ you can always get a pair of high CFM fans if you need more.

The thing with Thermalright coolers is that one still needs to purchase fans adding to the price.. If that can be covered, then they have some of the best coolers today.. You can look at the Corsair A70 too as a viable option..

^^Yes!! Their Ultra series of Coolers were really awesome!