Need HSF Recommendation For GA-Z77X-UD3H

[TheCiscoKid]

Hello all,

I'm seeking out recommendations for a good CPU heatsink fan for a GA-z77x-ud3h board with an Intel i5-3750k processor. I'm building this into a system with 32GB of ram (G.Skill - RipJaws X - which are tall modules) so I'm concerned about space. I may do some minor overclocking to 4.2Ghz. Ideally I'd like to find something as quiet as possible while sticking to a $25-55ish budget.

Any recommendations?

Thanks!
-Ryan

 

[BerylLee]

honestly .. if you would like to have 4.2g on this motherboard, better to get at least water cooling fan which must be higher price than your budget.

 

[TheCiscoKid]

Thanks.. -- Any recommendations on a HSF if I'm not overclocking?

 

[nukemaster]

Get lower profile memory and a Hyper 212 EVO. Gskill makes memory that fits under heatsinks.

Why? because the extra heat spreaders are not needed and you need to look at something like the NH-D14 to get that memory under it.

 

[DarkSable]

honestly .. if you would like to have 4.2g on this motherboard, better to get at least water cooling fan which must be higher price than your budget.

...Wot?

First, I think you just recommended a closed-loop water cooler, which, erm, is a very bad idea in any senario.

Second, this motherboard is a good overclocker.

OP, I built a rig with that motherboard and got an i5-3570k to 4.4GHz with ease and a Hyper 212 + with an aftermarket fan. (I.E. it was slightly better than the EVO, but the temperatures were cooler than stock settings and HSF anyways. An EVO is a great bet for you.)


EDIT: Why are you getting so much ram, and that sort? 8GB is enough to run Battlefield 3, Photoshop, and 20 tabs in Chrome, all at once.

 

[TheCiscoKid]

...Wot?

First, I think you just recommended a closed-loop water cooler, which, erm, is a very bad idea in any senario.

Second, this motherboard is a good overclocker.

OP, I built a rig with that motherboard and got an i5-3570k to 4.4GHz with ease and a Hyper 212 + with an aftermarket fan. (I.E. it was slightly better than the EVO, but the temperatures were cooler than stock settings and HSF anyways. An EVO is a great bet for you.)


EDIT: Why are you getting so much ram, and that sort? 8GB is enough to run Battlefield 3, Photoshop, and 20 tabs in Chrome, all at once.

Thanks! -- I'll check out the EVO.. I'm only concerned that it won't fit on the board with those modules. It seems most of the PC12800 CL9 modules I looked at all had some pretty bulky heat spreaders.. G.Skill just happens to be known for their quality.

As for the ram, this box will be used to run lots of VMs in VMware workstation on Win7 (possibly 8). I want to use it for a little gaming, video encoding and also run an ESX test environment in VM. Memory also happens to be fairly cheap so I figured why not max it out.

 

[DarkSable]

Ehh, just because something is cheap, why spend money that's not going to get an improvement?

I can understand the need for it if you're using it for what you are, though.

The EVO is a good cooler, and can be turned, but it should't be an issue. What matters (*way more than the processor or ram) is if your motherboard is well laid out. A decent ATX motherboard is going to have plenty of room between socket and DIMM that there won't be an issue.

 

[TheCiscoKid]

I've also been looking at the Noctua NH-Li9. It seems to be low profile and will offer better performance (and be more quiet) than stock.

Does anyone have experience with this particular model?

 

[DarkSable]

I don't have that model, but I've played around with updraft coolers in SFF builds before, and usually like them - the 140mm ones especially.

It'll be better and cooler than stock, yes, but for that much money you might as well get a Noctua D-14, which will be a far better cooler.

It comes down to whether you just want quieter than stock, or if you want something that'll handle an aggressive overclock. There are better options for either.

 

[TheCiscoKid]

Best answer selected by TheCiscoKid.

 

[ruiomichlet]

I've played around with updraft coolers in SFF builds before

 

[Guest]

I used the cooler master hyper 612 pwm on my last rig with an amd setup. it has 6 heatpipes and had no problems with clearance using kingston hyperx memory. Remember, if you are using windows 7 home premium, your'e limited to 16gb.

 

[BerylLee]

i tried that water cooling fan will be good on 3570k to 4.2G and you also need some extra air cooling for mosfet .. i don't know if it is going throttling after running cpu full loading test but i thought it will be ok if you just do overclock to 4.2G.

 

[DarkSable]

i tried that water cooling fan will be good on 3570k to 4.2G and you also need some extra air cooling for mosfet .. i don't know if it is going throttling after running cpu full loading test but i thought it will be ok if you just do overclock to 4.2G.

You tried what, exactly?

Yes, a closed-loop water cooler WOULD get you to 4.2G... so would blowing on the cpu heatsink every few seconds while the computer is in use. (/sarcasm.)

I don't know why you think the CPU is throttling, but the OP hasn't even built the system yet, and could get way more than a 4.2GHz overclock with an air cooler... for less money than a decent closed-loop cooler anyways.

 

[BerylLee]

yeh .. 4.2G with a fairly air cooler could be enough .. u r right .. if there is no need of dealing with full loading test to see what happened ..