Noctua NH-D14 vs Zalman CNPS9700

Vindicoth

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I want to overclock my Core i5 3570k. I've got it up to 4.0ghz stable but its very hot. I'd like to get up to 4.4ghz or 4.5ghz.

I'm currently running a very old Zalman CNPS9700 from my old Core 2 Q6600 build.

Would a Noctua NH-D14 but that much of an upgrade? Is it worth the 75+ dollars?
 
Well, Ivy Bridge CPUs have the tendency to run a bit on the hot side. How hot are you running? (Is there a way to improve your case airflow to help?)

I think that the NH-D14 (or the newer NH-D15) would be a noticeable upgrade, but, then again, I'm not the most familiar with the numbers beyond the performance of the CNPS9700.
 

Vindicoth

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Case airflow is probably maxed out. I'm using an antec 900 with 4 case fans.

In the last few days I've bumped up my clock speed from 4ghz to 4.3ghz and my idle temps are sitting at 39-42C. Load temps are reaching into the upper 70C's and even 80C. Outside temps are 34C (93F-94F) and I'm running the air conditioner so its probably around 26C (80F) in the room.

EDIT: I take that back. Looks like 80C might have been an anomaly. Looks like i'm sitting around 70-73C at load during gaming. Not sure about the temps during overclock stress testing.
 
Stress-testing usually has higher temperatures; gaming is a bit more lax, generally. At around 70C is about the max you want to keep your CPU for a 24/7 overclock.

There is also the Phanteks PH-TC14PE to look at; that's a worthy CPU cooler.