Looking for balanced (cost to performance) cooler that fits

[DJRWolf]

I am looking for a different cooler for my system that is housed in a DIYPC Skyline-07-R case. I originally tried for a Cooler Master Hyper T4 but it was too tall and PC Part Picker lists it at 152mm in height. I went with a Corsair H80i v2 in the end due to having everything but the cooler (as what I first went with did not fit) even though I am not the biggest fan of the maintenance that water cooling requires (you still need to keep a close eye on AIO's). Now that I have come to the point where I am going to upgrade my CPU and motherboard it is a good chance to swap out that 2 year old AIO for an air cooler but I am not seeing anything that I like the look of that I know should fit when I height capped my PC Part Picker search at 140mm.

 

Anyone have any recommendations for a good air cooler at or below 140mm in height that is a good balance of cost and performance? The new CPU will be a Ryzen 5 3600X and I do not plan on overclocking but do want it to have as much boost headroom as possible.

[LogicalDrm]

This case https://www.amazon.com/DIYPC-Skyline-07-R-Computer-Docking-Controller/dp/B01J900EIO/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8 ? Says it supports 165mm coolers. Another reason why you shouldn't blindly believe PCPP. Always double check from another source.

 

You can fit pretty much any cooler in there. RAM? Budget?

[DJRWolf]

1 hour ago, LogicalDrm said:

This case https://www.amazon.com/DIYPC-Skyline-07-R-Computer-Docking-Controller/dp/B01J900EIO/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8 ? Says it supports 165mm coolers. Another reason why you shouldn't blindly believe PCPP. Always double check from another source.

 

You can fit pretty much any cooler in there. RAM? Budget?

Yes that is the case. I don't know what to tell you about it's listed specs. When I tried to put the side panel on it would not fit due to the cooler. When I upgrade I can test it to confirm since it has been just over 2 years since I put it together.

 

When I upgrade the new motherboard will be a ASRock Fatal1ty X470 Gaming K4 and I will reuse the same Corsair Vengeance LED 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3000 from my current Ryzen 5 1600X with X370.

[LogicalDrm]

2 minutes ago, DJRWolf said:

Yes that is the case. I don't know what to tell you about it's listed specs. When I tried to put the side panel on it would not fit due to the cooler. When I upgrade I can test it to confirm since it has been just over 2 years since I put it together.

 

When I upgrade the new motherboard will be a ASRock Fatal1ty X470 Gaming K4 and I will reuse the same Corsair Vengeance LED 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3000 from my current Ryzen 5 1600X with X370.

 Could be the sidepanel fans causing that, if you had them on. 165mm-25mm leaves 140mm. There aren't many options if that really is the situations,sadly. Downdraft coolers are pretty good, but Dark Rock TF is one good option. Fits with RAM and case /w side fans on (if those are the issue, and fits if they aren't).

[WoodenMarker]

Are you aiming to replace the cooler just for peace of mind? The H80i V2 is a pretty good performer and it doesn't really need any more attention than an air cooler. It's not as reliable but either can still fail.

[DJRWolf]

27 minutes ago, LogicalDrm said:

 Could be the sidepanel fans causing that, if you had them on. 165mm-25mm leaves 140mm. There aren't many options if that really is the situations,sadly. Downdraft coolers are pretty good, but Dark Rock TF is one good option. Fits with RAM and case /w side fans on (if those are the issue, and fits if they aren't).

Googled that Dark Rock TF and found it on Amazon that lists it as rated for 220w TDP cooling at $80. The CPU is a 95w TDP chip and I noticed in the "Customers also viewed" section a be quiet! Shadow Rock LP that is rated for 130w TDP for $45 and be quiet! Shadow Rock Tf 2 rated at 160w TDP for $60.

 

Each has a pro and con with it but the Dark Rock TF is the only one with dual fans and that help get air flowing faster around inside the case and that could help with general cooling for the memory and VRM's plus one fan could fail and the other keep going. Also note how I have 2x16 GB for memory to have space between the sticks for better airflow then a 4x8 GB would have.

3 minutes ago, WoodenMarker said:

Are you aiming to replace the cooler just for peace of mind? The H80i V2 is a pretty good performer and it doesn't really need any more attention than an air cooler. It's not as reliable but either can still fail.

That plus as I move hardware down the chain from my main system to my secondary system. Currently that system has a Athlon x4 880K cooled by an H55 AIO that is about 4 to 5 years old now.

[LogicalDrm]

2 minutes ago, DJRWolf said:

Googled that Dark Rock TF and found it on Amazon that lists it as rated for 220w TDP cooling at $80. The CPU is a 95w TDP chip and I noticed in the "Customers also viewed" section a be quiet! Shadow Rock LP that is rated for 130w TDP for $45 and be quiet! Shadow Rock Tf 2 rated at 160w TDP for $60.

 

Each has a pro and con with it but the Dark Rock TF is the only one with dual fans and that help get air flowing faster around inside the case and that could help with general cooling for the memory and VRM's plus one fan could fail and the other keep going. Also note how I have 2x16 GB for memory to have space between the sticks for better airflow then a 4x8 GB would have.

Somehow I skipped the part where you said you weren't going to OC, sorry about that. While you shouldn't read too much into TDP, thats mostly marketing, those two others will be suitable also. But 3600X comes with stock cooler which will be fine for your cooling purposes if you don't OC.

[DJRWolf]

27 minutes ago, LogicalDrm said:

Somehow I skipped the part where you said you weren't going to OC, sorry about that. While you shouldn't read too much into TDP, thats mostly marketing, those two others will be suitable also. But 3600X comes with stock cooler which will be fine for your cooling purposes if you don't OC.

My main reason for wanting plenty of extra cooling is for times like in the summer when the room I am in can get quite hot from the sun and the thermostat running the AC is in a room that is not being heated both by the sun and a gaming PC. A 3600X does not have the insane TDP of some of the old AMD FX chips but still a steady heat from the CPU and a 1080 Ti will put out some waste heat.

[LogicalDrm]

9 minutes ago, DJRWolf said:

My main reason for wanting plenty of extra cooling is for times like in the summer when the room I am in can get quite hot from the sun and the thermostat running the AC is in a room that is not being heated both by the sun and a gaming PC. A 3600X does not have the insane TDP of some of the old AMD FX chips but still a steady heat from the CPU and a 1080 Ti will put out some waste heat.

I don't think that will be issue as you aren't going to OC. Unlike FX, Ryzen chips are more like Intel chips in terms of temps resistance. Meaning that they can go to over 80C without issues.

[DJRWolf]

Cooler is still better as even though I am currently not doing OC with how easy it is to at least do a mild OC with automatic settings in BIOS I might do that. Doing some more searching I found the ARCTIC Freezer Xtreme Rev.2 that looks good. Overall cooler max height of 140mm and it still packs a 120mm fan to keep noise in check.

[ThoughtA_PCPartPicker]

Oof, sorry you're dealing with this! Are the side panel fans interfering with the cooler?

[DJRWolf]

9 hours ago, ThoughtA_PCPartPicker said:

Oof, sorry you're dealing with this! Are the side panel fans interfering with the cooler?

I built it just after 1st gen Ryzen came out so it has been a bit but I believe that was what happened.