What's next after the CM Hyper 212 Evo?

[MooseParade]

I'm currently running an AMD Phenom II x4 965BE @3.8ghz with a CM Hyper 212 Evo with dual CM Blademasters in push/pull and I'll be upgrading my rig in the next week to an 8350 on my Asrock 970A Extreme3. My question is pretty simple, what's the next step up from the Evo? I'd prefer to stay air as I've never water cooled before and I'm still a little apprehensive about it.

 

My rig: (Upgrades in bold parenthesis)

AMD Phenom II x4 965 BE (AMD FX-8350)

CM Hyper 212 Evo

Asrock 970A Extreme3

G.Skill 4gb 1333 Dual Channel (adding another matching 2x2gb)

MSI GTX 650 Ti PE/OC (Might upgrade, might not)

Seagate Barracuda 500gb SATA3 (Adding an OCZ Agility 3 120gb from a friend)

Corsair CX600 80+ Bronze

XClio 320 Mid Case (Corsair 400R)

[Dragontail]

Why not just go with an H100i? Its a closed looped WC unit with lots of potential or Noctua NH-D14?

 

Review Corsair H100i

 

http://www.overclock3d.net/reviews/audio/corsair_h100i_review/1

 

Unboxing Corsair H100i

 

 

 

//D-tail

[Stav Kats]

This awesome beautiful CPU Cooler. Love it.

 

If you can spend a bit more buy the high end one from Be quiet!

Edited May 28, 2013 by Stav Kats

[bacosta1993]

I recommend the xigmatek dark knight ii. It looks badass and it performs amazingly well. Logan from Razethew0rld compared it to the h100. 

[Bleedman0xx]

I'm currently running an AMD Phenom II x4 965BE @3.8ghz with a CM Hyper 212 Evo with dual CM Blademasters in push/pull and I'll be upgrading my rig in the next week to an 8350 on my Asrock 970A Extreme3. My question is pretty simple, what's the next step up from the Evo? I'd prefer to stay air as I've never water cooled before and I'm still a little apprehensive about it.

Cooler master is coming out with a new line that is a refresh of the Cooler Master V6 and V8 cpu coolers. They're apparently gonna be slightly smaller in size, new fan design and a new contact base at the bottom. I can't remember exactly what they were gonna call them.

 

But if you don't want to stay with cooler master another brand would be the Noctua CPU coolers. They're getting quite popular.

[Godlygamer23]

Although you're not quite into water-cooling, the first step might be to go for a closed loop(if you decide to watercool after all). I know it can be scary, but you'll have to face your fear at some point. I've been running a Hydro H50 now for a while. Hasn't leaked on me yet.

[Mac]

I would probably go with a H100i...

[CornOnJacob]

I recommend the xigmatek dark knight ii. It looks badass and it performs amazingly well. Logan from Razethew0rld compared it to the h100. 

I second this. It is definitely the next step up in price from the CM 212 Evo (but it is a significant step in performance). It has really great price to performance, although the price did shoot up in the last few days. It used to be ~$35, now it is up to ~$50. Wait a little bit and the price should drop again.

[Matsy]

Crazy idea but....why don't you just stick with the EVO  :rolleyes:

[Guest GRRigger]

Crazy idea but....why don't you just stick with the EVO  :rolleyes:

Actually thats perfectly fine. 2 fans push pull, directed to the exhaust fan, he could overclock at stock voltage to 4.3 - without overheating.

[Guest GRRigger]

For overclocking it to 4.5ghz id recommend closed loop.

[swifty7]

I'll be getting that for my new cpu cooler as soon as it drops back to $35.  I'm currently using the CM Hyper 212+ and was thinking of going EVO but not anymore...The Night Hawk Dark Knight looks amazing as well as the specs.

 

thanks for the heads up guys. 

[MooseParade]

A lot of great ideas guys, thank you. As far as keeping the 212, I have the money to upgrade and I figure'd I might as well get a better air cooling solution. If I were to go water then make no mistake, I would get the H100i. But as I said, I'd rather have the peace of mind knowing that air won't leak. The Dark Knight II comes in at $51 and I'm not seeing a Noctua that's even close to that price point on Newegg (US). When I have more time I'll check Amazon, NCIX & Tiger Direct. 

I should have stated that the budget for CPU cooling is $75 max (which also puts the H100i slightly out of budget). I don't know if that makes a difference. 

[Matsy]

Yes but why do you need to upgrade your CPU cooler? are your temps too high? 

You would be best (in my opinion) putting the extra money towards other stuff, the EVO is a perfectly good CPU cooler and if you DID want to upgrade, you would want to get a watercooling unit instead of another air cooler.

 

No point spending money for the sake of it for little to no reason.

Its your decision though, but I see little point.

The Dark Knight II is one of the best air coolers you are going to get for the price if you insist on getting another cooler.

[Godlygamer23]

A lot of great ideas guys, thank you. As far as keeping the 212, I have the money to upgrade and I figure'd I might as well get a better air cooling solution. If I were to go water then make no mistake, I would get the H100i. But as I said, I'd rather have the peace of mind knowing that air won't leak. The Dark Knight II comes in at $51 and I'm not seeing a Noctua that's even close to that price point on Newegg (US). When I have more time I'll check Amazon, NCIX & Tiger Direct. 

I should have stated that the budget for CPU cooling is $75 max (which also puts the H100i slightly out of budget). I don't know if that makes a difference. 

Air coolers can leak. There's liquid inside the heatpipes.

[MooseParade]

Air coolers can leak. There's liquid inside the heatpipes.

 

Unless you actually puncture the copper pipe I don't see how it would leak.

 

 

Yes but why do you need to upgrade your CPU cooler? are your temps too high? 

You would be best (in my opinion) putting the extra money towards other stuff, the EVO is a perfectly good CPU cooler and if you DID want to upgrade, you would want to get a watercooling unit instead of another air cooler.

 

No point spending money for the sake of it for little to no reason.

Its your decision though, but I see little point.

The Dark Knight II is one of the best air coolers you are going to get for the price if you insist on getting another cooler.

 

Trust me, I'm not looking to spend the money just because. I built my current setup on the cheap, $550 for everything. That's why I only have 4gb RAM and the cheapo case. Now I'm just looking to upgrade the stuff that I skimped out on.

Xigmatek Dark Knight II $51

G.Skill 2x2gb RAM $36 (price just keeps going up)

Corsair 400R $100 Just saw the Fractal Design R4 is $99.99 with free shipping.

AMD FX-8350 $180 

And I'm looking at a Radeon 7950 for $300 

 

Again, just trying to upgrade and get the best bang for my buck now since I had to skimp previously

[Matsy]

Unless you actually puncture the copper pipe I don't see how it would leak.

 

 

 

Trust me, I'm not looking to spend the money just because. I built my current setup on the cheap, $550 for everything. That's why I only have 4gb RAM and the cheapo case. Now I'm just looking to upgrade the stuff that I skimped out on.

Xigmatek Dark Knight II $51

G.Skill 2x2gb RAM $36 (price just keeps going up)

Corsair 400R $100 Just saw the Fractal Design R4 is $99.99 with free shipping.

AMD FX-8350 $180 

And I'm looking at a Radeon 7950 for $300 

 

Again, just trying to upgrade and get the best bang for my buck now since I had to skimp previously

 

I see where you are coming from, but you never skimped out on the CPU cooler, the EVO is one of the best air coolers out there for the price and there are not many others air coolers that are above it in terms of performance/price or unless you want one of them beast massive coolers for the looks.  Unless you want to upgrade the cooler to be on par with the rest of your system or something.  I have a 670 and I still use my EVO because theres little need to get anything else.

 

Another option is to just upgrade the fans on your EVO.  Slap two awesome fans on it and you have yourself a cheap effective cooler.  I still use the stock fan personally though.

 

Anyway...I'm anoyying yes :D

Do what you want, the air cooler you have chosen is a good one. :P

Also that case is boss and 7950 is an awesome card.

Would recommend you get 2x4ram sticks though, makes it that much more future proof.

[MooseParade]

I see where you are coming from, but you never skimped out on the CPU cooler, the EVO is one of the best air coolers out there for the price and there are not many others air coolers that are above it in terms of performance/price or unless you want one of them beast massive coolers for the looks.  Unless you want to upgrade the cooler to be on par with the rest of your system or something.  I have a 670 and I still use my EVO because theres little need to get anything else.

 

Another option is to just upgrade the fans on your EVO.  Slap two awesome fans on it and you have yourself a cheap effective cooler.  I still use the stock fan personally though.

 

Anyway...I'm anoyying yes :D

Do what you want, the air cooler you have chosen is a good one. :P

Also that case is boss and 7950 is an awesome card.

Would recommend you get 2x4ram sticks though, makes it that much more future proof.

 

Hhmm, I hadn't even thought about keeping the 212 and just getting better fans. As far as looks go, I could care less. Which Noctua fans? Or is Corsair making equivalent fans? Brand doesn't matter, performance does.

 

Edit: Sorry for the multiple questions, I can be annoying as well lol. One more question. Is the thermal paste that came with the 212 Evo good enough or is there something better?

[Bamferator]

If you are interested in just upgrading your fans, and looks don't matter, Noctuas really are the most premium fans out there. Also, you can save a little by getting the older nf-p12, which are quieter anyway. But if you are still in the market for a new heatsink, the NZXT Havik 140 can be had for your budget.

[mgsstar]

THe NH-D14 is a good choice for your cpu heatsink. It performs great in cooling overclocked cpus.

[DoubleNegativeInfinity]

You could go with the NH D14. Best air cooler on the market. If you want something a little cheaper, Thermaltake Frio or NH-c14. The Nh-C12 is also a good cooler.

[RainbowTylernol]

There's already a lot of good suggestions in here but I gotta get my 2 cents in.

I'd go with the Phanteks ph-tc14pe. It comes in a whole bunch of colors and is absolutely blingtastic. (It also performs really well if you care about such trivial matters)

[fishymamba]

Hhmm, I hadn't even thought about keeping the 212 and just getting better fans. As far as looks go, I could care less. Which Noctua fans? Or is Corsair making equivalent fans? Brand doesn't matter, performance does.

 

Edit: Sorry for the multiple questions, I can be annoying as well lol. One more question. Is the thermal paste that came with the 212 Evo good enough or is there something better?

 

I am using one Cooler Master Excalibur fan in pull on my EVO. Works great, dropped temperatures ~4C:  http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-Excalibur-Computer-R4-EXBB-20PK-R0/dp/B003AVMRPM/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1369804663&sr=1-1&keywords=cooler+master+excalibur

It does get loud at high speeds, but I keep it at ~800-1200RPM which keeps it quiet and still keeps my i7 2700K cool.

 

If you want the best get the Noctua NF-F12, it is ugly and expensive, but is supposed to be one of the best fans for heatsinks, or radiators: http://www.amazon.com/Noctua-NF-F12-PWM-Cooling-Fan/dp/B00632FL8A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1369804601&sr=8-1&keywords=noctua+nf-f12

[That Norwegian Guy]

This awesome beautiful CPU Cooler. Love it.

 

If you can spend a bit more buy the high end one from Be quiet!

 

This man has the answer. Man, for once, word seems to be spreading and gaining popularity about a product that is actually awesome.

[Stav Kats]

This man has the answer. Man, for once, word seems to be spreading and gaining popularity about a product that is actually awesome.

Thank you mate, you put a smile on my face!(+1 if you got the reference) :)