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Best air cooler?

ShadyHost

I am looking to buy a new air cooler and I am not sure if the Noctua NH-D14 is still the top dog.

 

Does anyone have any benchmarks for air coolers?

 

 

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It would probably the NH-D14 there is also the Silver Arrow as well. The reason I would just go with the NH-D14 is that its about as good as you will get with a air cooler plus you get there fans plus when there is a socket change they will mail you the new socket mount which I don't think other companies typically will do. 

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Gotta love dat Noctua.

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Gotta love dat Noctua.

 

It would probably the NH-D14 there is also the Silver Arrow as well. The reason I would just go with the NH-D14 is that its about as good as you will get with a air cooler plus you get there fans plus when there is a socket change they will mail you the new socket mount which I don't think other companies typically will do. 

 

I've owned the NH-D14 before and it was an amazing cooler. 

 

I guess I will just go with that one....again. 

 

 

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Phanteks PH-TC14PE

Thermalright Silver Arrow SB-E Extreme

Noctua NH-D14/NH-U14S

Be Quiet! Dark Rock Pro 2

 

Those are all probably with degrees of each other with the exception of the U14S providing performance near those other coolers with a lower price point.

Edited by nightlitezzz
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Now wait a second!

The chart on that site shows that the H80i is better than the D14. I know that not to be true. Is it possible I got faulty H80 or maybe got a series of bad mounts?

 

I am pretty sure the D14 is much better compared to the H80i

 

 

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I would say that is probably wrong as well that the h80i is probably not as strong as the NH-D14. However what is unclear is whether or not they used after market fans on the coolers. So say for example if they put noctua nf-12's on the radiator that would make quite the difference over a stock h80i experience. 

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I would say that is probably wrong as well that the h80i is probably not as strong as the NH-D14. However what is unclear is whether or not they used after market fans on the coolers. So say for example if they put noctua nf-12's on the radiator that would make quite the difference over a stock h80i experience. 

Ok. So about this Phanteks cooler it looks a lot like the D14. Are there any benchmarks on it comparing it to the D14?

 

 

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I would say that is probably wrong as well that the h80i is probably not as strong as the NH-D14. However what is unclear is whether or not they used after market fans on the coolers. So say for example if they put noctua nf-12's on the radiator that would make quite the difference over a stock h80i experience.

From the acoustics chart they are probably using the stock corsair fans which are actually great performing fans. They also out perform the nf-f12s by a lot but sound like a tornado at 12v.

As far as air coolers I believe the D14 and silver arrow are still the top dogs. Do you just prefer air over an AIO or even a cheap custom loop?

Edited by Silentsoul

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From the acoustics chart they are probably using the stock corsair fans which are actually great performing fans. They also out perform the nf-f12s by a lot but sound like a tornado at 12v.

As far as air coolers I believe the D14 and silver arrow are still the top dogs. Do you just prefer air over an AIO or even a cheap custom loop?

man do the stock corsair fans sound like a tornado whole heartily agree. 

Edited by calarahil
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Phanteks PH-TC14PE

Thermalright Silver Arrow SB-E Extreme

Noctua NH-D14/NH-U14S

Be Quiet! Dark Rock 2

 

Those are all probably with degrees of each other with the exception of the U14S providing performance near those other coolers with a lower price point.

Not Dark Rock 2, but Dark Rock Pro 2

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For me, the best CPU AIR cooler will have to be Noctua's NH-D14.

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nothing beats the intel stock cooler :P

Core i7 4820K  |  NH-D14 | Rampage IV Extreme | Asus R9 280X DC2T | 8GB G.Skill TridentX | 120GB Samsung 840 | NZXT H440  |  Be quiet! Dark Power Pro 10 650W

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Noctua is always tha best! and worst looking...

He is the hero this forum deserves but not the one it needs right now.So we'll hunt him because he can take it because he is not our hero he is a silent guardian 


a watchful protector A Dark Knight

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Not Dark Rock 2, but Dark Rock Pro 2

Yeah, I was thinking of the dual tower cooler and I thought it was Rock 2. I'll edit it now.

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i d take the dark rock pro 2 over the nhd14 it s about the same as the nhd14 but it is less ugly. i think it s quieter too but its performance is 1-2c worse or something like that

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Noctua NH-D14

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I get the feeling some are more aesthetic bound. I look at the NH-D14 as more of a status symbol people see that and know you mean business not that they wouldn't with other coolers but just my 2 cents. 

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I recently purchased the Dark Rock Pro 2, having almost gone for the Noctua NH-D14, but Be Quiet!'s heatsink comes with PWM fan control which really does make a difference, as a fair few boards don't seem to control 3-pin fans on the CPU socket.

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Just wondering, how does a high end air cooler compare to and AIO water cooling unit? Are there different benefits from going from one to another?

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D14 hands down.

 

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Just wondering, how does a high end air cooler compare to and AIO water cooling unit? Are there different benefits from going from one to another?

 

 

The benefit is that at higher overclocks typically they can hold better then the NH-D14. They also take a smaller foot print in your case and allow you to have higher profile/high performance memory.

 

The downside the pump, and often times the fans that come with the cooler are average at best.

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