What is best AIR COOLER for i7-8700K

[PopsiclesInMyCellar]

I am FAR too paranoid to risk using a liquid CPU cooler. I've literally researched every model in existence and they all have pump failure and leak issues (some more than others, of course). The warranties they offer aren't enticing to me either. Please don't try to convince me otherwise. I've researched the topic extensively and I personally happen to fall into the category of "not worth the risk".

 

Now I ask you, what is the best air CPU cooler for my i7-8700K (or my build in general). I don't care if it costs one million dollars (Ok, maybe $350 max)--I want the absolute best.

 

BONUS : It is a PLUS if any of those happen to support Aura Sync, listed here: https://www.asus.com/campaign/aura/us/Sync.html

 

The cooler and case are the last parts I need for my build (still not 100% certain about the case):

 

PCPartPicker part list: https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/list/VJ3f6X
Price breakdown by merchant: https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/list/VJ3f6X/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel - Core i7-8700K 3.7GHz 6-Core Processor  (Purchased For $489.99) 
Motherboard: Asus - ROG MAXIMUS X HERO (WI-FI AC) ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  (Purchased For $328.69) 
Memory: G.Skill - Trident Z RGB 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory  (Purchased For $479.99) 
Storage: Samsung - 960 Pro 1TB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive  (Purchased For $599.99) 
Storage: Western Digital - Caviar Black 4TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  (Purchased For $219.99) 
Video Card: Asus - GeForce GTX 1080 Ti 11GB STRIX GAMING Video Card  (Purchased For $1004.99) 
Case: Phanteks - Enthoo Luxe Tempered Glass (Black) ATX Full Tower Case 
Power Supply: EVGA - SuperNOVA P2 850W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  (Purchased For $189.69) 
Total: $3313.33
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-11-29 20:00 EST-0500

[ARikozuM]

If you want a single-tower: Pure or Dark Rock.

If you want a dual-tower: Noctua NH-D15.

If you want a cube-tower: Dark Rock Pro.

[Enderman]

NH-D15

 

If you want something that looks better and is almost as good, get the Bequiet DRP3

[seon123]

NH-D15/D15S/U14S, Cryorig R1/H5, Dark Rock Pro 3 and Raijintek Tisis.

If you want the Noctua cooler, but don't want that aesthetic, they have come out with replacement fans and shrouds for the heatsinks. Should still cost less than a high end AiO.

[Guest]

There won't be much difference between the best high end air coolers. I personally prefer the Cryorig R1 Universal or the Ultimate if you were going with low profile Ram.

[LeapFrogMasterRace]

Well I have not made an air cooler so the best one does not exist. However the Thermalright Macho Rev. B is a really good cooler for the price I also like the Cryorig R1. 

[MrImnotMLG]

Just to be different because I would recommend any of the previously mentioned heatsinks, Look at Phanteks. Their anodized aluminum air coolers are sexy:

[Princess Luna]

This one is extremely silent, Cooler Master V8 GTS

[PopsiclesInMyCellar]

48 minutes ago, ARikozuM said:

If you want a single-tower: Pure or Dark Rock.

If you want a dual-tower: Noctua NH-D15.

If you want a cube-tower: Dark Rock Pro.

 

47 minutes ago, Enderman said:

NH-D15

 

If you want something that looks better and is almost as good, get the Bequiet DRP3

 

44 minutes ago, seon123 said:

NH-D15/D15S/U14S, Cryorig R1/H5, Dark Rock Pro 3 and Raijintek Tisis.

If you want the Noctua cooler, but don't want that aesthetic, they have come out with replacement fans and shrouds for the heatsinks. Should still cost less than a high end AiO.

 

42 minutes ago, lee32uk said:

There won't be much difference between the best high end air coolers. I personally prefer the Cryorig R1 Universal or the Ultimate if you were going with low profile Ram.

 

39 minutes ago, LeapFrogMasterRace said:

Well I have not made an air cooler so the best one does not exist. However the Thermalright Macho Rev. B is a really good cooler for the price I also like the Cryorig R1. 

 

24 minutes ago, MrImnotMLG said:

Just to be different because I would recommend any of the previously mentioned heatsinks, Look at Phanteks. Their anodized aluminum air coolers are sexy:

 

22 minutes ago, Princess Cadence said:

This one is extremely silent, Cooler Master V8 GTS

Ok, seems to me the two best from what I've heard are the "be quiet! - Dark Rock Pro 3 67.8 CFM Fluid Dynamic Bearing CPU Cooler" and the "Noctua - NH-D15 82.5 CFM CPU Cooler ".

Anything make one better than the other?

Dark Rock Pro 3 vs Noctua NH-D15 are practically identical: 

NH-D15 comes out on top (chart at the end).

 

[ARikozuM]

They're going to be within margin of error. You should choose the one that fits your budget and case aesthetic.

[PopsiclesInMyCellar]

I'm going to get the Dark Rock Pro 3. Same performance, better aesthetic, and quieter!

EDIT: No, I'm not! Keep reading.

[brob]

22 minutes ago, PopsiclesInMyCellar said:

I'm going to get the Dark Rock Pro 3. Same performance, better aesthetic, and quieter!

Then the Trident Z memory will have to be replaced with a low profile kit.

 

You might consider instead the Cryorig R1 Universal, https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/CRYORIG/R1_Universal/6.html

[PopsiclesInMyCellar]

3 minutes ago, brob said:

Then the Trident Z memory will have to be replaced with a low profile kit.

 

You might consider instead the Cryorig R1 Universal, https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/CRYORIG/R1_Universal/6.html

Damn, seriously? I guess PCPP said it can't always guarantee compatiblity. Good thing I haven't bought the fan then... You certain?

[cgn]

The Noctua D15 might fit if you just install the fan a little bit higher... ( check case max cpu cooling height) or you could install the fan in the other side of the heatsink (check motherboard)...

[brob]

4 minutes ago, PopsiclesInMyCellar said:

Damn, seriously? I guess PCPP said it can't always guarantee compatiblity. Good thing I haven't bought the fan then... You certain?

See the bottom of https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/beQuiet/Dark_Rock_Pro3/5.html.

 

beQuiet! says the normal memory clearance under the fan is 34.9mm, https://www.bequiet.com/en/cpucooler/482.

 

G.Skill says the height of Trident Z modules is 44mm, http://gskill.com/en/faq/DRAM_Memory.

 

While the fan can be moved up, the fins overhanging the first memory slot I believe have 39mm clearance.

 

 

[cgn]

The noctua has a 64 mm clearance, so it would fit IMHO without any major drawbacks in performance.

Just check your case dimensions on max cpu cooling height!

 

It should be a minimum of 165+(44-32)= 177mm

[brob]

Phanteks Luxe TG cpu cooler clearance is 193mm. So Noctua NH-D15 will work.

 

There are also the NH-D15S and Cryorig R1 Universal that have no memory clearance issues.

[PopsiclesInMyCellar]

25 minutes ago, brob said:

See the bottom of https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/beQuiet/Dark_Rock_Pro3/5.html.

 

beQuiet! says the normal memory clearance under the fan is 34.9mm, https://www.bequiet.com/en/cpucooler/482.

 

G.Skill says the height of Trident Z modules is 44mm, http://gskill.com/en/faq/DRAM_Memory.

 

While the fan can be moved up, the fins overhanging the first memory slot I believe have 39mm clearance.

 

 

 

29 minutes ago, cgn said:

The Noctua D15 might fit if you just install the fan a little bit higher... ( check case max cpu cooling height) or you could install the fan in the other side of the heatsink (check motherboard)...

 

12 minutes ago, cgn said:

The noctua has a 64 mm clearance, so it would fit IMHO without any major drawbacks in performance.

Just check your case dimensions on max cpu cooling height!

 

It should be a minimum of 165+(44-32)= 177mm

 

10 minutes ago, brob said:

Phanteks Luxe TG cpu cooler clearance is 193mm. So Noctua NH-D15 will work.

 

There are also the NH-D15S and Cryorig R1 Universal that have no memory clearance issues.

 

 

I can't find it on be queit!'s site where it lists the memory clearance for there fans.

I guess the Noctua NH-D15 is back on the table! Although would like to avoid due to aesthetics. The Cryorig you shared looks nice too and I think it has similar performance?
What do you think?

[PopsiclesInMyCellar]

@brob

This person says the fan (Dark Rock Pro 3) has 44mm of clearance: 

Other notes: 

 

 

EDIT: Also see a completed build here: https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/b/hxfH99

 

EDIT 2: Different mobo, but they fit for this guy too! https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/b/VDJ8TW

[JoostinOnline]

Cryorig R1 Universal.  It won't interfere with your RAM, it looks great, and it gives excellent performance.

[ARikozuM]

10 minutes ago, PopsiclesInMyCellar said:

I can't find it on be queit!'s site where it lists the memory clearance for there fans.

 

https://www.bequiet.com/en/cpucooler/482

 

Looks like you're going to have 39mm of clearance with the fan installed. You're cutting it short by 4 or 5mm. I would try it though, since you can always return it [or not use the outside fan].

[PopsiclesInMyCellar]

5 minutes ago, ARikozuM said:

 

https://www.bequiet.com/en/cpucooler/482

 

Looks like you're going to have 39mm of clearance with the fan installed. You're cutting it short by 4 or 5mm. I would try it though, since you can always return it.

Max RPM is about 400 less than Dark Rock Pro 3, though. And despite the 39mm clearance spec it seems people have got it to work in their builds...? See previous post.

[ARikozuM]

9 minutes ago, PopsiclesInMyCellar said:

Max RPM is about 400 less than Dark Rock Pro 3, though. And despite the 39mm clearance spec it seems people have got it to work in their builds...? See previous post.

I'm guessing it depends on the orientation of the heatsink.

[PopsiclesInMyCellar]

19 minutes ago, ARikozuM said:

I'm guessing it depends on the orientation of the heatsink.

Looking at the diagram apparently not. 34.9mm to fan, 39mm to sink on all sides.

Plus in the article that @brob posted it definitely looks like the sink will overlap the first RAM slot at least. Although this is a different mobo. Idk if it's true for mine?

[brob]

@PopsiclesInMyCellar

 

Glad you found the Dark Rock Pro 3 diagrams.

 

If your memory kit was 2x8GB, then the modules could be inserted in the outer two slots and the fan moved up. With 4 modules two will have to fit under the Dark Rock Pro 3's fins.

 

The post that said clearance was 44mm is corrected further down in the thread. That clearance was "from memory" and may have been for the Dark Rock Pro 2.

 

The second post only needs  two memory slots and can therefore use the outer slots. Same with the to additional builds listed.

 

Placement of memory slots on different motherboards supporting the same socket is within a few mm of each other.

 

I don't think there is any escaping the fact that using Trident Z memory with the Dark Rock Pro 3 is less than optimal.