CPU Cooler Performance Tier List

[itsjase]

2 minutes ago, WoodenMarker said:

What motherboard are you using? Fans grouped together receive the same signal so I would just group pwm and dc fans onto separate headers. 

Using a MSI Z390I, found it very difficult to use the 3rd fan header due to its position on the motherboard so I just split them all under 1 header.

 

Do you think I'd see any lower temps using an X62 over the D-15?

 

Thanks for all your help by the way!

[WoodenMarker]

1 minute ago, itsjase said:

Do you think I'd see any lower temps using an X62 over the D-15?

Temps may be a bit lower but I think the main problem is that HF-14's aren't very good behind the front panel. You should remove the front panel to see if there's any improvement. 

[itsjase]

Just tried 2 things, removing panels, and increasing the fan speed.

 

Removing the front panel didn't seem to make any difference, but increasing the fan speed dropped temps by about 3-4C.

 

I also tried removing the side panel and that seemed to drop temps by like 5C but obviously that's not ideal.

 

If I was to try with an X62 would the 2 NZXT fans on the radiator as front intake and one 120mm exhaust be sufficient?

[WoodenMarker]

12 hours ago, itsjase said:

Just tried 2 things, removing panels, and increasing the fan speed.

Removing the front panel didn't seem to make any difference, but increasing the fan speed dropped temps by about 3-4C.

I also tried removing the side panel and that seemed to drop temps by like 5C but obviously that's not ideal.

If I was to try with an X62 would the 2 NZXT fans on the radiator as front intake and one 120mm exhaust be sufficient?

Your current temps are already sufficient.

The Kraken X62 fans would be better for increasing case airflow but it would be noisier and more expensive than just getting new case fans. 

[itsjase]

5 hours ago, WoodenMarker said:

Your current temps are already sufficient.

The Kraken X62 fans would be better for increasing case airflow but it would be noisier and more expensive than just getting new case fans. 

Alright I'll replace the Venturis with the stock GP fan and pickup another GP-14.

 

Thanks for all your help.

[WoodenMarker]

2 hours ago, itsjase said:

Alright I'll replace the Venturis with the stock GP fan and pickup another GP-14.

Thanks for all your help.

If you haven't already bough another fan, I would get something else instead. GP-14's are pretty good for stock fans but there are plenty of better options when going aftermarket. 

Where are you shopping / located?

[itsjase]

4 minutes ago, WoodenMarker said:

If you haven't already bough another fan, I would get something else instead. GP-14's are pretty good for stock fans but there are plenty of better options when going aftermarket. 

Where are you shopping / located?

Located in Melbourne, Australia. There's quite a few PC places around so I can get most well-known branded fans quite easily.

 

What would you recommend?

[WoodenMarker]

2 minutes ago, itsjase said:

Located in Melbourne, Australia. There's quite a few PC places around so I can get most well-known branded fans quite easily.

What would you recommend?

NF-P14S are excellent: https://au.pcpartpicker.com/product/8r9KHx/noctua-case-fan-nfp14sredux1500pwm

Depending on which store you're going to, it might not be much more for the better NF-A14: https://au.pcpartpicker.com/product/dwR48d/noctua-case-fan-nfa14pwm

[itsjase]

25 minutes ago, WoodenMarker said:

NF-P14S are excellent: https://au.pcpartpicker.com/product/8r9KHx/noctua-case-fan-nfp14sredux1500pwm

Depending on which store you're going to, it might not be much more for the better NF-A14: https://au.pcpartpicker.com/product/dwR48d/noctua-case-fan-nfa14pwm

Yeh I can probably grab 2 of the NF-A14.

 

Is the back exhaust stock GP-12 fan fine?

[WoodenMarker]

Just now, itsjase said:

Is the back exhaust stock GP-12 fan fine?

It's fine as long as you don't think it's too noisy. 

[itsjase]

1 minute ago, WoodenMarker said:

It's fine as long as you don't think it's too noisy. 

Nah its nice and quiet, only 19dba according to specs.

 

I'm worried the A14's might be noisy as they are listed at 24dba which is quite close to the Venturi's 26dba

[WoodenMarker]

1 minute ago, itsjase said:

Nah its nice and quiet, only 19dba according to specs.

I'm worried the A14's might be noisy as they are listed at 24dba which is quite close to the Venturi's 26dba

There's little to no regulation on how fan specs are measured and they're not very reliable for comparing fans. Look at benchmarks and in-depth reviews instead. Even then, the dBA isn't a good indicator of how pleasant the tonality of the fan is. 

NF-A14's perform better while being quieter. They may be as noisy if you run them at max rpm but you shouldn't be doing that. Quiet fans are meant to be run at low rpm when possible and have the extra headroom when the performance is needed. 

You can see an example here of how the noise level compares and how the HF-14 performance tanks even with just a bit of impedance: http://www.coolingtechnique.com/recensioni/air-cooling/ventole/1654-recensione-fractal-venturi-serie-hf-e-hp.html?start=6

[Tonberry]

What is the best air cooler which has less than 70mm height?

[WoodenMarker]

16 minutes ago, PotatoCanDo! said:

What is the best air cooler which has less than 70mm height?

What cpu, case, and ram?

[Tonberry]

47 minutes ago, WoodenMarker said:

What cpu, case, and ram?

95-115W TDP CPU depends on how far I can OC it with the cooler, case with 82mm cooler height clearance, and 39mm height RAM.

 

I see Big Shuriken 3 is the best option but unavailable. Any alternative for <70mm other than Big Shuriken 3, please.. Dont want to go >70mm cooler as it might get choked/sufocate.

 

Can we use NH-L12S with the fan under the heatsink but install it with orientation where the heatpipes are right next to RAM?? Because there we have better offset, so the RAM will not be under the cooler but next to it side by side with the heatpipes.

 

How about the Thermalright AXP-100H Muscle?

[WoodenMarker]

55 minutes ago, PotatoCanDo! said:

95-115W TDP CPU depends on how far I can OC it with the cooler, case with 82mm cooler height clearance, and 39mm height RAM.

I see Big Shuriken 3 is the best option but unavailable. Any alternative for <70mm other than Big Shuriken 3, please.. Dont want to go >70mm cooler as it might get choked/sufocate.

Please be more specific and use model names. What cpu, case, and ram?

Where are you shopping / located? Budget?

[Tadej Danev]

I have Noctua NH-L12S is that good for R5 2600 or should i got for something better.

 

Another question, have BEQUIET 801....3 fans included, want 3 more, which ones?

[WoodenMarker]

1 hour ago, Tadej Danev said:

I have Noctua NH-L12S is that good for R5 2600 or should i got for something better.

Another question, have BEQUIET 801....3 fans included, want 3 more, which ones?

Yeah, the stock cooler is fine and the NH-L12S is even better. 

What are your specs and temps? If you haven't already used the system, you can see how the temps are before deciding on whether or not to get more fans. 

[Tadej Danev]

I had it outside case, around 32-35, benching 50-55...but when mounting into case i bet temps will be +5°c.....

 

MSI B450 TOMAHAWK MAX
AMD R5 2600 + NOCTUA L12S
Crucial Ballistix Sport LT V2 Single Rank grau DDR4-3000 DIMM CL15 Dual Kit
POWERCOLOR RX580 8GB
BE QUIET 801
TRANSCEND 370 256GB

[WoodenMarker]

44 minutes ago, Tadej Danev said:

I had it outside case, around 32-35, benching 50-55...but when mounting into case i bet temps will be +5°c.....

MSI B450 TOMAHAWK MAX
AMD R5 2600 + NOCTUA L12S
Crucial Ballistix Sport LT V2 Single Rank grau DDR4-3000 DIMM CL15 Dual Kit
POWERCOLOR RX580 8GB
BE QUIET 801
TRANSCEND 370 256GB

Those temps are fine and the stock case fans should be plenty for cooling. I'd recommend installing it in the case and seeing what temps are then. 

You can always decide to get more fans later if you're not satisfied with the cooling. 

 

Make sure to quote a post or tag a member when replying or else they won't get a notification that you replied to them.

[Rolling2405]

What is the best CPU cooler in terms of pure thermal performance only (not concerned about noise or price, only thermal thermals).

[WoodenMarker]

On 10/11/2019 at 8:36 PM, Thomas001 said:

What is the best CPU cooler in terms of pure thermal performance only (not concerned about noise or price, only thermal thermals).

I'm not sure since the best performers don't have many comparisons. 

With aftermarket fans, I'd guess it's the Eisbaer 420 since it's the biggest but is held back by the stock fans. 

[Xuco]

This review is very doubtful reliability. I think there are quite a few models that are not well grouped.

For example: I have tried the DEEP COOL NEPTWIN model and the SCYTHE MUGEN rev B. model in my home these days.

I tested both the standard fans and without any fans. Without any fan it makes clear the dissipation capacity of the block.

In tests without ventilation in the block, in IDLE, Aida64, Prime65, etc., the NEPTWIN model was always able to improve temperatures by at least 4 or 5 degrees with respect to the MUGEN model. These differences were further enhanced with the 2 series fans of the NEPTWIN.

NEPTWIN should be at least in Tier 4 - High-End 140mm's, or even in Tier 3 - Dual Towers.

However, it is grouped in Tier 5 - 140mm's & High-End 120mm's, along with 2 other models that I have ALSO tested and ALSO improved to the MUGEN .... those are: DEEPCOOL GAMMAXX GT and ARTIC 34 ESPORT DUO (when these models meet much lower and have also given me better scores than MUGEN).

Edited October 15, 2019 by WoodenMarker
please don't quote the entire OP.

[WoodenMarker]

1 hour ago, Xuco said:

This review is very doubtful reliability. I think there are quite a few models that are not well grouped.

For example: I have tried the DEEP COOL NEPTWIN model and the SCYTHE MUGEN rev B. model in my home these days.
I tested both the standard fans and without any fans. Without any fan it makes clear the dissipation capacity of the block.
In tests without ventilation in the block, in IDLE, Aida64, Prime65, etc., the NEPTWIN model was always able to improve temperatures by at least 4 or 5 degrees with respect to the MUGEN model. These differences were further enhanced with the 2 series fans of the NEPTWIN.
NEPTWIN should be at least in Tier 4 - High-End 140mm's, or even in Tier 3 - Dual Towers.
However, it is grouped in Tier 5 - 140mm's & High-End 120mm's, along with 2 other models that I have ALSO tested and ALSO improved to the MUGEN .... those are: DEEPCOOL GAMMAXX GT and ARTIC 34 ESPORT DUO (when these models meet much lower and have also given me better scores than MUGEN).

Coolers within a tier don't all perform equally. They can trade blows but the point is that they generally perform better than lower tiers and worse than higher tiers. This doesn't exclude them from trading blows with coolers in tiers above or below either since there's variance in performance. 

 

Can you provide more detail for your testing procedures? 

What ambient temp, load temps, fan speeds, system specs, and settings? The list is comparing performance only at max rpm. 

Do you have the Neptwin or Neptwin V2? Which Mugen? 

What are the scores you're referring to? Are they temps? Peak or average? 

 

Please don't quote the entire OP -- a good rule of thumb when replying to any post since it usually takes up a lot of space. If you want to address specific parts of a post, you can always just quote that part of it. Anyone following the thread (includes the thread creator by default) will get a notification so there's no need to quote if you just wanted to reply to the OP. 

[Algebruh]

It seems that there are few reviews about Thermalright True Spirit 140 Power.

On the other forum, some people strongly recommended TS140P due to its low price while being competitive compared to D14 or D15.