i7 8700k Cooling Advice

[Tahmidc]

Hi Guys,

 

I'm planning on building a rig with the i7 8700k. I want to keep a stable OC at 4.7ghz and was wondering what sort of cooling would I require to keep the temps a good level so it reduces degradation of my CPU.

 

I was looking at the Dark Rock Pro 4 as a air cooling solution as I was not too keen on AIO's due to leakage issues. But if anyone can suggest a good solution then I will be happy to take that on board.

 

Thanks.

Tahmid 

[17030644]

I think dark rock is overkill for that OC, well, it depends on what voltages you use for the most part, a higher voltage makes temperatures go exponential.

 

And you leakage issues shouldn't be a real concern at all. That is very unlikely to happen you most have really bad luck to see that ocurring to you and even then most brands should cover damage to your parts for leakage issues.

[Tahmidc]

2 minutes ago, 17030644 said:

I think dark rock is overwill for that OC, well, it depends on what voltages you use for the most part, a higher voltage makes temperatures go exponential.

 

And you leakage issues shouldn't be a real concern at all. That is very unlikely to happen you most have really bad luck to see that ocurring to you and even then most brands should cover damage to your parts for leakage issues.

So you are saying, for a stable 4.7ghz on all cores, the DRP4 will provide good temps?

[AlexTheGreatish]

I would recommend the Noctua NH-D15, that thing is a beast and is basically as good as it gets for air cooling.  I'm not sure you'll need heaps of cooling to hit 4.7, but with how poor Intel TIM is you'll still want to throw quite a bit of cooling at it.  I also haven't heard of a single instance of an AIO leaking, so an H100i or something like that could be used.  

[17030644]

This were $15

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/YdJkcf/cooler-master-hyper-212-led-663-cfm-rifle-bearing-cpu-cooler-rr-212l-16pr-r1

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/hJFPxr/deepcool-cpu-cooler-gammaxx400

This was $20

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/hyQRsY/be-quiet-pure-rock-slim-351-cfm-cpu-cooler-bk008

$30

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/r3xfrH/arctic-cooling-cpu-cooler-ucacop0900csb01

If you want RGB this is $35

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/Wfvbt6/cooler-master-masterair-ma410p-667-cfm-cpu-cooler-map-t4pn-220pc-r1

This is an AIO

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/TDdFf7/cooler-master-masterliquid-lite-120-667-cfm-liquid-cpu-cooler-mlw-d12m-a20pw-r1

240mm AIO

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/9gRFf7/cooler-master-masterliquid-lite-240-667-cfm-liquid-cpu-cooler-mlw-d24m-a20pw-r1

$45

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/jK8H99/cryorig-cpu-cooler-h5universal

Another RGB cooler, this is $50

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/fFWrxr/cooler-master-masterair-ma610p-534-cfm-cpu-cooler-map-t6pn-218pc-r1

Cheap high performance AIO

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/z9Z2FT/cooler-master-masterliquid-240-667-cfm-liquid-cpu-cooler-mlx-d24m-a20pw-r1

High end tower cooler for $80

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/xFw323/cryorig-cpu-cooler-crr1a

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/8TvRsY/cryorig-cpu-cooler-crr1b

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/9bFPxr/be-quiet-cpu-cooler-bk019

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/4vzv6h/noctua-cpu-cooler-nhd15

And the list goes on, I'd say under 50 is sweet spot for tower coolers but depends on how far you want to get in your OC

What I do is I just compare them on a benchmarking website. TECHPOWERUP is a good one

 

1 minute ago, AlexTheGreatish said:

I would recommend the Noctua NH-D15, that thing is a beast and is basically as good as it gets for air cooling.  I'm not sure you'll need heaps of cooling to hit 4.7, but with how poor Intel TIM is you'll still want to throw quite a bit of cooling at it.  I also haven't heard of a single instance of an AIO leaking, so an H100i or something like that could be used.  

I agree, no cooler can beat noctua in therms of performance, quality ad service except the be quiet pro cooler that just came out a little ago

[Tahmidc]

4 minutes ago, AlexTheGreatish said:

I would recommend the Noctua NH-D15, that thing is a beast and is basically as good as it gets for air cooling.  I'm not sure you'll need heaps of cooling to hit 4.7, but with how poor Intel TIM is you'll still want to throw quite a bit of cooling at it.  I also haven't heard of a single instance of an AIO leaking, so an H100i or something like that could be used.  

Would a h150i pro be overkill?

[Tahmidc]

2 minutes ago, 17030644 said:

This were $15

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/YdJkcf/cooler-master-hyper-212-led-663-cfm-rifle-bearing-cpu-cooler-rr-212l-16pr-r1

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/hJFPxr/deepcool-cpu-cooler-gammaxx400

This was $20

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/hyQRsY/be-quiet-pure-rock-slim-351-cfm-cpu-cooler-bk008

$30

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/r3xfrH/arctic-cooling-cpu-cooler-ucacop0900csb01

If you want RGB this is $35

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/Wfvbt6/cooler-master-masterair-ma410p-667-cfm-cpu-cooler-map-t4pn-220pc-r1

This is an AIO

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/TDdFf7/cooler-master-masterliquid-lite-120-667-cfm-liquid-cpu-cooler-mlw-d12m-a20pw-r1

240mm AIO

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/9gRFf7/cooler-master-masterliquid-lite-240-667-cfm-liquid-cpu-cooler-mlw-d24m-a20pw-r1

$45

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/jK8H99/cryorig-cpu-cooler-h5universal

Another RGB cooler, this is $50

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/fFWrxr/cooler-master-masterair-ma610p-534-cfm-cpu-cooler-map-t6pn-218pc-r1

Cheap high performance AIO

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/z9Z2FT/cooler-master-masterliquid-240-667-cfm-liquid-cpu-cooler-mlx-d24m-a20pw-r1

High end tower cooler for $80

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/xFw323/cryorig-cpu-cooler-crr1a

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/8TvRsY/cryorig-cpu-cooler-crr1b

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/9bFPxr/be-quiet-cpu-cooler-bk019

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/4vzv6h/noctua-cpu-cooler-nhd15

And the list goes on, I'd say under 50 is sweet spot for tower coolers but depends on how far you want to get in your OC

What I do is I just compare them on a benchmarking website. TECHPOWERUP is a good one

 

I agree, no cooler can beat noctua in therms of performance, quality ad service except the be quiet pro cooler that just came out a little ago

Thank you for providing these parts. I wanted the DRP4 due to aesthetics, reviews are telling me they are very similar to DH-15.

[MLG_KWIK_SKOPXR]

AIOs aren't much of a concern for leaking, and the i7-8700k (correct me if I'm wrong I'm still new to this) on my rig runs at 4.7ghz anyway with it's boost clocks enabled.

[Tahmidc]

3 minutes ago, MLG_KWIK_SKOPXR said:

AIOs aren't much of a concern for leaking, and the i7-8700k (correct me if I'm wrong I'm still new to this) on my rig runs at 4.7ghz anyway with it's boost clocks enabled.

Correct, i7 8700k boosts to 4.7ghz, but I want to OC to they run 4.7 on all cores at all times.

[Alcam]

23 minutes ago, Tahmidc said:

Correct, i7 8700k boosts to 4.7ghz, but I want to OC to they run 4.7 on all cores at all times.

you can get reasonable temps with the turbo at 4.7ghz with an undervolt there's plenty of tutorials and video evidence around to prove this. You don't even need an exceptional cooler, something like a noctua nh-u12s would fit the bill perfectly. You could even go a step further and de-lid that bad boy and apply some liquid metal, drops temps of up to 20c. All just depends how far you wanna go. But for the most part a 4.7 turbo with undervolt can be cooled by any reasonable air cooler or AIO water. 

[Tahmidc]

16 minutes ago, Alcam said:

you can get reasonable temps with the turbo at 4.7ghz with an undervolt there's plenty of tutorials and video evidence around to prove this. You don't even need an exceptional cooler, something like a noctua nh-u12s would fit the bill perfectly. You could even go a step further and de-lid that bad boy and apply some liquid metal, drops temps of up to 20c. All just depends how far you wanna go. But for the most part a 4.7 turbo with undervolt can be cooled by any reasonable air cooler or AIO water. 

Not sure what undervolting is, I'm a noob to the overclocking world. I'll have a look at this. What would you say is the sweet spot for OC on the i7 8700k with good performance increase with low temps.

[Alcam]

2 minutes ago, Tahmidc said:

Not sure what undervolting is, I'm a noob to the overclocking world. I'll have a look at this. What would you say is the sweet spot for OC on the i7 8700k with good performance increase with low temps.

well the 'sweet spot' as you put it all depends on what kind of cooling capabilities you have, and what temps you're getting at idle and during load etc. Just know that typically higher speeds require more power which generates more heat. Undervolting is essentially using a minimal amount of power whilst sustaining a high clock speed; this keeping temperatures lower than they typically would be with just a regular overclock with higher voltage. It may sound daunting but its nothing that a quick google search couldn't put to rest. 

 

Put it this way, a dark rock 4 pro would be acceptable to cool an 8700k at 4.7 on all cores. Assuming you have decent airflow in your case. Undervolting this would just mean your CPU still performs at 4.7 but it just runs a little cooler. 

[Tahmidc]

9 minutes ago, Alcam said:

well the 'sweet spot' as you put it all depends on what kind of cooling capabilities you have, and what temps you're getting at idle and during load etc. Just know that typically higher speeds require more power which generates more heat. Undervolting is essentially using a minimal amount of power whilst sustaining a high clock speed; this keeping temperatures lower than they typically would be with just a regular overclock with higher voltage. It may sound daunting but its nothing that a quick google search couldn't put to rest. 

 

Put it this way, a dark rock 4 pro would be acceptable to cool an 8700k at 4.7 on all cores. Assuming you have decent airflow in your case. Undervolting this would just mean your CPU still performs at 4.7 but it just runs a little cooler. 

Excellent, thank you for the advice.

 

Would you recommend an AIO instead of DRP4? If i want sub 60 degrees under load.

[Alcam]

1 hour ago, Tahmidc said:

Excellent, thank you for the advice.

 

Would you recommend an AIO instead of DRP4? If i want sub 60 degrees under load.

If you're wanting sub 60 degrees I'd have to reccomend de-lidding and applying liquid metal for the most reliable results. I doubt even the heftiest of AIO coolers could sustain those kinda temps with an OC 8th gen with the stock intel TIM. But I'm only having a guess using my knowledge here, I have no idea of those actual numbers, I'd suggest doing some research browsing other forums and reviews etc. Just my take on it

[Tahmidc]

11 minutes ago, Alcam said:

If you're wanting sub 60 degrees I'd have to reccomend de-lidding and applying liquid metal for the most reliable results. I doubt even the heftiest of AIO coolers could sustain those kinda temps with an OC 8th gen with the stock intel TIM. But I'm only having a guess using my knowledge here, I have no idea of those actual numbers, I'd suggest doing some research browsing other forums and reviews etc. Just my take on it

Is de-lidding a dangerous process? can things go wrong?

[Alcam]

Things can go wrong yes. But things can go wrong with anything in a PC build. I'm not going to force you into de-lidding if you don't feel comfortable with doing it but just look it up and make your own judgement. It can have fantastic results. 

[AlexTheGreatish]

3 hours ago, Tahmidc said:

Would a h150i pro be overkill?

Overkill is in the eye of the beholder, some would say getting an 8700K period is overkill so its whatever you feel like/can afford

46 minutes ago, Tahmidc said:

Is de-lidding a dangerous process? can things go wrong?

With the right tools the risk is low but non-zero.  If you decide to go this route I recommend getting a cheap processor, like a 3rd gen i3 or something like that (that's the first gen that used paste instead of solder) and practice there to get a feel for it.  You'll need to do this if you want sub-60C under full load, but even if a processor is getting up to 90C under full load it's totally safe.  Start by just seeing how far you can push it with stock paste and some decent cooling (probably over 5GHz easily), then get hooked on the drug that is overclocking - delidding and liquid metal will follow in due time haha

[Tahmidc]

2 hours ago, AlexTheGreatish said:

Overkill is in the eye of the beholder, some would say getting an 8700K period is overkill so its whatever you feel like/can afford

With the right tools the risk is low but non-zero.  If you decide to go this route I recommend getting a cheap processor, like a 3rd gen i3 or something like that (that's the first gen that used paste instead of solder) and practice there to get a feel for it.  You'll need to do this if you want sub-60C under full load, but even if a processor is getting up to 90C under full load it's totally safe.  Start by just seeing how far you can push it with stock paste and some decent cooling (probably over 5GHz easily), then get hooked on the drug that is overclocking - delidding and liquid metal will follow in due time haha

what would you suggest are safe temps 24/7 without shaving off too many years.

[17030644]

6 hours ago, Tahmidc said:

Thank you for providing these parts. I wanted the DRP4 due to aesthetics, reviews are telling me they are very similar to DH-15.

Welcome

 

the h150 pro is a little big overkill for 4.7 ghz in most cases but If you want 4.7 why not do 5?

 

What other parts do you want to use for your rig?

[WoodenMarker]

15 hours ago, 17030644 said:

I agree, no cooler can beat noctua in therms of performance, quality ad service except the be quiet pro cooler that just came out a little ago

There are better performing coolers. 

I wouldn't even say the NH-D15 is the best cooler overall. I'd give that title to the NH-U14S for very good performance in an excellent form factor. 

15 hours ago, Tahmidc said:

Would a h150i pro be overkill?

Yes, probably. You can get most of the same oc with a much cheaper cooler. 4.7ghz isn't high to begin with.

9 hours ago, Tahmidc said:

what would you suggest are safe temps 24/7 without shaving off too many years.

<60c won't provide any benefit besides slightly better stability for oc'ing. You're fine up to 80-90c at load. High temps will rarely kill a cpu and the 8700k will shut down for safety at 100c.

15 hours ago, Tahmidc said:

Thank you for providing these parts. I wanted the DRP4 due to aesthetics, reviews are telling me they are very similar to DH-15.

The DRP4 performs a bit worse than the NH-D15 and is like a quieter NH-D15S.

If you're in love with the aesthetic, go ahead and get the DRP4.

If you'd rather save a bit of money, you can probably get a cheaper cooler. Where are you shopping/located?

[Tahmidc]

16 hours ago, 17030644 said:

Welcome

 

the h150 pro is a little big overkill for 4.7 ghz in most cases but If you want 4.7 why not do 5?

 

What other parts do you want to use for your rig?

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i7-8700K 3.7GHz 6-Core Processor  (£243.97 @ Amazon UK) 
CPU Cooler: be quiet! - Dark Rock Pro 3 67.8 CFM Fluid Dynamic Bearing CPU Cooler  (£65.92 @ More Computers) 
Motherboard: MSI - Z370 GAMING PRO CARBON ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  (£149.99 @ Box Limited) 
Memory: Corsair - Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory 
Storage: Western Digital - Blue 500GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive  (£112.98 @ Ebuyer) 
Video Card: MSI - GeForce GTX 1080 8GB GAMING X 8G Video Card  (£595.47 @ Scan.co.uk) 
Case: Fractal Design - Meshify C ATX Mid Tower Case  (£72.50 @ Aria PC) 
Power Supply: Corsair - RMx 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  (£87.32 @ Box Limited) 
Total: £1328.15
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-04-19 12:44 BST+0100

[Tahmidc]

7 hours ago, WoodenMarker said:

There are better performing coolers. 

I wouldn't even say the NH-D15 is the best cooler overall. I'd give that title to the NH-U14S for very good performance in an excellent form factor. 

Yes, probably. You can get most of the same oc with a much cheaper cooler. 4.7ghz isn't high to begin with.

<60c won't provide any benefit besides slightly better stability for oc'ing. You're fine up to 80-90c at load. High temps will rarely kill a cpu and the 8700k will shut down for safety at 100c.

The DRP4 performs a bit worse than the NH-D15 and is like a quieter NH-D15S.

If you're in love with the aesthetic, go ahead and get the DRP4.

If you'd rather save a bit of money, you can probably get a cheaper cooler. Where are you shopping/located?

I heard that heating is the main reason why a CPU will be damaged?

 

In regards to money, that is not an issue, my budget for an cooler was £130. I'm shopping via amazon as I wanted prime delivery and good customer service (returns etc...)  Could you recommend me the best AIO for my budget of £130.

[JabroniBaloney]

22 hours ago, AlexTheGreatish said:

I would recommend the Noctua NH-D15, that thing is a beast and is basically as good as it gets for air cooling.  I'm not sure you'll need heaps of cooling to hit 4.7, but with how poor Intel TIM is you'll still want to throw quite a bit of cooling at it.  I also haven't heard of a single instance of an AIO leaking, so an H100i or something like that could be used.  

You've never heard of an aio leak? Do you live under a rock? They're rare, but happen. Pretty disingenuous for you to state that with the LMG staff tag on your name.

But the biggest issues imo with aios is pumps die and more moving parts = more points of failure. 

[17030644]

16 minutes ago, Tahmidc said:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i7-8700K 3.7GHz 6-Core Processor  (£243.97 @ Amazon UK) 
CPU Cooler: be quiet! - Dark Rock Pro 3 67.8 CFM Fluid Dynamic Bearing CPU Cooler  (£65.92 @ More Computers) 
Motherboard: MSI - Z370 GAMING PRO CARBON ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  (£149.99 @ Box Limited) 
Memory: Corsair - Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory 
Storage: Western Digital - Blue 500GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive  (£112.98 @ Ebuyer) 
Video Card: MSI - GeForce GTX 1080 8GB GAMING X 8G Video Card  (£595.47 @ Scan.co.uk) 
Case: Fractal Design - Meshify C ATX Mid Tower Case  (£72.50 @ Aria PC) 
Power Supply: Corsair - RMx 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  (£87.32 @ Box Limited) 
Total: £1328.15
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-04-19 12:44 BST+0100

Not thar bad but I'd stick to 240GB SSD, 8GB of RAM and go with a 1080 ti

 

unless you are editing or something

[Alcam]

50 minutes ago, Tahmidc said:

I heard that heating is the main reason why a CPU will be damaged?

 

In regards to money, that is not an issue, my budget for an cooler was £130. I'm shopping via amazon as I wanted prime delivery and good customer service (returns etc...)  Could you recommend me the best AIO for my budget of £130.

Not heating but rather overheating causes damage to the CPU. 90 degrees although hot, is not a damaging temperature; any temp that your CPU chooses to run under isn't damaging, it turns itself off when a threat is imminent. 

 

As for cooling; you can get air coolers such as the DRP4 and Noctua NH-U14S / NH-D15 that in most cases out perform most consumer grade AIO water coolers that start at an even higher price point. So what I'm saying is with today's air cooling capabilities you can get brilliant temperatures whilst saving money. There's also the bonus of their being little to no maintenance involved with looking after an air cooler over water cooling. This isn't a huge nag just something to bear in mind. 

 

47 minutes ago, 17030644 said:

Not thar bad but I'd stick to 240GB SSD, 8GB of RAM and go with a 1080 ti

 

unless you are editing or something

Like you just kinda said, we have no idea what this machine is going to be used for so suggesting a straight up 50%  RAM and SSD storage decrease isn't a brilliant comment my dude.