Compact Cooling options for the i9 9900k overclocked to 5.0 GHz

[Cornbred]

I underestimated the heat output of the i9 9900k when overclocked to 5.0 GHz, and I bought the Corsair Carbide Series SPEC-05 mid tower.  I think I could fit the Corsair H100i Pro in the front of the tower, but I'm not sure that this will really be a great cooling option when fully overclocked.  I currently have a little Corsair H60 cooling it, which is fine at standard clock speeds, keeping me between 40 and 72 C.  So anything will be an upgrade honestly.

 

My question is, what would be the best option for a compact cooling solution? Can anything small actually cool this CPU overclocked at 5.0 GHz? I would prefer to avoid buying a new case, but when it comes down to it, I will if I have to.

[5x5]

Do you have an AVX Offset? Maybe see about that or drop to 4.9 and lower voltage a bit. Buying a 240mm AIO for 100MHz isn't a great investment imo

[Princess Luna]

9 minutes ago, Cornbred said:

little Corsair H60 cooling it

yeah pretty bad... a NH-D9L or NH-L12S or NH-L9x65 would have all outperformed it a lot while also being quieter.

 

Your mistake was locking yourself to AiO's and at this point I'll agree with @5x5 here that spending more money after 100mhz ain't worth it.

[Cornbred]

@5x5 I have not set the AVX Offset or played around with much with overclocking this CPU yet.  Wanted to test it at stock speeds first.

 

@Princess Luna I actually cannibalized the H60 from my previous build, which was more than enough for my i5 4960.  Would you recommend looking into air coolers like Noctua?

[5x5]

1 minute ago, Cornbred said:

@5x5 I have not set the AVX Offset or played around with much with overclocking this CPU yet.  Wanted to test it at stock speeds first.

 

@Princess Luna I actually cannibalized the H60 from my previous build, which was more than enough for my i5 4960.  Would you recommend looking into air coolers like Noctua?

Stock for the 9900K is 4.7GHz, isn't it? Disable MCE and manual tune it

[Princess Luna]

1 minute ago, Cornbred said:

 I actually cannibalized the H60 from my previous build, which was more than enough for my i5 4960.  Would you recommend looking into air coolers like Noctua?

Yes... looking at your case you can actually put even beefier air coolers, do you have a pricepoint you're comfortable with spending on one? are you shopping on the USA?

[Cornbred]

@5x5 it says stock is 3.6GHz on the packaging, but mine is running at 4.2GHz. I'd prefer to manually tune it honestly, so I'll look into that.

 

@Princess Luna Price point is not too much of an issue for air coolers.  I am shopping in the US and I'd like to stay under $200 USD for a new cooler.  From what I've seen with air coolers, this should not be a problem I think.

[Princess Luna]

5 minutes ago, Cornbred said:

@Princess Luna Price point is not too much of an issue for air coolers.  I am shopping in the US and I'd like to stay under $200 USD for a new cooler.  From what I've seen with air coolers, this should not be a problem I think.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00XJMQDUM/?tag=pcpapi-20

 

Will fit in perfectly inside, it will be waaaaaaaay better at cooling the CPU than the AiO, it looks really pretty and as a bonus it will increase VRM airflow a lot also helping at OC'ing.

[Cornbred]

@Princess Luna Looking into the dimensions, I'm a little worried about RAM clearance, I have the G.Skill Trident Z Royal and they're pretty tall with the "crystal" RGB on top. And as dumb as it is, i'm not sure I want to cover them up . I'll have to do some more thinking on it before making a decision I think. The reviews are great though.

[WoodenMarker]

On 9/12/2019 at 11:03 AM, Princess Luna said:

a NH-D9L or NH-L12S or NH-L9x65 would have all outperformed it a lot while also being quieter.

No, they wouldn't. Where are you getting this info?

These are all fairly low performing coolers that would barely hold up to the original and worst H60. 

https://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/7015/noctua-nh-d9l-cpu-cooler-review/index6.html

https://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/8493/noctua-nh-l12s-cpu-cooler-review/index6.html

https://www.modders-inc.com/noctua-nh-d9l-cpu-cooler-review-mini-nh-d15/4/

https://www.relaxedtech.com/reviews/noctua/nh-l12-nh-u9b-se2/1

https://lanoc.org/review/cooling/7893-asus-ryuo-240mm-aio?start=4

The newest H60 (2018) blows them all out of the water.

https://www.guru3d.com/articles-pages/corsair-h60-review,11.html

 

On 9/12/2019 at 1:16 PM, Cornbred said:

@Princess Luna Looking into the dimensions, I'm a little worried about RAM clearance, I have the G.Skill Trident Z Royal and they're pretty tall with the "crystal" RGB on top. And as dumb as it is, i'm not sure I want to cover them up . I'll have to do some more thinking on it before making a decision I think. The reviews are great though.

The DRTF hangs over and clears the ram. 

I wouldn't recommend a downdraft cooler over a traditional tower design would be more efficient with the case airflow. 

 

How far can you currently push with the H60?

Which H60 do you have? There's been at least 3 versions. 

[AngryBeaver]

I think an even more important question is what do you need the 5ghz for? I mean the difference in fps between 5ghz and 4.7ghz is very very small.

 

If you were to use both clocks you would be unable to tell a real world difference between the two except for maybe 3-5 more fps in a handful of titles.

 

So if the cooler you have is fine at stock speeds then why overclock at all? If you are getting a 5ghz boost from day MCE then just set your max boost ratio to x47. You could also probably reduce your voltage via offset mode if you really wanted as well.