question Semi-low profile air cooler for a dark Ryzen 3600x build?

[TweakBox]

So, I've been planning to buy a decent workstation build for both gaming and productivity tasks.But I've been really torn on what to buy for my cooling solution on whether I should choose either a AIO or an air cooler.

 

I would like for some help picking a cooler with the constraints that I've set myself are (but not really required):

• Dark Themed
• Fits in case (preferably, low-profile)
• Can handle an overclocked Ryzen 5 3600x
• Affordability (preferably, >$125)
• Silence is a plus!
• Available in the Philippines

I've been eyeing the be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4 but I'm not really comfortable with how big it is compared to the case.

Here's my current shopping list on PC part picker:

Spoiler

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD Ryzen 5 3600X 3.8 GHz 6-Core Processor	$199.99 @ Amazon
Motherboard	MSI B450M MORTAR MAX Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard
Memory	Corsair Vengeance LPX 32 GB (4 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory	$162.99 @ Newegg
Storage	Samsung 970 Evo 500 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive	$89.99 @ B&H
Storage	Seagate Barracuda Compute 2 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive	$59.24 @ Amazon
Video Card	MSI GeForce RTX 2060 6 GB GAMING Z Video Card	$363.89 @ B&H
Case	NZXT H510 ATX Mid Tower Case (Black)	$69.98 @ Amazon
Power Supply	be quiet! Pure Power 10 CM 500 W 80+ Silver Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply
Monitor	Asus VG248QE 24.0" 1920x1080 144 Hz Monitor	$231.00 @ Amazon
Keyboard	Cooler Master CK530 Wired Gaming Keyboard	$62.99 @ Newegg
Mouse	Logitech G403 Prodigy Wired Optical Mouse	$45.80 @ Amazon
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total (before mail-in rebates)	$1300.87
	Mail-in rebates	-$15.00
	Total	$1285.87
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-03-17 05:14 EDT-0400

 

 

[Mateyyy]

Dark Rock TF? Though on paper it looks like the H510 could fit a NH-U12S with 7mm of spare clearance, so I'd consider that too.

 

Also, unrelated to your question, if you're going to use an aftermarket cooler anyway, I'd suggest saving the money and just going for the 3600 (unless you can get the X for the same price), as they will perform identically when cooled adequately. And you could probably get a 2060S for the cost of that 2060.

[TweakBox]

22 minutes ago, Mateyyy said:

Dark Rock TF? Though on paper it looks like the H510 could fit a NH-U12S with 7mm of spare clearance, so I'd consider that too.

I've considered both of these, but i really feel like it's too bulky for my taste

 

23 minutes ago, Mateyyy said:

I'd suggest saving the money and just going for the 3600 (unless you can get the X for the same price), as they will perform identically when cooled adequately. And you could probably get a 2060S for the cost of that 2060.

Now that I checked the local prices, I guess I could replace it for that

[Kc7vwc]

I just put a Cryorig C1 on my R7 2700 and at stock settings I haven't seen it above 53°c under any loads. 

Mines in a Enthoo Evolve ITX, and it fits. But, if I have a rear fan mounted, the cooler has to be oriented with the overhang over the RAM sticks, otherwise it hits that fan. If I remove the rear fan, then I could rotate it down so the overhang points towards the GPU. 

It's not dark, but depending on which fan you use & case lighting, you may not actually see it. 

Might be worth a look. Though you will need an additional AM4 mounting bracket. 

[Mateyyy]

39 minutes ago, TweakBox said:

I've considered both of these, but i really feel like it's too bulky for my taste

There would be the NH-L9a chromax.black, but I wouldn't expect it to perform much better compared to the stock cooler, or the NH-L12S but that one doesn't come in black unfortunately.

42 minutes ago, TweakBox said:

Now that I checked the local prices, I guess I could replace it for that

Great!

[TweakBox]

2 minutes ago, Mateyyy said:

There would be the NH-L9a chromax.black, but I wouldn't expect it to perform much better compared to the stock cooler, or the NH-L12S but that one doesn't come in black unfortunately.

And sadly, the nh-l9x65 doesn't have a chromax.black version....

[JoostinOnline]

The Cryorig C7 (or H7 if you want higher clocks) might work. It's got a white fan, but the rest is black.

[TweakBox]

12 minutes ago, JoostinOnline said:

The Cryorig C7 (or H7 if you want higher clocks) might work. It's got a white fan, but the rest is black.

There's a C7 G edition that's all black.

 

I'm still unsure tho if the 125w TDP is enough to tame an OC 3600.

[JoostinOnline]

2 minutes ago, TweakBox said:

There's a C7 G edition that's all black. I'm still unsure if the 125w TDP is enough to tame an OC 3600.

It really depends on how far you want to overclock. The 3600 doesn't have a lot of headroom for safe overclocking anyway, so I wouldn't push it far anyway.

[WoodenMarker]

Why a low profile cooler? For the sake of aesthetics or did you just want more access to the motherboard?

Larger coolers tend to perform better and be quieter. If you're oc'ing, a small cooler is likely to be noisy.

Can you link us to where you're shopping?

[TweakBox]

On 3/20/2020 at 7:59 AM, WoodenMarker said:

Why a low profile cooler? For the sake of aesthetics or did you just want more access to the motherboard?

I'm using the NZXT H510 and tower coolers would be a tight fit so accessibility is kinda a big deal for me.

 

On 3/17/2020 at 5:18 PM, TweakBox said:

I've been eyeing the be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4 but I'm not really comfortable with how big it is compared to the case.

I still consider tower coolers as an option, though I would be okay with mid-sized coolers. I did say that being low profile is optional.

 

On 3/20/2020 at 7:59 AM, WoodenMarker said:

Can you link us to where you're shopping?

I'll be mostly buying my stuff at a retail store so yeah, no links for you, bud.

But I check prices on Shopee.ph or Lazada.com since they give local prices for my country

[WoodenMarker]

On 3/23/2020 at 10:39 AM, TweakBox said:

I'm using the NZXT H510 and tower coolers would be a tight fit so accessibility is kinda a big deal for me.

Tight fit in what way? Which parts are you most worried about accessing? There are plenty of examples of large coolers fitting just fine in the H510. Asides from the largest of coolers, I would consider most of them far from a tight fit. 

[TweakBox]

On 3/25/2020 at 10:15 AM, WoodenMarker said:

Tight fit in what way? Which parts are you most worried about accessing? There are plenty of examples of large coolers fitting just fine in the H510. Asides from the largest of coolers, I would consider most of them far from a tight fit. 

I was referring to how close the side panel would be to the tower. And also, I was hoping to broaden my options just in case i can still achieve decent performance without being too big. I'm fine with a  tower cooler, to be honest.

[WoodenMarker]

Just now, TweakBox said:

I was referring to how close the side panel would be to the tower. And also, I was hoping to broaden my options just in case i can still achieve decent performance without being too big. I'm fine with a  tower cooler, to be honest.

There's no problem with the cooler being close to the side panel. It's not too big as long as it fits. 

Selection seems pretty low so you could just go with the DRP4. 

If you prefer to save some money, the AS120 Plus is a decent option: https://www.lazada.com.ph/products/thermalright-assassin-spirit-120-as120-intel-amd-cpu-cooler-i593828048-s1626770907.html?