9900k i9 9900k - Mini ITX Cooler Conundrum

[zachary.ashen]

Hi all,

 

I am currently struggling to figure out what cooler would be the best option for a 9900k. I am building in a Lian Li TU150. It can fit almost any air cooler, but I am worried about the installation. I would much rather a smaller air cooler or even a 120mm aio if possible. I want to overclock, but nothing too crazy.

 

As of now I'm thinking these are my main options (I listed them in my preference order, but I just don't know if they can perform well enough): 

• NH-u12s (I would be running NH-u12s with two fans)
• H80i V2 Extreme
• BeQuiet Dark Rock Pro 4
• NH-D15

Thanks for your help in advance.

 

Edit: Just for clarification, I understand i9 9900k is not the best cpu right now, but I plan on making a hackintosh, so intel was most reliable option.

[jaslion]

3 minutes ago, zachary.ashen said:

Hi all,

 

I am currently struggling to figure out what cooler would be the best option for a 9900k. I am building in a Lian Li TU150. It can fit almost any air cooler, but I am worried about the installation. I would much rather a smaller air cooler or even a 120mm aio if possible. I want to overclock, but nothing too crazy.

 

As of now I'm thinking these are my main options (I listed them in my preference order, but I just don't know if they can perform well enough): 

• NH-u12s (I would be running NH-u12s with two fans)
• H80i V2 Extreme
• BeQuiet Dark Rock Pro 4
• NH-D15

Thanks for your help in advance.

If they fit get em in this order:

 

NHD15

Dark rock pro 4

NHU12s

H80i

 

Best cooling at the top least at the bottom.

[zachary.ashen]

1 minute ago, jaslion said:

If they fit get em in this order:

 

NHD15

Dark rock pro 4

NHU12s

H80i

 

Best cooling at the top least at the bottom.

Hi thanks so much for your help. Do you think it would make the NHU12s comparable to Dark rock pro 4 if I install a second fan? Or will there still be a significant bonus to the dark rock. I only plan on overclocking to 5GHz or slightly higher.

 

Thanks again for your help.

[Mateyyy]

NH-U12A? That case doesn't look too cooling optimised anyway, so it'll probably get quite toasty inside with a 9900K even at stock speeds. 

Btw do you already own the 9900K? If not, then there are probably better CPU choices out there at the moment for you.

[boggy77]

the bequiet dark rock tf is an excellent low profile cooler, on par with the dark rock pro 4 in terms of performance and on par with good 240mm aios.

be quiet! Dark Rock TF

[tank234]

Just now, zachary.ashen said:

Hi all,

 

I am currently struggling to figure out what cooler would be the best option for a 9900k. I am building in a Lian Li TU150. It can fit almost any air cooler, but I am worried about the installation. I would much rather a smaller air cooler or even a 120mm aio if possible. I want to overclock, but nothing too crazy.

 

As of now I'm thinking these are my main options (I listed them in my preference order, but I just don't know if they can perform well enough): 

• NH-u12s (I would be running NH-u12s with two fans)
• H80i V2 Extreme
• BeQuiet Dark Rock Pro 4
• NH-D15

Thanks for your help in advance.

So the best cooler IMO on that list is the NH-D15 and the Dark Rock Pro 4 but those are also one of the hardest to install as your case is really small. If you plan to do light overclocking then the NH-U2s it your best bet. The H80i is a good choice also but it is probably as expensive if not more than the other coolers on this list and it doesn't offer the same amount of cooling as the NH-D15 and the Dark Rock Pro 4. Also amd is a better choice as of right now.

[Applefreak]

If you want mobility, a 120 mm AIO would be more reliable. That being said, overclocking on a 120 AIO will be tough. My recommendation would be a Noctua NH-U12A or the Dark Rock 4.

[zachary.ashen]

2 minutes ago, Mateyyy said:

NH-U12A? That case doesn't look too cooling optimised anyway, so it'll probably get quite toasty inside with a 9900K even at stock speeds. 

Btw do you already own the 9900K? If not, then there are probably better CPU choices out there at the moment for you.

I know it makes more sense to go with Ryzen, but I plan on making hackintosh and for the most stable build I decided to go with the 9900k. I'm getting 4 noctua fans to fill all the case fans. So, I'm hoping it should work.

 

I'll check out the nh-u12a. Thanks.

[jaslion]

3 minutes ago, zachary.ashen said:

I know it makes more sense to go with Ryzen, but I plan on making hackintosh and for the most stable build I decided to go with the 9900k. I'm getting 4 noctua fans to fill all the case fans. So, I'm hoping it should work.

 

I'll check out the nh-u12a. Thanks.

I'd advice for a dark rock 4 or tf as well. It's cheaper and better dual fans on the noctua will maybe make a 3c difference so not worth it.

[WoodenMarker]

14 hours ago, jaslion said:

NHD15

Dark rock pro 4

NHU12s

H80i

Best cooling at the top least at the bottom.

13 hours ago, tank234 said:

So the best cooler IMO on that list is the NH-D15 and the Dark Rock Pro 4 but those are also one of the hardest to install as your case is really small. If you plan to do light overclocking then the NH-U2s it your best bet. The H80i is a good choice also but it is probably as expensive if not more than the other coolers on this list and it doesn't offer the same amount of cooling as the NH-D15 and the Dark Rock Pro 4. Also amd is a better choice as of right now.

The H80i V2 performs about as well as the NH-D15 or DRP4. 

https://www.tweakpc.de/hardware/tests/kuehler/be_quiet_dark_rock_pro_4/s05.php

https://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/be_quiet_dark_rock_pro_4_review,9.html

https://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/8842/quiet-dark-rock-pro-4-cpu-cooler-review/index6.html

13 hours ago, boggy77 said:

the bequiet dark rock tf is an excellent low profile cooler, on par with the dark rock pro 4 in terms of performance and on par with good 240mm aios. be quiet! Dark Rock TF

It's probably a bit less appropriate than a traditional tower cooler since the side panel is solid without ventilation or an additional fan to draw in air. 

13 hours ago, Applefreak said:

If you want mobility, a 120 mm AIO would be more reliable. That being said, overclocking on a 120 AIO will be tough. My recommendation would be a Noctua NH-U12A or the Dark Rock 4.

The DR4 is quiet but not as good of a performer as most of the coolers mentioned and I wouldn't recommend it for 5ghz especially without delidding. The NH-U12A is great if you want a compact cooler. 

14 hours ago, zachary.ashen said:

Hi thanks so much for your help. Do you think it would make the NHU12s comparable to Dark rock pro 4 if I install a second fan? Or will there still be a significant bonus to the dark rock. I only plan on overclocking to 5GHz or slightly higher.

The NH-U12S with an additional fan is still a bit worse than the DRP4. What ram are you using? Why do you prefer a smaller cooler?

Where are you shopping / located? Budget?

[zachary.ashen]

1 hour ago, WoodenMarker said:

The H80i V2 performs about as well as the NH-D15 or DRP4. 

I would prefer to go with the H80i V2 if possible, but everyone seems to think it performs significantly worse since it is a 120mm aio instead of 240mm aio. The reason I would rather a smaller cooler is just for ease of installation if I have to go with a bigger one for performance than so be it. 

 

I am located in the united states. My budget for cpu cooler is probably up to $140. If I can get basic overclocks with the h80i v2 than that would be my preferred option.

[WoodenMarker]

26 minutes ago, zachary.ashen said:

I would prefer to go with the H80i V2 if possible, but everyone seems to think it performs significantly worse since it is a 120mm aio instead of 240mm aio. The reason I would rather a smaller cooler is just for ease of installation if I have to go with a bigger one for performance than so be it. 

I am located in the united states. My budget for cpu cooler is probably up to $140. If I can get basic overclocks with the h80i v2 than that would be my preferred option.

It's a good performer but it's not nearly as quiet as the DRP4 or NH-D15. The included fans are loud. 

I'd argue that Noctua's installation is easier than the H80i V2's. The mounting kits are similar but the H80i V2 also requires aligning the fan between the rad and case. 

If you want a smaller cooler to more easily access the ram or eps power plug, the NH-U12A isn't far behind. 

[zachary.ashen]

7 hours ago, WoodenMarker said:

It's a good performer but it's not nearly as quiet as the DRP4 or NH-D15. The included fans are loud. 

I'd argue that Noctua's installation is easier than the H80i V2's. The mounting kits are similar but the H80i V2 also requires aligning the fan between the rad and case. 

If you want a smaller cooler to more easily access the ram or eps power plug, the NH-U12A isn't far behind. 

Thank you so much for your help. I think I'm going to see if I can get the NH-D15 to fit effectively in this small case, and if it isn't possible I will just return the D15 and use the NH-U12A with a smaller overclock.

 

Again thanks so much for your help.

[zachary.ashen]

I forgot to mention that I will be going to college next year and plan to drive with it for around 4-5 hours 3 or so times a year. In this case would an aio make more sense? I was reading that air coolers are bad for transporting. I'm keeping the case box and Styrofoam for my case to transport to help with the possibility of damage, but does it make more sense for aio if I am traveling or does it make no difference.

 

Thanks so much again for all your help. 

On 4/21/2020 at 9:52 AM, Applefreak said:

If you want mobility, a 120 mm AIO would be more reliable

 

[WoodenMarker]

5 hours ago, zachary.ashen said:

Thank you so much for your help. I think I'm going to see if I can get the NH-D15 to fit effectively in this small case, and if it isn't possible I will just return the D15 and use the NH-U12A with a smaller overclock

The NH-D15 should fit just fine. Examples:

https://pcpartpicker.com/b/svzYcf

https://pcpartpicker.com/b/nKCbt6

1 hour ago, zachary.ashen said:

I forgot to mention that I will be going to college next year and plan to drive with it for around 4-5 hours 3 or so times a year. In this case would an aio make more sense? I was reading that air coolers are bad for transporting. I'm keeping the case box and Styrofoam for my case to transport to help with the possibility of damage, but does it make more sense for aio if I am traveling or does it make no difference.

A heavy / large air cooler can mean more torque so I wouldn't recommend using a shipping service like FedEx for a system with one. If you're being reasonable and not throwing the system around, it should be fine. If possible, lay the system on it's side so that the cooler is laying on top of the motherboard instead of hanging vertically. This is even more important especially for graphics cards but they should be removed if the system isn't going to be filled with some padding.