Which CPU cooler should I get and how do I install it?

bluecew · June 11, 2020

My PC is a prebuilt from 4 years ago and it came with the Intel stock cooler. I was talking with a friend about CPUs and once I informed him of my CPU temperatures, he told me it was overheating. I never knew it was overheating and never did research for CPU temperatures so basically I was ignorant at the fact that my CPU was overheating all the time. I have been gaming for 4 years almost every day with the CPU at 70-80C in heavy AAA game titles (RDR2 pushes my CPU to the max at 85C). Once I realized these temperatures were not good (4 years later lol), I tried manually adjusting the fan curve in BIOS but it didn't do much.

I think I need a new CPU cooler because the Intel stock cooler is so trash. The problem is I am a complete noob when it comes to building computers (never built one) and I don't know which cooler is good for my LGA1151 Core i7-6700 @3.4GHz (non-k). Neither do I know how to install one.

Which cooler would be decent for my CPU? How would I uninstall my stock cooler and how would I install the new one? I have a mini-ATX motherboard. Please give me all the information I need because I am a beginner and I don't want to mess up and break stuff. Also I am worried about having a bulky cooler weighing down my small motherboard and bending it.