What would be a good cooler upgrade for me?

[Yo Whats Up]

Right now I have 4770k@4.27ghz and the problem is, because it's summer and perhaps because the last time I applied thermal paste was 3+ years ago, even cpu usage at like 60-70% makes it reach like 75-80C with 80% cpu speed fan (Lucifer K2). But anyway I plan to get likely 11400 but I'm not decided yet (still waiting for my wage lol). So what would be a good COST-EFFICIENT (price is very very important) cooler upgrade? My case is http://www.coolermaster.com/case/mid-tower/k350-rc-k350-kwn2-en/ , although my evga G2 1000W does not fit in it so I remove the side wall. But maybe I should upgrade case too? Cuz frankly with my bad sleep I've grown very sensitive to sound so what was once almost completely irrelevant (the sound) now annoys me. Even the AC sound annoys me. Yet alone my cpu fan going at near-full speed with open case... So I need to get a new cooler that is cost-efficient for the performance, perhaps a new silent case AND some very silent fans. But the thing is, when it comes to case fans, they might claim they're silent but at the same time have very low cfm for their noise. So like, one normal fan running at 50% might provide 50 cfm, while the "silent fan" running at 50% might provide 30 cfm and be quieter. But ofc if I run the normal fan at 30% with 30 cfm, it will match the noise and speed (cfm) with the silent fan. Thus to me, silent fan is one that provides THE SAME or GREATER cfm compared to other fans, but with lower noise. NOT one that is silent but provides less cfm. Because I could simply reduce the fan speed of my normal fans and boom, now they're silent and low cfm, so hard right. So do u guys got suggestions? I bought Lucifer K2 in 2017 or 2018 I think, and at the time it was one of the top cpu air cooler fans. Not like top of the top, but for its price tag it was great. But now I think it's outdated and not powerful enough anymore (also I barely fit it in my case lol). I'm open to water and/or custom air cooling (I played pc building simulator so I know how it works, kinda). As long as it's cost-efficient for the performance.

[Tan3l6]

IMO - https://pcpartpicker.com/product/jmmFf7/gelid-solutions-phantom-black-cpu-cooler-cc-phantom-black-01-a

or

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/sk22FT/arctic-freezer-34-esports-cpu-cooler-acfre00058a

though depends what you mean by cost-efficient. Scythe Fuma 2 or Noctua NH-D15 are sometimes also considered cost efficient, but they just cost more.

[Omar.B]

7 minutes ago, Yo Whats Up said:

Right now I have 4770k@4.27ghz and the problem is, because it's summer and perhaps because the last time I applied thermal paste was 3+ years ago, even cpu usage at like 60-70% makes it reach like 75-80C with 80% cpu speed fan (Lucifer K2). But anyway I plan to get likely 11400 but I'm not decided yet (still waiting for my wage lol). So what would be a good COST-EFFICIENT (price is very very important) cooler upgrade? My case is http://www.coolermaster.com/case/mid-tower/k350-rc-k350-kwn2-en/ , although my evga G2 1000W does not fit in it so I remove the side wall. But maybe I should upgrade case too? Cuz frankly with my bad sleep I've grown very sensitive to sound so what was once almost completely irrelevant (the sound) now annoys me. Even the AC sound annoys me. Yet alone my cpu fan going at near-full speed with open case... So I need to get a new cooler that is cost-efficient for the performance, perhaps a new silent case AND some very silent fans. But the thing is, when it comes to case fans, they might claim they're silent but at the same time have very low cfm for their noise. So like, one normal fan running at 50% might provide 50 cfm, while the "silent fan" running at 50% might provide 30 cfm and be quieter. But ofc if I run the normal fan at 30% with 30 cfm, it will match the noise and speed (cfm) with the silent fan. Thus to me, silent fan is one that provides THE SAME or GREATER cfm compared to other fans, but with lower noise. NOT one that is silent but provides less cfm. Because I could simply reduce the fan speed of my normal fans and boom, now they're silent and low cfm, so hard right. So do u guys got suggestions? I bought Lucifer K2 in 2017 or 2018 I think, and at the time it was one of the top cpu air cooler fans. Not like top of the top, but for its price tag it was great. But now I think it's outdated and not powerful enough anymore (also I barely fit it in my case lol). I'm open to water and/or custom air cooling (I played pc building simulator so I know how it works, kinda). As long as it's cost-efficient for the performance.

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/dmXnTW/arctic-freezer-34-esports-duo-cpu-cooler-acfre00060a its only 50$ but what you are going with and your budget?

[Yo Whats Up]

2 minutes ago, Omar.B said:

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/dmXnTW/arctic-freezer-34-esports-duo-cpu-cooler-acfre00060a its only 50$ but what you are going with and your budget?

Idk I don't really have a budget I just wanna upgrade because the 11 series just dropped (and ryzen 5K) so there's really no better time to upgrade. I won't be getting new gpu ofc so the gpu prices are irrelevant to me. I'm also getting quite annoyed by the noise of my pc. I'm just looking for good deals. I think I migth go for the i5-11400 simply because it's the best deal while providing a nice upgrade, although considering I got my i7-4770k in 2014, I was hoping 7 years later I'd get at least an 8 core, but nope... The only 8 core cpu anywhere near the price of the 11400 is the ryzen 2700x, but that loses to the 11400 in everything except 7 and 8 core usages, at least according to userbenchmark https://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/AMD-Ryzen-7-2700X-vs-Intel-Core-i5-11400/3958vs4112

 

Why the arctic freezer 34 and gelid solutions phantom? They are not in the tier list. And also it doesn't have to be air cooling. I'm smart I can learn to build custom water cooling if it will provide better price-to-performance ratio, I watched a 5min video in youtube and I easily built my custom water cooling in pc building simulator, which I know is much easier than in real life because the entire game is mega simplfied, but still, it wasn't that hard. I just need some guidance. 

[Omar.B]

16 minutes ago, Yo Whats Up said:

Idk I don't really have a budget I just wanna upgrade because the 11 series just dropped (and ryzen 5K) so there's really no better time to upgrade. I won't be getting new gpu ofc so the gpu prices are irrelevant to me. I'm also getting quite annoyed by the noise of my pc. I'm just looking for good deals. I think I migth go for the i5-11400 simply because it's the best deal while providing a nice upgrade, although considering I got my i7-4770k in 2014, I was hoping 7 years later I'd get at least an 8 core, but nope... The only 8 core cpu anywhere near the price of the 11400 is the ryzen 2700x, but that loses to the 11400 in everything except 7 and 8 core usages, at least according to userbenchmark https://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/AMD-Ryzen-7-2700X-vs-Intel-Core-i5-11400/3958vs4112

 

Why the arctic freezer 34 and gelid solutions phantom? They are not in the tier list. And also it doesn't have to be air cooling. I'm smart I can learn to build custom water cooling if it will provide better price-to-performance ratio, I watched a 5min video in youtube and I easily built my custom water cooling in pc building simulator, which I know is much easier than in real life because the entire game is mega simplfied, but still, it wasn't that hard. I just need some guidance. 

well thats a 6 core 12 thead processor you wont need more than the arctic freezer 34 esports duo  it will keep the temp good since you are not going to overclock 

[Yo Whats Up]

Just now, Omar.B said:

well thats a 6 core 12 thead processor you wont need more than the arctic freezer 34 esports duo  it will keep the temp good since you are not going to overclock 

Actually I do wanna overlock, if possible, past the turbo boost I mean. 

[Omar.B]

1 minute ago, Yo Whats Up said:

Actually I do wanna overlock, if possible, past the turbo boost I mean. 

a crazy one or nomal one? 

[Yo Whats Up]

9 minutes ago, Omar.B said:

a crazy one or nomal one? 

Idk. With my 4770k, I must have gotten a very badly binned chip because overclocking anything past 4.3ghz means I have to raise the voltage very high, to the point I was afraid for the life of the cpu because it was already a few years old when I decided to seriously overclock it (now 7 years old), it wasn't really the cooling that was the problem. My cpu is now at 1.28V core voltage, although it's actually higher I think because of v-drop and LLC (unlike newer motherboards, there is no compensation for it - https://www.msi.com/blog/LLC_what_is_it_and_why_are_MSI_Z370_motherboards_the_best_choice_for_overclocking) That said, this motherboard (Z87-K) does not have a core voltage reader or sensor, so we will never truly know what voltage it is at, that's why I rather be safe than sorry. But 4.3 isn't even that high and the voltage is already getting high. When I tried 4.4ghz I had to significantly bump the voltage up, so i decided 4.27ghz is the sweetpoint. I read for haswell 1.35V is relatively safe for long-term, and should be kept under 1.4V.

 

So with this new cpu, I wanna overclock it to squeeze as much performance as possible, although not past the safe long-term voltage or so much that it will affect temps (because higher temps means higher fans and higher rpm, means higher noise, and I don't like noise). I will try to find the sweet spot for core frequency and voltage and temperature.

[Omar.B]

16 minutes ago, Yo Whats Up said:

Idk. With my 4770k, I must have gotten a very badly binned chip because overclocking anything past 4.3ghz means I have to raise the voltage very high, to the point I was afraid for the life of the cpu because it was already a few years old when I decided to seriously overclock it (now 7 years old), it wasn't really the cooling that was the problem. My cpu is now at 1.28V core voltage, although it's actually higher I think because of v-drop and LLC (unlike newer motherboards, there is no compensation for it - https://www.msi.com/blog/LLC_what_is_it_and_why_are_MSI_Z370_motherboards_the_best_choice_for_overclocking) That said, this motherboard (Z87-K) does not have a core voltage reader or sensor, so we will never truly know what voltage it is at, that's why I rather be safe than sorry. But 4.3 isn't even that high and the voltage is already getting high. When I tried 4.4ghz I had to significantly bump the voltage up, so i decided 4.27ghz is the sweetpoint. I read for haswell 1.35V is relatively safe for long-term, and should be kept under 1.4V.

 

So with this new cpu, I wanna overclock it to squeeze as much performance as possible, although not past the safe long-term voltage or so much that it will affect temps (because higher temps means higher fans and higher rpm, means higher noise, and I don't like noise). I will try to find the sweet spot for core frequency and voltage and temperature.

that means normal overclock and a 360mm aio should do the job but you will need a i5 11600k and a z590 board with really good vrm cooling 

aios : https://pcpartpicker.com/product/2PFKHx/arctic-liquid-freezer-ii-360-563-cfm-liquid-cpu-cooler-acfre00068a 

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/htkgXL/nzxt-kraken-z73-7311-cfm-liquid-cpu-cooler-rl-krz73-01

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/yLBhP6/ek-ek-aio-360-d-rgb-6604-cfm-liquid-cpu-cooler-ek-aio-360-d-rgb

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/q2Dkcf/lian-li-galahad-aio-360-rgb-6917-cfm-liquid-cpu-cooler-galahad-aio-360-rgb-black

[Yo Whats Up]

46 minutes ago, Omar.B said:

that means normal overclock and a 360mm aio should do the job but you will need a i5 11600k and a z590 board with really good vrm cooling 

aios : https://pcpartpicker.com/product/2PFKHx/arctic-liquid-freezer-ii-360-563-cfm-liquid-cpu-cooler-acfre00068a 

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/htkgXL/nzxt-kraken-z73-7311-cfm-liquid-cpu-cooler-rl-krz73-01

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/yLBhP6/ek-ek-aio-360-d-rgb-6604-cfm-liquid-cpu-cooler-ek-aio-360-d-rgb

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/q2Dkcf/lian-li-galahad-aio-360-rgb-6917-cfm-liquid-cpu-cooler-galahad-aio-360-rgb-black

Hmm, I think I'm gonna wait with cpu purchase. It's already June so almost half of the year has passed, and the new Alder Lake cpus that will come by the end of 2021 are looking very very promising https://videocardz.com/newz/exclusive-intel-12th-gen-core-alder-lake-s-platform-detailed Finally 10 nm, up to 20% single core and 100% multicore improvement (that's 2X) as well as DDR5 support, and the fact that they will use new socket LGA1700 that will be compatible with the 13rd and 14th gens. I was saying how after a cpu release is the best time to buy new cpus, but with intel's upcoming cpus in half a year + the fact that 8 cores cpus are still expensive for my liking, I think I will wait. Thank you for the suggestions tho, I think I will end up buying AIO just to calm down my 4770k a bit. In half a year it's unlikely much will change with aios so it's not like I'm losing much by buying now instead of waiting, and at the same time, AIO don't go bad right? Like I know with air coolers, the fan can only go so many cycles before having to be replaced, but I'm not sure how aio cooling works. I'm definitely not going custom as I read it requires a decent amount of money and can leak and other stuff. In the custom/exotic cooling section they even said AIO is more cost-efficient than custom cooling, the latter is more for hobbies and for people with lots of money. But i wanna know if AIO cooling will degrade or if it's fine to buy now and then buy new mb and cpu and ram when Alder Lake releases? Also I'm going with AIO because it was said that not only does it cool more, but it is also quieter under load, which is just what I need. But I don't think my case can handle any radiator at all, so I would likely need a new case or keep the radiator outside of the case like I do with my psu.

[Omar.B]

1 hour ago, Yo Whats Up said:

Hmm, I think I'm gonna wait with cpu purchase. It's already June so almost half of the year has passed, and the new Alder Lake cpus that will come by the end of 2021 are looking very very promising https://videocardz.com/newz/exclusive-intel-12th-gen-core-alder-lake-s-platform-detailed Finally 10 nm, up to 20% single core and 100% multicore improvement (that's 2X) as well as DDR5 support, and the fact that they will use new socket LGA1700 that will be compatible with the 13rd and 14th gens. I was saying how after a cpu release is the best time to buy new cpus, but with intel's upcoming cpus in half a year + the fact that 8 cores cpus are still expensive for my liking, I think I will wait. Thank you for the suggestions tho, I think I will end up buying AIO just to calm down my 4770k a bit. In half a year it's unlikely much will change with aios so it's not like I'm losing much by buying now instead of waiting, and at the same time, AIO don't go bad right? Like I know with air coolers, the fan can only go so many cycles before having to be replaced, but I'm not sure how aio cooling works. I'm definitely not going custom as I read it requires a decent amount of money and can leak and other stuff. In the custom/exotic cooling section they even said AIO is more cost-efficient than custom cooling, the latter is more for hobbies and for people with lots of money. But i wanna know if AIO cooling will degrade or if it's fine to buy now and then buy new mb and cpu and ram when Alder Lake releases? Also I'm going with AIO because it was said that not only does it cool more, but it is also quieter under load, which is just what I need. But I don't think my case can handle any radiator at all, so I would likely need a new case or keep the radiator outside of the case like I do with my psu.

I see and yes you can buy an AIO for now and keep it for the new mobo and cpu and a new case will be better since you got some good airflow that will help to keep the temp low , AIO can go bad sometimes when you install it wrong or keep it on 100 percent , AIO usually have longer age than the air cooler and for the replace point you wont need to do that just make sure to clean it frequently thats it . I hope I answer it all 

[Yo Whats Up]

18 hours ago, Omar.B said:

I see and yes you can buy an AIO for now and keep it for the new mobo and cpu and a new case will be better since you got some good airflow that will help to keep the temp low , AIO can go bad sometimes when you install it wrong or keep it on 100 percent , AIO usually have longer age than the air cooler and for the replace point you wont need to do that just make sure to clean it frequently thats it . I hope I answer it all 

Ok so, I'm down to about 25 choices of AIO right now. What I did is open a site in my country that lists all pc hardware from various sites and places (it's a centralized place to compare prices because it's a small country) and I checked every single AIO that was present in tier 1 of the tier list here and up to 180 euro. Then I eliminated every 1 by 1 that I found a reason for (for example, this one https://www.custompc.com.cy/components/cpu-coolers/jonsbo-jellyfish-360-complete-watercooling-argb-360mm/ is one no one has ever heard of, so it's too risky to buy) and well as old inferior models such as corsair hydro h100x that was released long time ago. As well as older models like nzxt kraken x73 that according to gamersnexus is inferior to Arctic Freezer II 280 https://www.gamersnexus.net/hwreviews/3571-arctic-liquid-freezer-ii-cooler-review-benchmark , yes the x73 is quieter than x72 but according to reddit comments I found, they have the same performance). I checked every single AIO model till about 180 euro, ofc that doesn't mean I'm planning to spend 180 euro (that would be quite ridiculous), but I was just curius how the cheaper options stack. And well, usually expensive is better, is what I found. But right now, the Arctic Freezer II 360 is only 90 euro where I live (the freezer II 240 is 75 euro, so the 360 is best value option), and the Arctic Freezer II 280 was already beating nzxt x73 (which is a decent benchmark model to compare other models to because it's popular) in the gamersnexus article above, so I'm almost certainly going to end up buying the Arctic Freezer II 360, because even if there are models better than it (which I don't know), they might be 70-80% more expensive for 10% more performance, which is totally not worth it. 

 

But, here are the models I still have to compare to the arctic freezer II 360 to make my informed decision:

 

Arctic Freezer II 360 - 90 euro

Cougar Aqua 360 - 96.47 euro

MSI Mag Coreliquid 240R - 111.51 euro (this one is only 240, so if I can't find enough information about it, it would be safe to assume it would perform worse than 360mm radiators)

Fractal Design Celsius S36 - 121.99 euro

Cooler Master MasterLiquid ML360R RGB - 127.91 euro

Corsair H115i RGB PLATINUM 280 - 131.86 euro

MSI Mag Coreliquid 360R - 132.25 euro

be quiet! Pure Loop 360 - 132.42 euro

Lian Li Galahad AIO 360MM ARGB - 133.58 euro

Alphacool Eisbaer LT360 - 137.84 euro

Thermaltake Floe Riing RGB 240 TT Premium Edition - 142.65 euro (this one is also 240mm so would be first to exclude if no information found, and also RGB tends to inflate price while not providing anything besides lightning, so this AIO without rgb would be cheaper)

COUGAR Helor 360 - 142.88 euro

Corsair iCUE H115i Elite Capellix 280 - 145.76 euro

Silverstone PF360W-ARGB - 150.78 euro

Corsair iCUE H150i RGB PRO XT - 156.54 euro

Thermaltake Water 3.0 Ultimate - 158.47 euro

Cooler Master MasterLiquid ML240R RGB CM - 158.60 euro - this one appears to be nearly the same as the MasterLiquid ML360R RGB except it's 240, however the fact it's much more expensive and has CM in the name and it says "phantom gaming edition" in the description while the 360 doesn't say it, makes me think there's something more to it

Thermaltake ARGB Sync Edition Water 3.0 240 - 159.03 euro - i have no idea why a 240 radiator is this expensive, only way one to know (by finding quality review)

be quiet! Silent Loop 2 360 - 159.67 euro

Fractal Design Celsius+ S28 - 161.97 euro

Alphacool Eisbaer 420 - 163.56 euro

ASUS ROG Ryujin 240 - 165.45 euro - again suspiciously expensive for 240mm

Corsair Hydro H100i RGB PLATINUM SE 240 - 168.73 euro - this one was only available in one site, and the fact it's 100 model and 240mm, means it's almost certainly outclassed by the other corsair coolers, but I decided not to delete it just yet, u never know right

Asus ROG Strix LC 360 RGB - 173.33 euro

Cooler Master MasterLiquid ML360P ARGB - 175.46 euro

Gigabyte AORUS Liquid 280 - 177.47 euro

Fractal Design Celsius+ S36 Dynamic 360 - 184.58 euro

Phanteks Glacier One 360 - 185.70 euro

Corsair iCUE h150i Elite Capellix 360 - 190.65 euro

 

 

These are the choices I have narrowed down my purchase to (I started with hundreds of models), even though I'm 95% sure I will end up getting the Arctic Freezer II 360 because the 280mm version was already better than the x73 so the 360mm will be even better, and the price and value is very hard to beat. Whenever I buy something important to me, I always put a lot of research and details into it. I am like the guy that min-maxes in RPG games for every little 0.0001% of dmg. I am currently trying to find reviews of these models. It doesn't have to be against one another. Like, if I find model 1 2 3 4 5 and I see how they stand against each other, then I find model 4 5 6 7 8, and u can then say that if 1 is better than 4, and 4 is better than 8, that 1 is better than 8. But that relies on quality reviews.

[Omar.B]

22 minutes ago, Yo Whats Up said:

Ok so, I'm down to about 25 choices of AIO right now. What I did is open a site in my country that lists all pc hardware from various sites and places (it's a centralized place to compare prices because it's a small country) and I checked every single AIO that was present in tier 1 of the tier list here and up to 180 euro. Then I eliminated every 1 by 1 that I found a reason for (for example, this one https://www.custompc.com.cy/components/cpu-coolers/jonsbo-jellyfish-360-complete-watercooling-argb-360mm/ is one no one has ever heard of, so it's too risky to buy) and well as old inferior models such as corsair hydro h100x that was released long time ago. As well as older models like nzxt kraken x73 that according to gamersnexus is inferior to Arctic Freezer II 280 https://www.gamersnexus.net/hwreviews/3571-arctic-liquid-freezer-ii-cooler-review-benchmark , yes the x73 is quieter than x72 but according to reddit comments I found, they have the same performance). I checked every single AIO model till about 180 euro, ofc that doesn't mean I'm planning to spend 180 euro (that would be quite ridiculous), but I was just curius how the cheaper options stack. And well, usually expensive is better, is what I found. But right now, the Arctic Freezer II 360 is only 90 euro where I live (the freezer II 240 is 75 euro, so the 360 is best value option), and the Arctic Freezer II 280 was already beating nzxt x73 (which is a decent benchmark model to compare other models to because it's popular) in the gamersnexus article above, so I'm almost certainly going to end up buying the Arctic Freezer II 360, because even if there are models better than it (which I don't know), they might be 70-80% more expensive for 10% more performance, which is totally not worth it. 

 

But, here are the models I still have to compare to the arctic freezer II 360 to make my informed decision:

 

Arctic Freezer II 360 - 90 euro

Fractal Design Celsius S36 - 121.99 euro

Corsair H115i RGB PLATINUM 280 - 131.86 euro

MSI Mag Coreliquid 360R - 132.25 euro

be quiet! Pure Loop 360 - 132.42 euro

Lian Li Galahad AIO 360MM ARGB - 133.58 euro

Corsair iCUE H115i Elite Capellix 280 - 145.76 euro

Silverstone PF360W-ARGB - 150.78 euro

Corsair iCUE H150i RGB PRO XT - 156.54 euro

be quiet! Silent Loop 2 360 - 159.67 euro

 

The arctic is still the best overall and it can handle a i9 10900k or a ryzen 9 5900x but theres a another bigger one its the 420mm

https://www.custompc.com.cy/components/cpu-coolers/arctic-liquid-freezer-ii-cpu-complete-watercooling-420mm/

For 133.63 euro 

and I made the list shorter for you but if the arctic beats them then this is the best choise !

For the CM AIO dont go with anything less than 360mmand the v2 version since its not that strong coolers but usually they are cheap

22 minutes ago, Yo Whats Up said:

 

These are the choices I have narrowed down my purchase to (I started with hundreds of models), even though I'm 95% sure I will end up getting the Arctic Freezer II 360 because the 280mm version was already better than the x73 so the 360mm will be even better, and the price and value is very hard to beat. Whenever I buy something important to me, I always put a lot of research and details into it. I am like the guy that min-maxes in RPG games for every little 0.0001% of dmg. I am currently trying to find reviews of these models. It doesn't have to be against one another. Like, if I find model 1 2 3 4 5 and I see how they stand against each other, then I find model 4 5 6 7 8, and u can then say that if 1 is better than 4, and 4 is better than 8, that 1 is better than 8. But that relies on quality reviews.

 I love that you do all and any research to find what is overall best!!!

I think the arctic will win 

the galahad and the mag are new and looked good 

[Yo Whats Up]

Ok so here goes more data I researched:

 

Source: 

 

Information gained: MASTERLIQUID ML240R RGB (PHANTOM GAMING EDITION) may leak. "Gamers Nexus did a whole YouTube video about AIOs not using a cooling liquid that corrodes and turns green when the CPU plate is copper and radiator is aluminum."

 

Source: https://www.kitguru.net/components/cooling/james-dawson/cooler-master-masterliquid-ml240l-v2-rgb-cooler-review/5/

 

Information gained: the Arctic Freezer II 240 > Corsair h100i RGB Platinum, h100i V2, h115i RGB PRO XT, Cooler Master ML240R RGB, Fractal Design Celsius+ S24/28/36, 

 

How do we know that test is correct? Well, gamers nexus reached the same conclusion (look at 100% fan speed) https://www.gamersnexus.net/hwreviews/3571-arctic-liquid-freezer-ii-cooler-review-benchmark

 

The Arctic Liquid Freezer II 280 cooler has delta of 50.9 while the NH-D15 has delta of 55.2. While in the kitguru.net test, the Arctic Liquid Freezer II 240 (bit less than the 280) has delta of 26.2/42.9/53.3 vs NH-D15's 32.4/49.2/63.1 . The closest deltas to comparison are 50.9 vs 55.2 (gamersnexus) and 53.3 vs 63.1 (kitguru.net), as we can see in the latter the freezer 280's delta temp is 2.4c higher, but the nh-d15's delta temp is 7.9c higher compared to the gamersnexus one, aka 5.5c appear out of nowhere. But that could be due to the fact that as the wattage increases, some coolers start to struggle more, and of course due to inaccurate testing (gamersnexus is the most accurate tester out there). For noise load, in gamersnexus test the Freezer II 280 reaches 42.5 dbA at max load, while the NH-D15 reaches 43.9 dbA. In kitguru's test, the Freezer II 240 reaches 41.2 dbA vs the 44.1 dbA of the NH-D15 (only 0.2 dbA difference with gamersnexus' test). This leads me to believe that, while kitguru's test isn't completely accurate (read https://www.gamersnexus.net/guides/3561-cpu-cooler-testing-methodology-most-tests-are-flawed ) it is still accurate enough to be able to tell that the Freezer II 240 is better than the above models mentioned in the "information gained" part. As such, we can scratch off all those models (as they are much more expensive anyway).

 

Source: https://www.hexus.net/tech/reviews/cooling/147755-arctic-liquid-freezer-ii-420/?page=3

 

Information gained: The Arctic Freezer II 420 is so much ahead of the Corsair iCue h115i Elite Capellix, that even without knowing the performance of the 360mm version, we can safely assume that the Arctic Freezer II 360 is still gonna be better than that particular Corsair Model

 

Source: https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/arctic-liquid-freezer-ii-280-all-in-one-cpu-cooler,6376-2.html

 

Information gained: Arctic Freezer II 280 > Corsair h115i RGB Platinum, Couger Helor 360. As gamersnexus' review points out, the Arctic Freezer II 280 reaches almost maximum power at 1200 RPM, meaning u do not get much performance going from 1200 to 1600 RPM, as shown by the fact at 100% fan the temp is 56.0 in tomshardware review, while at 50% speed it's 57.9. But then u look at the h115i and u can see massive difference between 50% and 100% fan speed. So you can have the freezer II 280 running at 50% speed and STILL outperforming the h115i rgb platinum at 100%. Absolute obliteration. This is further confirmed in kitguru's test where the freezer II 240 destroys the h100i rgb platinum. So it all makes sense if the 240 destroys the h100i, that the 280 will destroy the h115i (and what's left for the 360 then, priced at 90 euro?). Based on this test, they should prob put the Deepcool Castle 240EX in Tier 1, as currently it's not anywhere.

HOWEVER, here we have a contradiction! In https://www.gamersnexus.net/hwreviews/3457-corsair-h115i-rgb-platinum-cooler-review-asetek-vs-coolit we can see the h115i rgb platinum. At 100% fan speed, it matches the nzxt X72, with both being 35.0c. And in gamersnexus' arctic freezer II 280 test, the 280 is also EXACTLY equal with the nzxt X72 at full fan speed, both being 50.9. So what does this mean? It means that at full speed the arctic freezer II 280 is equal with the nzxt x72, which is equal with h115i rgb platinum, which makes the freezer equal to the platinum, but that contradicts tomshardware review where the freezer obliterates the platinum. BUT, in tomshardware review, the delta is 56 and 58.4 respectively, which is about 2.4C. Which is a decent amount higher than the delta in gamersnexus' test of 50.9. Likely meaning that the load in tomshardware review (wattage) is higher than the load in gamersnexus' review, which is why the h115i rgb platinum gets rekt by the freezer in tomshardware review,  but is equal in gamersnexus' review (although they cannot be DIRECTLY compared, but we use the X72 and the other coolers as a medium, so they should be compareable). We can see in tomshardware that they are using prime95, which is rather heavy benchmark for a cpu. Thus we can conclude that tomshardware's review simply uses more wattage where the h115i rgb platinum gets exposed. Either that, or it's inaccurate (but unlikely, considering the HUGE difference between the freezer and the h115i in that review). In any case, the h115i rgb platinum costs more, so even if it was equal, it wouldn't matter. The freezer is the clear winner. Especially because the 360 is 90 euro, while all the tests use the 280. So the 360 is going to be even better.

 

And now, I'm gonna tick off the eliminated coolers and continue maybe tomorrow.

 

Eliminated from the race:

 

Cooler Master MASTERLIQUID ML240R RGB (PHANTOM GAMING EDITION) 

Fractal Design Celsius S36

Corsair h100i RGB Platinum SE  - the difference between the normal h100i rgb platinum and the Special Edition (SE) is almost negligible https://www.reddit.com/r/Corsair/comments/er1r8l/h100i_rgb_platinum_se_vs_rgb_platinum/ (check product pages too), as such, since the h100i rgb platinum got eliminated, the SE gets eliminated too

Fractal Design Celsius+ S24/28/36

Corsair H115i RGB PLATINUM 280

Corsair iCue h115i Elite Capellix

Couger Helor 360

 

Out of 29 models, 8 have been eliminated. 21 remain. Who will win?

[StarsMars]

On 5/29/2021 at 2:25 PM, Yo Whats Up said:

Right now I have 4770k@4.27ghz and the problem is, because it's summer and perhaps because the last time I applied thermal paste was 3+ years ago, even cpu usage at like 60-70% makes it reach like 75-80C with 80% cpu speed fan (Lucifer K2). But anyway I plan to get likely 11400 but I'm not decided yet (still waiting for my wage lol). So what would be a good COST-EFFICIENT (price is very very important) cooler upgrade? My case is http://www.coolermaster.com/case/mid-tower/k350-rc-k350-kwn2-en/ , although my evga G2 1000W does not fit in it so I remove the side wall. But maybe I should upgrade case too? Cuz frankly with my bad sleep I've grown very sensitive to sound so what was once almost completely irrelevant (the sound) now annoys me. Even the AC sound annoys me. Yet alone my cpu fan going at near-full speed with open case... So I need to get a new cooler that is cost-efficient for the performance, perhaps a new silent case AND some very silent fans. But the thing is, when it comes to case fans, they might claim they're silent but at the same time have very low cfm for their noise. So like, one normal fan running at 50% might provide 50 cfm, while the "silent fan" running at 50% might provide 30 cfm and be quieter. But ofc if I run the normal fan at 30% with 30 cfm, it will match the noise and speed (cfm) with the silent fan. Thus to me, silent fan is one that provides THE SAME or GREATER cfm compared to other fans, but with lower noise. NOT one that is silent but provides less cfm. Because I could simply reduce the fan speed of my normal fans and boom, now they're silent and low cfm, so hard right. So do u guys got suggestions? I bought Lucifer K2 in 2017 or 2018 I think, and at the time it was one of the top cpu air cooler fans. Not like top of the top, but for its price tag it was great. But now I think it's outdated and not powerful enough anymore (also I barely fit it in my case lol). I'm open to water and/or custom air cooling (I played pc building simulator so I know how it works, kinda). As long as it's cost-efficient for the performance.

What about replacing the thermal paste for now?

[Yo Whats Up]

4 minutes ago, StarsMars said:

What about replacing the thermal paste for now?

Could it be from that? It's been 3 years maybe bit more but idk. And i have to buy a cooler anyway, plus 90 euro is not that much for that amazing 360mm radiator. Although I'd have to buy a new case too...

[StarsMars]

2 minutes ago, Yo Whats Up said:

Could it be from that? It's been 3 years maybe bit more but idk. And i have to buy a cooler anyway, plus 90 euro is not that much for that amazing 360mm radiator. Although I'd have to buy a new case too...

It probably is dry paste. Maybe some dust build up too. Could be the fan bearing degrading.

That cooler shouldn't have trouble keep the 4770k cool unless you have a crazy oc

 

Some pastes last longer than others. I just redid mine after a year.

 

 

A new case and AIO is about 200euro to fix a potentially 5euro problem.

I fully understand wanting new hardware to play with, it's just better spent on GPU or CPU upgrades.