cpu cooler Cpu Cooler

[ThomasJanik]

Ok, First time on the forums, so I think I setup the tags thing right, but probably not (sorry)

 

this is my first PC that I built, with a lot of help from a lot of different people (pre-pandemic and GPU shortage)

 

I have an Intel i5 9400f, and it is currently running the stock cooler, which is louder than I would like, and a little bit warm (pretty much 65-75c under load, and 35-40c (mostly) idle)

 

I'm pretty sure these temperatures are fine for a cpu, but not great.

 

Now, I have decided that with about $75 in Amazon gift card credits, I want to buy a Noctua cooler

 

If this is actually fine for temperatures, then too bad, I'm probably going to end up buying a cooler anyways

 

I have already decided against water cooling, even though I know that it is probably fine, even with an AIO from a reputable brand, i still don't feel comfortable with it, especially in the case of a leak, which would drip on my GPU, which finding a replacement for, would be less than fun, even though it is a 1060 and not a 3090 (still lucky that I got it when I did, and the silicon in that thing is pretty high up in terms of the silicon lottery, so )

 

I have the NZXT h510, so I cant just get an NH-D15 and never have to upgrade coolers again, If I had a bigger case, than I would make the investment, but I don't need It now, and By the time I upgrade my pc, ill probably be okay with water cooling (still seems like... not the best idea)

 

I was looking at the Noctua NH-L9x65 or the Noctua NH-L9i chromax.Black, but Noctua's compatibility list says only with good ventilation, which I guess mine is okay, but If I'm spending 50-70 dollars on a piece of aluminum with a fan, then I want it to work really well, and not end up just buying the more expensive equivalent of the stock cooler

 

Sorry this was all a rant

 

TLDR:

 

Looking for a new cpu cooler (not water cooling) for an intel i5 9400f (preferably Noctua) in an NZXT h510, and don't mind spending 50-70 dollars, but don't really realistically want to go over 100-110 USD

 

Sorry if i did this completely wrong, but if I didn't: Any suggestions?

[ThomasJanik]

I did a little bit more looking around, and decent looking option seems to be the NH-U12S redux, which would match the two fans at the front of the case that I added recently,

 

Currently (and without a discount) it is under 50$ (not including tax)

 

https://www.amazon.com/Noctua-NH-U12S-Performance-Cooler-redux-1700/dp/B08WPDD6GD/ref=pd_lpo_2?pd_rd_i=B08WPDD6GD&psc=1

 

Is this good, or am I missing something stupid

 

Also, I did measure the height, and I am sure enough for me to comfortably say this looks like the best option for my PC

 

And unless anyone has any better ideas, should I just spend the extra 20 dollars and get a second fan, or does that not make any difference

 

here is the link for the version with 2 fans

 

https://www.amazon.com/Noctua-NH-U12S-Performance-Upgrade-Included/dp/B09DXKLH3K

 

Again, Thank you to anyone who may (or more realistically may not) respond, I just want to get the insurance of some random person on the internet saying that It would work, or to suggest any better option, that might not even be better in the first place.

[Jeppes]

Thermalright PA120 is about 40$ now on amazon and is much better than overhyped U12S.

[ThomasJanik]

Thanks, I'll check it out

[ThomasJanik]

 

50 minutes ago, Jeppes said:

Thermalright PA120 is about 40$ now on amazon and is much better than overhyped U12S.

After looking at It for a while, Thank you Jeppes

 

I'm still not 100% sure about any clearance issues or anything I might have, so ill look into it and wait maybe a day or two before I decide if I should pull the trigger.

 

Is there any way to credit you for this other than marking it as the solution, and liking your response?

 

Thanks again for saving me $20, and ever having to worry about thermals again lol.

[Dogzilla07]

10 hours ago, ThomasJanik said:

I'm still not 100% sure about any clearance issues or anything I might have,

No memory clearance issues (unless u have ram sticks which are taller than your palm is wide  and no PCIe slot GPU clearance issues (This includes removing the front fan for some memory, but as that's only 1-3 degrees difference, you'll be fine temp wise). Additionally if u have a Z690/B660 Asus board with very large top vrm heatsinks, again no clearance issues as u can just rotate the cooler by 180 degrees.

 

As for size it's 157mm in height, but will fit in most cases with 155mm limitation (Rule of thumb is if u have a glass panel that's about 1.5mm of extra space (tolerance) on top of the listed measurements. And if it's a metal side, the it's about 2.5mm of extra space (torelance) on top of the listed measurements on the case spec.

 

As for the Cooler spec, the coolers are always rounded up, so 157mm is always a few fractions of a millimeter less than the listed number (for example 156.6mm).

[ThomasJanik]

sorry I didn't respond, I got the cooler already, and was going to install it, but my dad wanted me to have someone that knew what they were doing for me to do it with, so I don't end up doing something completely stupid, and so nothing breaks.

 

As of now, Lets hope it does, and your (Dogzilla07) response makes me feel a lot more confident that it will fit without not fitting.