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Does it make sense to upgrade my CPU cooler?

22pool

I have an Intel i7-8700 with the stock cooler, and it is not super quiet in general and quite loud when under heavy load, which would be nice to change. I was hoping someone with more experience than me might be able to confirm that upgrading the cooler would decrease the noise by a meaningful amount. If you have cooler suggestions as well that would be wonderful (my case is the Corsair Carbide Series SPEC-06 I believe the maximum CPU cooler height is 170mm).

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Water cooling for the most silent option. Something like NH-D15 will be inaudible most of the time, but a bit more noise under load

 

If you're interested in a product please download and read the manual first.

Don't forget to tag or quote in your reply if you want me to know you've answered or have another question.

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From a stock cooler, almost any aftermarket cooler is an improvement.

The current usual recommandation is a Thermalright Assassin, cheap and efficient.

Using a Thermalright Assassin would definitely improve, if not cancel, noise.

Be sure to set a fan curve in the bios, use an app from your mobo or use FanControl

Edited by leclod

I'm willing to swim against the current.

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53 minutes ago, 22pool said:

I have an Intel i7-8700 with the stock cooler, and it is not super quiet in general and quite loud when under heavy load, which would be nice to change. I was hoping someone with more experience than me might be able to confirm that upgrading the cooler would decrease the noise by a meaningful amount. If you have cooler suggestions as well that would be wonderful (my case is the Corsair Carbide Series SPEC-06 I believe the maximum CPU cooler height is 170mm).

Hi buddy,

 

As others have suggested, anything other than the stock cooler will be a big improvement.

 

Another thing to consider is to delid the CPU. It sounds more daunting than it actually is and you'll need to buy a special tool and some liquid metal / new paste but it sill makes the biggest difference to temps and therefore noise.

Bedroom PC - Lian-Li O11 XL Evo - Intel Core i5 13600k @ 5.4P / 4.4EGhz -  MSI Pro-A Wifi Z790 Mobo DDR5 - 32GB Ram - Gigabyte RTX 4090 - 1TB Samsung 990Pro NVMe - Corsair HX1200i PSU - Dual Custom Loop Cooling - GPU cooled with EK Quantum Surface S240 + EK Quantum Surface P360M X-Flow Rads - CPU cooled with EK Quantum Surface X360M Rad

 

Living Room PC - Hyte Y60 - Intel Core i9 9900k @ 5Ghz -  MSI Meg Ace Z390 Mobo - 16GB Ram - Palit RTX 3080ti - 256GB Samsung NVMe - Corsair AX850 PSU - CPU + GPU cooled with Hyte Y60 Corner Distro Plate - EK Coolstream S120 + EK Quantum Surface S360 + EK Quantum Surface X240M

 

Extension PC - Lian Li o11 Dynamic - Intel Core i7 8086k @ 5.1Ghz -  Gbyte Z390 I Aorus Pro Wifi Mobo - 16GB Ram - EVGA RTX 2080ti - 256GB Samsung NVMe - EVGA B5 850W PSU - CPU + GPU cooled with dual EKWB 360 Rads + G1 side EKWB distro plate.

 

Office - Thermaltake Tower 100 - Intel Core i7 8700K @ 5.1Ghz - Gbyte Z390 I Aorus Pro Wifi Mobo - 16GB Ram - EVGA GTX 1080ti - 256GB Samsung NVMe - EVGA B5 850W PSU - CPU + GPU cooled with dual EK Quantum Surface P120M Rads + Barrow 3-in-1 Block, Res & Pump.

 

Annex - Corsair 250D - Intel Core i7 3770k - Asus P8Z77 I Delux Mobo - 16GB Ram - EVGA GTX 980ti - 256GB Corsair SSD - BeQuiet P11 750 PSU - CPU cooled with EK Coolstream S240 + S120 Rads + EK Pump / Res Combo

 

Office - Corsair 280X - Intel Core i7 4790k - Asrock H97M ITX Mobo  - 16GB Ram - EVGA GTX 980 - Corsair SFXL600 PSU - CPU + GPU cooled with triple EK Coolstream S240s + EK Pump / Res Combo

 

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1 hour ago, 22pool said:

I have an Intel i7-8700 with the stock cooler, and it is not super quiet in general and quite loud when under heavy load, which would be nice to change. I was hoping someone with more experience than me might be able to confirm that upgrading the cooler would decrease the noise by a meaningful amount. If you have cooler suggestions as well that would be wonderful (my case is the Corsair Carbide Series SPEC-06 I believe the maximum CPU cooler height is 170mm).

Most aftermarket coolers should do for the i7-8700, I had a 9700 some time ago and it could be quietly cooled from basically anything I threw at it. If you want more future-proofing you could get a nice aio that could work on a future upgrade too. 

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1 hour ago, ChrisLoudon said:

Another thing to consider is to delid the CPU.

This seems the worst recommendation, to a user with a stock cooler on a 8700

(this is the second time since yesterday I see that recommendation)

Edited by leclod

I'm willing to swim against the current.

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1 hour ago, Sushi_isla said:

more future-proofing

If you want future-proofing (if there ever was such a thing apart from with Noctua coolers) get an air cooler.

Heat pipes will still function as day one in 10 years while pump, tubing and water probably won't.

Edited by leclod

I'm willing to swim against the current.

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Start by installing FanControl and setting up better curves. Stock ones are usually very conservative.

If you still get to unreasonable noise to keep decent temps, you can consider upgrading to a Peerless Assassin/Phantom Spirit.

I've gotten to know some stuff, but am far from omniscient, so don't take my advice as gospel and wait for other opinions - I just like throwing in my two cents when I can.

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2 hours ago, leclod said:

.... Thermalright Assassin ....

Looks like the NH-D15 patent ran out 🤣

Nice to know. Much cheaper.

If you're interested in a product please download and read the manual first.

Don't forget to tag or quote in your reply if you want me to know you've answered or have another question.

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57 minutes ago, leclod said:

(this is the second time since yesterday I see that recommendation)

Maybe not the worst recommendation then!

 

While I appreciate its probably a bit extreme especially for newbies, its pretty much guaranteed to help reduce temps / noise levels especially with 8th and 9th gen Intel's.  

Bedroom PC - Lian-Li O11 XL Evo - Intel Core i5 13600k @ 5.4P / 4.4EGhz -  MSI Pro-A Wifi Z790 Mobo DDR5 - 32GB Ram - Gigabyte RTX 4090 - 1TB Samsung 990Pro NVMe - Corsair HX1200i PSU - Dual Custom Loop Cooling - GPU cooled with EK Quantum Surface S240 + EK Quantum Surface P360M X-Flow Rads - CPU cooled with EK Quantum Surface X360M Rad

 

Living Room PC - Hyte Y60 - Intel Core i9 9900k @ 5Ghz -  MSI Meg Ace Z390 Mobo - 16GB Ram - Palit RTX 3080ti - 256GB Samsung NVMe - Corsair AX850 PSU - CPU + GPU cooled with Hyte Y60 Corner Distro Plate - EK Coolstream S120 + EK Quantum Surface S360 + EK Quantum Surface X240M

 

Extension PC - Lian Li o11 Dynamic - Intel Core i7 8086k @ 5.1Ghz -  Gbyte Z390 I Aorus Pro Wifi Mobo - 16GB Ram - EVGA RTX 2080ti - 256GB Samsung NVMe - EVGA B5 850W PSU - CPU + GPU cooled with dual EKWB 360 Rads + G1 side EKWB distro plate.

 

Office - Thermaltake Tower 100 - Intel Core i7 8700K @ 5.1Ghz - Gbyte Z390 I Aorus Pro Wifi Mobo - 16GB Ram - EVGA GTX 1080ti - 256GB Samsung NVMe - EVGA B5 850W PSU - CPU + GPU cooled with dual EK Quantum Surface P120M Rads + Barrow 3-in-1 Block, Res & Pump.

 

Annex - Corsair 250D - Intel Core i7 3770k - Asus P8Z77 I Delux Mobo - 16GB Ram - EVGA GTX 980ti - 256GB Corsair SSD - BeQuiet P11 750 PSU - CPU cooled with EK Coolstream S240 + S120 Rads + EK Pump / Res Combo

 

Office - Corsair 280X - Intel Core i7 4790k - Asrock H97M ITX Mobo  - 16GB Ram - EVGA GTX 980 - Corsair SFXL600 PSU - CPU + GPU cooled with triple EK Coolstream S240s + EK Pump / Res Combo

 

NAS PC - Fractal Node 804 - Intel Core i7 3770k - Asus P8Z77-M Mobo - 16GB Ram - MSI GTX 1660 Ventus - Corsair AX850 PSU - Unraid 15TB Storage Server

 

Living Room AV Setup 5.1.4 - Nvidia Shield - Yamaha RX-A6A - 2 x B&W CM9s2 - 2 x Monitor Audio FX Silvers - 4 x B&W CCM665s - B&W CMCs2 - SVS SB13 Ultra - LG OLED65C1

 

Extension AV Setup - Sonos ARC + Sub (Gen 3) - LG OLED65C6V + Yamaha RX-A1070 - 5 x Monitor Audio C265s (2 Zones)

 

Bedroom AV Setup - Yamaha WXC-50 - 2 x B&W CM1s - Rel Quake - LG OLED42C2.

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Thank you everyone for your suggestions!

I bought a Thermalright Assassin since that seems best-suited for my use-case (and after testing, I don't think my fan curves are unnecessarily aggressive). It was interesting to learn that it is possible to delid one's CPU, but that's probably a bit much for me at this point.

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9 hours ago, 22pool said:

I bought a Thermalright Assassin

Maybe tell us how that went when you know...

I'm willing to swim against the current.

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