help!

[captain vimes]

I'm building a PC for the first time and I've found some of the most important parts such as, CPU, Motherboard, Graphics card and PSU. There's still a few other things to look up, but right now I need some help understanding cooling, what are the sort of things that I need to think about when deciding which cooler to get? I have made a decision that I want the cooler to be fan powered for now and possibly upgrade it to water at a later date.

 

 

[Statik]

Main factors are noise level, cooling power, and depending on your case, size.

[Subduck]

Yup. Statik has basically said it. If you want a quiet pc, how good it actually is at cooling and most importantly if it will actually fit in your case. Also make sure it supports your CPU.

[Lorunification]

I would like to add that you should choose cooling hardware that suits the rest of your hardware => A more powerful CPU should be fitted with a more powerful cooler.

 

Depending on the type of your GPU cooler you should scale the cooling performance of your case fans. For example, Windforce coolers push hot air into the case while the stock cooler sucks air out of the case.

 

Regards,

Lorunification

[LogicalDrm]

Most deciding factors in choosing air cooling are your case limits, sometimes your RAM limits and your budget. After that comes your style "limit". You can get good, well performing cooler in $30 212 EVO or spend over $70 to markets finest in Noctuas D14 and D15. There is noticable difference when you move up tiers. But the main thing is that you can get decent OC with just EVO. It will keep your CPU cool and rather quiet if that is what you are looking for. With more money comes more in everything.