Best 120MM HSF

[vagabond139]

I am pretty sure it is the Noctua D14, I need ones that actually mount a normal 120MM fan, not those with a 140MM fan with 120MM mounting holes because I have two NF12's I want to use on it. Maybe I am forgetting one since it is 3AM here but I can't think of a better one than the Noctua D14.

[WoodenMarker]

140mm fans with 120mm mounting holes mount the same way a NF-F12 would.

Why would you replace the stock NH-D14 fans in the first place?--they're already very good.

[Tagiau]

140mm fans with 120mm mounting holes mount the same way a NF-F12 would.

Why would you replace the stock NH-D14 fans in the first place?--they're already very good.

I don't think the 120mm comes with the corners. If that matters to people. 

[vagabond139]

140mm fans with 120mm mounting holes mount the same way a NF-F12 would.

Why would you replace the stock NH-D14 fans in the first place?--they're already very good.

 

It wouldn't cover the cooler fully, I am fine with a very minor downgrade over a couple degrees in performance for looks. That would drive me insane looking at it, I am OCD about that stuff. Now looking at one that uses a fan like that, the Cryorig R1 Ultimate, it looks like it would cover the cooler fully. I am not the brightest at this time at night.

 

I have a pair of NF12 IndustrialIPPC 3000 PWM fans that look better than awful brown, match my color scheme, and perform better, being quiet isn't my goal here.

[Minzo]

 

Why would you replace the stock NH-D14 fans in the first place?--they're already very good.

 

Have you seen the fans?

[WoodenMarker]

It wouldn't cover the cooler fully, I am fine with a very minor downgrade over a couple degrees in performance for looks. That would drive me insane looking at it, I am OCD about that stuff. Now looking at one that uses a fan like that, the Cryorig R1 Ultimate, it looks like it would cover the cooler fully. I am not the brightest at this time at night.

 

I have a pair of NF12 IndustrialIPPC 3000 PWM fans that look better than awful brown, match my color scheme, and perform better, being quiet isn't my goal here.

If that's the case, you can save a little money and just go with any of the massive heatsinks available. 

Macho Rev B: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/thermalright-cpu-cooler-machorevb

If you don't care about cost, the best of the best would be:

NH-D15: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/noctua-cpu-cooler-nhd15

Silver Arrow IB-E Extreme: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/thermalright-cpu-cooler-silverarrowibeextreme

R1: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/cryorig-cpu-cooler-crr1b

 

Have you seen the fans?

The OP mentioned NF-F12's which look very similar. 

[vagabond139]

 

If that's the case, you can save a little money and just go with any of the massive heatsinks available. 

Macho Rev B: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/thermalright-cpu-cooler-machorevb

If you don't care about cost, the best of the best would be:

NH-D15: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/noctua-cpu-cooler-nhd15

Silver Arrow IB-E Extreme: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/thermalright-cpu-cooler-silverarrowibeextreme

R1: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/cryorig-cpu-cooler-crr1b

 

The OP mentioned NF-F12's which look very similar. 

 

 

Well I do care about performance, I just don't mind sacrificing a couple of degrees like the performance difference between the D14 and the D15 and similar stuff to to if that makes sense. I don't mind the cost. That Maco Rev isn't going to be much better than my current cooler, a Phantek TXDCX12 which isn't enough currently for the overclock I want.

[WoodenMarker]

Well I do care about performance, I just don't mind sacrificing a couple of degrees like the performance difference between the D14 and the D15 and similar stuff to to if that makes sense. I don't mind the cost. That Maco Rev isn't going to be much better than my current cooler, a Phantek TXDCX12 which isn't enough currently for the overclock I want.

If the Macho Rev B. isn't good enough, no air cooler is going to be. 

[vagabond139]

If the Macho Rev B. isn't good enough, no air cooler is going to be. 

I am literally just going about 2C over the max operating temperature under full load, According to various reviews of coolers I should be running about 2C to 10C cooler.with something like a D15, D14,  Cryorig R1, a Be Quiet Dark Rock Pro 3, etc which will be enough for my to reach my desired overclock and not be running below 0 thermal margin. 

[WoodenMarker]

I am literally just going about 2C over the max operating temperature under full load, According to various reviews of coolers I should be running about 2C to 10C cooler.with something like a D15, D14,  Cryorig R1, a Be Quiet Dark Rock Pro 3, etc which will be enough for my to reach my desired overclock and not be running below 0 thermal margin. 

What are your load temps?

The Macho Rev B. would perform similarly if not better than a NH-D14 with 2 NF-F12 iPPC's.

[vagabond139]

What are your load temps?

The Macho Rev B. would perform similarly if not better than a NH-D14 with 2 NF-F12 iPPC's.

I tried running my A8 6600K at 5.0ghz with about 1.55v and once I put it under full load my thermal margin went below 0 and down to -2, yikes. Currently I am at 4.8ghz at 1.48v and my thermal margin is about 10C under full load last time I checked. My temperatures would be better probably but I know I have air bubbles in my thermal paste due to to my cooler being a pain in the ass to install.

[WoodenMarker]

I tried running my A8 6600K at 5.0ghz with about 1.55v and once I put it under full load my thermal margin went below 0 and down to -2, yikes. Currently I am at 4.8ghz at 1.48v and my thermal margin is about 10C under full load last time I checked. My temperatures would be better probably but I know I have air bubbles in my thermal paste due to to my cooler being a pain in the ass to install.

I'm not sure what temp you're referring to when you use 'thermal margin'..

[vagabond139]

I'm not sure what temp you're referring to when you use 'thermal margin'..

http://www.tomshardware.com/faq/id-2122665/understanding-temperature-amd-cpus-apus.html 

[WoodenMarker]

It just occurred to me that you're spending more on the cooler than the cpu itself? 

Why not upgrade the cpu instead?

[vagabond139]

It just occurred to me that you're spending more on the cooler than the cpu itself? 

Why not upgrade the cpu instead?

Good question and I figured I would be asked this, my situation is kind of unique. To add on to this I am going to get a soon 860k but I am going to sell my current cpu for about $60 so only about $10 is going to come out of pocket for me which I can justify. I plan on reusing the cooler for when I do a cpu upgrade if I don't jump straight to a custom loop, it will cost me around $550 to get the exact parts I want  which I really don't want to pay for right now and I am not willing to comprise on part choice and I just got in late November a Gigabyte A88X UP4 to replace my Gigabyte A85X UP4 free of charge which I only paid $40 for so I don't want to part with it yet.

[WoodenMarker]

Good question and I figured I would be asked this, my situation is kind of unique. To add on to this I am going to get a soon 860k but I am going to sell my current cpu for about $60 so only about $10 is going to come out of pocket for me which I can justify. I plan on reusing the cooler for when I do a cpu upgrade if I don't jump straight to a custom loop, it will cost me around $550 to get the exact parts I want  which I really don't want to pay for right now and I am not willing to comprise on part choice and I just got in late November a Gigabyte A88X UP4 to replace my Gigabyte A85X UP4 free of charge which I only paid $40 for so I don't want to part with it yet.

The 860K isn't much of an upgrade. I meant something more along the lines of a new platform altogether with an i5 or whatever is most appropriate.

A top tier cooler on top of the cost of 2x NF-F12 iPPC's and PH-TC12DX isn't a small sum of money.

[vagabond139]

The 860K isn't much of an upgrade. I meant something more along the lines of a new platform altogether with an i5 or whatever is most appropriate.

A top tier cooler on top of the cost of 2x NF-F12 iPPC's and PH-TC12DX isn't a small sum of money.

I realized you meant a new platform which is what I plan on doing later this year, my wallet will be hurting if I do it soon, I plan on reusing the fans on my custom loop for my i5 6600K which I might or might not do right away during this summer so they will used for quite a while and I already own two of them. While its the cpu is a minor upgrade, for $10 out of pocket I can justify for a minor gain in performance. 

[WoodenMarker]

I realized you meant a new platform which is what I plan on doing later this year, my wallet will be hurting if I do it soon, I plan on reusing the fans on my custom loop for my i5 6600K which I might or might not do right away during this summer so they will used for quite a while and I already own two of them. While its the cpu is a minor upgrade, for $10 out of pocket I can justify for a minor gain in performance.

$10 to move up to a 860K isn't bad although it might be a gamble with whether or not it oc's well. I just don't think it's worth spending so much for cooling instead of putting the money towards a platform upgrade.

[vagabond139]

$10 to move up to a 860K is good. I just don't think it's worth spending so much for cooling instead of putting the money towards a platform upgrade.

I would rather crank out much performance as possible out of this socket with a beefy cooler that I can reuse in future builds for about $85 altogether and be able to claim that I have one of the fastest 860K's out there, I already have the fastest A8 6600K according to userbenchmark, then spend $550 if not more for a socket change, that is a lot of money for me plus doing that wouldn't allow me to upgrade my gpu to something like a R9 390. 

[WoodenMarker]

I would rather crank out much performance as possible out of this socket with a beefy cooler that I can reuse in future builds for about $85 altogether and be able to claim that I have one of the fastest 860K's out there, I already have the fastest A8 6600K according to userbenchmark, then spend $550 if not more for a socket change, that is a lot of money for me plus doing that wouldn't allow me to upgrade my gpu to something like a R9 390.

$550? Why not go with Devils Canyon instead? Performance is very similar to Skylake. http://pcpartpicker.com/p/cqmpQ7

[vagabond139]

$550? Why not go with Devils Canyon instead? Performance is very similar to Skylake. http://pcpartpicker.com/p/cqmpQ7

While it would be cheaper, I would fry that motherboard with its only 4 power phases and weakish VRM heatsink with the overclocking I want to do, I've been held back motherboards before when it comes to overclocking and its sucks. Also I want a red and black color scheme on the motherboard, a motherboard block available for looks which isn't available on many Z97 motherboards and I don't want to pay $200 for a Z97 motherboard and I really want some new ram, the current one is bland and I want to add some spice to it and I want Skylake even though I am very aware that its not a huge performance gain, I would rather wait and do it the way I want than do that way and then buy that and upgrading the parts and not being 100% happy. 

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/mB7x7P