When buying a cooler what's the factors I should look for

[Technozo]

In PCPartPicker I saw two factors. Fan RPM and Noise level. Which should be higher and lower and what should I aim for if I'm getting rid of a stock AMD FX 6300 CPU cooler?

[Morgan MLGman]

The factors should be:

1. Are you looking to overclock
2. Your budget
3. Your case (it needs to fit into your case)
4. Do you want to watercool, or to stay with good old air

 

[daniielrp]

3 minutes ago, Technozo said:

In PCPartPicker I saw two factors. Fan RPM and Noise level. Which should be higher and lower and what should I aim for if I'm getting rid of a stock AMD FX 6300 CPU cooler?

Well fast RPM will cause more noise, but you can always tweak the speed yourself with software if the fan supports pwm or voltage if not.

 

Ideally a larger fan as these can run slower (less noise) whilst still moving comparable air flow to a smaller one that has to use a higher rpm.

[Orangeator]

Over all the general best choice is a large dual fan CPU heat sink. My personal favorite option. Main reason being the fact that you can keep them at a low RPM (less noise) and still move a good amount of air. Be sure to get some nice high static pressure fans.

[Biggerboot]

Short answer: CM Hyper 212 Evo.

 

Longer answer:

Buying CPU coolers tend to be a "go with what the crowd is doing" art-form.  So on PC Part picker, I'd sort by rating, and then start doing research on the most popular ones.  You can also look by brands (coolermaster, zalman, be quiet!, Noctua, etc).  Then look at reviews from both users and tech journalists on said coolers.  There are different types of coolers you can go with depending on how far you want to go with your overclocking. 

 

If you're just looking for a good stock replacement, a push/pull type cooler does fine most of the time, with plenty of overclocking room for little cost.  What can vary between these types of coolers is the mounting solution (backplate vs. pushpin), the quality and density of the heatsink fins, the quality of the fans themselves, and the amount of heatpipes they use.  This can all factor into how quiet and efficient your cooler is.

1 hour ago, Technozo said:

In PCPartPicker I saw two factors. Fan RPM and Noise level. Which should be higher and lower and what should I aim for if I'm getting rid of a stock AMD FX 6300 CPU cooler?

These aren't necessarily deciding factors in looking for a cooler, but can help if you're concerned with noise.

 

RPM is rotations per minute on the fan.  Ideally, you'll want fans that have good PWM, hence a larger speed interval (so a lower low and higher high speed is better).  Db is just how loud the thing is rated to get.  There is no magic number on these factors, so again, you'll want to do research on the cooler itself before buying it.  

[Technozo]

Thanks for the advice. I'm one step closer to buying a CPU Cooler to replace my stock one. 

[LogicalDrm]

My factors are:

1. Price range. You have different set of options in under $50 than $50-$70.

2. Compatibility. Not meaning for CPU socket, most modern coolers support all common ones. But how tall cooler can fit into case, how tall RAM is being used, is 1st PCIe slot blocked/needed.

3. Brand. I tend to go for coolers I know something about.

4. Reviews. Always google some before buying.

5. Looks. Minor for me as I'm with my 2nd Noctua.

 

RPM and noise level refer to fan, not cooler itself. They don't really matter as you can almost always change fan later if you don't like what comes with heatsink. Another minor thing is what connector fan uses. Most of coolers come with PWM fans, some with 3pins. You should look for PWM CPU fan for better controllability.