Need some help with water cooling.

[Presjax]

So I currently have an AMD FX-8350 processor, I'm using the stock fan that came with it, and it's far too loud for me to stand. When I'm just scrolling the web, it sounds fine, but getting into games it gets far too loud.

 

With that being said, I need some help choosing my first water cooler, because frankly I don't want to overclock and I just need better temps overall. 

 

I was looking at the Corsair H60 water cooler, but reading reviews most of them say that the radiator runs loud. I need a water cooler that runs mostly silent,or maybe just an air cooler that runs quieter than this thing. Price range would be about 60-80 dollars, just depends. Thanks guys!

[Limecat86]

Get a good air cooler like a noctua nh-d15 or similar. It will give you the same or probably even more cooling performance than a Corsair H60

 

[Presjax]

Yeah, but I need something that not only cools really well, but looks good as well, seeing as I have a side window.

[tk421]

If you're not overclocking, I would really stick to air cooling. Most AIO cooler are fairly noisy and a good air cooler will do everything that you've said you want. And as far as looks go, some air coolers have awesome bling-factor, like the bequiet! Dark Rock 3, all of Phanteks coolers, Noctua, etc.

[tk421]

Seriously, Phanteks' cooler look like something that should be in a hot rod car:

 

[Limecat86]

A single 120mm rad AIO cooler is just not worth it. If you really want more performance get a 240mm rad AIO at least like a kraken x61 or a Corsair H100. But with your budget I would stick with aircooling...

[tk421]

1 minute ago, Limecat86 said:

A single 120mm rad AIO cooler is just not worth it. If you really want decent performance get a 240mm rad AIO at least like a kraken x61 or a Corsair H100. But with your budget I would stick with aircooling...

IIRC, Luke did a line-up comparison of lots of AIO and high end air coolers and the only one he found was even close to being competitive was the H80i, which has a stupidly large rad on it. I've owned two of those suckers and the are a pain to install, IMO.

[Limecat86]

1 minute ago, tk421 said:

IIRC, Luke did a line-up comparison of lots of AIO and high end air coolers and the only one he found was even close to being competitive was the H80i, which has a stupidly large rad on it. I've owned two of those suckers and the are a pain to install, IMO.

Yup had the H80i also. Around 40mm thick and then two fans of 15mm in push/pull config. Oh the noise

[Presjax]

So which would be my best bet performance wise, and silence wise, maybe just name a brand and I'll go from there.

[tk421]

If your price range is $60-80, just about any air cooler will fit in there. I'm a huge Phanteks and Noctua fan, personally, but lots of people also like bequiet and Cooler Master.

 

As a GENERAL rule of thumb:

larger heatsink = more cooling

larger fan = quieter performance

[Presjax]

Is the Dark Rock 3 by be quiet! any good? Also would it be compatible with my mobo and processor? The motherboard is an Asrock 970M Pro 3.

[tk421]

Just now, Presjax said:

Is the Dark Rock 3 by be quiet! any good? Also would it be compatible with my mobo and processor? The motherboard is an Asrock 970M Pro 3.

I've never used one, but I've lots of great things about them. And yes it's compatible with that motherboard/CPU. Does you RAM have tall heatspreaders on them? Also, which case are you using? Those are two other points to consider.

[Presjax]

10 hours ago, tk421 said:

I've never used one, but I've lots of great things about them. And yes it's compatible with that motherboard/CPU. Does you RAM have tall heatspreaders on them? Also, which case are you using? Those are two other points to consider.

The ram isn't tall at all, and I'm going to be changing cases to the Zalman Z9 Neo once I buy the heatsink, buying them at the same time.

[tk421]

5 hours ago, Presjax said:

The ram isn't tall at all, and I'm going to be changing cases to the Zalman Z9 Neo once I buy the heatsink, buying them at the same time.

Just checked the specs for both the Dark Rock 3 and the Z9 Neo. It'll be close but they should fit. Zalman states a heatsink clearance of 160mm and the Dark Rock 3 is... 160mm tall. Hopefully no one is rounding... 

[Presjax]

2 hours ago, tk421 said:

Just checked the specs for both the Dark Rock 3 and the Z9 Neo. It'll be close but they should fit. Zalman states a heatsink clearance of 160mm and the Dark Rock 3 is... 160mm tall. Hopefully no one is rounding... 

How's that Zalman look for the price? I mean rubber grommets, a PSU shroud, and two external 5.25 drive bays is a lot for that case at a really good price.

[tk421]

13 minutes ago, Presjax said:

How's that Zalman look for the price? I mean rubber grommets, a PSU shroud, and two external 5.25 drive bays is a lot for that case at a really good price.

Looks okay. I literally have zero experience with Zalman though so I might not be the best person to ask about that case specifically. At that price point, you've got lots of choices. Sounds like you're looking for some cable management options (rubber grommets, psu shroud, etc). For the same price you could also go for a Fractal Design Define R4 Blackout which is a great deal for the price. Showing $59.99 at Superbiiz right now. But honestly, cases are so much more of a personal choice, that's it's really up to you. If YOU like it, then YOU should get it. After all, you're going to be the one looking at it.