Best Air Cooler?

[AntonChigurh]

I know saying "Best" about anything is quite subjective, but I'm doing a new build. I was first considering water cooling, but the benefit isn't great enough to bother with having to worry about coolant leaking onto my PC and changing out the liquid. So with that in mind, what is your favorite air cooler?

[NinJake]

Noctua NH-D15 though I use the D14. I highly recommend it! Just my 2 cents, there may be better versions out now.

[stratege1401]

Having since 2011 a master cooler v10 ... like it.

 

[WMGroomAK]

1 minute ago, N1ghtshade said:

I know saying "Best" about anything is quite subjective, but I'm doing a new build. I was first considering water cooling, but the benefit isn't great enough to bother with having to worry about coolant leaking onto my PC and changing out the liquid. So with that in mind, what is your favorite air cooler?

I would have to say my favorite is the NH-U12S from Noctua.  Wouldn't mind getting the NH-D15 except for it's a massive cooler and I've got a mATX case that barely fits the U12S.

[AntonChigurh]

Just now, NinJake said:

Noctua NH-D15 though I use the D14. I highly recommend it! Just my 2 cents, there may be better versions out now.

I've had good experiences with Noctua products before, so that sounds pretty good!

[NinJake]

Just now, N1ghtshade said:

I've had good experiences with Noctua products before, so that sounds pretty good!

Just make sure your case is large enough

[AntonChigurh]

Just now, NinJake said:

Just make sure your case is large enough

Don't worry man haha. It's gonna be either a Corsair 750D or 600Q

[Lou_Hernandez]

Well, you can go with traditional AIO liquid cooling from reputable brands like Corsair and or NZXT. I have both! Completely hassle free. (in terms of dealing with leaks because you don't mess with them at all like a plug n play situation). However, I don't have an air cooler but I have read good things about the Noctua NH-D15 6 heatpipe with Dual NF-A15 140mm fans and the be quiet! BK019 DARK ROCK PRO 3 Silent wings CPU Cooler 250W TDP. So maybe you might like to research those but I wouldn't pick anything over liquid cooling my rig just my 2 cents.

[AntonChigurh]

4 minutes ago, Lou_Hernandez said:

Well, you can go with traditional AIO liquid cooling from reputable brands like Corsair and or NZXT. I have both! Completely hassle free. (in terms of dealing with leaks because you don't mess with them at all like a plug n play situation). However, I don't have an air cooler but I have read good things about the Noctua NH-D15 6 heatpipe with Dual NF-A15 140mm fans and the be quiet! BK019 DARK ROCK PRO 3 Silent wings CPU Cooler 250W TDP. So maybe you might like to research those but I wouldn't pick anything over liquid cooling my rig just my 2 cents.

True, I have heard good things about Corsair and NZXT liquid coolers, but I don't wanna have to deal with changing out coolant and worrying about algae in the loop.

 

And the Noctua is looking like the best option so far. Thanks for the help!

 

edit: Speaking of which, what do you think of the Corsair H110i and the NZXT Kraken? I heard good things about both of them, but more opinions are always welcome

[Lou_Hernandez]

7 minutes ago, N1ghtshade said:

True, I have heard good things about Corsair and NZXT liquid coolers, but I don't wanna have to deal with changing out coolant and worrying about algae in the loop.

 

And the Noctua is looking like the best option so far. Thanks for the help!

 

 

 

glad I could help! BTW you'd only run into those problems if you do a custom water cooling job. This is something I'm actually gonna do next year I can't wait I'm gonna liquid cool the CPU, GPU, and RAM. I am currently water cooling my 1080 LOL I voided my warranty on it because when I was gaming it was reaching temps of 80-85c that was UNACCEPTABLE for a brand new card. So I took it apart and used the NZXT Kraken adapter with the NZXT single fan radiator (in a push-pull config) and took my chances now it idles at 29-30c and under full load never goes past 40! cut the temps in HALF! I am curious to hear about your GPU temps when you finish your build, keep me informed bud!

[Majestic]

Noctua NH-U14S, almost as good as the D15 (within margin of error) but much cheaper.

[Moress]

16 minutes ago, N1ghtshade said:

I know saying "Best" about anything is quite subjective, but I'm doing a new build. I was first considering water cooling, but the benefit isn't great enough to bother with having to worry about coolant leaking onto my PC and changing out the liquid. So with that in mind, what is your favorite air cooler?

Just to clear some things up about this though. Leaks from high quality AIOs are very rare, and you never need to change their fluid, and in fact trying to do so pretty much destroys an AIO

[Guest]

Dark Rock Pro 3: lowest noise

Noctua Nh-D15: lowest temps

 

[AntonChigurh]

1 minute ago, Lou_Hernandez said:

glad I could help! BTW you'd only run into those problems if you do a custom water cooling job. This is something I'm actually gonna do next year I can't wait im gonna liquid cool the CPU, GPU, and RAM. I am currently water cooling my 1080 LOL I voided my warranty on it because when I was gaming it was reaching temps of 80-85c that was UNACCEPTABLE for a brand new card. So I took it apart and used the NZXT Kraken adapter with the NZXT single fan radiator (in a push-pull config) and took my chances now it idles at 29-30c and under full load never goes past 40! cut the temps in HALF! I am curious to hear about your GPU temps when you finish you build keep me informed bud!

Oh cool! Thanks for the help.

 

Also, any recommendations for good AM4 socket liquid coolers? Planning on putting a Ryzen 7 1800x in the build, and it looks like AM4 is gonna make older coolers that use AM3 and AM3+ kinda useless

[Enderman]

DRP3 for looks, NH-D15 for performance, both are super quiet.

[AntonChigurh]

2 minutes ago, Moress said:

Just to clear some things up about this though. Leaks from high quality AIOs are very rare, and you never need to change their fluid, and in fact trying to do so pretty much destroys an AIO

Hmm ok

[Guest]

6 minutes ago, Enderman said:

DRP3 for looks, NH-D15 for performance, both are super quiet.

I don't see d15 that ugly

[Lou_Hernandez]

1 minute ago, N1ghtshade said:

Oh cool! Thanks for the help.

 

Also, any recommendations for good AM4 socket liquid coolers? Planning on putting a Ryzen 7 1800x in the build, and it looks like AM4 is gonna make older coolers that use AM3 and AM3+ kinda useless

 

You should look into this one from NZXT NZXT Kraken X42 RL-KRX42-01 140mm All-In-One Liquid CPU Cooling ... it depends on how you want to configure the setup and what type of case you're gonna be rockin'. The link I gave you is their new line of AIO coolers. However, if you can set up a DUAL fan AIO cooler in your case i would highly recommend these two h115i 280mm rad  or h110i 280mm rad.

[AntonChigurh]

Just now, deXxterlab97 said:

I don't see d15 that ugly

It's not ugly, it just is hard to match with other parts. I like the color scheme on it, it just looks a little weird in builds that are black themed or red themed etc etc

[Enderman]

1 minute ago, deXxterlab97 said:

I don't see d15 that ugly

HhahahHahHAhahha

 

 

ha.

[AntonChigurh]

Just now, Lou_Hernandez said:

You should look into this one from NZXT NZXT Kraken X42 RL-KRX42-01 140mm All-In-One Liquid CPU Cooling ... it depends on how you want to configure the setup and what type of case you're gonna be rockin'. The link I gave you is their new line of AIO coolers. However, if you can set up a DUAL fan AIO cooler in your case i would highly recommend these two h115i 280mm rad  or h110i 280mm rad.

I'll have enough space to rock a dual fan setup, so that sounds like the perfect choice. Thanks for the help!

[AntonChigurh]

1 minute ago, Enderman said:

HhahahHahHAhahha

 

 

ha.

@deXxterlab97 is right in a sense. It isn't ugly, just hard to match. Most builds have a much different color scheme than the D15.

[Lou_Hernandez]

Just now, N1ghtshade said:

I'll have enough space to rock a dual fan setup, so that sounds like the perfect choice. Thanks for the help!

yep! liquid cooling is the way to go, buddy, you'll see the results trust me! The AIO's come with pre-applied thermal paste so you don't have to worry about applying it yourself with your own paste. Just screw that bad boy into your CPU and connect some cables and boom your golden. 

[AntonChigurh]

1 minute ago, Lou_Hernandez said:

yep! liquid cooling is the way to go, buddy, you'll see the results trust me! The AIO's come with pre-applied thermal paste so you don't have to worry about applying it yourself with your own paste. Just screw that bad boy into your CPU and connect some cables and boom your golden. 

Sweet. Sounds like a good time. Again, thanks for the help!

[Enderman]

4 minutes ago, N1ghtshade said:

@deXxterlab97 is right in a sense. It isn't ugly, just hard to match. Most builds have a much different color scheme than the D15.

I think chrome is ugly.