H115i or Dark Rock Pro 3?

[CliffTerios]

Hey there,

 

I've been looking to get a new cooler for my i7 6700k. While my Hyper 212X cooler is doing a fine job, I don't like it hitting 80-83°C whenever I hit it with workload (streaming, gaming & recording all at the same time or rendering videos) so I'm looking for an upgrade. Performance wise I don't need a bump so there will be no overclocking happening.

 

Right now I've been looking into the H115i from Corsair or beQuiet! Dark Rock Pro 3. Criteria are obviously temperatures, noise and also ease of installation. Any experiences with these coolers? Thoughts? Would appreciate some tips!

 

PS: I've read that the thermal paste under my 6700k's lid is crappy which causes poor heat transfer and could explain wild fluctuation in temperatures of up to 20°C within very short amounts of time. I've observed that on my own 6700k aswell while using typical desktop applications. Any more info on that? Should that influence your cooler choice if you don't wanna de-lid it?

[The Sloth]

for work darkrock pro 3 will be better, air coolers are much more stable with fewer issues, h100i will give you better temps. 

[Oshino Shinobu]

H115i should perform a bit better, but the DRP3 is overall the better choice. Less to go wrong, quieter at idle (should be). Big coolers are always a little difficult to install due to the heatsinks getting in the way, but radiators are also a pain in general and can be horrible in some cases.