Help me decide on a cooler please

[GoldForest]

I plan on upgrading my current rig: 

Mwah: https://pcpartpicker.com/user/GoldForest/saved/#view=jg6hMp

 

To the 8600K.
I plan on getting the ASUS Hero Z370 (Wifi version)
I also plan on getting 32 gigs of ram, I use around 14 to 16 gigs of ram when I play KSP with all the mods I install sometimes.
The only thing I can't decide on is the cooler. I was going to go with an X62 Kraken, but I've heard it has a lot of hardware issue.

 

Requirements:
Low temps - Not going to OC, yet, probably won't, but it's a possibility in the future, slight possibility
Noise isn't really an issue as I wear headphones, but not too loud.

Price Limit for Cooler - $160.00 USD Max

 

If the Kraken x62 is bad, these are the choices I'm considering:
Corsair H100i V2
Noctua NH-D15
Cosair H60
Cooler Master - MasterLiquid Pro
Corsair - H115i 

Suggestions welcome.

[Peskanova]

NH-D15 -> no pump sound and more reliability  

[GoldForest]

7 minutes ago, Peskanova said:

NH-D15 -> no pump sound and more reliability  

That's what I've heard. Can't go wrong with Noctua. 

Oh, and if anyone is wondering why I just don't use my current X61, I plan on selling it to a friend along with the board, RAM, and CPU.

[Phentos]

From a Kraken X62 owner, I'd go with the H115i Pro.

 

I love my cooler, but I paid too much for nice RGB effects

 

Edit: Noctua NH-D15 is very nice as well, so long as you're willing to put up with poop brown color fans plainly and prominently visible in your case window.

Edited April 24, 2018 by Phentos

[TSL]

I think the h115i is a good choice but you'll have to replace the stock fans as they aren't great. Maybe for that reason get a h100i to replace fans on. the NH-D15 will be a slightly cheaper option that is a little bit quieter however. Although will not allow as much overclocking as the water coolers.

 

Edit: get the h115i PRO. This eliminates the need for better fans and i can personally vouch for the h115i's performance.

[AskTJ]

Look for air coolers that have:

 

a) Big aluminum heatsinks

b) Silent Fans - Noctua for example

c) Copper heatspreader

 

Noctua NH-D15 will be a great choice.

 

Basically no noise from it's silent fan.

[Mr.Br1an.1204]

I really like my H60, great if you have a small form factor case and keeps the CPU nice and cool.

[Peskanova]

Telling AIO has more room to oc vs a nh-d15 its fake
 

 

[GoldForest]

4 minutes ago, Phentos said:

From a Kraken X62 owner, I'd go with the H115i Pro.

 

I love my cooler, but I paid too much for nice RGB effects

Are the hardware issues real or it is more people don't know what they're doing? I would really like to know. I've heard the x62 has great performance and out performs most if not all 240mm's.

 

 

9 minutes ago, TSL said:

I think the h115i is a good choice but you'll have to replace the stock fans as they aren't great. Maybe for that reason get a h100i to replace fans on. the NH-D15 will be a slightly cheaper option that is a little bit quieter however. Although will not allow as much overclocking as the water coolers.

 

Edit: get the h115i PRO. This eliminates the need for better fans and i can personally vouch for the h115i's performance.

So H115i Pro and I don't need to buy separate fans? Thanks
 

 

8 minutes ago, tj_420 said:

Look for air coolers that have:

 

a) Big aluminum heatsinks

b) Silent Fans - Noctua for example

c) Copper heatspreader

 

Noctua NH-D15 will be a great choice.

 

Basically no noise from it's silent fan.

I know dual or triple towers are what you want when it comes to heatsinks, as for silent fans, I don't think it will matter much. Super huge case, but I wear headphones all the time. As for copper heatspreader, don't all heatsinks come with copper plates? 

[Phentos]

4 minutes ago, GoldForest said:

Are the hardware issues real or it is more people don't know what they're doing? I would really like to know. I've heard the x62 has great performance and out performs most if not all 240mm's.

The X62 has been known for sporadic hardware issues indeed, namely because of the pump. I think the initial crop of X62 coolers manufactured before the batches with AM4 brackets included in the box were affected by those problems. My cooler is not among those and I have had absolutely no issues as of yet.

[Peskanova]

My corsair case intake fans on my 760t does more sound than the nh-d15 and with an aio u have 2-3 years of reliability , noctua offers 6 years warranty.

 

[GoldForest]

1 minute ago, Phentos said:

The X62 has been known for sporadic hardware issues indeed, namely because of the pump. I think the initial crop of X62 coolers manufactured before the batches with AM4 brackets included in the box were affected by those problems. My cooler is not among those and I have had absolutely no issues as of yet.

So the Rev. 2.0 version might be fine?

Also, I'm not considering three options:
H60
H115I Pro
Nh-D15

[Phentos]

3 minutes ago, GoldForest said:

So the Rev. 2.0 version might be fine?

Also, I'm not considering three options:
H60
H115I Pro
Nh-D15

Rev 2.0 should be okay. 

 

Out of the other 3 coolers you listed, I wouldn't really bother with the H60 unless you're doing a very compact ITX build. The H115i Pro is an extremely solid cooler, and the NH-D15 is considered a gold standard among air coolers, assuming you are willing to put up with its ugly as sin aesthetics.

[GoldForest]

14 minutes ago, Phentos said:

Rev 2.0 should be okay. 

 

Out of the other 3 coolers you listed, I wouldn't really bother with the H60 unless you're doing a very compact ITX build. The H115i Pro is an extremely solid cooler, and the NH-D15 is considered a gold standard among air coolers, assuming you are willing to put up with its ugly as sin aesthetics.

Hmmm, true. Plus, dual/triple tower heatsinks perform on par with 240mms, so H60 would under perform out of the other's I'm considering. 

Alright, so it's between the 
NH-D15 and H115I Pro

Idk which one to go for. NH-D15 is on par with most 240s, but a water cooler would be good for OCing... 
Mmmm, I don't think I'll OC anytime soon, and when I do plan to, I can always swap out for a water cooler. 

Alright, I've made up my mind, I'm going with the NH-D15. 

Question, can the D15 handle a third fan on it? Does it include a third fan holder? Just wonder if I can squeeze a little more cooling into it. 

Edit: Oh, and do I need thermal paste?

[matus177]

I personally love the look of the x62... it is sexy af. But if you do not go for the looks i would recommend the nhd15 or take a look at new Dark Rock pro 4 ... it looks sick. It is true that water coolers can be quite loud sometimes because of the pump. And you can get similar performance with these air cooling towers and save some money for something else. 

[Phentos]

Just now, GoldForest said:

Hmmm, true. Plus, dual/triple tower heatsinks perform on par with 240mms, so H60 would under perform out of the other's I'm considering. 

Alright, so it's between the 
NH-D15 and H115I Pro

Idk which one to go for. NH-D15 is on par with most 240s, but a water cooler would be good for OCing... 
Mmmm, I don't think I'll OC anytime soon, and when I do plan to, I can always swap out for a water cooler. 

Alright, I've made up my mind, I'm going with the NH-D15. 

Question, can the D15 handle a third fan on it? Does it include a third fan holder? Just wonder if I can squeeze a little more cooling into it. 

H115i Pro is 280mm btw. 

 

I don't think you can fit a third fan onto the NH-D15 unless you jury-rig one on with zip ties or something. Wouldn't really add much benefit tbh and would make an already fugly cooler even uglier

 

If you want air cooling and don't want an eyesore, look into the Be Quiet Dark Rock Pro 4.

[GoldForest]

6 minutes ago, Phentos said:

H115i Pro is 280mm btw. 

 

I don't think you can fit a third fan onto the NH-D15 unless you jury-rig one on with zip ties or something. Wouldn't really add much benefit tbh and would make an already fugly cooler even uglier

 

If you want air cooling and don't want an eyesore, look into the Be Quiet Dark Rock Pro 4.

How good is the DRP4? And is the Thermal paste that comes with it any good?

[Phentos]

Just now, GoldForest said:

How good is the DRP4? And is the Thermal paste that comes with it any good?

DRP4 is roughly on par with the NH-D15. The thermal paste is nothing particularly special IIRC. You can always clean it off and slap some NH-T1 paste on it and live happily.

[GoldForest]

1 minute ago, Phentos said:

DRP4 is roughly on par with the NH-D15. The thermal paste is nothing particularly special IIRC. You can always clean it off and slap some NH-T1 paste on it and live happily.

Should I go ahead and do that? Buy third party paste?

hmmm. I don't really see inside my case. The window is small and hidden by my desk pretty much. I have to bend down and look inside. Although, the DRP4 is sexy... Hmmmm.

[Phentos]

1 minute ago, GoldForest said:

Should I go ahead and do that? Buy third party paste?

hmmm. I don't really see inside my case. The window is small and hidden by my desk pretty much. I have to bend down and look inside. Although, the DRP4 is sexy... Hmmmm.

Third party paste is usually always superior to what comes stock on coolers. Especially professional quality paste like the aforementioned NH-T1, IC Diamond, or Kryonaut.

 

You never know

[GoldForest]

1 minute ago, Phentos said:

Third party paste is usually always superior to what comes stock on coolers.

 

You never know

Okay, final decision, Noctua or DRP?

[Phentos]

Just now, GoldForest said:

Okay, final decision, Noctua or DRP?

That's on you.

[GoldForest]

Alright, Decide to go with DRP4. Thanks everyone!

[WoodenMarker]

11 hours ago, Peskanova said:

Telling AIO has more room to oc vs a nh-d15 its fake

-snip-

The video here compares TR4 cooler variants vs non TR4 variants. The difference in performance from the cooling plate size is huge and this isn't a fair comparison. https://www.gamersnexus.net/guides/3029-quick-ab-test-impact-tr4-coldplate-size-with-noctua

The AIO's mentioned here still perform as well as the NH-D15 in most cases if you're not using it on TR4.

Here's a reference for relative performance:

11 hours ago, GoldForest said:

Are the hardware issues real or it is more people don't know what they're doing? I would really like to know. I've heard the x62 has great performance and out performs most if not all 240mm's.

So H115i Pro and I don't need to buy separate fans? Thanks

I know dual or triple towers are what you want when it comes to heatsinks, as for silent fans, I don't think it will matter much. Super huge case, but I wear headphones all the time. 

The Kraken x62 is good. Most coolers mentioned so far are overkill especially if you're not planning to oc. 

The H115i Pro comes with ML140 Pro's which are definitely better fans out of the box which perform pretty well. Whether or not you need to replace them with quieter fan depends on how your hearing. If you're wearing headphones and don't really care, it doesn't matter.

11 hours ago, GoldForest said:

Idk which one to go for. NH-D15 is on par with most 240s, but a water cooler would be good for OCing... 
Mmmm, I don't think I'll OC anytime soon, and when I do plan to, I can always swap out for a water cooler. 
Question, can the D15 handle a third fan on it? Does it include a third fan holder? Just wonder if I can squeeze a little more cooling into it. 
Edit: Oh, and do I need thermal paste?

Liquid cooling isn't inherently better for oc'ing. A 280mm AIO will perform a bit better than the NH-D15 but it seems like a waste to spend so much on a cooler when the money could be put towards better performance with a 8700k instead of the 8600k in the first place. Even if you want to oc, you can get much of the same oc from a cheaper cooler.

Lucifer V2: https://pcpartpicker.com/product/NZ2rxr/deepcool-lucifer-v2-813-cfm-cpu-cooler-lucifer-v2

If you're worried about later changing your mind and wanting a very quiet cooler or prefer a more neutral color, other options include:

Kotetsu: https://pcpartpicker.com/product/7998TW/scythe-cpu-cooler-scktt1000

Mugen MAX: https://pcpartpicker.com/product/8YrcCJ/scythe-cpu-cooler-scmgd1000

Mugen 5 Rev. B: https://pcpartpicker.com/product/8GBrxr/scythe-mugen-5-rev-b-512-cfm-cpu-cooler-scmg-5100

 

You can contact Noctua for additional fan clips to add a third fan. That being said, it doesn't make a big difference in cooling. 

All of the coolers mentioned in the threads so far come with paste that's either good or great. There's no need to buy additional paste.

[GoldForest]

On ‎4‎/‎24‎/‎2018 at 3:32 PM, WoodenMarker said:

The video here compares TR4 cooler variants vs non TR4 variants. The difference in performance from the cooling plate size is huge and this isn't a fair comparison. https://www.gamersnexus.net/guides/3029-quick-ab-test-impact-tr4-coldplate-size-with-noctua

The AIO's mentioned here still perform as well as the NH-D15 in most cases if you're not using it on TR4.

Here's a reference for relative performance:

The Kraken x62 is good. Most coolers mentioned so far are overkill especially if you're not planning to oc. 

The H115i Pro comes with ML140 Pro's which are definitely better fans out of the box which perform pretty well. Whether or not you need to replace them with quieter fan depends on how your hearing. If you're wearing headphones and don't really care, it doesn't matter.

Liquid cooling isn't inherently better for oc'ing. A 280mm AIO will perform a bit better than the NH-D15 but it seems like a waste to spend so much on a cooler when the money could be put towards better performance with a 8700k instead of the 8600k in the first place. Even if you want to oc, you can get much of the same oc from a cheaper cooler.

Lucifer V2: https://pcpartpicker.com/product/NZ2rxr/deepcool-lucifer-v2-813-cfm-cpu-cooler-lucifer-v2

If you're worried about later changing your mind and wanting a very quiet cooler or prefer a more neutral color, other options include:

Kotetsu: https://pcpartpicker.com/product/7998TW/scythe-cpu-cooler-scktt1000

Mugen MAX: https://pcpartpicker.com/product/8YrcCJ/scythe-cpu-cooler-scmgd1000

Mugen 5 Rev. B: https://pcpartpicker.com/product/8GBrxr/scythe-mugen-5-rev-b-512-cfm-cpu-cooler-scmg-5100

 

You can contact Noctua for additional fan clips to add a third fan. That being said, it doesn't make a big difference in cooling. 

All of the coolers mentioned in the threads so far come with paste that's either good or great. There's no need to buy additional paste.

I already bought the DRP4 and I bought Noctua's thermal paste to go on it. Derp... 

But thank you for the information anyway. I will consider it for the future. Also, I went with the 8600K because I don't really do much but game. I might record in the future, but before I do I will upgrade to the 8700K for the threads, but as of right now, I'm just gaming, nothing else.