After-market processor fans?

[Blightmare]

My desktop is using an AMD FX-8350 and I want to swap out the heat-sink fan in it. While it's not overheating, since it is an AMD processor it runs a bit on the warm side even when idle. Occasionally it'll drift close to the red but has never actually gone into and I'd like to keep it from ever going into it. Not to mention the fan that it came with is pretty small and incredibly noisy.

 

What I want is a fan that runs quietly, and more efficiently than the stock fan while still being affordable(I'm not entirely sure what constitutes a good price for these but preferably under $50 since that's all I can spare for one at this time). I'm not looking for water cooling since it doesn't get nearly hot enough to need that. Does anyone have a few suggestions as to what would be good?

 

Full specs:

 

CPU: AMD FX-8350 Black Edition

RAM: CORSAIR Vengeance Pro 16GB & PNY XLR8 8GB

Mobo: ASUS Sabertooth 990FX

GPU: Sapphire Radeon R9 290. Three fan variety

PSU: 850w EVGA 220-G2-0850-XR

HDD: WD Black Series 4TB

Monitor: ASUS VX228

 

[Obsidian]

You should also post your case for reference, as some coolers may be too tall to fit.

 

The Cooler Master Hyper series is by far the most recommended after market coolers for that price range, so it'd be worth looking into those coolers for your needs. I think the most recent revision is the Cooler Master Hyper T4, should set you back about $30. The sound quality of the cooler master fans is debateable, but at this price you can always get a quieter aftermarket fan and throw it on the heatsink and still be at your $50 mark.

 

For something right at your $50 mark, I'd suggest the BeQuiet! Shadow Rock 2 cooler, though. It has more surface area than the cooler master cooler and should perform better than it when it comes to thermals.

 

If you decide you want to save up for something closer to the $100 mark, you can start considering higher end air coolers with more cooling capacity. The Noctua NH-D15 was awesome for me before I upgraded to my custom loop, very quiet and kept my CPU at about 50C while overclocked and under max load.

 

Be sure to check for case compatibility with your cooler, as some may stand too tall to fit in your case. Most should be fine, but there are some that will have problems. And don't forget that we're a little more than a month away from Black Friday, sites like Amazon and Newegg sometimes discount these kind of parts too.

[Blightmare]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147226

 

That's my case. It's pretty big and judging by the amount of space around the processor fan I don't think size will be too big an issue.

 

I should clarify that as long as the fan noise is not "loud" I can accept it because currently even the slightest ramp up in processor use and it starts screaming. It's not necessarily the temperatures making it that loud, the fan itself is just super noisy. Like, my desktop idling shouldn't sound like my laptop running at full performance.

 

I'll look into the ones you mentioned. As much as I'd like the higher end ones I simply can't afford it right now.

[Obsidian]

Oh yeah, those coolers should be fine since the case has a 140mm mounted in the rear and those coolers won't be taller than a 140mm fan+IO shield.

 

As for noise, I'd say both coolers I suggested should be fine for your needs. They'd dissipate the heat much better than the stock cooler and thus make it harder for your CPU to reach the higher temps that cause your current fan to scream.

[BTGBullseye]

First, make sure you use thermal grease/paste that isn't included with any part of your system. Then make sure you apply it properly. (

https://www.youtube.com/watch?start=796&v=hd0Bb1C89J0)

Recommended grease/paste: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007788%2050012826&IsNodeId=1

 

The coolers mentioned are all quite good. I personally recommend a few others as well...

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA24G3435885 (ZALMAN CNPS5X Performa - $27)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103099&ignorebbr=1 (Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO - One that was already mentioned - $30)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118099&ignorebbr=1 (ZALMAN CNPS10X OPTIMA - $33)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118059&ignorebbr=1 (ZALMAN CNPS10X Performa - Larger version of my first suggestion - $38)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608030 (Noctua NH-L9a - $43)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835709018&ignorebbr=1 (Phanteks PH-TC12DX - $50)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835181029&ignorebbr=1 (CORSAIR Hydro Series H55 Quiet Edition - $60 - liquid cooling kit, easy to use/install)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=Property&Subcategory=574&N=100008000%20600035365%20600362366%20600470434%20600110699%20600418162%20600035373%20600291733%20600035374%20600291732%20600335651%20600456361%20600418200%20600413948%20600456464%20600360497%20600371997%204025&IsNodeId=1&IsPowerSearch=1&OEMMark=N (a list of the air coolers you can use on your system, in your price range)

 

I honestly think you could get by just fine with a fresh coating of thermal grease and the $27 Zalman cooler. Top of my suggested list for price/performance would actually be the $33 Zalman. (ZALMAN CNPS10X OPTIMA - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118099&ignorebbr=1)

[Heliocentrical]

So sometime in the future I will be upgrading to a i5 6500 CPU. Is the stock cooler that comes with the i5 6500 enough to cool it or should I get an aftermarket CPU Cooler along with it?

[BTGBullseye]

The stock coolers will always run between 10°c and 30°c hotter than almost any aftermarket cooler. If you want your system to last, use less electricity, and be a lot more stable, get an aftermarket.

 

The only use for a stock cooler IMO is for if you're still waiting for the aftermarket one to arrive in the mail, and you really want to check your email.

[Heliocentrical]

Alright, do you have any suggestions for low profile aftermarket air coolers that are easy to install? I don't care about fan noise and I want be able to access all of my pci and RAM slots after I've installed it. While my Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO does it's job when it comes to cooling it's blocking 2 of my pci slots on my ATX motherboard.

 

The Noctua NH-L9a looks like it meets my requirements. It's pretty pricey though.

[BTGBullseye]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835200057 Rosewill RCX-Z775-LP $13

 

Interestingly enough, it's also the least expensive low profile cooler on Newegg, with some of the best reviews.

 

That said, Noctua is the top-end for air-coolers. (if you can afford it, it will beat all others in it's category)

[Heliocentrical]

The Noctua NH-L9a is definitely out of the question. I saw a video for how to install one and I'm not too keen on supporting the heatsink as I install a backplate at the same time.

[BTGBullseye]

Masking tape works great for holding those things in place while you are installing other parts... Never underestimate tape. lol

[Heliocentrical]

Alright I think I've got a solid idea for how I'll cool my PC. I'm gonna go with the Cooler Master Hyper T4 and mount it horizontally for RAM clearance. I'll turn the CPU fan into an exhaust, mount it on the left side of the cooler(again for RAM clearance) and remove the exhaust fan. The removed Exhaust fan will then be installed at the top of my Cooler Master N200 case. Hopefully the Cooler Master Hyper T4 won't block the PCI Express slot but if it does I'll just mount my GPU in the second PCI Express slot since you said it was best to leave one of them empty anyway.

[BTGBullseye]

Sounds interesting... Bear in mind though that the motherboard usually has a specific slot for GPU if you only have a single GPU, and it will have better performance in that slot than it will in another slot. If the motherboard specifies a slot for the GPU, use that one if you can.

[Heliocentrical]

I just checked the manual and it's the first PCI Express slot.

 

I Should still have enough clearance though. The Hyper T4 is 5 inches long(128.00mm). and there appears to be 3 inches between the Asrock H170's CPU socket and the first PCI Express slot.

 

 

 

There's also 3 inches between CPU socket and the end of the motherboard.

 

 

 

Here's an example of a Hyper 212 EVO (which is only half an inch shorter than the Hyper T4. 4.5 inches vs 5 inches.) on a MicroATX motherboard.

 

 

As you can see there's a bit of a gap between the EVO and the GPU. So I imagine the Hyper T4 would only be slightly more snug than that.

 

I'm looking for an upright air cooler so I can blow the air either out of the back(exhaust) or top of my Cooler Master N200 case. It needs to be small enough to guarantee me clearance for both the RAM slots and PCI slots. It needs to fit 120mm swappable fans in case the included fan dies and isn't fiddly to install unlike the Hyper 212 EVO. I installed a Hyper 212 EVO and it made me sweat bullets because of that stupid bracket which kept wiggling during the installation process. There's nothing really holding that bracket in place and I want something secure. If you have any suggestions for coolers let me know.

[BTGBullseye]

Should fit and work just fine... Though I'd personally recommend putting the case fan to blow out the back, in addition to having the CPU cooler blow towards the back. (it'll reduce the stress on both fans, and likely reduce the internal case temps in addition to the CPU temps)

 

Also, give it a try with it being a pusher fan first, just in case it doesn't actually interfere with the RAM. (most CPU fans are designed for that, and will work better that way)

[Heliocentrical]

I've been looking at Be Quiet!'s CPU Coolers and I think the Pure Rock or Pure Rock Slim might be better than the Hyper T4. The Pure Rock Slim even has a cutout for the RAM.

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA68V2326642

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA68V4H84953

 

If 92mm fans are able to cool down an i5 6500 then I wouldn't mind using a CPU Cooler that has them. The Cooler Master T2 and Cooler Master TX3 look like possibilities

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16835103064

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16835103107

[BTGBullseye]

This Be Quiet brand coolers look to be quite nice... (and they will be much quieter than the Cooler Masters) I wouldn't go for the T2, as it only has a dual heat pipe system, and generally you need a triple to have efficient cooling on modern CPUs.

[Blightmare]

So after over a year I finally got around to picking up the parts. (Money issue struck shortly after this.)

 

I decided to go with https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835709018&ignorebbr=1 since I feel water cooled is a bit overkill on my current setup, even if it would pretty much eliminate heat worries. I also picked up a small thing of Arctic Silver 5 since I've heard a lot of good things about that. Just got to get a day when I'm not busy to blow out all the dust and finally swap out that banshee of a fan.

 

Also on an unrelated note I bought a new wireless network card. Right now I can't cheaply run a wire to my room and my old netcard was having a lot of trouble. It was half off when I bought it too. https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833320181

[BTGBullseye]

Nice air cooler, nice wifi card... Make sure you replace that Arctic Silver every 6 months when it dries out. (when it dries it loses a LOT of its thermal conductivity) Prolimatech thermal compounds are actually way better than AS5, they don't dry out, and they're generally less expensive per-ounce.