Top CPU Air Coolers

[marko04]

/Note - you can save your self from boredom by scrolling down to the list immediately/

Hi
Have you ever tried overclocking your beloved little central processing units?
If you haven't, you should try. Those powerful Intel quads are quite happy to give you much more clock cycles than you paid for. Rumor has it that your quad cores could run 50% faster than default (dual core processors could gain even more). Thats 33% less in terms of render times. And we all spend a lot of time rendering things, don't we...
The only setback is that your CPUs will need more energy for that, which means that it will produce more heat. A lot more. Thus, for doing serious overclocking, you'll need a good cooler. Stock cooler ain't gonna do it.
There are many types of coolers available on the market such as water and air coolers. Some extreme folks use even liquid nitrogen and dry ice for that, but that is not the purpose of this thread...

I prefer air cooling systems because they are relatively cheap and offer good performance and low noise. Air cooling technology is well matured, and the solutions you can get now are probably near the technological limit. This is a perfect time to get yourself a good cooler. It will serve you for years to come and it will save you plenty of time if you do overclocking.

This is a list of the best air coolers available on market. Now, I haven't tested any of them. This list is based on my own conclusions, and I did a thorough research on the web before compiling it. These are all top quality products and I recommend all of them. Keep in mind that all this coolers are heavy and huge, so you should check the dimensions of your case before ordering one.

OK, here it is

1. Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme aka TRUE

Ultimate CPU Cooling Solutions! USA

This cooler is probably the most accoladed air cooler today. TRUE has proven its performance on countless reviews and comparison tests. If you are really looking to get top overclocking performance, this is your choice. It is expensive and hard to find. It comes without a fan, so you'll need to buy 120mm fan or two to get the best out of this baby. I recommend Scythe S-FLEX SFF21F fans, because they offer great performance and low noise. TRUE comes with bolt-through retention brackets, and it needs motherboard removal for installation. Many people find the installation hard.

Price: ~60$
Pros: Unsurpassed performance, sturdiness
Cons: Price, lack of fan...

2. Noctua NH-U12P

Noctua.at - sound-optimised premium components "Designed in Austria"!

Noctua is Austrian company that excels in innovation and quality of their products. NH-U12P is truly a remarkable peace of hardware that comes with 6 year guarantee. It comes in a full package, with world class Noctua's own NF-P12 fan, high-end thermal paste and mounting kit. The cooling performance is excellent, and this is probably best all-around product on this list. It is relatively expensive, but if you consider the fact that it comes with great fan that costs 20$, and overall quality of the packege, the price seems fair

Price: ~65$
Pros: Excellent performance, low (really low) noise, world class fan...
Cons: it could be a little cheaper

3. Xigmatek HDT-S1283

XIGMATEK

This cooler uses innovative technology called Heatpipe Direct Touch. You should see the picture of the product to see what it really means. This technology allows great performance with decreased size and weight of the cooler. That doesn't mean it is small cooler, however. It's easy to install and does not require motherboard removal. Great price.

Note: Kingwin Revolution RVT-12025D is the identical cooler in different packaging. It is even cheaper than Xigmatek.

Price: ~35$
Pros: Excellent cooling, easy instalation, price
Cons: None that I can think of...

These are top 3 coolers in my book.


Here are some other great coolers that come very near the top 3:

OCZ Vendetta 2 (Heatpipe Direct Touch technology)
OCZ Technology | Products | Cooling Products | OCZ Vendetta 2 CPU Cooler

Thermalright IFX-14 (enormous cooler, probably the 'coolest', but the size raises compatibility issue with many cases)
Ultimate CPU Cooling Solutions! USA

Tuniq Tower 120
Tuniq - Tower 120 Cooler

Xigmatek Achilles S1284 (enhanced version of S1283, but you should avoid getting this one at newegg)
XIGMATEK


Well, that covers it. If you want to buy CPU cooler, you can't go wrong with any of the coolers I mentioned. These coolers were tested and reviewed by many respectable sites, and recommended by most of them.

The best thermal compounds are Shin Etsu and OCZ Freeze.

Have a nice day.

[TheAllusionist]

Very good stuff, thank you!

[marko04]

Hey, I'm glad you like it
I only hope my English don't suck too much

[TheAllusionist]

Your English was excellent and your choices of heatsinks are very good. I suggest people avoid the radial ones with copper fins radiating out, they tend not to fit in some cases, or you have to customize them.

Feel free to share this kind of information, I think it is very useful.

[Rod]

Hey Marko, thanks for the info. Been wondering about overclocking. BTW youre English is way better than Russell's and he is a native!!! No really good english skills in your corner..

[marko04]

Thank you. I try to write English as good as I can, but, to tell you the truth, I'm not always sure about my grammar. Those red lines are quite a helper regarding spelling
Rod, I think you should give it a try. Overclocking is not only useful, it is fun too.
I love the design of these things... I'm gonna try modeling some of my own design... when I get free time, that is

[neil]

Hey, great info. Thanks for sharing.
I am the master of spelling in english thats why I always prefer MS Word to write anything. So it automatically correct my spelling, he he.

[anonyma]

hey marko, good cooling sources...

although is not that top and neither a pro, i'm using one of this with good performance on a athlon 64 X2 6000+

ASUS Silent Knight Cooler :: News :: www.hardwarezone.com

ASUSTeK Computer Inc.

what i like about it is that it gives some really good cooling space to cpu close components and it doesn't make that much noise in comparison with original one...