Summer is coming - Best CPU Coolers?

My bad for the long-windedness... but if you don't want to read it, feel free to skip.

Hey...

Summer is coming, which means free time is finally on the horizon. For me, that translates to one thing: gaming. My rig is the heavy lifter here, specifically that FX6300 processor. Sometimes I swear JFK International Airport is sitting right outside my window... between the fan noise and my headset, it sounds like a fighter jet is taking off every time I'm admiring Lara Croft's hair or getting lost in the scenery of Far Cry. Once I finally upgrade my GPU, Fallout 4 is next on the list. But that’s a whole different conversation...

So—here we go... FX6300... Yeah... Running on the stock cooler... Which one came with it? The one I mentioned before that sounds like a Canadian guy on a cement mixer in the spring... temperatures are sitting around 60°C without even trying. I know... 😵So now we get to the real question... the one that actually matters here:
Which cooler should I grab?

Budget's gone... $67 maxWhatever. Just my luck...
Tried hitting up the Links site today. It’s broken. Every single page throws a "service not available" error except for the homepage... useless.service not availible...".
Now the questions start rolling in. Why all of a sudden? Why wasn't this done before...
Built this rig piece by piece back in December 2014. Last summer, I didn't even go near it...

I'm looking for some solid recommendations from you guys. If anyone has actually gone out and bought one recently, let me know... assuming we aren't dealing with an AM3+ socket...
I don't really care which shop it is, as long as it's somewhere around Manhattan...
I don't care what kind of cooler I get. I'm not looking to overclock or play around with anything fancy. I just need something that can actually hold a line under 50°C while I'm gaming... nothing more than that.

Thanks in advance for any help...

Go with $67 the LC-120, it's your best bet...

Most big retailers like $60 (Links, Futura-IT, Centro, etc.) carry them, so just check who's closest to you and see if they actually have it in stock.

Yeah, the LC-120 is a decent budget pick. Beyond just getting a good CPU cooler (and please, for the love of god, use some decent thermal paste!), you’ve got to think about GPU cooling and overall case airflow. That’s what actually helps the CPU cooler do its job—getting that hot air out of the case faster. I don't know what kind of case you're running, but usually, you want one 120mm fan in the front and one in the back. Front pulls fresh air in through the drives, and the rear exhausts the heat from the processor.

Besides dusting off the GPU, it’s also smart to blow the dust out of your power supply and make sure the PSU fan isn't acting up, especially if your power supply is mounted at the top of the case...

I was actually wondering about something before $100. Thanks!

Kenneth Hayes60 said:I was actually wondering about something before $100. Thanks!

You could go with the Hyper 212 EVO for $88, or if you really want something whisper-quiet, maybe look at the be Quiet Pure rock for $91. Just so you know, I pulled those prices from www.newegg.com

Hey,
I'm looking for a decent cooler for my Phenom ii x4 /AM3 setup. I'm not planning on overclocking or anything crazy, just need something from $67 this list:

My main thing is noise—I want it quiet. As long as it keeps things cool, I don't care about much else, though easy installation would be a huge plus.

LC-120.

Kimberly Gomez34 said:LC-120.

While that is certainly a solid choice,😁 there is a catch if you are looking for an easy installation. Mounting that specific cooler requires pulling the motherboard out of the case entirely. Let’s be honest, not everyone has the patience, the desire, or necessarily the steady hands required for that kind of surgery.

Consider another option, Alpenföhn Ben Nevis which installs as easily as a cracker, meaning it goes on just like a standard AMD stock cooler. It is a capable, efficient unit that will be more than sufficient for a Phenom II X4 processor. Its 12cm fan tops out at around 1600 RPM. That isn't particularly fast, so you won't deal with much noise even when the CPU is under a heavy load.

http://www.amazon.com/search.php?tp=0&q=ben+nevis

http://www.alpenfoehn.de/cpu-kuehler/bennevis#menu2

http://www.pcmag.com/article/Alpe...lusiv_-32223-3



It is worth emphasizing that for processors with a 125W TDP, you really need a CPU cooler equipped with a 12cm fan. Coolers using a 9cm fan generally aren't up to the task because, under load, those smaller fans have to spin at incredibly high speeds, which just creates a lot of noise.

There are exceptions, though; if you're running an AMD chip at 125W and just want to escape the racket, there's still a way out. If you aren't planning on overclocking and are happy staying at stock CPU frequencies, then the Arctic Alpine 64 Plus will do the job . The price point is quite reasonable $25, and most importantly, it stays quiet. Beyond that, it is a significantly better performer than that loud, old-school AMD stock cooler we all remember.

http://www.amazon.com/search.php?&q=...svePonude=true

https://www.arctic.com/us_en/alpine-64-plus.html

http://www.tomshardware.com/articlevie...id=2645&page=4



Better days are coming, as that noisy, subpar legacy AMD stock cooler is finally being phased out. With every new AMD zen CPU, a new AMD stock cooler called the Wraith is introduced.For certain older FX processors or newer AMD APU chips, this modern AMD stock CPU cooler is also included. Simply put, the Wraith is a much better stock cooler, and once again, the most important thing is that the noise effectively disappears.🍿

Kimberly Gomez34 said:LC-120.

👍
Thanks for the tip, but I ended up having to grab the Themis anyway since the LC-120 and TX were totally out of stock.

Andrew Miller102 said:While that is certainly a solid choice,😁 there is a catch if you are looking for an easy installation. Mounting that specific cooler requires pulling the motherboard out of the case entirely. Let’s be honest, not everyone has the patience, the desire, or necessarily the steady hands required for that kind of surgery.

Consider another option, Alpenföhn Ben Nevis which installs as easily as a cracker, meaning it goes on just like a standard AMD stock cooler. It is a capable, efficient unit that will be more than sufficient for a Phenom II X4 processor. Its 12cm fan tops out at around 1600 RPM. That isn't particularly fast, so you won't deal with much noise even when the CPU is under a heavy load.

http://www.amazon.com/search.php?tp=0&q=ben+nevis

http://www.alpenfoehn.de/cpu-kuehler/bennevis#menu2

http://www.pcmag.com/article/Alpe...lusiv_-32223-3

It is worth emphasizing that for processors with a 125W TDP, you really need a CPU cooler equipped with a 12cm fan. Coolers using a 9cm fan generally aren't up to the task because, under load, those smaller fans have to spin at incredibly high speeds, which just creates a lot of noise.

There are exceptions, though; if you're running an AMD chip at 125W and just want to escape the racket, there's still a way out. If you aren't planning on overclocking and are happy staying at stock CPU frequencies, then the Arctic Alpine 64 Plus will do the job . The price point is quite reasonable $25, and most importantly, it stays quiet. Beyond that, it is a significantly better performer than that loud, old-school AMD stock cooler we all remember.

http://www.amazon.com/search.php?&q=...svePonude=true

https://www.arctic.com/us_en/alpine-64-plus.html

http://www.tomshardware.com/articlevie...id=2645&page=4

Better days are coming, as that noisy, subpar legacy AMD stock cooler is finally being phased out. With every new AMD zen CPU, a new AMD stock cooler called the Wraith is introduced.For certain older FX processors or newer AMD APU chips, this modern AMD stock CPU cooler is also included. Simply put, the Wraith is a much better stock cooler, and once again, the most important thing is that the noise effectively disappears.🍿

It’s not like I can’t take a PC apart; I just don't have time to waste, so I was looking for a quick fix.

The funniest part of this whole disaster? It took me longer to pry the CPU off the old heatsink than it did to actually install the new one, because the damn thing was practically welded to the chip.

Total circus. And of course, the CPU popped right out of the socket, bending pins everywhere. One pin even snapped, so I had to try and flatten them back out using a credit card.

In the end, I had to go buy some pure isopropyl alcohol. Even the 65% absinthe I had lying around wasn't strong enough, and I wasn't about to risk frying my CPU and seeing ghosts after all that work. hehe

Anyway, everything is running smooth now. Ran an AIDA64 test at 100% CPU load—temps hit 59 degrees, and the noise level is basically a whisper.

Honestly, this AMD stock cooler was the first stock one I've used since 2000, but it'll definitely be the last. Forget the hassle—just shell out the cash for a $67, rather than dealing with that ear-splitting noise.

Jose Martin13 said:👍
Thanks for the tip, but I ended up having to grab the Themis anyway since the LC-120 and TX were totally out of stock.

It’s not like I can’t take a PC apart; I just don't have time to waste, so I was looking for a quick fix.

The funniest part of this whole disaster? It took me longer to pry the CPU off the old heatsink than it did to actually install the new one, because the damn thing was practically welded to the chip.

Total circus. And of course, the CPU popped right out of the socket, bending pins everywhere. One pin even snapped, so I had to try and flatten them back out using a credit card.

In the end, I had to go buy some pure isopropyl alcohol. Even the 65% absinthe I had lying around wasn't strong enough, and I wasn't about to risk frying my CPU and seeing ghosts after all that work. hehe

Anyway, everything is running smooth now. Ran an AIDA64 test at 100% CPU load—temps hit 59 degrees, and the noise level is basically a whisper.

Honestly, this AMD stock cooler was the first stock one I've used since 2000, but it'll definitely be the last. Forget the hassle—just shell out the cash for a $67, rather than dealing with that ear-splitting noise.

Damn it. 😲
Glad you managed to fix it. It’s actually pretty common for the paste to bake onto the cooler. Honestly, the best move is to boot the PC and run a bit of a load to get everything warm before you try to pull it off. Then you just give it a little twist left and right until it lets go.

Kimberly Gomez34 said:Damn it. 😲
Glad you managed to fix it. It’s actually pretty common for the paste to bake onto the cooler. Honestly, the best move is to boot the PC and run a bit of a load to get everything warm before you try to pull it off. Then you just give it a little twist left and right until it lets go.

It almost felt stuck, but I've never seen it actually fuse together.
I tried using a hair dryer to heat up the CPU and the heatsink, but zero luck.
Isopropyl alcohol and some gentle persuasion—that’s how you win.