[swing84]

Nothing wrong with a good air cooler for overclocking at 4.5GHz or below.

Always measure the cooler you want, to make sure it will clear RAM, heatsinks near the CPU, and any PCIe slots. And, use a case with good air flow for CPU air coolers.

I use a Cooler Master HAF 922 case with the extra 200mm fan in the door, Noctua NH-C14 with 2 fans [quiet CPU cooler] to overclock my Intel i5-3570K [lower fan clears my CAS 8 G.Skill Ripjaws X DDR3 1866, by 1/4 inch].

This CPU is an average overclocker and will overclock higher, however excluding stress software testing, for long term use I like to keep CPU demanding games and apps below 60 degrees C [including during summer months], with all four cores overclocked to 4GHz to 4.4GHz. At this overclock, in the winter my maximum CPU temperatures stay in the 40s and in the summer in the 50s [C] when gaming.

The hottest core at 4.5GHz during heavy gaming can reach 60 to 62 degrees C in a warm room in summer months [I have no airconditioner in my computer room].

4.5GHz CPU overclock using AIDA64 Extreme Edition, maximum individual core temperatures moved between mid 50s C to low 60s C, and at one moment reached 65 degrees Celsius. Remember, this is the hottest core, not an average of core temps. Room temperature was 71.66 degrees F [22.03 degrees C].

Just after finishing AIDA64 stress test, at 4.5GHz playing World of Tanks at the same room temperature, hottest core was 54 degrees C, average hottest temp between all 4 CPU cores was 48 degrees C.

Just after finishing World of Tanks at 4.5GHz I changed the CPU to 4.2GHz and ran AIDA64 Extreme Edition again. Hottest core was 55 degrees C [three of the four cores had this same maximum temp.]

Note that Ivy Bridge CPUs are sensitive to even slight voltage changes, and 4.2GHz was running lower voltage. I forgot to look, however, I think the voltage for 4.5GHz is 2.225v and 4.2GHz is 2.115v. This amount of voltage proves that my CPU is only an average overclocker.

I used to perform just about every kind of computer work, from designing to building to diagnostics to consultant, and of course overclocking was a favorite past time for about 30 years. However, now I am an old man with health problems and on a lot of medication. One of these days I hope to get around to using a slightly better TIM and see how it impacts CPU and other temperatures, but for now the temperatures are from using PROLIMA tech PK-1 [old TIM, I know, but still effective for moderate Ivy Bridge overclocking].

On a side note, if you overclock the CPU to 4.5+GHz get some good quality, fast, low CAS, RAM. That will keep the higher frequency CPU fed [more data throughput]. And, use a high quality TIM {such as PROLIMA tech PK-2 or PK-3 [as mentioned, my CPU still has the older PK-1 on it]}. I have GELID GC-Extreme, but have not applied it yet}, and a high quality power supply. As to TIM storage, place the application tip down, do not lay the tube on its side.

For long life, if you do not overclock there is no reason to purchase an expensive or moderately expensive CPU cooler, in that case I still suggest a less expensive yet better cooler than what is supplied by Intel for most of their retail CPUs.

I am sorry for such a long post, however, I hope it helps new to learning overclockers.

[Lowndes]

You forgot the other type of cooler, the hybrid: heat pipes.

These are like the Noctua NH-D14 shown in the pic. They are different from the direct air "finned heat sink" as the Intel pictured in the article under the "Air cooling". In these direct air coolers, the heat is carried directly away from the IC or CPU (the hot spot) by a metal heat sink pressed against the chip (usually with some heat conductive paste). The fins in the heat sink are cooled by air from the fan blowing at a relatively fast rate, thus the noise.

The hybrid coolers use a "heat pipe" to conduct the heat away from the heat sink to the cooling fins. Lots of info on the web about heat pipes. They require a much higher temperature differential to be efficient, AND they work best when the "pipes" are vertical (the condensation drains back to the heat sink much faster). Most installs would have the "pipes" in a horizontal config - not very effective. And they tend to be VERY bulky and loud. My Corsair H40 is smaller, quieter, and has a TON more heat dissipation capacity than the Thermaltake 115. Looks good, too.

[waldojim]

Fatesrider, on 19 February 2013 - 12:24 PM, said:

Quote

'Aftermarket coolers like the Noctua NH-D14 can handle overclocked CPUs, albeit loudly. ' Noctua? Loudly? Perhaps you should read the NH-D14 specs again.....

I believe it was compared to the water cooled systems. And considering it throttles to speed up during heavy use, it does tend to get louder than the specs say it does. You can't have massive movements of air SILENTLY. And considering the article talked about high use, high-end, over-clocked boards, you're looking at a lot of heat.

Another thing that plays into it far more than is usually mentioned is ambient air temperatures. If the room is at 70 F, the air moving over the heat sinks is about twice as efficient in removing heat than if the air is at 80 F. The efficiency in air cooling versus ambient air temperature curve is not linear. It's exponential, with massive fall-offs in efficiency above 80 F.

In that respect, it's much better to cool with liquid in a hotter ambient environment because the build-up in heat is slower in a liquid (heat transfers more efficiently to liquid than air) and it's faster to cool liquids than metals with warmer air.

So if you have your Noctua NH-D14 with it's spec'ed 19.2 DB level installed in an uber-maxed system that's in a relatively warm environment, it's going to eventually sound like a C-130 revving up for take-off compared to a water cooled system.

Actually, many water cooling systems are louder than people realize. Much louder than most Noctua coolers. Water cooling does not eliminate fans, and many of these kits are based on a single fan radiator. In the end, the heat still has to be dispersed, and a single radiator has less total surface area to do it than most air coolers. Add to it, that you have the noise of a pump compounded on there, and you find that water cooling isn't nearly as much about reductions in noise, as much as shifting hot-spots to a more ideal location.