OK i am looking for a new heatsink to replace my aging Arctic cooling freezer 7 Pro, it has done a great job for along time but i want something new. here is the catch i own a Lian li V1000b and i like to place my heatsink to blow hot air out the rear 120mm, this orination means its a tight fit for any HSF including my arctic cooler. So i was thinking out of the following HSF which would be the best. Aero Cool GT-1000 Gold Tower Multi CPU Cooler ZEROtherm Nirvana NV-120 Akasa EVO Blue OCZ Vindicator 2 Now i know the OCZ vindicator 2 is a beast but i hate the way it bends motherboards so its right down at the bottom of my list. Many years ago i came across the aero cool GT-1000 and i for some reason love the look of it, and would replace the stock fan. Oh and the budget is just over £20, as for the last 2 weeks i have been designing a rather kick ass external water cooling system and i would rather not blow my cash on a thermalright Ultra as i want to WC CPU/GPU/chipset in the long run.
I would also check out xigmatek if they are available. I have heard great things and they also have a back plate which helps greatly in supporting the HSF and not the motherboard.
I have the ZEROtherm Nirvana and I am very pleased with it. It's the quitest fan in my case, even on high (although my case fans are quite loud), and it pulls air through the fins and out the back of the case.
Ok so yesturday i went with an Akasa Blue Aurora after reading a bit-tech review, and F*** me its good, looks twice the size of my old Arctic cooling F7 pro, and half as quiet. When booting the system after installation at stock speeds i kid you not but it passivly cooled my Quad at 2.4GHz even under load sitting at a nice 40 degree's C! loving it! Even with the fan set at full speed its no noiser than the GTX280 at idle. I might replace the fan at some point as i hate the Blue LED fan, tad tacky tbh. Push pull 120mm delta's anyone? lol!
