My girlfriend's going to be building a PC over the Christmas holiday and I'd like some advice on cooling options for the CPU, a 4670K. She says she's not bothered about overclocking immediately but it's likely she will at some point in the future, so ideally the cooler should be able to cope with that when the time comes. My opinion is she should get a good air cooler, as that's the cheapest option and would do the job, but she has her eye on the all-in-one closed loop water coolers. The PC will be ferried back and forth between Derby and London as she's studying there, an AIO would be advantageous as far as that's concerned because there'd be no heavy heatsink hanging off the motherboard. Her budget is not unlimited so if she did go with one of the water coolers she'd be looking at the likes of the H60, refurb H80 etc. What would you guys recommend? She says she's not overly bothered about noise, but even so I think that should be a consideration. I'd be grateful for any opinions and recommendations on either air or water coolers. Thanks
Bought a Fractal Design Arc Mini R2 for her on here so air coolers up to 165mm and pretty much any AIO in her budget should fit.
Scan still have the H100s that are refurbed at 45 quids - quite a few of us on here have purchased these and they be good. Quiet, too. I'm not 100% sure if it'll fit in the Mini though - hard to see from the pics and not obvious from tech specs
The phanteks ph-tc14pe on paper says its too large, although a quick google search shows people have fitted it, but if you were considering it then i would do more research to make sure it will fit. It really is an awesome cooler though, one of the best air coolers available at the moment.
My only issue with the refurbs is..they have been refurbished because chances are they have failed, i would either buy a new AIO with better warranty, or buy a decent air cooler. Some of the air coolers nowadays perform better than the AIOs for less money and less noise. I run a h100, never had a problem with it although i think i will be switching to the phanteks ph-tc14pe shortly, used one in a build last week and its epic.
Thanks guys The spec says "Top – 240mm or 360mm radiators (thick and slim); the use of 360mm radiators requires removal of the ODD cage" and the mounts are offset too so I'm confident it would fit. The ph-tc14pe looks awesome but as you say it's probably too big. The PH-TC12DX would fit though. The refurbs do concern me, I understand the warranty has been extended on them to one year but to be honest I have reservations about AIOs in general, it seems to me they don't really cool better than a good air cooler (at least the 120mm models), they cost more, and there's more to go wrong with them. I guess what I'm really after is an idea of whether or not it's worth going with an AIO at all, as I have no first hand experience with them and I don't know if my concerns are entirely justified. Sorry if I'm going around in circles here, I just want to get as much input as possible so I can make a more informed decision. I can read up on stuff online, and I have, it just helps to have your opinions too. I appreciate all of your help
I've gone through options with her again and I think she's probably going to get a be quiet! Shadow Rock Pro. That's only about £33 and ought to do a good job. I have a Dark Rock Advanced myself and I can honestly say I've never heard it, it's a great cooler but a little too tall for her case. She's still wavering though, the H100 is still on the table, but I think we've ruled out paying £60+ for a 120mm AIO.
I have the Dark Rock Advanced. It is SILENT. It fits in my Define Mini even though the max cooler height is meant to only be 165mm. Pain is the ass to fit though.
Yeah I had to get a mate to help me fit mine as I was born with only two hands. True story. It's nice and secure once it's on though
An extra pair of hands is definitely the way to install these coolers. Seems to be the only complaint about them.
