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Best air cooler for new build

2K views 29 replies 19 participants last post by  ryan92084 
#1 ·
Looking to buy a Ryzen 3600 and plan to mild to moderately overclock it. Which cooler would be ideal for that without spending upwards of $100?
 
#3 ·
hope no one actually buys an H7 for $99. it was a $25 cooler in 2016 that's having supply issues and now they're $99 for some reason.
 
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#4 ·
Get a Thermalright ARO-M14G or Scythe Mugen 5 Rev. B imho.

I have a D15 on 3600 and the actual cooler barely gets hot under torture test even CPU hits a max of 72C(~28C ambient, ~30C entering into cooler). It's a really low power part. Most important thing to cool it efficiently is probably having good contact with IHS, preferably by using a cooler with a flat or concave base and not direct heatpipe contact.
 
#6 · (Edited)
Mugen 5 Rev B is probably the best fit for a CPU such as Ryzen 5 3600. With 6 heatpipes it definitely fully covers the entire integrated heatsink of the CPU and because it isn't "direct touch" all heatpipes will be properly utilized rather than 2 of them (Ryzen 5 3600 is a single CCD / single die chip).

https://www.amazon.com/Mugen-Rev-CPU-Cooler-Support/dp/B06ZYB8K77

With a low power chip such as the Ryzen 5 3600 you could get even cheaper coolers than that , but at $45ish on Amazon the inflection point of price/performance is ~$10-15 more than a typical 4 heatpipe cooler. The Be Quiet Pure rock (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OB40ULU/) comes to mind as the cheapest 4 heatpipe cooler (although the mounting system is going to orient your cooler in the wrong way on AM4 so it's not a great idea) that isn't "direct touch" and is ~$36 as well as the Scythe Kotetsu Mark II which only seems to be available in ASUS RGB version right now.

https://www.amazon.com/Scythe-Kotetsu-Gaming-Alliance-SCKTT-2000TUF/dp/B002O6C1HI
 
#8 ·
If you get a Noctua, get one specifically for an AM4; apparently they have a flat base to mate better with the AMD IHS. Direct contact designs also have flatter bases. The Thermalright ARO-M14 should do nicely, as well as the True Spirit 140 Direct, or most of the Cooler Master offerings. Just went through all this on my recent build, returning to air from the waterworld.
 
#10 ·
Just went through all this on my recent build, returning to air from the waterworld.

A whole lot of PC hardware experts on this forum have recommended to go with AIR Cooling.

Don't see any reason why they would be totally wrong unless it comes to certain applications where an AIO is required (case and space restrictions).

Having a decent sized Case which has a lot of good Air Flow inside it, helps to keep all temps down when using any type of Air Cooler.
 
#11 ·
I went with it due to the simplicity. My previous loop was a custom dual-pump, dual 360 (60mm thick) affair with 2200 RPM fans in push, all pulling air from outside the case, and exhausting through the center rear. It kept a 2700K @ 4.6 Ghz around 46C for Intel Burn Test (Prime95 never got as hot), plus the GPU was liquid cool. It worked well, wasn't too loud if I turned things down. Life changes, and I had little time to maintain things properly, so I found a hint of corrosion starting on the block's nickel plating (I blame EK, as no other nickel blocks have done this for me, and my coolant mix never changed).

It's been a fun decade of building custom stuff, but now I just do it for others, and will keep to just lapping heatsinks and swapping fans in the air-cooled world.
 
#21 ·
too much water, 7.8/10

until CLCs stop using a fluid that's mostly water in their coolers you're kind of out of luck on that front methinks.
 
#29 · (Edited)
"move them in a case with VRM, graphics and other hot system parts the air cooler will perform worse."
What in the everloving expletive is this expletive.

An AIO inherently restricts airflow for these components inside a case It's a big block of metal designed to cover up the exact places air comes in or leaves from if that isn't obvious to you I don't know what to tell you.
Either you're restricting intake airflow and dumping the heat from the CPU inside the case for the sake of getting fresh air from outside onto the radiator or you're restricting the exhaust path. I don't care true or not whether liquid cooling might keep a CPU 1-2c cooler under these conditions, the idea that the air cooler is in totality "performing worse" as if having less airflow isn't something to consider for your VRMs and GPU still cooled by way of heatsink and airflow is mind bogglingly and egregiously stupid. Don't point to these components as a reason to use an AIO, when those components are exactly why an AIO is worse. I hope you see fit to never post again.
 
#30 ·
OP I think you received your answers somewhere in this mess. Closed for obvious reasons.
 
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