best $30 dollar air cooler?

I vouch for the EVO 212. But the Rosewill is a new arrival so it may be better, but I can't find any reviews on it. I would imagine though they perform very closely considering the specs on the fans are close and so are their price tags.

Of course the 212 Evo. But why go for a budget cooler (good one, albeit) and spend more money on aftermarket fans? If it's for appearance, I understand. For noise/performance, you won't get a lot better than the stock 212 Evo fan...

What fans are you planning on getting, OP?

I'd go for the cooler master--I have it and it's terrific for the price.

However, be aware of the space it takes up! It is a rather large heat sink, and if you are using dual fans then one fan may interfere with one of your RAM slots.

So if you're not concerned about space and will be using 2 RAM slots (or your mobo has enough space between the CPU and RAM slots) then go for the Cooler Master.

However, I don't know much about that Rosewill, so it could be good as well--I just know that the 212 is a great cooler!

I am buying blue LED apevia fans, as I have a black/blue themed build http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811998121

Personally I like this one, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835146025 the best for under $30. This one however, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835146026 is on sale and slightly better.

My friend bought that exact NZXT cooler and told me it was garbage. Said that the heatsink came with bent fins and the copper pipes were all beat up. After he sent it in for an RMA, they sent the same exact paperweight. Hmmm...

Quote:

Originally Posted by 4duino

My friend bought that exact NZXT cooler and told me it was garbage. Said that the heatsink came with bent fins and the copper pipes were all beat up. After he sent it in for an RMA, they sent the same exact paperweight. Hmmm...

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Some people are just unlucky with certain brands. Like I'm extremely unlucky with MSI and Razer. Everything those two companies send me is broken. Not saying they are bad companies, just saying I get the dirty end of the stick.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ADHDadditiv

Some people are just unlucky with certain brands. Like I'm extremely unlucky with MSI and Razer. Everything those two companies send me is broken. Not saying they are bad companies, just saying I get the dirty end of the stick.

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That's how I feel about departing from Rosewill and their components! Although when I look into crazy overclocks, I will definitely consider a different brand. I just don't want to go to a different brand and have something go wrong (I'm looking at you Diablotek)

Quote:

Originally Posted by 4duino

That's how I feel about departing from Rosewill and their components! Although when I look into crazy overclocks, I will definitely consider a different brand. I just don't want to go to a different brand and have something go wrong (I'm looking at you Diablotek)

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I know what you mean (I'm looking at you Raidmax), NZXT builds some very high quality components that I would definitely buy, ie: the NZXT Havik 140

They have a lot of decent cheap choices lately like the Zalman or the Enermax that got already mentioned:

This has better mounting and is nickle plated:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835106213

If you spend $50 you can get the Phantex 12DX wich is far superior in terms of cooling, build quality, mounting etc than all these other coolers and it already comes with two decent fans:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835709020

I have decided I will order the Rosewill cooler (strictly 30 dollars, as that's all I put on my debit card). I will post a review and let you guys how it cools. Thanks for your input guys!