What grade of CPU Cooler do you use?

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joytime360

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So do you splurge on CPU Cooler? Or are bottom-of-the-basement ones good enough for you?

I just got OCZ Vendetta CPU Cooler, only $0 bucks,and $30 before, lol.

So do you buy premium CPU Coolers? What about ones with premium grade?
 
Looks like a good deal.
I generally get aftermarket CPU coolers as the stock cooler is average at best, pi55 poor at worst.
If you are planning on not overclocking then the stock cooler will be ok. It's effective.
Overclocking then an aftermarket cooler is probably mandatory. I generally overclock so good cooling is a must, although I usually buy and sell CPU's of the same model until I find one that will overclock 25+% without any increase in voltage. Those are keepers and indicate that the CPU will overclock 40-50% while remaining within the manufacturers recommended voltage range thus preserving the warranty and it's lifespan.
The more voltage the better the cooling (CPU, chipset and chassis) needs to be.
No overclocking - stock cooler is fine unless you're looking for bling.
Mild overclock : <40% core frequency increase or <4-5% increase in Vcore -better air cooler
needed
Big overclock - bigger increases than above- Use watercooling and/or Thermoelectric cooling (TEC, also known as Peltier).

(numbers quoted are for Intel CPU's. My knowledge of OC'ing AMD CPU's is fairly limited)

CPU productivity drops off rapidly after 3.6GHz clock speed. Very few programs benefit from running a CPU past this speed, and none scale linearly- a case of diminishing returns.

As for aftermarket air coolers, tower heatpipe coolers generally give better performance than top down coolers but both are dependent upon the fan/s moving the air through the heatpipes and plates.
Good cooler + crap fan = average cooler
Crap cooler + good fan = average cooler

A fairly comprehensive table of contemporary air coolers here (Intel)
and here (AMD)
 
So do you splurge on CPU Cooler? Or are bottom-of-the-basement ones good enough for you?

I just got OCZ Vendetta CPU Cooler, only $0 bucks,and $30 before, lol.

So do you buy premium CPU Coolers? What about ones with premium grade?

Hi Joytime,
don't knock the OCZ Vendetta, or Vendetta II. they are very good coolers. they are up there with, and better than most of the 'premium grade' CPU cooling solutions. assuming you have decent airflow through your case (which goes for any setup) the Vendetta will serve you well. I have used it in many builds for customers (most overclockers) and it has yet to disappoint. I will second Divides opinion on overclocking. I have been writing on here for over a year about overclocking and diminishing returns. when raising the frequency requires a disproportionate amount of voltage increase, stop there as it will not afford you any discernible gains in performance. only more heat.
 
i use a lapped XIGMATEK Dark Knight with my lapped E8500 @ 4GHZ with 1.300 vcore, it idle around 28-30c and full load is about 50-55 with Intel burn test, i know i could push for more speed but i don't see the point
 
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