What kind of case and thermal paste should I get?

Gourry32

Posts: 11   +2
I was not sure where to put these questions so hopefully this is an ok place. Amway..

I need to get a newer case and currently leaning toward a full but maybe a mid-tower might be good I am just not sure.

My current case is https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146054

As you can see it is quite old and I wan more space for both more hard drives and so on and more airflow of course. To hopefully help out here are my Pc specs:
ASRock Z77 extreme4
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157293
ASUS GeForce GTX 960 STRIX-GTX960-DC2OC-4GD5 4GB 128-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121928
EVGA SuperNOVA 850 G2 220-G2-0850-XR 80+ GOLD 850W Fully Modular EVGA ECO Mode Includes FREE Power On Self Tester Power Supply
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817438018
16 gigs pf G.Skill ripjaw series ram
1 Dvd-writer
3 hard drives( 2 of 500gig WD 3.5 inch and 1 older 320 HD that I tihnk is WD but looks smaller)
Intel Core i5 2500k

I am not sure what I should be looking for so any ideas would be helpful and price range is no higher than $130 if possible


Now as far as my second question goes it's a bit more simple

Basically my CPU is getting too hot and causing issues and its most likely because the Thermal paste needs to be replaced(I got my CPU from a friend and it has worked fine for quite a while).

So what kind of Thermal paste should I get? A ceramic or something else? Also I do assume I should clean the cpu and heatsink so I do plan to get isopropyl alcohol 90% or higher.
 
I am not an expert of Building, however I want to know your CPU Temperature:

"CPUID - HWMonitor" will tell your cpu temperature.

After download the program, check your CPU temperature as soon as possible.
After that, Play game for 10 mins and finished it, check CPU Temperature again.

Tell us your CPU temperature result.

One more thing, we need information of your CPU.
 
I always use Arctic Silver 5. But that's just me, others may prefer a different paste.

One more thing, we need information of your CPU.
The list has "Intel Core i5 2500k" being the CPU. Were you wanting to ask about the CPU cooler being used instead?
 
I always use Arctic Silver 5. But that's just me, others may prefer a different paste.


The list has "Intel Core i5 2500k" being the CPU. Were you wanting to ask about the CPU cooler being used instead?


Yes, I was thinking of CPU cooler, however I want you to clean your PC.
I mean clean inside of the computer: remove dust.

The Dust located inside of CPU Fans, System Fans, Graphic Card, Power Supply [ you have to open the case yourself ].

If it does not help your problem, you have to wait other help.
 
Case: For a no frills excellent cooling, the Corsair Obsidian series is a good choice. The 450D is a mid tower, on the larger mid tower size and very good starting point. Every one I know that has one loves them.

Thermal paste: I'm a fan of Artic Silver...inexpensive and very good especially if no OC'ing (over clocking) is involved. Then there's Thermal Crizzly. It comes in to flavors....ceramic and metal. Either one of those are your best bet.
 
I am not an expert of Building, however I want to know your CPU Temperature:

"CPUID - HWMonitor" will tell your cpu temperature.

After download the program, check your CPU temperature as soon as possible.
After that, Play game for 10 mins and finished it, check CPU Temperature again.

Tell us your CPU temperature result.

One more thing, we need information of your CPU.

played Battlefield 1, temps got to the following:

Package: value was 97c, min:35c max:98c
Core #0: 97c, 35c, 98c
Core#2: 97c, 35c, 98c
Core#4: 97c, 29c, 98c
Core#6: 97c, 29c. 97c
 
What kind of CPU cooler are you using? Stock or aftermarket? If it's aftermarket what model? It can be the thermal paste or the cooler. If you're using a stock cooler I'd recommend purchasing an aftermarket one.
Suggestions:
Hyper 212 Evo
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16835103099
Cryorig H7
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA4UF2DZ6565

As far as thermal paste, you'll obviously still need some so I will recommend Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut or Aeronaut. They are both good and practically identical in performance. They're the best thermal compounds available in the market. I wouldn't recommend Conducotnaut as it can corrode Aluminum and many heatsinks are made from Aluminium.

As far as the case goes, it is a personal choice. What do you like and what features do you want?
 
What kind of CPU cooler are you using? Stock or aftermarket? If it's aftermarket what model? It can be the thermal paste or the cooler. If you're using a stock cooler I'd recommend purchasing an aftermarket one.
Suggestions:
Hyper 212 Evo
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16835103099
Cryorig H7
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA4UF2DZ6565

As far as thermal paste, you'll obviously still need some so I will recommend Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut or Aeronaut. They are both good and practically identical in performance. They're the best thermal compounds available in the market. I wouldn't recommend Conducotnaut as it can corrode Aluminum and many heatsinks are made from Aluminium.

As far as the case goes, it is a personal choice. What do you like and what features do you want?


The cooler is a stock one yeah and with the case I want to be able to have my Dvd-writer, a blu-ray player, room for my current 3 hard drives and extra for maybe 2-3 more regular ones cause I do still need to get an SSD to replace my primary some day. I would want enough room for my power supply, mobo and video card and have good air flow as well.
 
played Battlefield 1, temps got to the following:

Package: value was 97c, min:35c max:98c
Core #0: 97c, 35c, 98c
Core#2: 97c, 35c, 98c
Core#4: 97c, 29c, 98c
Core#6: 97c, 29c. 97c



CPU temperature:

30c ~ 50c : Normal.
50c ~ 65c : just caution
70c ~ : Risk status
90c ~ : Dangerous.


Following is Graphic Card Temperature:

30c ~ 50c : Normal.
50c ~ 70c : just caution [ this is if you continue gaming ]
70c ~ 90c : Dangerous.


Your value is too high.
You have to ask expert who know better about temperature.
 
Nice....

You may need to add a few more 120/140 mm fans to the case as it's unclear as to how many case fans it comes with and where they are located. If I read the fan specs right you only get 1 rear and 1 front and both are 140mm. I would add at least 2 more; 1 in the front for a total of 2. Then add 1 at the top....both would be 140mm. This would be for overall air flow to keep the sysem as cool as possible.
 
Nice....

You may need to add a few more 120/140 mm fans to the case as it's unclear as to how many case fans it comes with and where they are located. If I read the fan specs right you only get 1 rear and 1 front and both are 140mm. I would add at least 2 more; 1 in the front for a total of 2. Then add 1 at the top....both would be 140mm. This would be for overall air flow to keep the sysem as cool as possible.

I plan to add more and maybe replace the ones it comes with I was told by a friend who got a similar case the fans can be noisy
 
That's a good case. I'd recommend choosing an aftermarket cooler and go with the best thermal compound. Your CPU is running at dangerously high temperatures. GPUs are fine to reach up to 75 to 80C however you will be suffering from a lower thermal overhead and possible throttling to maintain safe temperatures.

Consider purchasing quiet fans, however, make sure that they push enough air to maintain good airflow as most quiet fans trade performance for convenience. Some fans are rated for high air flow and some for static pressure, what you want is high airflow. Quiet versions will always perform worse than non-quiet fans, for example: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835181021 rated at 39.88 CFM (cubic feet per minute) of air displacement while emitting around 21 dB of noise. On the other hand https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16835181112 is rated for up to 75 CFM of air displacement while emitting sound up to 37 dB. This is due to the fact that quiet fans tend to run a low RPMs to mitigate sound. Do some research and look at these values when looking for fans. Ultimately you can check if the case can take at least one 140mm fan which will perform quietly while displacing a great amount of air.

Also remember to maintain positive pressure, this means that you have more air coming in than going out. This can help with dust build up inside the case, specially if the fans intakes have dust filters.
 
Last edited:
This is late, and I know your dad ordered that CPU cooler (which may not be too late to return, But that case is water cooler ready! You can find a good AIO watercooler to help keep that temp down with less fans and less use of power! Surprised no one mentioned it. I have built 4 computer with higher temp CPU and I have opted for AIO watercoolers for each one and I have never had an issue. One of those computers is going on 5 years with the same AIO and yearly reapplication of thermal paste. You can get 240mm AIO's on Ebay relatively cheaper than that monster CPU cooler your dad got you and you get a much better looking build! By the way those builds have been with older AMD CPU's FX8370E, FX8350, FX8320. All factory OC'ed. The are using Radeon R9 390, MSI GTX1070, R7 290X. All of those are temp/power hogs and all have AIO's with 240mm radiator and fans bought on ebay for less than $50/6$60.
 
Last edited:
This is late, and I know your dad ordered that CPU cooler (which may not be too late to return, But that case is water cooler ready! You can find a good AIO watercooler to help keep that temp down with less fans and less use of power! Surprised no one mentioned it. I have built 4 computer with higher temp CPU and I have opted for AIO watercoolers for each one and I have never had an issue. One of those computers is going on 5 years with the same AIO and yearly reapplication of thermal paste. You can get 240mm AIO's on Ebay relatively cheaper than that monster CPU cooler your dad got you and you get a much better looking build! By the way those builds have been with older AMD CPU's FX8370E, FX8350, FX8320. All factory OC'ed. The are using Radeon R9 390, MSI GTX1070, R7 290X. All of those are temp/power hogs and all have AIO's with 240mm radiator and fans bought on ebay for less than $50/6$60.

AIOs would use more power and many air coolers can perform better than the best AIO. You have to consider the pump and the fans on the radiator. Gotta be careful purchasing cheap AIOs from ebay, if one leaks your hardware can be potentially ruined.
 
Well I was speaking in general terms and not pointing at anyone. To me its a no brainer after going AIO over tower coolers! It means no worries about case width and it means a more clear area for airflow, a neater presentation if I have a clear case door and lighting. For example two of my AIO's have built in lighting on fans, other case fans, and the case itself and the GPUs. Not that I planed for that, but its how it turned out on the dealing. Its not for everyone, but it worked out for me.
 
AIOs would use more power and many air coolers can perform better than the best AIO. You have to consider the pump and the fans on the radiator. Gotta be careful purchasing cheap AIOs from ebay, if one leaks your hardware can be potentially ruined.
True, hence my yearly reapplication of thermal cooler and inspection of the pump and hoses when ever I do my monthly dust check inside my built. You do have to pay attention when you buy and know what you are getting. Each AIO I purchased I ask for warranty status and year of manufacturing. I do my homework before jumping into an auction.
 
My thoughts:

The debate of Air vs AIO coolers is ongoing and for most is just a preference and a price point. The debate will go on as there are pro's and con's on both. There are videos (many of them) showing AIO vs Air on a single system. Where the degree temp difference is negligible at best. Most are only a few degrees. Then the fan noise, which is always louder then air (just compare dBA). Then the extra fan connector that the mobo has to have so you can use the software that comes with the AIO so you can control it. Then you need to determine the size of the RAD (radiator) and will the case have room for it. And the list goes on.

For me on the AIO's (depends on which AIO you choice and size) I can't justify the expense for same or better performance I can get from my air cooler (if you know how to set up/test your case fans). That's called case pressure, which is air flow, in what direction. That comes in 3 forms Positive (intake), Negative (exhaust) and Neutral (equal of both). With my case and case fans, with my Air cooler I get better temps with a negative setup vs the other 2 kinds.
 
Sure, I agree with your points. As I said its a matter of taste and opinion. I chose AIO because to me it was cheaper and the used cases I bought were AIO ready. I could have had a 1 fan radiator or two. I chose two because I got good deals. My AIO cases have two additional fans to bring in air from the front and push it out the back. The AIO's two fans remove air from inside the case and my GPU fans also push air up towards the fan in the back that pushes it out. Its all in placement and the noise is negligible, I don't need absolute quiet fans in my game play! My system is in the bedroom and my wife watches her TV shows while I play and if her TV gets too loud I can use the headphones. I understand some people are passionate about how quiet their fans are but to me its not an issue. If my wife is not home I have my speakers on and also cant hear the fans. To each their own.
 
I'm looking to change from my AIO to an air cooler. At similar price points I don't think that the AIO are now particularly better that air coolers until you get to the higher end stuff or custom builds which in reality most people don't need. You've got extra risk from them- leakage, extra noise potential from a pump and fan vs a fan only, and the water cooler radiator fan is nearer to your ears by virtue of its position whereas noise from an air coolers fan has some muffling on its journey traveling outside of the case.
As part of my decision my AIO is an always on thing whereas newer cooling systems can often shut the fan(s) down until a certain cpu temperature is reached.
I don't really see any benefit from water cooling for myself, and probably most people are the same.
The extra thing that I suppose you do get is bragging rights if the person you are talking too is not too technically savvy.- that's probably the reality of many AIO cooler buys.
 
IMO....the only advantage to a AIO.....is if you're OC'ing. Not just by a few mhz....I mean really pushing the limits.

My system is in the bedroom
Me too.....but I game upstairs and she does her TV shows downstairs.
 
IMO....the only advantage to a AIO.....is if you're OC'ing. Not just by a few mhz....I mean really pushing the limits.
......
that is dependant on which coolers you are using/comparing. There are many very good air coolers that can max overlocking to the same level as liquid coolers- the max overclocking is often limited by an individual chip- pray you get one of the best ones (they can't all be the best....)
 
Back