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Hi,

I would like to replace my aging Athlon II X4 630 with a Phenom II X6 1100t. They're starting to disappear from the distribution channels so it's probably now or never. Anyway, I understand that the stock cooler is not good so I plan to replace it with something else. My budget in that regard would be $60 tops. I know I can get the Antec Kuhler 620 or the Corsair H60 for less than that but I have mixed feelings, based on the reviews, about those coolers and how they compare to traditional air coolers. What would be a good air cooler within that price range that would rival the performance/noise of the Antec or Corsair water coolers? Would you actually recommend water over air or viceversa, again within that price range?

Thanks a lot!

Thermaltake Frio / Jing (Just remembered the Jing doesn't do so well on AM3 boards)

The fan on every Thermaltake CPU cooler I've ever owned has gone bad inside of 2 years.

CoolerMaster's "direct heatpipe contact" coolers are hard to beat from a price/performance perspective.

The Noctua NH-U9B is $60 and is a fantastic cooler:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6835608016

There are also the Cooler Master Hyper 212 models, of which I favor the Evo, for $35.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6835103099

If you're looking for arguably the absolute best *all around* (i.e. considering construction quality, flexibility, and industrial beauty, as well as cooling performance) air cooler then roughly $75 will get you the Noctua NH-U12P.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6835608014

If I was about to spend $60 on a cooler, I'd go ahead and spend $75 for the NH-U12P. $60 is a lot (to me) to spend on a cooler and once I'm in for $60 I wouldn't want to keep another $15 between me and what I think is the bestest cooler available.

If you're looking for the best price/performance combination then look no further than the Hyper 212 - and there are several models beyond the Evo, so prices range from $25 to $35.

Argh, those coolers look great but it seems that they're really tall and won't clear he side fan I have on my Azza Helios case...

hp9000 wrote:

Argh, those coolers look great but it seems that they're really tall and won't clear he side fan I have on my Azza Helios case...

Then get an antec kuhler... Though you have to fit the radiator in on the back end and if your case is too small to fit a normal sized heatsink (which they all are "huge" compared to the crappy stock coolers) then you might struggle to fit as well.

EDIT: Also wow that is a terrible case for requiring an aftermarket cooling... you could... remove the side fan.... or mod it somehow to fit any of the suggested coolers.

The back end is probably fine; the side fan is more towards the front of the case, which leaves about 2-2.5 in (5-7 cm) behind it, hopefully the Antec Kuhler can fit there.

Edit: picture of the side panel here http://www.legitreviews.com/images/revi ... 910R-2.jpg

hp9000 wrote:

Argh, those coolers look great but it seems that they're really tall and won't clear he side fan I have on my Azza Helios case...

The Noctua NH-U9B is 125mm tall. It should be pretty easy for you to do some measurements to see if that will fit in your case.

Edit, but the Antec Kuhler looks like a decent solution as well, judging by the Newegg score.

Yes, take some measurements inside your case I would imagine that a 92mm tower would in your case. Even a 92mm tower-style HSF will offer much better cooling than the stock AMD heatsink. Besides the Noctua NH-U9B, here are a couple others to consider:

Cooler Master Hyper N 520 = $35 after MIR and has dual fans.

Xigmatek Loki = $30 (I got one for $5 after MIR, cant go wrong with that)