How much better does a quality CPU cooler cool your CPU?

[wwillson]

The CPU cooler fan on my 9 year old PC finally died so I went in search of a new CPU cooler. I ordered an $15 cooler and installed, but GPU-Z showed a very hot CPU, sometimes reaching 210°F which is way too hot. The problem with the new cooler is the very small contact area with the heat spreader on the CPU.

I researched quality CPU coolers and came up with a $50 Noctua NH-U92. The CPU is now 60°F cooler during high utilization and almost room temperature at idle. In this case spending more is well worth the money.

Note the difference in the size of the contact area:

 

[ragtoplvr]

you are comparing a fan assisted cooler with a cold pipe type. It is not just the contact patch.

 

[wwillson]

you are comparing a fan assisted cooler with a cold pipe type.

These both have 92mm fans. Yes you are correct there are many factors that make the Noctua cooler perform much better, but if you can't get the heat to the sink because of a small contact area then nothing else really matters.

 

[ragtoplvr]

Long ago I had a thermoelectric CPU cooler that would cool below ambient, and the over clock the CPU. We thought a 66MHX 386 was fast. We could start a FEA run at quitting time, and often it was finished when we came in in the morning.

So fast!!!!!

 

[BigD1]

Unless overclocking is involved, I have never had a cooling problem with the stock copper core Intel coolers with the push pins. The copper core Intel coolers made by Nidec are pretty dang good for a stock cooler, and is what I buy if the need arises.

 

[86cutlass307]

Not saying anything was done wrong, but it takes a little while for the three components to mate properly for the best thermal exchange; CPU, thermal interface material (I like Arctic Ceramique myself) and cooler pad. 210F is toasty! The older P3 and P4 crowd (of which I'm one) used to lap the cooler pad for maximum flatness/contact area. The old S-478 CPU's were thermally challenged as the clock rates got to 3.0 >. I still have a lightly used P4 Extreme Edition 3.4G on an ABIT IC7-Max 3 board that I take out and play with once in a while. Doom still looks great on it, can't help myself.

 

[wwillson]

Not saying anything was done wrong, but it takes a little while for the three components to mate properly for the best thermal exchange

I had the inferior cooler on for about three weeks I would think that would be enough time.

 

[Danno]

Just to check, you did use thermal paste on both, correct?

 

[wwillson]

Just to check, you did use thermal paste on both, correct?

Absolutely

 

[JHZR2]

The CPU cooler fan on my 9 year old PC finally died so I went in search of a new CPU cooler. I ordered an $15 cooler and installed, but GPU-Z showed a very hot CPU, sometimes reaching 210°F which is way too hot. The problem with the new cooler is the very small contact area with the heat spreader on the CPU.

I researched quality CPU coolers and came up with a $50 Noctua NH-U92. The CPU is now 60°F cooler during high utilization and almost room temperature at idle. In this case spending more is well worth the money.

Note the difference in the size of the contact area:

View attachment 37258

Youre saying the interface was either that giant square on the left, or effectively that litle circle and the fin cross-section on the right?!?

That heatsink on the right amazes me... Id think they wouldhave at least bonded the fins to a flat plate that sits on the CPU, so that the heat could spread and dissipate with no intermediate interfaces... That think is terrible!

 

[Leo99]

Even the cheap CPU coolers I've used had a proper interface. Looks the interface is missing on the cheap one you tried.

 

[tyman]

Quite a bit better. I'm on a Noctua D15S for my 10600k OC'd to 4.5ghz and even after 2 hours of COD Warzone, it'll only peak at 60-61*C.

 

[wwillson]

Youre saying the interface was either that giant square on the left, or effectively that litle circle and the fin cross-section on the right?!?

That heatsink on the right amazes me... Id think they wouldhave at least bonded the fins to a flat plate that sits on the CPU, so that the heat could spread and dissipate with no intermediate interfaces... That think is terrible!

The tiny interface on the right is the cheap new one I bought that couldn't keep the CPU cool. The giant interface on the left is the new much more effective cooler.

 

[OilReport99]

I have the NH-D14 for my Ryzen 2700X w/o OC. Highest temp I’ve seen was 75C running Prime95. Average temps are in low forties.

 

[gathermewool]

The tiny interface on the right is the cheap new one I bought that couldn't keep the CPU cool.

Terrible design. No wonder the CPUs were cooking themselves. They were basically bypassing the heat sink. No amount of thermal paste is going to transfer to THAT!

 

[wwillson]

Looks the interface is missing on the cheap one you tried.

Not missing, just a super cheap design. Total fail

 

[JHZR2]

The tiny interface on the right is the cheap new one I bought that couldn't keep the CPU cool. The giant interface on the left is the new much more effective cooler.

Yeah, it just amazes me that they would sell something with the interface that tiny and not covering the whole CPU surface.

 

[PandaBear]

Not missing, just a super cheap design. Total fail

Those kind of tiny core contact cooler was from the late 2000s. They don't function too well these days for those massive TDP CPU.

You don't need a Noctura (I have one at work because it is hard to find one in a pinch for LGA2011, other than AliExpress or Noctura on Amazon) to be effective. You do need something that has big surface and preferably some heat pipe.

Why not just replace the fan instead? You don't need a whole new cooler when the fan die.

 

[wwillson]

Why not just replace the fan instead? You don't need a whole new cooler when the fan die.

Had a hard time finding the new clips that keep the screws in the fan/cooler assembly. I don't see how you could remove the screws without ruining that little clip. There may be an answer, but it wasn't obvious.

 

[gathermewool]

Had a hard time finding the new clips that keep the screws in the fan/cooler assembly. I don't see how you could remove the screws without ruining that little clip. There may be an answer, but it wasn't obvious.

Mine is the same. If it dies I’ll need to replace the whole cooler, too. This is for an i7-920 (1st gen)