Best 120mm Liquid Cooler

[viowithcrailtap]

Hey Guys,

Looking at doing my first build soon. I've decided on the Silverstone TJ08-E case but I'm a bit stuck on which CPU cooler to go with. I know an NH-D14 Air Cooler will fit but I'd like to go with a 120mm Liquid Cooler. I've looked into the Antec Kuhler 920, Corsair H80i and H75 and the Thermaltake 3.0 Pro but not sure which is the better option. The case doesn't come with an exhaust fan (but there is a 120mm fan mount) but I've been told due to the 180mm Air Penetrator I shouldn't need one.

Are there any other 120mm Liquid Cooling options?

Anyone on here got a TJ08-E?

 

[lehtv]

What CPU, what target overclock? Do you care about how noisy the cooler is?

 

[viowithcrailtap]

What CPU, what target overclock? Do you care about how noisy the cooler is?

An i5 4670K and I'm thinking I'll overclock to 4.2. To be honest I have no reference as this is my first build so I'm just after a good cooler.

 

[Demoralized]

I used the 920 in previous builds. Solid temps and little noise, it also allowed for a healthy overclock on my i5.

 

[lehtv]

An i5 4670K and I'm thinking I'll overclock to 4.2. To be honest I have no reference as this is my first build so I'm just after a good cooler.

Ah alright. Well, noise output is definitely something to watch out for. Typically liquid coolers with a single 120mm fan tend to be quite noisy at full speed - this gives them a performance advantage compared to 120mm tower heatsink coolers which tend to run at lower RPM. In general, I think extra performance is better achieved with more heatsink/radiator dissipating area or more fan blade area than higher RPM, so I tend to only recommend 140mm liquid coolers or 140mm tower coolers for higher end overclocking.

Your 4.2GHz target is achievable with a midrange 120mm tower. I'd recommend Arctic Freezer i30 $40.

Just for comparison, I think the best choice out of 120mm liquid coolers is Cooler Master Seidon 120M $65 ($40 AR). It has a pretty good fan for a wide range of operating RPM, so it can run quietly compared to most other 120mm liquid coolers. The rebate on this one is pretty nice so feel free to grab this or the i30, whichever is fine. You should expect similar perfromance per RPM.

 

[viowithcrailtap]

Well I'm restricted to a 120mm cause of the fan mount in the rear of the case.

I looked in to noctua heat sinks before but I may overclock above 4.2

 

[lehtv]

I probably wouldn't put a massive Noctua D14 into any microATX case. Keep it to something similar to the size of the i30. Noctua's 120mm coolers perform perhaps a little better, but IMO they're not worth >50% more cost

 

[viowithcrailtap]

I'll look into the i30. Thanks for the advice

 

[imported_Irse]

I just got finished with my TJ08-E build.
Couple of notes: My D14 did not fit unless I removed the HD cage. I could use the cage if the back fan was not installed but the HD would abut against the cooler so I wouldn't be able to add the cables. Had to get a smaller PSU. Not much space up there unless you're not using optical drives. Overall, I love the case.
Watch out for the screws for the top panel. They get stripped really easily.

 

[Belial88]

All 3 CLCs you list in the OP will perform identically, just get which is cheapest.

CLCs and heatsinks are all the sane, its all about performance/price. In many cases, like the antec and thermaltake, its literally the exact same asetek rebranded CLC. To judge heatsinks you really just go by the size or surface area, as all of them are good and well built.

Id recommend against the 920 due to how old it is, its out of warranty and any clc that old will have corrosion and gunking (clc does not mean zero maintenance, it means ignored maintenance), unless its under $30.

You might want to look at the zalman lq320, its a gen4 asetek, or the new antec 650, its a new design and seems to perform a lot better (not sure on its price).

You can oc haswell to 4.5+ even with a midrange or upper range air/clc, but you really need to delid them. If you arent willing to delid (which is 100% safe with the new hammer method), I'd consider looking into Ivy Bridge instead. Haswell is a lot stronger clock for clock, but a 4.7 Ivy is going to be stronger then a 4.2 haswell. Unless you do ram benching, need to use the igpu to game off of, or need to drive 3 monitors off the igpu, or use AVX2.