cpu fan replacement

[gammaray]

First of all,

is the heatsink/fan cooler on the 2500 sandy bridge any good?

If not, can you guys suggest me 3 brands and model under 50$ i could buy?

Thank you!

 

[lehtv]

The stock heatsink is fine for stock clocks. Some people even overclock on it.

Why don't you try it out first? It shouldn't have any temperature issues, but if it makes too much noise for your taste, then consider a quieter cooler.

 

[lsv]

The stock heatsink is fine for stock clocks. Some people even overclock on it.

Why don't you try it out first? It shouldn't have any temperature issues, but if it makes too much noise for your taste, then consider a quieter cooler.

I'd skip it all together, it's just soooo loud.

 

[T_Yamamoto]

Hyper 212+ for a cooler

 

[Jman13]

I'd skip it all together, it's just soooo loud.

It's certainly not good enough for overclocking, but I don't think it's loud at all. I found it quite quiet before I swapped it for my TX3 for a little overclock.

 

[Zardnok]

First of all,

is the heatsink/fan cooler on the 2500 sandy bridge any good?

If not, can you guys suggest me 3 brands and model under 50$ i could buy?

Thank you!

Do you have the regular 2500 or the 2500K chip? The regular chip may be OK with the stock cooler, but I always recommend an aftermarket cooler for reduced temps, better OC, and longer life. The under $50 bracket has a number of decent coolers, especially when you factor in rebates. The Hyper 212+ is recommended most often because its price/performance is hard to beat. The CAFA70 has two fans, so it has better performance than the 212+, but is also louder. The Macho is IMO the king of under $50. It has a quiet 140mm fan vs the 120mm fans on the others, plus it has more surface area and heat-pipes to dissipate heat.

COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus
CORSAIR CAFA70 120mm A70 Dual-Fan CPU Cooler
Thermalright HR-02 Macho

 

[yaxattax]

Another vote for Hyper212+. But buy two Akasa Apache (120mm) and replace the fan that comes with it for a quiet push-pull configuration. At low (600) RPM these fans are essentially inaudible. Even at max rpm (1200 I think) they are pretty quiet still. If you don't care about looks, you can get the apache coloured fan for less than the black coloured one.

 

[lehtv]

You don't need two fans in push-pull to cool a stock i5. Besides, paying $25 for a heat sink and an additional $20 for fans is sort of pointless - might as well get a better heatsink in the first place, like Scythe Mugen 3.

 

[gammaray]

so what is the difference between the scythe mugen and the hyper 212+ ?

they look alike.

i don't need a dual fan setup, i'm not going to OC. i just want cooler temp and less noise.

 

[DesiPower]

Another vote for Hyper 212+, stock coolr is fine BUT is noisy imho, while gaming and stuff when CPU utilization is heavy it will whine... Hyper 212+ is silent all over. I can barely hear it during heavy load. Price is awesome too, right now newegg has it for $20 I guess...

 

[lehtv]

so what is the difference between the scythe mugen and the hyper 212+ ?

Mugen 3 is 200g heavier and has more surface area and more heatpipes, so it performs better. It is also quieter, as the fan is 300(±30%) - 1600(±10%)RPM, compared to 600 - 2000 RPM for 212+. But 212+ is better value and a better choice if you're intending to replace the stock fan with something quiet

 

[DesiPower]

I guess something like Mugen 3 can also be used without fan if you have excellent air flow, maybe something like huge 200mm fans... I used to use Ninja with no fans on my D950 system, it did have 4 120mm fans running at 1500 RMP. Temps were in acceptable range even while playing games, 60 - 80% load over extended period of time....

 

[ElFenix]

I guess something like Mugen 3 can also be used without fan if you have excellent air flow, maybe something like huge 200mm fans... I used to use Ninja with no fans on my D950 system, it did have 4 120mm fans running at 1500 RMP. Temps were in acceptable range even while playing games, 60 - 80% load over extended period of time....

the OG ninja had wide spaced fins to accommodate using it without a fan nearby.

 

[ichiban02]

if you can, try finding a used thermalright TRUE with the 1156 bolt thru kit.

i tried to save money since i already have the TRUE heatsink, but i couldnt find a vendor who had the 1156 bolt kit in stock.

so i picked up a new thermalright venomous x for 30 bucks on craigslist.

 

[gammaray]

all right, i ordered a 212 hyper+, thank you all

 

[lehtv]

I guess something like Mugen 3 can also be used without fan if you have excellent air flow, maybe something like huge 200mm fans... I used to use Ninja with no fans on my D950 system, it did have 4 120mm fans running at 1500 RMP. Temps were in acceptable range even while playing games, 60 - 80% load over extended period of time....

I'd argue that for cooling an i3-2100 passively, it wouldn't even need particularly good case airflow. It's just not a processor that makes enough heat for it to be a problem