Can't find specs on the Zalman fan either. I'd guess the BeQuiet one is probably better, judging by the specs of Zalmans other fans.

Another thing, one of my case fans hasn't ever worked. It was plugged into the CPU_OPT as all the other headers are used, and whatever settings I tried it just wouldn't work. I saw it spin a little when I turned the power on once but then it stopped, and hasn't worked since.

For some reason I blamed this on the CPU OPT header and not the fan. I just tried a different fan on the CPU OPT header and it works fine. Tried this fan on a different header and nothing. Made a 12v connector with a molex adapter and the fan was sort of rocking back and forth a little bit and making a noise. So this whole time I thought the header was faulty, it was the fucking fan lol.

This post was edited by ste91 on Jul 29 2016 03:04pm

The BeQuiet will fit...just.

The Zalman definitely has the better heatsink base (exposed heat pipes). You could get that one...then IF you needed to just get a better 120mm fan.

The BeQuiet seems like a safe option, has some good reviews, some even say it's better than the 212. I want to make sure I buy something decent though, because when overclocking with the BCLK, it apparently messes up the CPU temperature readings.

I wouldn't think it would "mess up the temp readings". It might (I dunno) make the temp raise faster or more.

If you're at all worried about that...check out the Corsair H60...

http://pcpartpicker.com/product/Vwdqqs/corsair-cpu-cooler-h60cw9060007ww

Quote from an article:



The bit where it says about not being able to read out core temperature is what I was referring to, although this is just some random article so I'm just being cautious rather than taking it as 100% truth.

The Corsair H60 is a bit out of my budget, but I could stretch to a H45 as they're on offer at £40. Are the lower end AIO's any better than similarly priced air coolers though?

Naw.

When you do a Bclk overclock you are raising the CPU base freq., which makes it run faster.
Unless it's wildly different on Intel than on AMD...raising the Bclk also speeds up the RAM and the North bridge as well, so you have to lower them a bit.

But whether you turn up the freq. (bclk) or the multiplier...the CPU will get hotter.

Yeah I got that bit, but the article was saying it disables a few things like turbo boost and on board graphics, along with the ability to properly read the core temperature.

Just came across a review of the Corsair H45 - according to this it beats the H60 and the 212 EVO, very tempted to spend the extra £10 and go for this over an air cooler now:
http://www.ukgamingcomputers.co.uk/corsair-hydro-h45-review-a-89.html

I don't see why it would affect the ability to read the core temps properly. Even if it does...you will just need to make an adjustment for the varied temps.
As for Turbo Boost...that's one of the things you turn off anyways, when doing any type of overclocking. You get the CPU turned up to "eleven" and you run the stability tests etc., you sure don't want the turbo kicking in.

As for the IGP, it may very well disable that, I dunno..I've never owned a CPU with an IGP.


This is the main reason ppl don't generally do bclck overclocking. They get like a Z170 mobo and a K version CPU, if they plan to overclock.

Before Sandy bridge how did everyone overclock?

You don't know?