What is a good cooler for AMD Phenom II X4 955?

[Scootaloo]

I'm going to OC soon, and I'd rather not fry it. What is a good cooler that is easy to install (preferably), and that is not too insane price wise?

[admin89]

What's your CPU socket ? AM2+ , AM3 or AM3+
Never mind , Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo supports all of them
http://www.coolermaster.com/product/Detail/cooling/cpu-air-cooler/hyper-212-evo.html (Click on the "specs" tab)

[NaturalViolence]

Scroll down: http://www.frostytech.com/top5heatsinks.cfm

Edit: Also I don't know what your definition of "insane price" is. Could I get a budget to work with?

[Scootaloo]

(06-27-2013, 11:22 AM)NaturalViolence Wrote: Scroll down: http://www.frostytech.com/top5heatsinks.cfm

Edit: Also I don't know what your definition of "insane price" is. Could I get a budget to work with?

As long as it doesn't exceed $65 I am fine with it.

[NaturalViolence]

Most of those will likely be out of your price range then. If you want to future proof it you'll probably want to stick with something newer from a big company as you're more likely to have brackets for newer sockets become availible when AMD inevitably changes their socket retention system. That will allow you to continue using the same cooler with a new socket for just the $5-10 it takes to replace the bracket.

Are you ok with all-in-one liquid cooling systems?
Are you ok with newegg?
Are you ok with buying used units?

[Scootaloo]

(06-27-2013, 11:35 AM)NaturalViolence Wrote: Most of those will likely be out of your price range then. If you want to future proof it you'll probably want to stick with something newer from a big company as you're more likely to have brackets for newer sockets become availible when AMD inevitably changes their socket retention system. That will allow you to continue using the same cooler with a new socket for just the $5-10 it takes to replace the bracket.

Are you ok with all-in-one liquid cooling systems? No.
Are you ok with newegg? Yes.
Are you ok with buying used units? Yes.

Well the one that admin89 linked to is $35 (before shipping), and it has excellent reviews. I'm not ok with liquid cooling systems, because despite what people say about them I still don't think they are trustworthy (I don't trust that they won't leak). Newegg is also fine too, I've never had a problem with them. As for used items? it depends on where I buy it from.

I think I'll go with the Hyper 212 EVO, but I'm open to other suggestions.

[ExtremeDude2]

I agree with the evo

[NaturalViolence]

It's fantastic in terms of bang for your buck. There are better pricier options ($50-60) that will run a few degrees cooler.

You could also look into getting used units on ebay/amazon since age/condition doesn't effect thermal performance and you'll likely get better prices from people who upgraded to other platforms. I've even got two spare coolers that I need to sell, a tuniq tower 120, and a scythe samurai ZZ (rev. B). I don't have the AMD bracket for the tuniq tower since I bought that thing back in 2007 and threw away the bracket without thinking ahead. I have no use for the samurai since it didn't fit in my HTPC. I'll give you that for free if you want. It's not going to be as good as the evo since it's designed for low noise but it's going to be miles better than the stock cooler.