CPU Heat Sink recommendation?

[gman]

This evening I just spotted my CPU temps going over 100°C which caused a brief episode of profuse sweating and panic (among other things). It turns out that after eight years of heavy use my gargantuan Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro has given up; the fan has stopped working. Fortunately, I still have the original build boxes and found the OEM Pentium heat sink and some Thermaltake paste which is neither solid nor running, so despite being eight years old, on it went!....

So, this little buzzing OEM cooler thing has to go, but I don't know what to replace it with because I'm properly out of touch with the latest and greatest IT stuff these days. Can anybody be so kind as to recommend a decent heat sink solution which isn't as big as the former beast and isn't too loud either?

It's to cool an i7 3770k so it's a socket 1155 and a TDP of 77W so I would like something with a fair bit of headroom please.

With thanks in advance.

 

[twist]

Hyper 212, arctic freezer, noctua, dark rock. Most coolers are decent these days.

 

[Brazo]

This evening I just spotted my CPU temps going over 100°C which caused a brief episode of profuse sweating and panic (among other things). It turns out that after eight years of heavy use my gargantuan Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro has given up; the fan has stopped working. Fortunately, I still have the original build boxes and found the OEM Pentium heat sink and some Thermaltake paste which is neither solid nor running, so despite being eight years old, on it went!....

So, this little buzzing OEM cooler thing has to go, but I don't know what to replace it with because I'm properly out of touch with the latest and greatest IT stuff these days. Can anybody be so kind as to recommend a decent heat sink solution which isn't as big as the former beast and isn't too loud either?

It's to cool an i7 3770k so it's a socket 1155 and a TDP of 77W so I would like something with a fair bit of headroom please.

With thanks in advance.

I have an Arctic 7 cooling freezer pro in the loft. Send me your address via pm and I’m happy to send you out the fan (they just clip on).

 

[alfbranch]

When did you last change the heat sink paste?

 

[gman]

I have an Arctic 7 cooling freezer pro in the loft. Send me your address via pm and I’m happy to send you out the fan (they just clip on).

Thanks for the offer, very kind. But I've removed the whole thing and binned it. To be hones it was too big anyway and almost nudging my RAM. The stock OEM unit is actually keeping the processor very cool, it's just a little buzzy and loud so I would prefer to change it. I've also ordered up a load of new case fans to get my airflow sorted once and for all - but just realised I should have ordered the CPU heat sink at the same time doh.

Thanks again though, appreciate the offer.

 

[gman]

When did you last change the heat sink paste?

The paste is from over 8 years ago. I think the expected lifespan is around 3-5 years though. But when removing the heat sink the paste was neither solid nor runny, just normal. Same for what was in the tube. I'll order up some new stuff though when I decide on a replacement heat sink. The paste wasn't the problem though, the fan had stopped. I connected up a case fan to the CPU fan pins and it worked, so that eliminated the mobo. I tried plugging the Freezer fan into a case fan port but it wouldn't work. It's moot anyway as the OEM heat sink and fan are working perfect - just a little noisy.

 

[EJB]

Thermal paste is often already applied to heat sinks. Changed a couple recently...identical PCs.
One caused me a nasty and quite serious deep cut when removing it from the CPU,,,,,last resort Stanley knife!
The second was a dream!
I tend to seek advice on Overclockers especially on hardware as the knowledge base is amazing.

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[Snapsh0t]

I have a collection of used and unused HSFs I can offer you through the sales section. We just need to determine what board size you have as some won't fit the smallest board. So do you know if it's ATX, Micro ATX or Mini ITX? If in doubt, how many expansion slots does it have?

 

[gman]

Thanks for the replies. I got a Noctua NH-U9S which is slightly lower profile than the Freezer and appears to be very capable. Just waiting for it to arrive.