I5-6600 Stock Cooler

[Nova O. Taggart]

Is the stock cooler adequate? Or should I invest in an aftermarket cooler? I'm not going to overclock it, thus not buying the K version. The computer will be used for gaming.

[_I_]

yes
the stock cooler for i5 non k cpus is fine for stock speeds

or a tx3 is cheap, quiet and good for cpus under 100w

[Nova O. Taggart]

So even for heavy gaming, even on high graphic settings? Possibly for extened periods of time...

[_I_]

yes
the non k cpu cant be overclocked (unless its in a z170 board with unlocked bios)

at full load it will not go over 65w which is fine for the stock cooler or tx3

[Nova O. Taggart]

Good to know, thanks. Was really not looking forward to the whole thermal gel part, for the aftermaket coolers. So many conflicting ideas on that. You would think it would be a science by now.

[_I_]

most aftermarket coolers come with thermal paste
the paste included with cm tx3-212 and other coolers are as good as as5/mx4

[Nova O. Taggart]

I didn't mean the brand, I meant the application of the stuff

[_I_]

for most a half pea or grain of rice sized dot is all thats needed in the center of the cpu

or the stock paste on stock coolers and a few others is good for 1 install

[Arya]

Originally posted by Nova O. Taggart:

I didn't mean the brand, I meant the application of the stuff

I would recommend a cheap aftermarket cooler, like a 212 EVO or entry-level Noctua. Cooler is always better, and they don't cost much.

Installing Thermal Paste isn't too difficult. You typically put either a stripe, an X or a pea sized dollop around the middle and slot the chip into place. Putting too much on isn't really an issue, unless you're using a Conductive paste. Which you shouldn't be - non conductive is always preferable.

If you have a spill, rubbing alcohol cleans up thermal paste easily.

[Bad 💀 Motha]

Originally posted by Nova O. Taggart:

I didn't mean the brand, I meant the application of the stuff

Regardless of the cooler; cleaning off the old, re-applying new thermal paste is something you should do every 6-12 months or as needed with any PC that gets very heavy usage. It's one thing to have a daily used office PC. But to use a gaming PC daily, something like the paste needs replacing more often.

[Arya]

Originally posted by Bad-Motha:

Originally posted by Nova O. Taggart:

I didn't mean the brand, I meant the application of the stuff

Regardless of the cooler; cleaning off the old, re-applying new thermal paste is something you should do every 6-12 months or as needed with any PC that gets very heavy usage. It's one thing to have a daily used office PC. But to use a gaming PC daily, something like the paste needs replacing more often.

For education's sake, is there a warning sign or telltale that you should replace paste now rather than waiting for your usual service?

Generally speaking, it pays to treat your PC like a sports car. Every six months or so, strip it down and give it a good clean. Change the thermal paste, check the wiring and make sure the fans are all working. It's work, but saves you more work and money in the long run. A gaming PC is a big investment, it pays to maintain it properly.

[Meurock460]

Originally posted by Nova O. Taggart:

So even for heavy gaming, even on high graphic settings? Possibly for extened periods of time...

Yes its enough, even when gaming the cooler should keep the CPU at a safe temperature.

They do get loud though when the CPU is under load. As someone who also (temporarily) uses a stock cooler, I find they tend to get rather loud once the CPU hits 60c, which is easy enough to do when gaming (since idle temps are 55c for me).

Of course, everyone tolerates noise differently, so whilst I may find them too loud, others may not. If you don't mind the noise, the stock cooler is good enough.

[SoldierScar]

never use stock cooler..buy some cheap cooler for 20€ like Cooler Master Tx3 evo /Silentiumpc fera3 he1224 / Gellid Tranquillo
anything more expensive would be useless for a locked processor

[» eNj]

Originally posted by Bad-Motha:

Originally posted by Nova O. Taggart:

I didn't mean the brand, I meant the application of the stuff

Regardless of the cooler; cleaning off the old, re-applying new thermal paste is something you should do every 6-12 months or as needed with any PC that gets very heavy usage. It's one thing to have a daily used office PC. But to use a gaming PC daily, something like the paste needs replacing more often.

I have never changed thermal paste on my 8 years old Intel Core 2 Duo and I used it and play on it every ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ day ;)

[Kartoffelsuppe]

The E97379-001 (your stock cooler) that comes with the box should be good for that CPU but if you have doubts you can monitor temps yourself. The thing I don't understand is max T-Case.

I don't know what the actual temps are that you should run the CPU on for the most part. I did find that it starts to throttle at 100 degrees celsius but thats not a big help. I assume around 60-70 is good?

I guess you should only start to worry when you live somewhere where it gets really really hot in the summer or if you find that the stock cooler makes too much noise (which he will because the fan itself is rather small).

[EvilVGA]

Intel stock coolers are absolute garbage. 6 months ago my Xeon x5460 was running at stock speeds with an intel cooler from a core 2 duo e8400. my average idle temperature was 80-75 F and it went up to the mid 90's when gaming and that caused serious FPS drops. now I have a cooler master hyper T2 cooler and my overclocked Xeon idles at 45 F and 55 F when under full load.