I am building an HTPC unit that I want as silent as possible and my budget is about gone.
I am looking to replace the stock Intel cooler on my i3-3225 CPU that will not be overclocked.
My case has a height limitation of 115mm.
Any suggestions for a decent after market cooler that can run very quiet that is reasonably inexpensive?

Thanks,
Mark

Reasonable silent and cheap:

Arctic Alpine 11 Pro or Plus

Should be a noticeable improvement over stock and doesn't cost too much in Europe.

Scythe Big Shuriken 2 Rev B @ $35.

That Scythe looks interesting, but I can't find it under $50 anywhere.
Too bad that would have been perfect.

Mark

You could try a Cooler Master GeminII S524 - CPU Cooler with Aluminum Fins and 5 Heat Pipes (RR-G524-18PK-R2), its cheap and decent, and swap the fan if you wish for more quiet setup. Edit: Disregard it might not fit with your 115mm restriction.

34.95 on the big A
http://www.amazon.com/Scythe-Shuriken-R ... e+heatsink

That is not the "2" that was quoted in the earlier post. The review posted stated the "2" was far superior to this one.

This is the one quoted above. $49.95.
http://www.amazon.com/Scythe-SHURIKEN-5 ... B0070066DI

A few minutes searching found $40 @ Quietpc. Might be others out there.

whoops! my mistake...
seems like sycthe stuff is getting hard to find, and also getting a bit more expensive, during their corporate move/restructure. I hope they come back to full speed production/distribution quickly.

Once you add shipping ($11.94) it's over $50.

$30 is about my max, give or take a couple.


Too bad about the Scythe stuff, because I am running one now and have owned others. Always found them to be a pretty good company.

Thanks anyway.

30$ max?

So why still no Arctic cooler? It seems you won't get anything better under 30$ as we now have learned.

Edit: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductLi ... 905&y=-112

Newegg is down. This is the first time I have seen this.

The problem with these "Arctic Alpine 11 Pro or Plus" is that the reviews I have read are underwhelming.
It might be my only choice at my budget, but I want to investigate my options further.

Thanks,
Mark

The arctics are no top coolers. Regardless of whatever review you stumbled upon, they are

-fitting in 115mm
-cost below 30$
-will cool your i3 in every situation without throtteling
-are reasonable quiet if used with drilled down fans
-beat stock cooler by a big margin

So, your system, your money. And if those arctics are not silent enough, you can always chip in a 92mm Noctua pwm fan and your fine.

Hi, how about an Arctic Freezer 11 LP? Less $20 on Amazon.com and Arctic's fans are generally good so should be pretty quiet, at idle at least. I would think it would be quiet under load too as you i3-3225 is using something like 30-40w flat out.
Generally good reviews on Newegg but watch out for mobo compatibility it seems.
Regards, Seb

After remeasuring I think I can do 120mm and potentially a hair more in height.
I might also be able to widen my budget to $35 max.
Just continuing my search.

Don't forget, you'll need up to 25mm breathing room for the cpu fan.