So based on your experience and opinion which one is a better overall CPU cooler including overclocking cooling. Based on the reviews I have read it seems the Arrow rocks in achieving lower CPU temps during Idle and Load even on OC'd processors. But would like to hear your real world results over a bench test.
+1 for the Noctua. Silence and cool, can't beat them, best mounting solution also. I went for the NH-C14, great cooling and silent, and it blows down to cool my gigabyte board too.
Put it like this, if you had either you'd be hard pressed to tell the difference they are that close to each other. They're basically the same size and offer the same cooling (not so much of a difference that you'd notice), but the SA is a bit quiter at max speed though but nothing major. Simply put when choosing between these 2 coolers, get the cheapest, i got an SA as it was £20 cheaper than the D14.
They're quite similar, but for me I'd go the silver arrow. The performance normally is quite simlar except the silver arrow is quieter, and can have a third ty-140 fan added to it (which is even 'suggested' by Thermalright. Using Antec thermal compound 7 may yield even better results again...
I planned on getting a Thermalright Silver Arrow, but ended up getting a Noctua NH-D14 instead as it was on sale at NewEgg. They both perform very similar, the Noctua is slightly better from what I recall in reviews. The installation of the Notcua NH-D14 was very simple and it keeps my i5 2500k running cool even with the U.L.N.A (Ultra Low Noise Adapters) installed which make the fans run at a lower RPM. I'm not into OC'ing, but I managed to get 4GHz stable with ease and the temps didn't differ much compared to stock. Seeing as I didn't gain much performance I just set it back to 3.3GHz.
I absolutely love my Silver Arrow, and from most of the tests comparing the two of them, the Silver Arrow cools better at lower fan speeds (if you want that much more quietness). People complain about the looks of both, not sure if you have a window or care, but I personally like the Silver Arrow design and color. Can't see myself replacing it for a very, very long time, especially since chips are becoming more efficient.
I like the look aswell, my Silver Arrow looks great above my Shaman and VRM G2 coolers. If only TR made an 8cm version of the TY-140 fan so i could match all the fans colour wise .
If my gfx card is not in the way I might just go with the Thermalright Archon. But I thank you all for you imput
I wouldn't get either, don't really like the whole dual fan thing. I'd get HR-02 Macho or Archon if I wanted to go high end... But if I absolutely had to choose between D14 and SA, I'd get SA because it looks better
K went with the Thermalright Silver Arrow w/ 3rd fan option. It arrived from FrozenCPU yesterday and this thing is huge. Had a little shipping snafu with FrozenCPU but they rectified very quickly and had my missing 12 grams of AS5 and Fan Clip shipped and I received it today. Will be installing this bad boy this weekend
Will do, wish I could find the Lian Li Top Cover upgrade for my case but seems no one is stocking it. It would add 2 more 140mm fans for better case cooling.
In general, you shouldn't overdo your exhaust CFM (this may not apply in dual-GPU configs that push a lot of heat inside the case). Usually it's better to have several intake fans to increase pressure inside the case, that way heat will dissipate more easily from hot spots and it'll find its way out well enough with just one exhaust fan. Positive pressure also reduces dust buildup. That cover upgrade could be useful though just to have a meshed top for heat to escape through naturally (I guess the 7FN does not have a meshed top by default).
