Question: Air cooler for 9950X3D?
Question: Air cooler for 9950X3D?
Hello friends!
I was considering a cooler for my new CPU and thought about the ID-COOLING FROZN A620 ARGB (270 TDP) or ID-COOLING FX360 INF (350 TDP).
I don't prefer AIO systems, but if necessary, I'll leave my opinion aside lol.
Let me know your thoughts!
Thanks!
I used three coolers for cooling the system and performed a R23 test on each. Here are the results:
The first cooler, Coolmaster Hyper 612 Apex, achieved 44280 at full speed with no noise.
The second, Deepcool LE360 v2 (also known as 冰果360), reached 45500 at full speed but was too noisy due to its fans. I reduced the fan speed to match the Hyper 612's level and got 44500.
The third, Jiushark JF500, gave 42000 when its speed was limited to 80%.
These scores range from 44000 to 45500 at 5.2-5.3G with a CPU power of 210 watts, representing the optimal balance between performance and power usage. I'll elaborate in my next reply.
Maybe AMD is worried their devices end up in the same situation as Intel did, with the 9950x and 9950x3d models facing a new restriction known as HTFmax. This means even if they don’t hit the maximum temperature, the clock speed will still drop. Only when the CPU stays below 55 degrees does it run at 5.5G+, and at 71 degrees it caps at 5.35G.
I tried these setups: a mid-range 360 AIO (45USD), a high-end air cooler (45USD), and a budget air cooler (15USD). None of them managed to significantly lower the temperature and prevent the CPU from being capped by HTFmax.
Therefore, I suggest choosing an air cooler with performance comparable to Coolermaster Hyper612. Adding more budget to the cooler won’t noticeably improve results until you switch to a distributed water cooler connected to a compressor—though that’s quite costly and hard to maintain.
Additional notes on AIOs:
I purchased this AIO after a well-known tester reviewed many popular models and consulted the manufacturer. Only Deepcool and Valkyrie sent an engineer rather than a manager for answers. The Deepcool engineer mentioned they prioritize stability over peak performance, so they installed a decompression valve to prevent leaks. Deepcool had suffered major issues with frequent leaks in its top-performing "captain AIO" model ten years ago, leading them to shift focus toward reliability.
On the other hand, Valkyrie leans toward extreme performance at the expense of stability, but offers a strong warranty. I haven’t tested a Valkyrie AIO on the 9950x3d yet, but I doubt the R23 score will improve much unless I upgrade to something like the $200 v360AMG.