First, you need to decide what the PC will be used for. In my case, it’s a retro PC that will rarely be used and will mainly serve as a safe storage place for the components (especially the graphics cards).
The top priority is therefore cost efficiency, followed by noise level and cooling performance.
Case fans
That was obvious – I’m using fans from BeQuiet. I installed the following configuration:
- Front: 2 x 140 mm BeQuiet PureWings 2 PWM*
- Rear: 1 x 140 mm BeQuiet PureWings 2 PWM*
- Top: 1 x 140 mm BeQuiet PureWings 2 PWM*
- Bottom: 1 x 140 mm BeQuiet PureWings 2 PWM*
For me, these fans offer a good compromise between noise level, cooling performance, appearance, and price. Unfortunately, the successor models are now significantly more expensive. Noctua was not an option for cost reasons, but Arctic would have been an alternative. I didn’t want RGB fans; black is fine.
Processor cooler
Given all the circumstances, I didn’t want AiO or water cooling for this PC either, for reasons such as durability. I also opted for BeQuiet, specifically a BeQuiet Dark Rock Pro 4 air cooler*.
The main reasons were noise level, appearance, and compatibility with the LGA 2011 socket. The successor no longer offers these, for example. Things like the height of the RAM and general compatibility with the motherboard also have to be considered. This isn’t the best cooler for maximum performance; there are several others from Noctua or Thermalright that would be more powerful.
However, when I compared coolers, this model was the best overall package for me, and here too, you have to take the price into account.
⧉ BeQuiet
⧉ BeQuiet
⧉ BeQuiet
⧉ BeQuiet
⧉ BeQuiet
⧉ BeQuiet