PC Processors

[Halakennels]

hello all,

I have micro case built with B450i MB, Ryzen 3 CPU,

MSI Radeon rx6500xt GPU, I want to upgrade to Ryzen 7 cpu, what cooler do I need that will be direct fit?? 
any other considerations, TIA

[Halakennels]

Cmon guys someone out there must be able to help me out on this.

[elstaci]

You do realize that there are several R7 1000, 2000, 3000, 5000, & 7000 series CPUs right?

Each with different TDP ratings thus using different CPU Coolers.

So when you mentioned you wanted to upgrade from a R3 to a R7 is very vague and not answerable without more information.

[johnnyenglish]

I believe the question you should be asking is:

Do I need a Ryzen 7 3800X or 5800X to pair with a 6500XT?
Not sure what you do but you will end up bottlenecking the CPU hard.

If you're seeking after the 2700X.. its still not a nice pair but if you have one around to be used for a very low price, the bundled Wraith Prism will handle the CPU quite well at stock levels.

Be careful with later Zen2 and Zen3 with B450 boards, you may need a BIOS update while still using the old CPU.

My suggestion: a Ryzen 5600 non X should be more than plenty or a 3600X if you get it at a good price.
Again, be careful about compatibility and required BIOS updates.

[Darkness_Angel]

You got a few choices from Noctua that would be your best bet.  These go from small to super slim, they all can handle at least stock non OCing on AM5 and below, The bigger ones of course you could do some. I'll list them from super slim to tallest.

version largest is 70 MM tall, smallest is 37MM tall.

NH-L9a-AM5

Nh-L9i

NH-L9x65 SE-AM4

NH-L12S

NH-L12S or Ghost S1 edition

[Vynski]

I would also recommend one of the Noctua coolers if air cooling is your goal.  They will be sufficient if you tend to no overclocking or mild overclocking.

You need things other than just a cooler though. 

1. At least a mid tower case with good air flow regardless of what cooler you use.
2. I would strongly recommend an X570 board of a name brand. 

[pearceej84]

if you want a basic all around decent cooler and it will fit your case, the Hyper 212 has been a go to for air coolers for a lot of users. Other wise its good to know not only the specific CPU your are referencing the case and the price points your are looking at budget wise. 

[mengelag]

I think knowing what case you have is also important so you know what will fit.

[Halakennels]

Thank you all for the help…..forgive my ignorance on some things…I will try to answer some of the concerns.

case- mid ATX Fractal 

current CPU Ryzen 3 3100

current MB B450i

current GPU AMD RADEON 6500XT

present Air cooling 2 120mm top case fans 1 120mm rear fan and Standard CPU heat sink and cooling fan, room for 2 more 120s on front of case

my usage primarily photo editing and office 

main reason wanting to upgrade is that Ryzen 3 CPU does not Shane interstates graphics so no support for 3rd monitor

[Darkness_Angel]

use something tried and true.  Noctua.  They have any size from small to super large coolers.  find the one that is the biggest your case will allow, so you can run the fans slower for less noise.  Let us know what you end up with.