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Recommendations for a new HEATSINK?

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  • Heatsinks
  • Fan
  • CPUs
  • Components
  • Temperature
Last response: in Components
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October 16, 2014 1:44:13 AM

Hi all,

Well I just upgraded my CPU from a Pentium Dual Core to a Core 2 Quad Q9650. I did everything by the book, and all went well with installation and startup. Idle temperatures were looking fine, hovering around 43°C or so. But once I put the new chip to work, the heatsink fan (which had never made a sound with the old processor) started picking up, and temps shot up around the mid 70s. I was hoping that the stock fan was going to be able to handle the new load as well as it has the last few years, but it appears it is just isn't buff enough to handle the new chip.

Can anyone recommend some good heatsinks/fans to check out that'll work with my system to keep things running cool and quiet?

It's a Dell Inspiron 560s (that's a slim tower design), 0K83V0 mobo, Intel Q9650 CPU.

Any recommendations are greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

More about : recommendations heatsink

October 16, 2014 4:02:51 AM

Well to be honest 70 degrees is not bad if your idle is 43 degrees, how hot is your room? On idle my cpu sits about 10 degrees hotter than my ambient room temperature.

If your room is quite cold then I would actually say somehow the cpu heatsink must not be seated properly, try buying new thermal paste and reseating in one action.

That's the cheaper option that may work, but for an aftermarket cooler I would suggest the Coolermaster hyper 212. It's smaller (not as small as the stock cooler) but smaller than other after market heat sinks.

-good luck
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October 16, 2014 1:50:15 PM

Thanks for the response, Anonymouse.

I was mostly perturbed when the fan (which, as I said, never made a peep before) got so noisy, followed by the temps creeping their way toward the danger zone. I'm not sure of the exact temperature in my room, but not hot, nor cold, just comfortable, probably somewhere around 76°F (~25°C) typically.

I'm fairly certain it's not an issue with the existing heatsink seating, etc., as I was very, very careful and precise during installation, did things very much by the book, applied brand new, highly rated thermal paste after cleaning off all the old stuff thoroughly, and was extremely methodical in placing the heatsink straight down and screwing the screws back in evenly the whole way down. I could go through the whole process all over again, but I have a gut feeling I would end up right back in the same spot, and if it's not going to cost me an arm and a leg, I might as well swap out the heatsink while I'm in there. I know that Dell stock fans aren't exactly renowned for their efficiency... Which is why I've been surprised at how well the current one has done since I got the computer (granted, the old processor ran at a lower TDP than the new one).

But thanks for the recommendation of the Coolermaster. Would that fit in a slim tower setup?

Any more recommendations appreciated as well.

Thanks!
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October 16, 2014 2:41:54 PM

The Hyper 212 is a great cooler, but I think it's like 6-6.5" tall. Depending on what you mean by slim tower (can you provide an exact measurement from the top of the CPU to the case?), something like the Noctua NH-L12 may work better for you. It has dual fans with the top one being removable. It's 93mm with both fans, 66mm without the top fan.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

EDIT - Of course, that's like $70, that may be more than you want to spend. Another one worth checking out is the Zalman CNPS8900. 60mm and the price is much better, $27 AR

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
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October 16, 2014 3:02:48 PM

I don't think a Hyper 212 will fit in a slim case; way too tall.

A low-profile LGA775 cooler is going back a ways, but one of the better ones I remember was the Silent 775D by Thermaltake.

http://www.thermaltake.com/products-model.aspx?id=C_000...

They stopped making those a while back, so you'd have to find one on ebay or Amazon. It knocked a good 10 degrees off my Q9550 compared to the stock fan, and was dirt-cheap at the time too.

In a slim tower setup, overall case airflow is also always a concern, so you may also consider replacing the stock case fan(s) with ones that move more air. I'm assuming they're 80mm fans; plenty of those out there.
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October 16, 2014 4:22:59 PM

I still recommend the cooler master cooler but it is rather tall. I think what capt_taco says is true, thermaltake do make some thinner cpu coolers.

The stock cooler should work but if you did it right maybe your cpu is just realy hot, if you don't want to spend money. Not sure if it's locked or not but you could under clock it.
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October 16, 2014 4:31:05 PM

Thanks for the recommendations, guys.

The stock cooler I've got in right now is from the old processor. I didn't get the stock cooler for the new processor as I got it OEM, chip only.

Would it be a fool's errand to try and get the stock Intel fan that the new processor normally comes with?... Like I said, the current cooler worked beautifully with the old CPU, dead silent and kept my temps down. Would it be unreasonable to think that the cooler meant for my new processor should perform just as well?...
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October 16, 2014 4:46:18 PM

imagazzell said:
Thanks for the recommendations, guys.

The stock cooler I've got in right now is from the old processor. I didn't get the stock cooler for the new processor as I got it OEM, chip only.

Would it be a fool's errand to try and get the stock Intel fan that the new processor normally comes with?... Like I said, the current cooler worked beautifully with the old CPU, dead silent and kept my temps down. Would it be unreasonable to think that the cooler meant for my new processor should perform just as well?...


The new one that usually comes with the chip should be better, but no point paying for it if it didn't come with the chip. My stock cooler cools well with my chip that it came with.
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October 16, 2014 5:07:34 PM

Not much point in looking for the "new" stock cooler. They're all designed to fit a motherboard and a socket, not any particular CPU. You probably wouldn't notice much difference, if any.

The Intel stock coolers for the Core 2 Duo/Quad processors were crap, by the way. Just about any cooler was better than them. I used to have one laying around that I would've given you for free, but I think I finally chucked it in the garbage.

You know, what is probably the preferable long-term solution to this would be to spend ~$30 on a bigger case and then you could just get the Hyper 212. And you could re-use the new case if you ever built a new machine. Not sure what your budget is though, or what your appetite is for basically taking apart and reassembling the whole computer. That's the main question.
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4 minutes ago

Getting a new case is not a bad idea, you'd have a bunch more space to work with. But, you may not be able to use your current power supply or optical drive either, so it may turn into a bit more than expected.
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