NEED GOOD Quite Heatsink / Fan Combo

[LancerEvolution7]

My Athlon XP 1700+ Palamino is running really warm(around 60C). I was running a nice quite aluminum heatsink, but since I moved my computer, I need something that can do some good cooling(its not in a very cool spot). MUST BE QUITE(<25dba) and will be good enough for a xp2800. I'm willing to spend around $40 for it. Any recommendations will be welcomed. It can be a hsf, or a seperete hs and a seperate fan.

 

[lhgpoobaa]

Big and slow. thats what you need.

Any heatsink that can mount a 80mm fan is a good idea.

A really good one thats just comeout is the spire falconrock II.
other goodies are:

ax7
sk800
alpha 8045
mcx-462 (proly too expensive)

then furnish them with a quiet fan of your own choosing. enermax, panaflo, TTsmartfan2 and pabst all make good quiet fans.

<b>"If spam wasn't totally bogus, Hotmail users would be well-endowed, slim people with hair who make big money working at home and having great sex provoked by free porn and herbal Viagra.</b>

 

[LtBlue14]

aluminum does better with lower CFM fans, which will give you a quieter sound, so the swiftech mcx heatsinks (copper base with aluminum pins) paired with a quiet fan should suit you well
or a zalman with a...say..92mm fan held above it by an arm that i believe zalman sells, a lot of people who are looking for quiet cooling choose this option too

EDIT: i forgot to note that these are both rather expensive options. if your computer's in a hot place and you want good cooling WITH low noise, i'm not sure what to tell you though, those are pretty much it afaik
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I LOVE DANGER DEN WATERCOOLING, they went out of their way to both personalize my kit and change my order when i needed to, i had to change my sig to give them props<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by LtBlue14 on 03/04/03 00:33 AM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[LancerEvolution7]

Water-cooling is to expensive for me. Besides I think my case is to small to fit it and my desktop isn't big either.
My area isn't super hot or anything, but its hotter than usual because its winter and the heat is on, no circulation and the computer tower is in a corner.

I was thinking of the BIG and slow option, but I don't know which combination is the best. I've heard about the ax-7 , etc, but which performs the best? Also which fan has the best quiet/cool ratio? (<25dba)

 

[LtBlue14]

yeah the AX-7 would be fine, paired with maybe an <A HREF="http://www.directron.com/fanal8025b.html" target="_new">evercool aluminum 80mm fan</A>
i like those fans a lot, i haven't seen a better quiet/cool ratio than 34CFM @ <25dB

--------------
I LOVE DANGER DEN WATERCOOLING, they went out of their way to both personalize my kit and change my order when i needed to, i had to change my sig to give them props

 

[Teq]

Ok, here's what I do with the systems I build using the xp1800+ processor...

First I get one of these:
<A HREF="http://www.spirecooler.com/asp/fcc.asp?ProdID=3" target="_new">http://www.spirecooler.com/asp/fcc.asp?ProdID=3</A>

I then remove the fan, take off the stupid plastic platform and remount the fan directly to the heatsink. The noise level doesn't change, but it's characteristics change making less of a whining noise.

Then I clip the red wire and solder a 15 ohm 2 (or 5) watt resistor in series and tape it over to prevent shorts. This slows the fan somewhat. The noise level now drops considerably and the cooling is almost unaffected.

Finally, I take a small file and gently round off the sharp points on the outer ends of the fan blades, not a lot, I just knock off the sharp point... You have to look closely to see what I've done. Now I hear the rush of air more than the noise of the fan. (mission accomplished)


Now, if you want to build in a little future proofing with a heat sink that will stay with you through at least one upgrade, you can do the same thing with one of these:
<A HREF="http://www.spirecooler.com/asp/fcc.asp?ProdID=95" target="_new">http://www.spirecooler.com/asp/fcc.asp?ProdID=95</A>

In either case... I suggest you get rid of the stupid rubber thermal pad and use a good quality heat sink thermal grease. Radio shack has a good one and Arctic Silver is always a good choice. The instructions for applying heat sink grease are here:
<A HREF="http://www.arcticsilver.com/arctic_silver_instructions.htm" target="_new">http://www.arcticsilver.com/arctic_silver_instructions.htm</A>

After all this, the cpu temperatures are in the low to mid 40s in a 24 degree (celsius) room.


<b>(</b>It ain't better if it don't work.<b>)</b>

 

[LancerEvolution7]

Thanks for your suggestion, but I don't have a soldering iron at home.

 

[Teq]

Ahhh... well, it should be no problem getting someone to add the resistor for you... it's pretty basic stuff.



<b>(</b>It ain't better if it don't work.<b>)</b>

 

[LancerEvolution7]

If I get one of those big heatsinks that need mounting screws, do I need to unscrew my motherboard to install it?

I was looking at thermalright's site. Whats the difference between the sk6, sk 6+,sk-7, slk-800, slk-900, and the ax-7?
The sk-6, sk-6+, sk-7, slk-800, slk900 all look like a big slug of copper to me. The ax7 is aluminum with a copper core. Isn't a full copper better than just a copper core?

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by lancerevolution7 on 03/04/03 12:50 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[Teq]

Full copper heatsinks are not always better than the hybrid ones.

Copper absorbs heat better than aluminum but does not release it as quickly.

Aluminum releases heat very quickly but does not absorbe it as well as copper.

This suggests an excellent compromise... Take a big ole slug of copper and use it to get the heat off the relatively small contact area of the cpu chip. Create a much larger contact area between the aluminum and the copper and use that to get the heat off the copper into the aluminum which will quickly realease it into the air.

The copper slugs in the bottom of the heatsink is actually called a "Heat Spreader"... something AMD should have included on the CPU chip itself.

And, noticing that you purchased a monster... yes you will most likely need to remove your motherboard (i.e. completely disassemble your computer) to install it. Visit the manufacturer's website, they usually have installation instructions.




<b>(</b>It ain't better if it don't work.<b>)</b>

 

[LancerEvolution7]

So nobody knows the difference btwn the sk-7, slk-800, slk900?

 

[Teq]

Well, looking at the website, they are all copper, basically all the same shape and design, but slightly different sizes, each comes with a perfectly suitable fan... given the choice between them I'd simply buy the cheapest of the bunch.



<b>(</b>It ain't better if it don't work.<b>)</b>

 

[LtBlue14]

i'd choose the ax7 if you're using a quiet (thus low cfm) fan
it's your choice though

--------------
I LOVE DANGER DEN WATERCOOLING, they went out of their way to both personalize my kit and change my order when i needed to, i had to change my sig to give them props

 

[error_911]

i'd grab the SLK-900 in the blink of an eye, but the $-tag is kinda high, and the SLK-800 is still great and a lot more affordable

<b>"Feminism is the radical notion that women are people"<b>

 

[bonesdad1]

The SLK-800 and SLK-900 will both run about $40+ (a little less in some places). The SK-7 is $20 at SVC.COM. I just installed an SK-7 topped by a panaflo L1A fan ($7). It is QUIET...only problem is, now I hear my GPU fan!

The reviews I have read show that the SK-7 does nearly a good a job as the SLK-800 at about half the price. Not sure if you OC or not, and if this is adequate for heavy duty OC, but for nonOC it is kewl enuf.

BTW, my bios shows CPU temps at 45 while Sandra shows CPU at 33...which is more accurate?

my sig left me for an Honorary Guru...

 

[Teq]

Almost certainly the BIOS temp is more accurate. The BIOS is written and tested specifically for each model of motherboard. It is far more likely to be accurate than third party stuff.

The SMB is not standardized, there are three temperature channels, depending on your motherboard design your CPU could be on any of them. Same with your Chipset, could be on any channel. Sisoft Sandra would be unaware of this and is probably reporting the Chipset temperature as the CPU temperature by mistake.



---> <b>Press ALT-F4 for IQ test</b><---