CPU fan decision for Q6600/E6600

[Nine Ball]

I am going to doing my first system build for myself *stepping away from the pre built* and iam either going to get the E/Q6600. But since i dont plan on doing any form of OC there really wont be too much need for a water cooling system just yet. So my question is which fan do you think would be best for thes processors. the ones ive been eyeballin is the ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm, ZALMAN 9500A 92mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler, and the VIGOR GAMING CLT-M2I 92mm Thermal Electric CPU Cooler *aka Monsoon*.

if there is anyone out there that has used these fans, or has another one to recommend it would be great. Also i dont care about noise.

Thanks

 

[Evilonigiri]

Stick with the Q6600, do not get the E6600. And the Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro is fine for speeds up to around 3.4GHz on the Q6600.

 

[nforce256]

Actually, as far as picking our your CPU, it depends more on what you will be using the system for. If its video editing, go with the C2Q (Q6600). If it is for gaming, go with the C2D. Do not get the E6600. It's old. Pick up one of the new Wolfdales. It's kickass and overclocks amazingly. I got it up from 3GHz to 3.6GHz with the stock cooler without adjusting any voltage. Runs stable! I plan on getting the Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro as I've heard lots of good things about it.

 

[Silverion77]

Guys, he said he wouldnt overclock

In that case dont get a new fan. No need

 

[Evilonigiri]

Guys, he said he wouldnt overclock

In that case dont get a new fan. No need

No, he should get the Freezer Pro 7 regardless of OCing or not. It prolongs the life of the cpu by a lot, and if he decides to OC, he can.

 

[Silverion77]

ok ok

my bad

 

[Evilonigiri]

ok ok

my bad

Well he has the money so why not opt for a quieter, cooler cpu cooler?

If he was going to OC...well, you'd know what I recommend.

 

[Silverion77]

A Zerotherm Nirvana

 

[Evilonigiri]

A Zerotherm Nirvana

Wrong, the TRUE!

Nah, you're right. But he isn't so the Freezer Pro 7 is a better option because it's really quiet.

 

[Nine Ball]

Thanks a bunch for the input, since the pc will be used for gameing, ive heard that the e6600 does slightly better even when both are oc'ed overclocked. as far as my cooler goes i guess i will being going with the freezer pro ( the one i was leaning towards getting). but i do have some questions about the Zerotherm Nirvana. is it any good?

 

[Mondoman]

No, he should get the Freezer Pro 7 regardless of OCing or not. It prolongs the life of the cpu by a lot,...

Seems unlikely, as Intel already guarantees the CPU for 3 years, and the Intel cooler does a good job of cooling the CPU. Do you have any evidence detailing the longer life?
Also, most aftermarket CPU coolers (including the Freezer 7 Pro) lack the secondary cooling function (blowing air over northbridge, PWM, and other adjacent areas) of the Intel "downdraft-style" cooler. Some MBs are more sensitive to the lack of this cooling than others, so you may have to install additional fans/cooling if you go with an aftermarket cooler.
Seems like a stock Intel cooler is the best choice for the OP.

 

[Nine Ball]

I dont think i'll need to worry to much about the north bridge and what not, considering iam getting the evga 780i mobo, it seems to have some decent north and south bridge cooling. and depending on the case i get i might go to water cooling. but i probably will replace the stock cooler. never trusted them even when i was building for other clients

 

[Evilonigiri]

Thanks a bunch for the input, since the pc will be used for gameing, ive heard that the e6600 does slightly better even when both are oc'ed overclocked. as far as my cooler goes i guess i will being going with the freezer pro ( the one i was leaning towards getting). but i do have some questions about the Zerotherm Nirvana. is it any good?

What I meant before was, if you had to decide between a Q6600 and a E6600, get the Q6600. The E6600 is outdated, and Intel isn't even producing them anymore. Get the E8400 instead, it does a lot better in gaming.

The Zerotherm Nirvana has been shown that it's the best air cooling without lapping the heatsink. Of course if you want to take the time to lap the Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme (TRUE) and outfit it with a powerful fan, it's still the best. It's just that many of them has a concaved base.

EDIT: I forgot to add that the Zerotherm Nirvana, when set on high speed fan, is noisy.

 

[Evilonigiri]

Seems unlikely, as Intel already guarantees the CPU for 3 years, and the Intel cooler does a good job of cooling the CPU. Do you have any evidence detailing the longer life?
Also, most aftermarket CPU coolers (including the Freezer 7 Pro) lack the secondary cooling function (blowing air over northbridge, PWM, and other adjacent areas) of the Intel "downdraft-style" cooler. Some MBs are more sensitive to the lack of this cooling than others, so you may have to install additional fans/cooling if you go with an aftermarket cooler.
Seems like a stock Intel cooler is the best choice for the OP.

I'm sure it's common knowledge that heat, as well as high voltages, slowly kills not only the cpu, but every electrical component? Getting a better cooler will prolong the life, regardless if he's going to use it for only 3years or not.

As for the Northbridge cooling, simply turn the the Arctic Cooling so that it's exhaust faces the northbridge.

 

[Mondoman]

...Getting a better cooler will prolong the life, regardless if he's going to use it for only 3years or not.

Since he's not OCing, perhaps it will prolong the CPU's life from 100 years to 110 years, but I can't see that that's much of a practical advantage.

...As for the Northbridge cooling, simply turn the the Arctic Cooling so that it's exhaust faces the northbridge.

If only it were so easy! Unfortunately, the Freezer 7 Pro has two problems in that respect:
1) the air is blown in only one direction, so you would have to choose either north bridge OR PWM, but not both.
2) even in that one direction, the fan is elevated, so blows the air parallel to the surface of the board *above the level of most components*. The tiny bends on a few of the lower fins do nothing in practice to solve this problem, as I found out to my chagrin on my NI8-SLI board -- I had to add extra fans to cool the PWM area and the radiator there of the northbridge heatpipe.

So, in the OP's specific case, spending extra money on a non-downdraft-style aftermarket cooler gets him: (a) practically meaningless extension of CPU life and (b) likely cooling problems w/northbridge and/or PWM area.

 

[Evilonigiri]

If only it were so easy! Unfortunately, the Freezer 7 Pro has two problems in that respect:
1) the air is blown in only one direction, so you would have to choose either north bridge OR PWM, but not both.
2) even in that one direction, the fan is elevated, so blows the air parallel to the surface of the board *above the level of most components*. The tiny bends on a few of the lower fins do nothing in practice to solve this problem, as I found out to my chagrin on my NI8-SLI board -- I had to add extra fans to cool the PWM area and the radiator there of the northbridge heatpipe.

So, in the OP's specific case, spending extra money on a non-downdraft-style aftermarket cooler gets him: (a) practically meaningless extension of CPU life and (b) likely cooling problems w/northbridge and/or PWM area.

Well my argument is getting the Arctic Cooler will give him a quieter and cooler system. As for the cooling problems with the NB area, it can be easily solved with adequate air flow like a side panel fan.

Also, in order for Intel's stock cooler to be effective in cooling the PWM and NB area, the fan will have to be running to it's fullest, which equates to more noise.

In my opinion, the advantages out weighs the disadvantages, since noise level and cpu coolness are my top priority.

 

[Mondoman]

... in order for Intel's stock cooler to be effective in cooling the PWM and NB area, the fan will have to be running to it's fullest, ....

The fan does blow air down and out even at its slowest speed -- are there some tests showing ineffective cooling at anything below max speed?

PS - I totally agree that the specific choices often depend on your specific priorities; I certainly tend toward the cheaper side, and "free" is pretty cheap!

 

[Evilonigiri]

The fan does blow air down and out even at its slowest speed -- are there some tests showing ineffective cooling at anything below max speed?

PS - I totally agree that the specific choices often depend on your specific priorities; I certainly tend toward the cheaper side, and "free" is pretty cheap!

It's just a logical guess that the cooling won't be as efficient when under max speed.

To OP: If you have the money, I'd say go for it. Everyone is different so make whatever decision you feel is best.

 

[firebird]

I didn't see any mention of the case. What kind of case are you going to use?