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Cooling 'dilemma'

Last response: in Overclocking
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Hi guys,

For about a month now I have the following components in my system:
Q9450
MSI P35 Neo2-FR
OCZ PC8000 2x2GB
Sapphire X1950 Pro 256MB (which will be swapped for a HD4850 or something like that soon)

I'd like to try and overclock my Q9450 a bit, but for that I need good cooling. Currently I use the original Intel Cooler, which isn't good at overclocking of course :na: 

But my case hasn't really got good airflow, there actually aren't any casefans. The only fans in my system are the one on my CPU, GPU and PSU. That isn't good for overclocking, I know that. Without modifications to the case I can only fit an intake fan at the front and an outtake fan at the back. Both are 80-90mm I believe, something like that.

I want to improve the cooling, but I have two options, since I don't have an unlimited budget:
1. Buy a good CPU cooler like a Scythe Infinity and fit a couple of cheap coolers in my case.
2. Buy a good Case with a couple of good casefans and fit a cheaper CPU cooler, maybe a Arctic Freezer 7 pro.

Of course I want to get the best results (and keep the costs down :D  ), but I don't really know what to do. What will give my system the best cooling? I'm not planning on overclocking my Q9450 to 4GHz or further, but I'd like to be able to hit about 3,5 GHz, if that is possible.

Thanks for your help.

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good to heard money isnt a problem><

get the antec 900 for ultimate cooling or the NXZT Tempest if your budget is tighter. and then buy the AC Freezer 7 Pro. the case mentioned above they all got fans all fitted to them, so no extra fans need to be purchase. the AC Freezer 7 Pro should do the new cooler quad to 3.5Ghz, but i think it would be better for people who have both to comment.

Thanks for your reply.
I live in Holland, and the Antec Nine Hundred case isn't very cheap here. If I will buy a new case I might buy a Cooler Master CM690. Which is cheaper, slightly bigger I believe and looks good too.
I just saw a CPU cooler which is quite interesting for me, the Arctic Freezer Extreme. That looks good, is quiet en hopefully it cools good too. But I haven't found much reviews on that yet, so I'll wait for some.
My motherboard has a heatpipe on the North- and Southbridge, close to the socket. I don't know if every cooler will fit with that heatpipe, but I couldn't find on the internet if the Arctic Freezer Extreme will fit, the Scythe Infinity will fit.
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Okay, thanks for your help.

I think I will put my case on a workbench soon when I have the time en modify it. If I screw up I can always buy a new case, I bought this one for one euro (which is 1,60 dollar) :lol: 
What CPU cooler can you suggest? I heard an Arctic Freezer 7 Pro can be quite noisy at full speed, and I like my PC to be silent.

Breznikov said:
Okay, thanks for your help.

I think I will put my case on a workbench soon when I have the time en modify it. If I screw up I can always buy a new case, I bought this one for one euro (which is 1,60 dollar) :lol: 
What CPU cooler can you suggest? I heard an Arctic Freezer 7 Pro can be quite noisy at full speed, and I like my PC to be silent.


I have the Arctic Freezer 7 Pro, while it could be considered loud, its all relative to your other parts. I have dual Raptors in RAID 0 and dual 8800GT's, so the Freezer at 100% is the least of my worries. It depends on your other parts and your case.

Evilonigiri said:
Money isn't an issue right? The best silent cooler is the Noctua: http://www.anandtech.com/casecoolingpsus/showdoc.aspx?i...

Well, that's my problem. Money IS an issue :D 

@Steven Bancroft: I have a very silent Samsung 400GB SATAII hard drive, which I practically can't hear. Then there is my Radeon X1950Pro, which is relatively quiet compared to the Intel stock cooler. Is an Arctic Freezer 7 Pro more silent then the stock cooler, both at Load and Idle? The stock cooler is a bit noisy at Load. My PC doesn't have to be extremely silent, but I don't want to get the idea an aircraft is taking off in my case.

I think I'm going to look for a decent second hand case, something like an Antec Nine Hundred or a Cooler Master CM690. And then I'll see what I'll do with the CPU cooler. If an AF7P is more quiet then the stock Cooler I will consider that.

I never even bothered with the stock cooler for my Q6600, let alone your CPU. Someone else would have to answer that. I'm happy with my purchase. I can't hear the AF7P over my Raptors and 8800GT's even when I force it to 100%, so its fine for me.
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