Hi, I’m shopping for a new computer system and first let me be honest and say that I hate learning about different products for the sake of making a descent purchasing decision.  I don’t know which sites to trust and whom to believe.  Right now  I’m trying to choose a good but not the most expensive CPU heat sink cooler and after a Google search I checked this review http://www.anandtech.com/casecooli [...] i=3005&p=4 with performance results comparing cooling products and got interested about a Sunbeam Tuniq Tower from this manufacturer http://www.tuniq.com.tw/Home/home.htm then I searched for review s about it on this site and was disappointed that I didn’t find not only this product but also its manufacturer in these reviews http://www.tomshardware.com/review [...] Cooling,7/ . They say that they reviewed only products that manufacturers sent to them. So I’m not sure if that means popular, reputable, etc manufactures or just some randomly selected products.
Anyway to make the long story short I need help and will appreciate any tips for selecting decent products and sources of information. I need to select a case, psu, and a cpu cooling system.

what are you planning to do will you new build?  
whats your budget?
OC?

Man, relax, you worry way too much.

What country are you in?
How much do you want to spend?
Will you just play games?
Do you play Flight Simulator X?
Will you overclock?

The Tuniq Tower is a very good cooler. However, it's not the best as far as temperatures/cost/noise. I think the best balance there is offered by the Xigmatek HDT-S1283.

Edit: you do realize you posted this in the motherboard section, right?

Hey, i prefer (and so do many others) the zalman 9700.

Thanks for your reply guys and sorry for showing my frustration in my previous post. I,m building a computer to use it for creating 3D and 2D graphics. I already got a motherboard rampage formula and q9450 processor. I still need to get a case, psu, and something to cool the processor since it came without a fan and I plan to overclock. For CPU cooling I would like to get something for about $50 Canadian (this almost = $50 USD) and prefer to order from Canada unless I find a better deal from US which is hard after including shipping and duties. Ideally I'm looking for the best cooler $50 can buy. I still have no idea about the case (searching for 2 days now) and looking to spend around $100 for it. For the PSU my last choice is this http://www.shopbot.ca/p-55462-1132875.html and my decision was influenced mostly from this review: http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/451/10 I have no idea if what they say in the review is true but it looks exactly what I need.

aevm and DeCrypt. thanks for the advice. I would like to ask why you think this these are good coolers, did you read some nice reviews about it?

Iim not sure if this is the best forum to place these kind of questions and I will appreciate your suggestions.

aevm, after a quick search about Xigmatek HDT-S1283 I found this review http://www.frostytech.com/articlev [...] 233&page=5 which says nice things about this cooler and the price is sweet too http://www.directcanada.com/produc [...] e=Xigmatek
 
DeCrypt, I found a good review for ZALMAN CNPS9700 too, http://www.tweaknews.net/reviews/z [...] index5.php but its double the price of Xigmatek HDT-S1283 and they compared it only with the stock AMD fan and several other products mostly from Zalman too. So its hard to say how it performs against many other products. And in this performance charts the results from other Zalman models are scary listed at the bottom. http://www.tomshardware.com/review [...] 782-9.html
 
Any other ideas also very welcome

Found this one too and I'm scratching my head and wondering if I should believe it. http://www.frostytech.com/top5heatsinks.cfm It seems that every site has its own list of favorites and the same products are not in the same place of the different lists.

What do you think about that?  

I like Frostytech because they feature both quiet  ratings and cooling ratings. I personally am not as interested in the coolest HSF if it sounds like a freaking freight train running through my computer room.  The Xigmatek HDT-s1283 gets good ratings for both coolness and quiet. I'd also use the mounting bracket since i hate pushpin mounting.

thanks dirtmounta. Regarding Frostytech, what's the product?

http://www.frostytech.com/articlev [...] 271&page=5
http://www.frostytech.com/articlev [...] 271&page=3

Look through the list, anything that gets below 37dba at low fan speed should be fairly quiet. Don't worry about high fan speed. The motherboard automatically adjusts speed according to heat level, and nearly all of the time, it'll be at the bottom fan speed.

The best air cooler in the world is $103 at NCIX US, $60 at NCIX Canada, and if you read this within the next 4 hours you can get it for $50 (the promoid expires today):

Noctua NH-U12P LGA775 AM2 Heatsink Heatpipe Cooler W/ NF-P12 120MM Fan -12.6-19.8DBA
http://www.ncix.com/products/index [...] omoid=1060

A review here:
http://www.anandtech.com/casecooli [...] spx?i=3268

It's pretty big, but so are the Tuniq and Xigmatek and Zalman.

aevm, sounds great and very tempting to pick up the phone and order, the only thing that I'm still thinking is why this product is not listed on this site
http://www.frostytech.com/top5heatsinks.cfm
the first 2 items in the temperature list there are about $15 less than the current great promotion from NCIX for Noctua NH-U12P.  
My goodness I don't know that to think

You should go with one of the known models listed on that list. 19.8dba max sound doesn't seem realistic on that same size 120mm fan. It'll either sound louder or underperform.

I'm guessing it's because there are so many products out there that no site can afford to review them all.  
 
I'm having some doubts about Frostytech's top 10, by the way. They say the HDT-S1283 is #2 as far as temperatures among the coolers they tested, while Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme is only #6. According to every review I've read of those two, that's wrong. The Xigmatek is better value because it's a lot cheaper, but the Thermalright cools better AFAIK.
 
What kind of case do you have? Might as well see which coolers fit in it first.
 

LOL, that's exactly what the Anandtech reviewers thought too, before they ran the tests. That's what I thought too, when I started reading. However, we're talking about Noctua. Read this quote from their conclusion:

Just a crazy idea: Emil, if you're not looking for a very high overclock, you may want to look at the Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro. It's quiet, small, easy to install, pretty cheap too.
http://www.anandtech.com/showdoc.aspx?i=3210&p=1

Nothing wrong with that review. There is a very good reason for the TRUE's situation. Frostytech made it their policy to not "temper" with coolers in any way, so every one's tested as is. This means they're unwilling to lap that TRUE, which, with it's rounded base, would be at a big disadvantage to other coolers, some of which have mirror finished contact plate. If lapped, the TRUE may very well be #1.

I don't have a case yet and looking for one. So far only a motherboard - the Asus rampage formula and q9450 processor. I'm looking for a case around $100

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811119077
Ideally, something with mesh front/top should be best. Allow that breeze to blow right through.

And this is the overclocking king, just for reference:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813138118

Or maybe the RC-690 ($80) or the P182 ($130)
http://www.ncix.com/products/index [...] OLERMASTER
http://www.ncix.com/products/index [...] ture=ANTEC
 
The RC-690 can fit any cooler and video card(s) and has great cooling. The P182 is less roomy but it's very quiet.
 
Maybe you should try to get a case from a local shop. Shipping charges for cases are pretty high.