Thoughts on new case and CPU fan

BopNiblets

Ok, I've got to get rid of this bog standard, cheapest-one-on-komplett job, and the AMD stock cooler is like a hoover.

So I'm looking at getting the Antec P150 case (3rd down) and the Arctic Cooling Freezer 64
The case because it's smaller than the P180, and it has nice features such as suspendable HDs, I'm also thinking of getting a 74GB 10000rpm WD for games and OS partitions)

The cpu fan because it's better (quieter & cooler) than the stock I have, and it comes with pre-applied paste, which I want because I've only installed the one processor and I'm still afraid to muck about with pastes on a 3800+, it's not exactly a cheapo lego brick easy to replace if it melts!
And that Zalman thing is way too big, you know the one.

Thoughts, 1st hand experiences, cheaper places to buy (than OCers.co.uk), funds to buy them, will be all welcome!

Kintarō Hattori

Arctic Cooling aren't too bad actually. They achieve excellent price versus performance, and they are VERY quiet. I've used some myself and installed some for others, and no-one's ever complained.

BopNiblets

So it should just be a case of cleaning off the stock cooler paste and sticking the Arctic Cooler Heatsink & Fan on instead?
Any sites that give instructions on how to clean off the processor surface? Or guides on boards even?

The P150 Case has a nice 120mm fan just beside the CPU socket, and the Freezer 64 has the fan at 90 degrees to the motherboard, so I was thinking of seeting it up like in the attachment (yellow being the fan, red is the heatsink, green is airflow )

Alkers

I have that cooler and it's class. That's exactly how you're supposed to set it up, blowing exhaust air out of the case. It's a bit tricky getting the clips to attatch to the socket but it's a lot handier than having to remove the mobo. Also it is silent.

savemejebus

i have the freezer 64 (non pro) and it was very very easy to install, so easy in fact that i thought i'd done something wrong during the install and did it again just to check it was on right.

If you're getting a few things it may be worth checking out www.jes.de. That's where i got my freezer 64 and it was only 13euro

BopNiblets

Overclockers checkout for the three items (Antec P150, Freezer 64 & WD 74GB Raptor) is £260.50, about €380 with shipping, which isn't too bad.

Endurance Man

That Antec P150 is kinda boring looking, looks like it belongs in an office. Why not get something will a little more zing?

BopNiblets

You again!
You said that already in the Recommend me a case thread!
Not interested in zing, I think it looks fancier than my old Q-Tec one, see here:
http://www.hardware-review.net/html/images/p150/large/41.jpg

Anyway, this one is for general questions around my new upgrade, such as how to remove the old paste from my CPU once the new fan arrives... anyone?

GRAH! My credit card isn't going through OCers.co.uk ! :mad:
And the HD I want is on special offer this week only!
(Or is it next week, why would the week start on a Friday?... it wasn't on special offer earlier this week! Is this an alternate Universe or something?!)

Endurance Man

To get the old paste off try find a lint free cloth, then get some alcohol, nail polish remover works a treat . Moisten the cloth and just wipe off the old stuff.

BopNiblets

Well, I ordered them up, went for a different CPU fan though, since that Arctic Cooler is massive and I would prefer space to manouver:
http://www.akasa.co.uk/akasa_english/spec_page/coolers/spec_ak_862.htm
Not a great selection of quiet and cool ones with pre-applied for the lazy gentleman.

And there was about €8.70 off the WD Hard Drive this week, so I shaved & saved 20 quid off my original scheme.

vishal

i think the p150 looks quite attractive. the only thing i will say about it is that the psu in it causes some problems with some mobos but i have had no problems.

BopNiblets

Yep, read about that on Silent PC Review, luckily, I have a Akasa PaxPower 400W as backup, my MSI K8N Neo2 will show it's worth if it works with the new one.

30W extra is good, right?

BopNiblets

*bump*

Well, I installed it all and it looks and runs good so far
Except for the Power LED cable, it was three holes to fit on two plugs (last pic below)
I didn't try fit it on the two pins, I know there's a plus and minus cable, but they were seperated by the one hole in the middle. Should that work?

The first few pics are of the old heatsink (with quite a bit of fluff near the edges of the dodgy looking stock thermal paste pad!), those gaps in it may have been made when I took the heatsink off, or there the whole time, I don't know.
And there's one of it cleaned of the thermal goo (cleaned it more after )




The case itself looks great and is quieter at times, and the fan is really noisy on full, but it's cooling pretty well, ran CPU Burn for a few minutes with it on full blast and temps were very slowly increasing, much less than the stock cooler.

I'm a happy camper!