heatsink/fan

whosurpaddy

im lookin into a new fan/heatsink for my athlon xp2400, was kinda thinkin of Coolermaster XDream

noise is the main factor, and would have to be able to handle overclocking on this chip as ill be doing this at some point. i also heard good things about the?zalmans are they really worth the extra? noise wise?

any recommendations?

Callan

I got a zalman last week very quiet even in normal mode. I wouldn't get the x dream Ive heard nothing but bad things about it.

deckie27

whosurpaddy

I got the xdream a couple of weeks ago
Keeping my xp1800 @ 2000mhz cool enough at lowest setting
46oC under full load


Callan

Where did you hear all the bad things from ???

leeroybrown

I'd agree that the Zalman is quiet, even in normal mode.

I've helped a friend fit one in the past and on that occasion I found it quite awkward to fit. I was coming close to the kind of pressure that would crush a core putting it on and the only reason I didn't is that I got someone to hold the HSF base fully level while I forced it on. Normally they shouldn't be that awkward to install tho.

Also the fan isn't attached to the Heat SInk itself but rather sits above it mounted with the screws for your PCI cards. This can be a bit annoying if you chop and change PCI cards reasonably regularly.

Personally speaking, I'd probably prefer a large Copper HSF with a quiet 80 mm fan mounted on it.

Callan

Originally posted by deckie27



Callan

Where did you hear all the bad things from ???

Reviews on the net

whosurpaddy

deckie : whats the xdream like noise wise?

leeroy: would u reckon the zalmans worth the xtra bucks, i mean €60 for a fan/heatsink is a bit excessive

Xithus

The xdream is noisy enough. Even at the lowest setting.

whosurpaddy

Originally posted by whosurpaddy
deckie : whats the xdream like noise wise?

leeroy: would u reckon the zalmans worth the xtra bucks, i mean €60 for a fan/heatsink is a bit excessive

callan: how did you find the zalman to install?

whosurpaddy

aww thats weird. i just quoted myself . when all i really wanted to add was:


callan: how did you find the zalman to install?

RicardoSmith

Personally I found the P4 Zalman easy to fit. But then mine bolts thro' the motherboard. Its quiet but not silent. Cools well IMO. Though I find the PCI blanking plate mounting annoying. In future I think I'll go for a decent 80mm heatsink either an Alpha or a Thermaltake and a decent 80mm fan like a Papst. I've used combos like that in the past and they were very quiet and cooled extremely well.

The Coolermaster's are cheap HS and you get what you pay for. Fine if you are on a tight budget maybe. Also the airflow in the rest of the case hast to be sorted for the HSF combo to be truely effective. If you have dire airflow in a dire case then any HSF will struggle to perform.

leeroybrown

€60 is a fair bit of money for a HSF but many of the other 'quiet' HSF's aren't much less.

As I said above, I'd go for a good large copper Heat Sink with a silent 80 mm Fan in preference to it. (I'm not sure what one I'd pick as I havn't spec'ed a machine for a while)

When I mounted the Zalman, it was on a Socket A motherboard. I found that the arm used for attaching the Zalman to the socket was a very tight fit and I had to re-position it a couple of times. (I'm not sure if they've done anything to the design since but previously the arm came seperately and slotted into to the heat sink)

Lets just put it this way. by the time I was finished I had crossed fingers, a bent installation tool and a large red mark on the palm of my hand. Luckily the core survived.

elexes

i got a xdream used it for 20 mins took it out and put it into the bin . i will never use it again

Callan

Originally posted by whosurpaddy
aww thats weird. i just quoted myself . when all i really wanted to add was:


callan: how did you find the zalman to install?

Fine not as straightforward as the x dream would be.
Cooling wise: I have an xp 2100 in normal mode the idle temp is about 50c (I have not case fans).

aodh_rua

Hi whosurpaddy

The flower is a bugger to install on an AMD board - I even broke some of the little catches on the cpu mounting taking it off.

That said - it looks cool and it runs pretty quietly. I am not convinced that it is the best heatsink ever - my system usually ran with the cpu at 55 degrees, but that's AMD for ya - but hey, you can't win em all.

Still though - I'm not happy about those clips.

----

Tony

whosurpaddy

right im gonna take my chances & get te zalman in the next couple of days. unless someone convinces me otherwise that is:ninja:

RicardoSmith

I still say a large quality HS like a Thermalright's SLK800/900 or Alpha PAL8045 and a qood quality 80mm fan like a Papst 8412 NGL is better then the Zalman. But you'll will pay for the quality.

I'd buy it off one of the following...

http://www.theoverclockingstore.co.uk/
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/
http://www.komplett.ie/

PPC

Yeah Alpha PAL 8045 plus a Noise Blocker s2 would be an uber quiet system

RicardoSmith

Originally posted by PPC
Yeah Alpha PAL 8045 plus a Noise Blocker s2 would be an uber quiet system

Where do you get the Noise Blocker's from? I've heard about them but never used one myself.

whosurpaddy

right ricardo ur close to convincing me here. i had a look at the sites suggested & was thinking bout this heatinkThermalright SK-7 (the 3rd one down) & this fan Papst 8412 NGL ( the top one) . i cant go for ths heatsinks u suggested as it wont fit my mobo (msi kt4v).but i got a question. when i checked out the full specifications link for the heatsink it said the noise was around 52db. is this just from the heatsink? this is a bit too noisy isnt it?

RicardoSmith

You can get anykind of fan you want but the "full specification" link seems to indicate some sort of package that includes a Stock Fan DELTA Model: FFB0912EHE which is a monster. Avoid Delta fans unless you like sitting in a room with a hairdrier going it in it. Because thats what they sound like. In fact any fan over 30dba is very loud. As a quide anything thats 25dba is kinda quiet. 20dba is quiet and 15dba is pretty much silent.

You'll have to double check which HS fits your board, some can have issues with the larger heatsinks. Also check if theres space in your case for a large HS as some cases stupidly out the PSU over the cpu socket. One final thing is that some fans have 4 pin connectors and some 3 pins connectors. Which isn't a problem but some motherboards, require that a fan be connected to the CPU fan header on the motherboard before the motherboard will start up.

The papsts come in both 3pin andn 4 pin, and OCUK only sell the 4 pin version. The SLK800 & 900 will take a 70, 80 or 92mm fan as far I I know. The SLK700 a 70 or 80mm fan. The fan come in different thickness, but the SLK should handle any of them.

I'd probably go with the SK7 and the YS-TECH FD8125 SILENT 80mm fan - 3 Pin (FG-006-YS). Seems to be similar to the Papst NGL and its 3 pin. The Papst NGML is even quieter but not as good for overclocking which you said you wanted to do.

whosurpaddy

ricardo.
as always, ur a scholar & a gent.
ill let ye no what decision i come too
thanks again 4 ur patience
paddy

The_Bullman

Originally posted by RicardoSmith
The SLK800 & 900 will take a 70, 80 or 92mm fan as far I I know.

Just a note to say that the slk800 doesn't take a 92mm fan

It is an excellent heatsink by the way. Better than watercooling in some cases. In case you can't tell I have one

RicardoSmith

Originally posted by The_Bullman
Just a note to say that the slk800 doesn't take a 92mm fan

It is an excellent heatsink by the way. Better than watercooling in some cases. In case you can't tell I have one

Ah good catch! Just out of curiousity, what are you using with it? What sort if temps are you getting?

PPC

Originally posted by RicardoSmith
Where do you get the Noise Blocker's from? I've heard about them but never used one myself.

Yeah im going to order them from a german site www.com-tra.de
they arent in the uk/ireland yet

whosurpaddy

well i weighed everythin up & went for the zalman in the end.
there were 2 in maplins in town, the full copper one 4 €60 & the copper/ Aluminium 1 which was €35. went 4 d cheaper one & its in my machine as i type. its really quiet in normal mode & actually is silent in silent mode.

i found the installation fine but was cautious going about it as was forewarned about it. but anyway it went on fine. id say it could be a pain tho if u lost the installation tool.

thanks for the advice all.

got another question now : about temprature (in celsius) whats the ideal running temp & whats the highest u should let it go to

elexes

if it hits 90 you should think about changing .
mine are between 49-56 constantly at any timie

whosurpaddy

youre talkin in celsius(the smaller numbers) there elexes yea?

min has always been between 37-48 & this new heatsink/fan combo seems to be maintaining this temp fine (even in silent mode)

RicardoSmith

People say the Zalmans flowers are not great for overclocking but I have one on a P4 1.8@2.4ghz and get temps of 35-45 even after hours of gaming. Thats with the fan in the silent low rpm mode too. So the're not all that bad. But I'd still go back to a larger conventional fan the next time and a proper silent 80mm. as I don't fine the silent mode on the Zalman actually silent. Its quiet though.

The_Bullman

Originally posted by RicardoSmith
Ah good catch! Just out of curiousity, what are you using with it? What sort if temps are you getting?

It is sitting on my 2500 barton Using artic silver 3 (I think) between them


This is what mm5 tells me about the temps

RicardoSmith

Originally posted by The_Bullman
It is sitting on my 2500 barton Using artic silver 3 (I think) between them


This is what mm5 tells me about the temps

Thats pretty good alright.

The_Bullman

The temps where about 15-20 degrees higher than that until I added a 120 mm exhaust fan to the top of the case.

It keeps the case amazingly cool but it is noisy as hell. I just don't have the time to 7V it unfortunatly

RicardoSmith

Yeah airflow is a big factor. I used to have a Aopen full tower which had poor airflow and I could never get good temps in that. These days I have a coolmaster case, which has a lot better airflow. I only use 2x quiet 80mm fans. Both are Zalman fanmates set to the minimum speed. Ones an intake fan, blowing over the HD and the others an extract fan at the rear beside the cpu. This case also has a exhaust grill at the top of the case but I don't use a fan in it.

It would be very quiet PC only I have a 400w quiet PC PSU which uses 2 fans and its noiser than everything else. Once I get a bit of cash together I hope to change it for a quieter PSU. I'd mod it but it exhausts pretty hot air as it is from the PSU so I don't think I'd risk slower fans in it. Actually by the time I have some money I'll probabaly just get a new machine. If I do that I'll probably get a case like the Antec Sonata which is designed to run quieter and cooler by design.

CombatCow

Im just finished installing my new zalman 6000-cu ( 100% copper )and i have to say it was a breeze to install ,and the arm that holds the fan is great ( it means i can add another 2 fans to my 11 fan case Woot Woot ) i didn't use the 92mm fan i got with it , i used a 80mm antec blue tri L.E.D fan,i also used artic silver 3 instead of the thermal grease you get with it,i also have to say the base of the heatsink is very very smooth and shiney and well machined,i took bout 50-60 pics when i was puttin it in ( which will prob be on raz's modding site hopefully ) i no it's technically not a 'mod' but it might be good to show others my firsthand expierance.o yeah..the temps...well the system is the same at 15-16C and the cpu is now 28C, bout 2-3C cooler than the coolermaster HHC-001 ( 100% copper HeatPipe cooler)with the same 80mm antec fan.


O and btw if ne1 was wondering bout my secret mod that didn't happen was because : I was gonna put a fog machine inside the case until i found out that the mist it creates leaves an oily residue on everthing...so that's a definate no no for inside a computer case.:( o well.

CombatCow

whosurpaddy

Originally posted by elexes
if it hits 90 you should think about changing .
mine are between 49-56 constantly at any timie

so lads temprature? in celsius................is my temps of 37-48 fine yea?

would u let it get as high as 90 or whats the max temp u would allow your cpu get to

The_Bullman

Personally I wouldn't even let mine get near 60.

I havn't ever had a chip that was that warm.

BabyEater

If you are overcloking and have upped the core voltage i wouldn't let it go to 50. Otherwise 60 is alright with me , 70 would be getting to hot.