CPU fan

kaju · Post by **kaju** » Fri Mar 28, 2008 2:27 pm

What would be a sensible alternative to Intel's fan for E6600 CPU?

Thermalright monsters look a bit frightening to install.

Fede · Post by **Fede** » Fri Mar 28, 2008 4:34 pm

Zalman above all, Coolermaster good too.

There's no need of those monsters if you're not in extreme overclocking cpu...
No need for anything else but intel's one in general with recent intel procs.
In fact since Pentium D9xx / Pentium4 CedarMills / Core series, manufacturing process reached 65nm and more energy efficient management has been added, so temperatures fell down a lot respect to the Prescott "high scores". Also the intel cooler design changed with those series becoming less noisy.

cheers
Fede

Neutron · Post by **Neutron** » Fri Mar 28, 2008 5:21 pm

I used to be a strong zalman supporter but lately their "quietness" does not impress any more. i would go with at least a 120mm fan.
If you have the space in your case, scythe infinity. otherwise scythe "andy" or Thermalright Ultra-120 eXtreme

The q6600 can get hot enough to get that horrible intel heatsink/fan really going loud, and they do get quite hot. TDP is over 100 watts.

I have some 140mm fans on order to see if that helps even more. I dont use loud volumes most of the time, so i need the machine to be quiet!

kaju · Post by **kaju** » Sat Mar 29, 2008 2:34 am

Thank you Fede and Neutron.

The Intel fans have developed from what they used to be. But still have a high pitched whine left that I find really annoying. Like Neutron I don't use loud volumes and would like to have the machine as silent as possible.

I have a Zalman in my other older pc and it's far from silent.
I have placed an order for a Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme but it seems to be very hard to get as it's so popular. The dealer didn't even promise anything. There's a new model ITX-14 but the delivery time is 4-6 weeks.

Tom's Hardware's latest cpu cooler test results are also interesting.
The conclusion is rightaway depressing:

"It is truly remarkable how much junk is sold in hardware stores these days, and how badly customers are sometimes deceived. Any specifications quoted on the boxes should be taken with more than just a pinch of salt, as they very rarely coincided with our findings in the lab."

Well test is a test, but the results at least make me wary.
http://www.tomshardware.com/2008/02/20/ ... age16.html

Even Thermalright have been (elsewhere) criticized for uneven base and still it's supposed to be one of the best.

I'm open to your suggestions, I'm (not yet) desperate, I have time there's no hurry.

There's lot of space in the big and well ventilated Antec Titan case. I even considered using an Arctic Cooling Freezer 7Pro. It's quiet but not too effective.
And one point more: I'm definitely not interested in overclocking.

So let's hear your thoughts

kaju · Post by **kaju** » Sat Mar 29, 2008 2:51 am

Thank you Stardust.
I've never before seen this product althought the name Noiseblocker is familiar.
I'm not sure if it's available from our dealers.

By the way, how important is the weight of these coolers?
Most of them exceed the Intel recommendations.

And several of them seem to be quite difficult to install, one model by Zalman even almost impossible!
This situation is not much helped by the vague "manuals".

Fede · Post by **Fede** » Sat Mar 29, 2008 4:05 am

There's a limit in quietness of fans (besides passive or liquid cooling solutions), if the new cooler doesn't resolve the problem consider also other things...

kaju wrote:There's lot of space in the big and well ventilated Antec Titan case.

The resonance / acoustic response of the case is involved in hearing the fan noise.
In my experience I've had a big noise reduction last time that I've changed my case switching from a Chieftec Dragon to a Coolermaster Stacker.
Some manufacturers produce noise insulation kits for cases, but personally I've never tried any.

...and the other components.

what about the vga? is that passive?
the psu? all the other fans?
fan management in the mobo bios is active and well configured?
Intel SpeedStep (or other cpu energy saving options) is activated in the bios?

last, you may try placing your case in some other way more distant or hidden (in another room) and use longer cables for mouse and keyboard

cheers
Fede

kaju · Post by **kaju** » Sat Mar 29, 2008 6:38 am

Thanks for your tip stardust. I already checked pcsilent.de page. The price seems to be 59,90e + shipping to Finland 15e, total about 75euro.
Thermalright IFX-14 is sold here at 69,90e. And that's without an additional (but obviously obligatory) fan.

Fede, thank you for your reply, grazie!
I've already given much thought to many of the topics you mention.
But I will try different places for the machine, also behind the wall next room. The only problem now is there's not too much space in this room and not so much in the next one either, as it is kind of a corridoor or small hall where corners only are still free. The worst places acoustically.
Actually you'd laugh if you could see me now. I'm sitting in a small room full of computers, keyboards, equipment and an upright piano. (I've tried to get rid of the upright, though.)

My graphic card is a passive one, and the Titan case is quite silent - in the way the Antecs usually are.

Cheers!
- k

Neutron · Post by **Neutron** » Sat Mar 29, 2008 9:20 am

I have scythe coolers in all of my PCs now. i would go with one of those, they are relatively inexpensive, they dont have LEDs or shiny plastic crap on them. you can put on any fast or slow fan you like. and replace the fan if it gets noisy or dies. and they work well.

I did a mini review of one here.http://www.planetz.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=24489

if you have a fireplace you can get rid of most of the upright piano if its not any good

then take the steel part to the scrapyard for $$$$
or if the wood is nice, you could re-use it and make another piece of furniture.
such as take out the guts and put a keyboard or synth there, and rack mount where the upright part was.

darkrezin · Post by **darkrezin** » Sat Mar 29, 2008 9:23 am

Noctua coolers seem pretty nice.

kaju · Post by **kaju** » Sat Mar 29, 2008 10:19 am

Yess Neutron! I have a fireplace yes I do. The only point is my wife and I bought originally the upright 50-50. So if...

And of course the poor instrument (or whatever it is) isn't not yet in so bad shape at all. People just like to buy expensive Yamahas and Kawais these days. A solid basic starter model doesn't seem to interest anybody. Although it has a German Renner machinery inside. I must drop the price I'm asking for it still a little.
A Finnish made solid Hellas upright for sale, 650 euro .
Can be used for playing Fuer Elise. Also works well for blues...Not Liszt, however.

kaju · Post by **kaju** » Sat Mar 29, 2008 10:23 am

stardust wrote:Noiseblocker seems to sell also via Jimm's PC-store OY in Turku and Helsinki.
Maybe you can talk to them.

Thanks for the tip, stardust.
I did know it, but I don't see this model in their online shop. I'll have to email them.

Lima · Post by **Lima** » Sun Mar 30, 2008 12:59 am

Check this one also:
http://www.arctic-cooling.com/cpu2.php?idx=79&disc=

It has a smaller fan (9cm) but it costs about an half.

I've just installed it and now I'm trying to control its speed using the speedfan utility:
http://www.almico.com/speedfan.php
but there are ton's of parameters!!!

Does anyone use this utility to slow down the speed of the fan?
Any other utility?

kaju · Post by **kaju** » Sun Mar 30, 2008 4:12 am

Thanks Lima

Actually this Arctic Cooling model is on my list and it is also available here.
Arctic Cooling fans are quiet but are they effective enough?
Anyway these were my first alternative candidates but I'm not so sure anymore.

kaju · Post by **kaju** » Sun Mar 30, 2008 10:33 am

This test gave me something to think about:

www.silentpcreview.com/article285-page1.html

Test conclusions:

Pros

* Superb cooling straight out of the box
* Easy to install
* Soft-mounted fan
* Very quiet at low speeds
* Long Warranty

Cons

* Too noisy at full speed
* Variable turbulence noise at full speed
* Doesn't cool that well with low airflow
* No fan speed controller

Neutron · Post by **Neutron** » Mon Mar 31, 2008 4:18 am

are any of the other top ones on this list
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article30-page1.html
available for you?

kaju · Post by **kaju** » Mon Mar 31, 2008 4:58 am

Hi Neutron, most of them, I think. But delivery times can vary from about a week to several weeks.
Ok, I can always order from Germany. (I think our retailers order theirs from Germany anyway)

The problem now I think is I'm not sure if my Intel DP965LTCK has room enough for a larger heat sink/fan than Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro.

Thermalright XP-120 (or Scythe Ninja) with a Nexus 120mm fan seem to be very effective but the point is if there is enough room on my MoBo for them.
If the heat sink must be installed so that the fan blows towards the back of the case I don't think it's going to succeed.
The HS installed sideways,if it can be done...maybe.

I definitely need help here so if any of you can help me out of this dilemma I'll be most thankful .

Neutron · Post by **Neutron** » Mon Mar 31, 2008 6:09 am

well the "andy" is a down pointing one. and the lower part is small to clear all the capacitors and stuff. it fits fine on my C2SBE which has almost exactly the same layout as your board. the only thing is. if the power supply is next to the board like mine is, you might have a tough time getting at the rear top(right) intel annoying snap fit thingy. i ended up taking out the power supply to get at it.

There is also the "mini ninja" which performs quite well and is meant for cases with less room, but then you have to use a 80mm fan, none of them have enough airflow to be quiet with a Q6600under them.

kaju · Post by **kaju** » Mon Mar 31, 2008 8:42 am

Thanks Neutron.
Scythe Andy looks promising especially as it can be installed in four orientations so at least one alternative should be ok.

There's not much room around the processor socket,the MCH with its ~7cm high cooling fins is about 2,5cm from the edge of processor socket (downwards when installed) and towards the front direction of the case there is a capacitor (I think) standing again at something like 2,5cm distance from the processor socket.

Anyway, there's enough room around the MoBo in the big Antec Titan case. And enough options for additional fans if needed.

Now I'll have to check if I can find this Scythe model at our retail shops here. If not I'll contact pcsilent.de or some other German online shop.

Thanks again Neutron.

Cheers
-k

kaju · Post by **kaju** » Mon Mar 31, 2008 8:49 am

Splendid I found it!
Jimm's PC-Store stocks them. 47,40 Euro and 7 pcs still left.
I'll place an order tomorrow.
Now has anyone of you any other suggestions? There's a little time left...

Neutron · Post by **Neutron** » Mon Mar 31, 2008 9:58 am

kaju wrote:Thanks Neutron.
Scythe Andy looks promising especially as it can be installed in four orientations so at least one alternative should be ok.

There's not much room around the processor socket,the MCH with its ~7cm high cooling fins is about 2,5cm from the edge of processor socket (downwards when installed) and towards the front direction of the case there is a capacitor (I think) standing again at something like 2,5cm distance from the processor socket.

Anyway, there's enough room around the MoBo in the big Antec Titan case. And enough options for additional fans if needed.

Now I'll have to check if I can find this Scythe model at our retail shops here. If not I'll contact pcsilent.de or some other German online shop.

Thanks again Neutron.

Cheers
-k

If it happens to not fit because of the MCH fins, you can put a smaller one, because the big fan will blow on it.