Cooling A 125-Watt Phenom X6 1055T

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vidrazor

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I recently built a system around the above chip, and the stock fan, while doing a rip-roaring job of cooling under the gun, sounds like a DC-3 ready for take-off in the process.

I replaced the stock fan with a Scythe SCSK-1100, but unfortunately this bugger couldn't keep the temps down.

I considered the CoolIt and Corsair liquid coolers, but too many tales of leaks killed that enthusiasm quick.

So I've looked at a few other, like the COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus, but I'm not sure this suckers will not only do any better, but if it will even fit in my case. It's not off the radar yet, however.

I did see what looks like a killer 'sink, a Deep Cool Ice Matrix unit, but unfortunately that thing is even bigger, and is not available in the U.S. The 'sink design looks killer, however. The fan is inadequate for heat, I would need a higher RPM unit to ensure adequate cooling.

So anyway, I'd like some effective recommendations for air-cooled heatsink/fan that would fit in my system. Thanks for any info on this.

Here's the specs on my setup:

125-Watt Phenom X6 1055T CPU
MSI 870-G45 motherboard
16-gigs Corsair CMX8GX3M2A1333C9 XMS ram
MSI R4350 graphics card*
Eagle ET-PSVTX550E-BK Voltas X 550-Watt power supply
Hitachi OS00163 Deskstar IDK/7K drive
WD Caviar WD5001AALS SED drive
Seagate ST380013AS drive
Cooler Master Elite 330 case

*The R4350 graphics card was a "mule" until I replaced it with a MSI N240GT-MD1G/D5 card, which turned out to not sync with my monitor correctly, so the R4350 will be in there until I find a suitable replacement.
 
"and Corsair liquid coolers, but too many tales of leaks killed that enthusiasm quick"

Well....I must say, I would love to talk with someone that in fact had an issue with any Corsair Water-Cooler set ups. I haven't heard one story as of yet, Sorry. The Corsair H50 is a stellar system for the money, paired with 2-120mm Vantec Stealth fans.
 
You need to go over to the Corsair forum and search under "leak". Wake-up call.
 
The Hyper 212 is one of the, if not the best bang-for-the-buck when it comes to heatsinks.

I had its baby brother, the Hyper 101 (80mm fan with 2 heatpipes) on my 1055T and it did a decent job of cooling, much better than the stock heatsink. Being that the 212 has a much bigger 120mm fan and 4 heatpipes, I'd imagine it to be a very capable cooler.
 
Just make sure whatever you buy didn't forget AMD mounting hardware. Looking at you, Megahalems.
 
What kind of temperatures were you getting on stock and the scythe? I have a 95W processor, but I dropped 20C at load going from stock to the 212+
 
I think I'm getting the 212+ myself very soon, probably with a 1090T, in fact. Just waiting for the 1100T to come into stock and push the price down at my local computer store. Hear nothing but good things about that particular HSF and I'm looking forward to trying it out and aiming for 4.0 ghz.
 
Thanks for your replies.

>>What kind of temperatures were you getting on stock and the scythe?<<

Running a stacked render test in Adobe Premiere, I got this with the Scythe:
01scythe.jpg


Running the same test with the stock AMD fan, I get this:
02amd.jpg


Of course, the AMD fan is ready for take-off, good thing it's bolted down well. :D

>>not to change the subject but how reputable is that power supply as well?<<

Someone else mentioned that. It's appears to be OK, although I'm getting a strange reading in HW Monitor:
AMD-PS.jpg


The system appears to be running fine, however. I took a reading off a Molex connector, and got a full 12V, so I'm not sure what's with that.

I'll have to take some careful measurements to see if I can fit a '212 into my system. I hope it can work under the gun, because I have computationally intensive processes that will max CPU usage. I want something that's as effective as the stock AMD fan without the noise.

Thanks again for your replies.
 
I bought the 1055T OEM 95watt version and installed a Hyper 212 Plus (got it for $15 after rebates at newegg) it is an awesome bang for the buck cooler, shaved 3-5 degrees off my idle temp using a fanless 4 year old ninja scythe cooler. The way it mounts is very tight and secure, (which is part of the reason it is so successful I think. Even at the normal $35ish price it is a deal. (from the reviews I have read it comes in just a little worse than a Thermalright Ultra Extreme 120 which retails for about 70.

More than anything I wanted to comment here that I was surprised at how cool the 1055t runs in general. (im sitting at 28C at idle right now with the hyper 212) I am also using the ASROCK IES software which basically just reduces your CPU voltage. (undervolting)
If you are running your 1055T at stock speeds, you may want to check out some undervolting software, as the cpu seems to run quite cool at lower voltages. My 95watt cpu already has reduced voltages by stock, so your 125 watt chip could benefit even more.

edit:
just did a prime test with undervolting @ stock speeds, with hyper 212 at full fan speed. max load temp was only 38C after 20 minutes of 6 cores loaded with prime! (screenshot available upon request)
 
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Jalidi said:
I think I'm getting the 212+ myself very soon, probably with a 1090T, in fact. Just waiting for the 1100T to come into stock and push the price down at my local computer store. Hear nothing but good things about that particular HSF and I'm looking forward to trying it out and aiming for 4.0 ghz.
Click to expand...

gl with that.......unless you get a hell of a chip you wont get 4.0 with a 212+ unless you have pretty low ambients..........i ran a "cousin" to the 212+ (the Core Contact Freezer, same performance and price) on a 1090T, and best I could achive was 3.8 with meh temps, 3.7 was about as good as i got.....these chips NEED the volts to get to 4.0, which cheaper air coolers OFTEN do not adaquatly cool......


that being said the H50 is a great product, love mine, wont give it up, yes there are reports of leaks, but guess what? the product was a hit, the few hundered who complain(i'm assuming only a few hundred, didnt look at the thread cont) had bad product, while the TONS of other ones got through alright w/o too much complaining from the enthusiast community as a whole....guess what people only complain when the product fails, how many threads do you see on the corsair site about their cooler not having a leak?

edit: cbutters- that idle temp means jack shit.......its pretty well known that the thubans have bad temps at idle, just pretty inaccurate the only thing to really pay attention to is the 38c max load your getting with prime........that 38c sounds about right, if not some what high depending on what your ambient is

@ vidrazor- dont pay attention to software reports of the volts, often they are completely wrong. As for temps, check those temps with both the HWMonitor reporting and CoreTemp, IIRC at one point SpeedFan had bad readings for AMD chips......also your screen shots of temps seem like the ambient temp was different, by a large margin, since your HDD's are ~4-6c cooler for the stock fan/cooler, same with TMP3......that ambient temp could make most of the difference
 
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vidrazor said:
I considered the CoolIt and Corsair liquid coolers, but too many tales of leaks killed that enthusiasm quick.
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Enthusiasm? If you are afraid of leaks from the h50 then you might as well be worry about them big ass heat sinks snapping your motherboard. It is as common as the h50 leaks :eek:.

Since your stock cooling hardly works your best method of cooling is not turning on your PC at all.
 
DTN107 said:
Enthusiasm? If you are afraid of leaks from the h50 then you might as well be worry about them big ass heat sinks snapping your motherboard. It is as common as the h50 leaks :eek:.

Since your stock cooling hardly works your best method of cooling is not turning on your PC at all.
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It's almost impossible to snap a motherboard with a heavy cooler, unless this thing is like 100 pounds and the motherboard isn't screwed in all the way. I'd stick to air cooling, the H50 isn't that much better, and coolers like the NH-D14 are neck and neck with it, beating it in most cases.
 
It's quieter, performs on the same level, and will never break down (with the exception of fan wear, but that applies to both). The H50 has a pump that can break, and has the potential for leaks.

And there's only a $10 difference between them at newegg:
NH-D14:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608018
H50:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835181010

Granted, some places on the google search sell the NH-D14 for $70, which would make the difference non-existant. H50 shows up on google for $66 the cheapest reputable shop.
 
hmm, preices jumped on h50 again :D last i saw they were back to $60, which is what my base line was off of, and ~$20 still applies with a $10 difference IMO

....and honestly if the pump breaks get a replacement....i ran air coolers, but its too ambient temp dependent........my room goes from 60f or so in winter to ~90f in summer, and the H50 keeps same temp year round, air coolers have large differences and my OC cannot stay....another benefit of the H50......am i worried it will leak and break down, no, if it does it does, and corsair covers it and the parts broken IIRC......and the leak and pump burn out are pretty much a null argument since the small majority of users have experienced it
 
Well I can't speak from experience. Corsair is a reputable company, and I will go out on a limb and assume that the H50s don't break often. Water + Radiator does have better temperature stability than metal fins + heatpipe, I will agree with that.

I might spring for the H50 if I had to choose, but I was always a fan of huge hunks of metal for some reason :D.
 
Yeah, you guys here running water, I wish you the best of luck. I'll pass, however.

>>am i worried it will leak and break down, no, if it does it does, and corsair covers it and the parts broken IIRC...<<

I doubt they'll cover anything besides the H50. Show me in writing where they say they replace all damage to your machine.

>>...dont pay attention to software reports of the volts, often they are completely wrong.<<

Yeah, it's weird. The machine appears to be working just fine, although HWM does report normal voltages on my other Athlon machine:

athlon-1.jpg


So I'm not sure what to think about that, other than possibly it just doesn't know how to effectively communicate with the motherboard.

>>As for temps, check those temps with both the HWMonitor reporting and CoreTemp, IIRC at one point SpeedFan had bad readings for AMD chips...<<

Actually, SpeedFan and HWM gave me the same temps, so I'm not worrying too much about that.

I wonder I can fit something like the Noctua in my case, not sure. One thing about some of these side-mounted fan heatsinks is that their design typically has them blowing the air up to where the power supply is sucking air in. Not a good combo! Even though I have a fan exhausting in the back, the airflow between the heatsink and the PSU will be a natural draw.

If I had a full-size tower it wouldn't be such an issue, or possibly some kind of curved deflection cowl on the heatsink (if such things are even available), sending the air to the rear exhaust fan. I wonder if a deflection cowl would impede the efficiency of the heatsink however.
 
I can't believe no one asked about case cooling.

If you don't exchange the air in the case, you will have a difficult time cooling with cooling.
 
>>If you don't exchange the air in the case, you will have a difficult time cooling with cooling.<<

Of course, but I was talking about some heatsink designs that blow air right in the direction of your power supply. It doesn't matter how much cross-ventilation you have, you're gonna fry your PSU with the air coming off the heatsink.
 
vidrazor said:
>>If you don't exchange the air in the case, you will have a difficult time cooling with cooling.<<

Of course, but I was talking about some heatsink designs that blow air right in the direction of your power supply. It doesn't matter how much cross-ventilation you have, you're gonna fry your PSU with the air coming off the heatsink.
Click to expand...

I'd say it depends on PSU. Good brands are designed and rated to run in 50 degrees temprature.
 
>>I'd say it depends on PSU.<<

That's all fine and well but I still don't think aiming the the CPU fan exhaust up to the PSU air intake is a good idea. ;) I did see an interesting Scythe Mugen 2 Rev. B that allows you to place the fan(s) on any side of the unit. I'm not sure that bugger will fit in my system tho.
 
a Core Contact Freezer shoots air to the IO panel area, though far from the best cooler on the market, it is decent.
 
Bootleg Usher said:
Just make sure whatever you buy didn't forget AMD mounting hardware. Looking at you, Megahalems.
Click to expand...

I considered using a Megahalems with my new 1055t, but the base of the Megahalems isn't flat. It's optimized for the Intel core processors which are slightly concave. I don't think it's the best choice for AMD processors but I could be wrong. Is anybody running an AMD hex core with a Megahalems, if so what are your temps?
 
When I upgraded my rig to a 1090T (also a 125w) I ended up pulling the trigger on an H50, but was very tempted to go with the Thermaltake Frio for air cooling. The only reason why I didn't was because of the reports about it covering the first two RAM slots on some motherboards, and I couldn't confirm whether it would on my system or not (I run 4 sticks right now). Since you've got a pair of 8's, this wouldn't be a concern for you.

After looking at many webpages and reading many reviews, I think the Thermaltake Frio has the best cooling to noise ratio, and what's even sweeter is the fans come with manual speed control (make sure the pull fan runs faster than push though, or else there will be pressure issues). You can, of course, replace these fans with higher performance fans or PWM ones.

Another thing I noticed, you have a lower case temperature than me. What temp do you keep the room at? I'm at 23c and my processor never goes over 40c (100% load 24/7 Folding for the [H]). I've also seen where some air coolers beat the performance of an H50 but at annoying sound levels. Anywhere close to 60c is a concern, since thermal limit for the 1055T is 62c according to AMD.

On a side note, I sent an email to Thermaltake inquiring about orientation, and they confirmed that on an AM3 socket the fans blow from east to west, which means directly towards your rear exhaust.
 
vidrazor said:
>>I'd say it depends on PSU.<<

That's all fine and well but I still don't think aiming the the CPU fan exhaust up to the PSU air intake is a good idea. ;) I did see an interesting Scythe Mugen 2 Rev. B that allows you to place the fan(s) on any side of the unit. I'm not sure that bugger will fit in my system tho.
Click to expand...

I know but some coolers sadly enforce it like my Zalman CNPS which can be mounted only in single position on am3.
 
Michaelius said:
I know but some coolers sadly enforce it like my Zalman CNPS which can be mounted only in single position on am3.
Click to expand...

Yeah, it's sad that HSF manufacturers generally don't bother making a good AMD solution.

IMO, the AMD retention system is superior. No need to deal with pushpins or any of that junk. It's a much nicer solution than anything Intel has. The problem, though, is that most of the big heatsinks have half-assed AMD brackets that only allow it to go up/down, not left/right. When I had my 1055T, I hated being forced into that setup.

My current 775 rig is a lot more awkward and a pain in the ass to mount a heatsink on, but at least it mounts in the proper orientation.
 
mhenley said:
what's even sweeter is the fans come with manual speed control (make sure the pull fan runs faster than push though, or else there will be pressure issues). You can, of course, replace these fans with higher performance fans or PWM ones.
Click to expand...

I would consider this a con - PWM fans are preferable because you can get the same job done thru software without opening your case and turning knobs. Frio is a good choice though, also look at Coolermaster N620 and V6 GT, Corsair A70 if you like that style of cooler.
 
The Pharaoh said:
I would consider this a con - PWM fans are preferable because you can get the same job done thru software without opening your case and turning knobs. Frio is a good choice though, also look at Coolermaster N620 and V6 GT, Corsair A70 if you like that style of cooler.
Click to expand...

Possibly a con for someone whose core temps vary, but I Fold at 100% 24/7. Manual knobs would allow me to dial my fans down to reduce noise while monitoring my temps to make sure they didn't climb too high; once they're set, I'd never have to change them.

I will agree though, typically PWM is the method of choice for fan control.
 
From what I have heard the hyper 212+ is a great cooler especially if you can put push/pull fans on it.
 
>>Another thing I noticed, you have a lower case temperature than me. What temp do you keep the room at?<<

In all honesty I don't know. I'm in the New York area and early on steam heat is a blast and later in the evening things cool off. Even on blast furnace mode temps for some reason are low in the case.

Seems like the Hyper 212+ is the best compromise of all, and it does look like it'll fit. From looking about, the Noctua NH-D14 strikes me as the most awesome system, but that thing definitely ain't fitting in my box! Too bad. That thing looks like it totally kicks ass.
 
if you want to exhaust air out the back, not into PSU, look at the Core Contact Freezer, it mounts natively "east to west"....i know this from experience.
 
I have a zalman cnps 10x performa and my 1055 runs very cool.4.1ghz 24/7 at 1.4volts.
 
whats wrong with the stock amd cooler?

i have the 1055T with the stock cooler, even the stock thermal pad. (did order some arctic silver)

Im at 270mhz fsb or 3780mhz on the cpu. with a .050 increase in cpu voltage. Currently being held back by my ram (ddr2 800) running well over 1066speeds. My motherboard doesn't seem to support turbo mode (older am2+ mobo)

My old phenom 9950 which is a 140twp ran much hotter, still used the stock cooler, manged to get it to 3.2ghz (2.6ghz stock) Was still quiet.

the stock cooler is more than enough to keep the cpu cool. Its quiet, it does whirl a small bit under full load across 6 cores.

im at 32c idle 47c full load. Fan goes up to 3500rpms (maybe a bit higher peak)

Case ventilation is key, when your on air cooling. You can have the best heat-sink in the world, but if the ambient temp is high your going to have the same problems. I have great air flow with my thermal take v9 gaming case. It has two 23cm fans, which pump some serious air.

but if is to loud for you, and want to get a new heatsink fan combo, i would choose the new thermalright archon. Cools great and has a nice big quiet fan. Seems the noise bothers you, so maybe you shouldn't be looking for a different heatsink fan combo, but some good old sound deader. This would keep the noise in the pc and not let it escape.
 
Zalman CNPS 10X Performa

Just got mine last week and it's mounted to my brand new 955 BE at stock for now. Idle is 29c highest I've seen is 43c running prime95. I don't like that fact that I'm stuck with east/west direction but considering how well it performs, it doesn't really matter. Best part is, I got mine for $40 shipped from amazon, and I'm seeing better temps than the top tier cooler reviews. Note that my room is usually in the high 60's in Fahrenheit. I can't wait to start OC'ing and see what I can get it to. :D
 
"955 BE at stock for now. Idle is 29c highest I've seen is 43c running prime95"

your 3c cooler at idle and 4c cooler at full load.

compared to my 1055t hexcore@ 3.78ghz, with stock heat sink.

sure its a great heatsink, but i think i just proved my point about case airflow. your only 4C cooler at full load with a quad core vs a hex core. Mine is overclocked a good bit as well.
 
ebduncan said:
whats wrong with the stock amd cooler?

i have the 1055T with the stock cooler, even the stock thermal pad. (did order some arctic silver)

Im at 270mhz fsb or 3780mhz on the cpu. with a .050 increase in cpu voltage. Currently being held back by my ram (ddr2 800) running well over 1066speeds. My motherboard doesn't seem to support turbo mode (older am2+ mobo)

My old phenom 9950 which is a 140twp ran much hotter, still used the stock cooler, manged to get it to 3.2ghz (2.6ghz stock) Was still quiet.

the stock cooler is more than enough to keep the cpu cool. Its quiet, it does whirl a small bit under full load across 6 cores.

im at 32c idle 47c full load. Fan goes up to 3500rpms (maybe a bit higher peak)

Case ventilation is key, when your on air cooling. You can have the best heat-sink in the world, but if the ambient temp is high your going to have the same problems. I have great air flow with my thermal take v9 gaming case. It has two 23cm fans, which pump some serious air.

but if is to loud for you, and want to get a new heatsink fan combo, i would choose the new thermalright archon. Cools great and has a nice big quiet fan. Seems the noise bothers you, so maybe you shouldn't be looking for a different heatsink fan combo, but some good old sound deader. This would keep the noise in the pc and not let it escape.
Click to expand...

The stock cooler might be OK for mild overclock like yours, but even a small tower cooler like the OCZ Vendetta dropped my temps 10 degrees lower than the stock cooler under load on an open air test bench at 4 GHz.
 
well considering his post doesn't mention anything about overclocking, i don't think that is his concern. Im sure i could gain some additional cooling performance out of a tower heatsink. However that is not what i am being held back by with my overclock. I am limited by my ram. I can go to 290fsb or 4.06ghz but i have to drop my ram multiplier to 4 which gives me only 1160mhz on the ram. I have better performance with the ram mutipier at 5.33 and a fsb of 270 giving me a ddr2 speed of 1439mhz. The ram is a bigger bottleneck than the cpu is.

His concern seems to be the noise the heatsink/ fan combo makes.
 
ebduncan said:
"955 BE at stock for now. Idle is 29c highest I've seen is 43c running prime95"

your 3c cooler at idle and 4c cooler at full load.

compared to my 1055t hexcore@ 3.78ghz, with stock heat sink.

sure its a great heatsink, but i think i just proved my point about case airflow. your only 4C cooler at full load with a quad core vs a hex core. Mine is overclocked a good bit as well.
Click to expand...

I should have mentioned my case is open atm. But with a stock cooler your room must be freezing!
 
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