_Korruption_
Supreme [H]ardness
- Joined
- Aug 22, 2002
- Messages
- 4,572
These days, a lot of people are posting up topics looking for a good thermal solution for their new high-performance CPU. These people all have different needs, some are looking for something dirt-cheap, some look for low-noise, some look for good overall performance at a good price, some look for ease of installation, and others look for maximum performance with no boundaries (just keep it within air cooling ). Everybody's got different needs.
I usually cater to lower-noise setups, so you may substitute the Vantec Tornado in if you'd like. I'd like to keep my ears.
Air cooling doesn't have to be as complicated as it appears. It's a hell of a lot simpler than water cooling, and is usually a lot cheaper. The sheer selection you can find online is what usually scares people away. I decided to put together a quickie air-cooling guide, hopefully it'll be turned into a sticky where people can refer to it and perhaps add to it if I've missed anything. Constructive criticism, folks!
I'll lay it out in terms of Socket type (Socket A, Socket 478, Socket 754/939/940, LGA775). Lowest price in the respected socket type comes first. I'll re-use some of the descriptions because they may be the same across the different socket types. Saves me quite a bit of time too. Honourable mentions go in their respected sections.
Starting with the CPU cooling
Socket A (Athlon, Duron, AthlonXP, Sempr0n)
MASSCOOL 5F394B1L3G 80mm Copper HSF -- cheap at less than $14! The 80mm fan allows more airflow and less noise (the AMD retail thermal solution for Socket A comes with a small 60x60x10 fan which can be quite noisy), the all-copper heatsink body offers a good amount of surface area. Kinda reminds me of a cheaper (and perhaps noisier) Thermaltake Silent Boost. Even the three-pin lead is sleeved and shrinked! You really can't find another all-copper solution for this price.
Thermalright SI-97A Heatsink -- Please do note, this heatsink does not come with a fan! Moving slightly upmarket here at $34.95, but relative to what you can get out there, this is still very affordable. This is the new A revision, which adds compatibility to the new Athlon64 CPUs. Yes, you read that right, you can use this Socket A heatsink on your Athlon64 CPU when you upgrade down the road. Very cost effective. One of the best choices you can make for Socket A. It utilizes heatpipes to move heat from the heatsink base into the heatsink body above. You can have a very silent solution, or a very high-performance one, depending on the fan you choose. I'd recommend a low to medium speed 92mm Panaflo for all applications, even overclocking.
Honourable Mentions:
Zalman CNPS7000B-AlCu LED
Zalman CNPS7000B-Cu LED (non-LED models also available)
Socket 478 (Pentium 4)
ARCTIC COOLING Super Silencer4 Ultra 90mm HSF -- Dirt cheap P4 cooling for under $13. The Prescotts are known to run hot, so Arctic Cooling ups the fan size to 90mm for more airflow. The Intel retail thermal solutions really aren't that bad, they're just noisy. This one should definitely be significantly quieter than the box solution. Again, you get the patented AC fan design, and the three-pin lead is sleeved and shrinked for cosmetics. Do remember that this thermal solution is designed for minimal noise, not maximum performance...
ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 4 ACFZ4 HSF -- More expensive at $29, but offers a lot more performance and still maintains the low-noise output. SilentPCReview gives it a favourable review. It uses heatpipes to transfer heat from the heatsink base to the heatsink body, and the fan blows air across the aluminum fins. If possible, mount the Freezer 4 so that the fan points towards the back of the case, the rear exhaust fan will help out and further reduce temperatures. Low-weight, low-price, low-noise, and high-performance.
Thermalright XP-90 -- Fantastic performance for $25 (again, this is a heatsink alone, no fan included). Paired up with a low to medium speed Panaflo, you can enjoy low-noise performance. The XP-90 is widely regarded as one of the best values in the enthusiast community, and SilentPCReview agrees. Easy installation too. If you don't want to deal with buying a separate fan, the XP-90 Retail Package is for you. A few bucks more and you get a decent mid-speed 92mm fan included.
Thermalright XP-90C -- The more-expensive ($48), all-copper brother to the XP-90. While the XP-90 features a copper base and aluminum heatsink fins, the XP-90C is an all-copper affair. One of the better performers on the market today, it offers much better compability than it's bigger brother (the XP-120, which will be covered later). Paired up with low to medium speed 92mm Panaflo, you'll be golden. Please be advised that the XP-90C is a very heavy heatsink -- exercise care when moving your computer! Many will argue that the SI-120 is a better choice, and I agree with them -- the SI-120 will allow for more airflow with less noise and less weight, and compatibility is pretty much guaranteed!
Thermalright SI-120 -- The updated brother of the XP-120. Costs about the same too. When that heatsink was introduced, the notion of using 120mm fans was a great idea. The main issue that gave many people problems was that it's size would interfere with other components on the motherboard. Thermalright, responding to customer concerns, went back to the drawing board and came up with the SI-120. Think of it as a larger version of the SI-97A. The heatsink body itself is raised high enough so that it clears just about everything on the motherboard. If you think you are going to have problems with the XP-120's clearance, do consider the SI-120. Pair this heatsink up with the Nexus Real Silent 120mm fan or the Yate Loon D12SL-12 (the same fan, but cheaper), you can have an almost inaudible thermal solution.
Thermalright XP-120 -- This is about as big as it gets! Priced around the same as the XP-90C ($48), you have to make a decision. If your motherboard fits this behemoth, you can get away with a very low-noise solution, or a maximum performance solution. Pair this heatsink up with the Nexus Real Silent 120mm fan or the Yate Loon D12SL-12 (the same fan, but cheaper), you can have an almost inaudible thermal solution. SilentPCReview gives it a good review. Or you can pair it up with a Delta high-speed 120mm fan. Your call. Just make sure it fits! You can check P4 motherboard compatibility here.
Scythe Ninja -- A giant heatsink originally meant for passive operation, but can accomodate a 120mm fan, which makes it a very potent choice for low-noise, low-temperature cooling. It features a whopping 12 heatpipes moving heat from the copper base up to the thin aluminum fins. Pair this up with a low-speed 120mm fan (Jab-Tech gives you the option of a 120mm Yate Loon, a fantastic choice), and you'll have fantastic cooling, perhaps even better than the Thermalright offerings. This heatsink seems to work well in the P180 case, with some people using the top vent as an intake and the rear vent as an exhaust. Only downside is that the whole assembly is pretty big.
Thermaltake CL-P0114 BIG TYPHOON 4 IN 1 Heatpipe CPU Cooler -- Well what do you know? I'm recommending a TT product! The main reason for that is because TT got the performance right this time, this thing really does offer a lot of cooling potential. Downsides are the blatant 16dBA marketing (though it is still decently quiet), the size (it is very tall), and the weight.
Zalman CNPS9500-LED -- Zalman's newest entry into the high-performance cooling market. At around $70, it definitely is pricey, even compared to the Thermalrights. What I like about the 9500 is the fact that you can point the CPU cooler exhaust at a rear case fan, so any heat produced will be taken out of the case quickly. Even with an all-copper design with more surface area than the previous Zalman flower heatsinks, weight is kept to a relative minimum. A FanMate2 is included so you can run the fan as slowly as you want. If you want the full 12V, disconnect the FanMate2 and plug the 9500 directly into the motherboard. As mentioned earlier, the orientation of the 9500 does matter, so do check out the fantastic instructions that Zalman has up.
Honourable Mentions:
Zalman CNPS7000B-Cu LED (non-LED models also available)
Coolermaster Hyper48
I usually cater to lower-noise setups, so you may substitute the Vantec Tornado in if you'd like. I'd like to keep my ears.
Air cooling doesn't have to be as complicated as it appears. It's a hell of a lot simpler than water cooling, and is usually a lot cheaper. The sheer selection you can find online is what usually scares people away. I decided to put together a quickie air-cooling guide, hopefully it'll be turned into a sticky where people can refer to it and perhaps add to it if I've missed anything. Constructive criticism, folks!
I'll lay it out in terms of Socket type (Socket A, Socket 478, Socket 754/939/940, LGA775). Lowest price in the respected socket type comes first. I'll re-use some of the descriptions because they may be the same across the different socket types. Saves me quite a bit of time too. Honourable mentions go in their respected sections.
Starting with the CPU cooling
Socket A (Athlon, Duron, AthlonXP, Sempr0n)
MASSCOOL 5F394B1L3G 80mm Copper HSF -- cheap at less than $14! The 80mm fan allows more airflow and less noise (the AMD retail thermal solution for Socket A comes with a small 60x60x10 fan which can be quite noisy), the all-copper heatsink body offers a good amount of surface area. Kinda reminds me of a cheaper (and perhaps noisier) Thermaltake Silent Boost. Even the three-pin lead is sleeved and shrinked! You really can't find another all-copper solution for this price.
Thermalright SI-97A Heatsink -- Please do note, this heatsink does not come with a fan! Moving slightly upmarket here at $34.95, but relative to what you can get out there, this is still very affordable. This is the new A revision, which adds compatibility to the new Athlon64 CPUs. Yes, you read that right, you can use this Socket A heatsink on your Athlon64 CPU when you upgrade down the road. Very cost effective. One of the best choices you can make for Socket A. It utilizes heatpipes to move heat from the heatsink base into the heatsink body above. You can have a very silent solution, or a very high-performance one, depending on the fan you choose. I'd recommend a low to medium speed 92mm Panaflo for all applications, even overclocking.
Honourable Mentions:
Zalman CNPS7000B-AlCu LED
Zalman CNPS7000B-Cu LED (non-LED models also available)
Socket 478 (Pentium 4)
ARCTIC COOLING Super Silencer4 Ultra 90mm HSF -- Dirt cheap P4 cooling for under $13. The Prescotts are known to run hot, so Arctic Cooling ups the fan size to 90mm for more airflow. The Intel retail thermal solutions really aren't that bad, they're just noisy. This one should definitely be significantly quieter than the box solution. Again, you get the patented AC fan design, and the three-pin lead is sleeved and shrinked for cosmetics. Do remember that this thermal solution is designed for minimal noise, not maximum performance...
ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 4 ACFZ4 HSF -- More expensive at $29, but offers a lot more performance and still maintains the low-noise output. SilentPCReview gives it a favourable review. It uses heatpipes to transfer heat from the heatsink base to the heatsink body, and the fan blows air across the aluminum fins. If possible, mount the Freezer 4 so that the fan points towards the back of the case, the rear exhaust fan will help out and further reduce temperatures. Low-weight, low-price, low-noise, and high-performance.
Thermalright XP-90 -- Fantastic performance for $25 (again, this is a heatsink alone, no fan included). Paired up with a low to medium speed Panaflo, you can enjoy low-noise performance. The XP-90 is widely regarded as one of the best values in the enthusiast community, and SilentPCReview agrees. Easy installation too. If you don't want to deal with buying a separate fan, the XP-90 Retail Package is for you. A few bucks more and you get a decent mid-speed 92mm fan included.
Thermalright XP-90C -- The more-expensive ($48), all-copper brother to the XP-90. While the XP-90 features a copper base and aluminum heatsink fins, the XP-90C is an all-copper affair. One of the better performers on the market today, it offers much better compability than it's bigger brother (the XP-120, which will be covered later). Paired up with low to medium speed 92mm Panaflo, you'll be golden. Please be advised that the XP-90C is a very heavy heatsink -- exercise care when moving your computer! Many will argue that the SI-120 is a better choice, and I agree with them -- the SI-120 will allow for more airflow with less noise and less weight, and compatibility is pretty much guaranteed!
Thermalright SI-120 -- The updated brother of the XP-120. Costs about the same too. When that heatsink was introduced, the notion of using 120mm fans was a great idea. The main issue that gave many people problems was that it's size would interfere with other components on the motherboard. Thermalright, responding to customer concerns, went back to the drawing board and came up with the SI-120. Think of it as a larger version of the SI-97A. The heatsink body itself is raised high enough so that it clears just about everything on the motherboard. If you think you are going to have problems with the XP-120's clearance, do consider the SI-120. Pair this heatsink up with the Nexus Real Silent 120mm fan or the Yate Loon D12SL-12 (the same fan, but cheaper), you can have an almost inaudible thermal solution.
Thermalright XP-120 -- This is about as big as it gets! Priced around the same as the XP-90C ($48), you have to make a decision. If your motherboard fits this behemoth, you can get away with a very low-noise solution, or a maximum performance solution. Pair this heatsink up with the Nexus Real Silent 120mm fan or the Yate Loon D12SL-12 (the same fan, but cheaper), you can have an almost inaudible thermal solution. SilentPCReview gives it a good review. Or you can pair it up with a Delta high-speed 120mm fan. Your call. Just make sure it fits! You can check P4 motherboard compatibility here.
Scythe Ninja -- A giant heatsink originally meant for passive operation, but can accomodate a 120mm fan, which makes it a very potent choice for low-noise, low-temperature cooling. It features a whopping 12 heatpipes moving heat from the copper base up to the thin aluminum fins. Pair this up with a low-speed 120mm fan (Jab-Tech gives you the option of a 120mm Yate Loon, a fantastic choice), and you'll have fantastic cooling, perhaps even better than the Thermalright offerings. This heatsink seems to work well in the P180 case, with some people using the top vent as an intake and the rear vent as an exhaust. Only downside is that the whole assembly is pretty big.
Thermaltake CL-P0114 BIG TYPHOON 4 IN 1 Heatpipe CPU Cooler -- Well what do you know? I'm recommending a TT product! The main reason for that is because TT got the performance right this time, this thing really does offer a lot of cooling potential. Downsides are the blatant 16dBA marketing (though it is still decently quiet), the size (it is very tall), and the weight.
Zalman CNPS9500-LED -- Zalman's newest entry into the high-performance cooling market. At around $70, it definitely is pricey, even compared to the Thermalrights. What I like about the 9500 is the fact that you can point the CPU cooler exhaust at a rear case fan, so any heat produced will be taken out of the case quickly. Even with an all-copper design with more surface area than the previous Zalman flower heatsinks, weight is kept to a relative minimum. A FanMate2 is included so you can run the fan as slowly as you want. If you want the full 12V, disconnect the FanMate2 and plug the 9500 directly into the motherboard. As mentioned earlier, the orientation of the 9500 does matter, so do check out the fantastic instructions that Zalman has up.
Honourable Mentions:
Zalman CNPS7000B-Cu LED (non-LED models also available)
Coolermaster Hyper48