A few degrees difference worth the quiet?

[crsgardner]

I purchased a Zalman heatsink and fan on the advice that it was quiet. It's very quiet, but unfortunately it doesn't keep my CPU too cool. At full load, the temperature runs up to 60 (vs. 50, absolutely highest, with the stock Athlon 64 fan).

Is 10 degrees difference worth a quiet machine? Is there such a thing as a quiet 5000 rpm fan (the stock one that's used on the Athlon 64)?

 

[Cheetah8799]

Which model Zalman you have? And what CPU are you using it on exactly? 60C at full load sounds too high for some of the newer Zalman models. Depends on what CPU you are using it on though.

 

[McArra]

Are you sure it is correctly installed? If it is a Zalman 7000 that temps are way too high.

 

[crsgardner]

One of these. Keep in mind, the fan only runs at 2400 rpm. That's half the speed of the AMD fan.

 

[McArra]

I'm getting 34C idle and 42C full load right now with that cooler in my rig :roll:
Check if thermal paste has been correctly aplied (thin layer) and if it is correctly sitted.

 

[Cheetah8799]

ya, that's a pretty high quality heatsink. Even with the low rpm fan, which is normal, the heatsink should still dissipate heat much better than a stock cooler that you are comparing it to.

I'm thinking it could be that your mobo is reporting the temperatures incorrectly. Assuming you have the heatsink attached properly with adequate thermal paste.

When it's 60C according to the mobo, have you tried touching the heatsink? If it's really 60C then you should definately be able to feel the high temps with your finger.

 

[crsgardner]

Actually, I did touch the heatsink and it was cool to the touch. That could either be a sensor incorrectly reporting or the heatsink's not attached correctly.

Additionally, the only way I've been able to "tell" the heatsink is against the CPU core is the fact that thermal grease I placed on the core is smeared onto the heatsink. Is it possible that I need to push the heatsink down farther?

 

[0roo0roo]

use less paste. thin layer with razor

 

[HardWarrior]

Originally posted by: crsgardner
I purchased a Zalman heatsink and fan on the advice that it was quiet. It's very quiet, but unfortunately it doesn't keep my CPU too cool. At full load, the temperature runs up to 60 (vs. 50, absolutely highest, with the stock Athlon 64 fan).

Is 10 degrees difference worth a quiet machine? Is there such a thing as a quiet 5000 rpm fan (the stock one that's used on the Athlon 64)?

Only you can make the decision on whether the tradeoff is worth it. 60c is fairly warm, but it won't kill your CPU.

 

[yourdeardaniel]

i have the 7000A-Cu, get about 44 idle (Abit EQ temp is higher than actual, so maybe 37 or around there) that is with my vcore at 1.675 which is kind of high and produces more heat than default vcore).
your temps seem kind of high, maybe sure u put thin layer of thermal paste (i used AS5) and that u have ur fan mate turn all way up or dont use it and plug right into cpu fan header).

 

[0roo0roo]

well one can't compare unless we know his case temp + ambient.

 

[jhurst]

I get a max load temp. of 53C with my Zalman 7000Cu. And that is on an over-temping Abit board. You should try reseating your HSF once......see if that helps the temps. In terms of thermal paste, less is more, thin layer is all you need. GLopping the stuff on will raise your temps. If you put it back on, and you know its done correctly, and you are still getting high temps, just forget about it. Temps are just relative, every sensor detects it differently, there is no right or wrong temp that everyone should be at/look out for.

 

[crsgardner]

Ok, I pretty much took the thing apart from top to bottom. I noticed there is a thin plastic bracket that comes on my ASUS K8V SE board that helps seats the stock heatfan/CPU, which I removed. It may have been keeping the bottom of the new heatsink from reaching the core.

Temps now run around 40 idle (same as before) and about 53-54 full throttle (about 3-4 degrees above the stock heatsink/fan). Still, this one is much quieter, so I think I'll keep it.

 

[Nebor]

I have a near silent rig w/ the Zalman heatsink. I've finally come to the conclusion that it's just a poorly designed heatsink. It has a huge chunk of copper at the bottom that is solid without fins, so that doesn't conduct heat away all that great.

Usual load temps during games is between 68 and 73C. Although one time I forgot to turn my fans up and saw it hit 83C.

These are Abit temperatures, so subtract about 15C for actual temps.

EDIT: Idling at 55 now.

 

[lobadobadingdong]

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