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A small single-engine airplane...

E

Evenkeel

Member
When CPU usage is low (under 10%), the stock HSF that came w/my Intel P4 3.4 is pretty quiet. But a couple of times it's wound up to about 4K rpm, and 60-65C, when I was running a program that was using 97-99% of CPU for about an hour. (At CPU idle, temp is around 44, and rpm's around 2200.) As far as specs, I know I'm w/in tolerance. But good gawd! The fan in the thing sounds like a small Cessna! Do all these CPU fans sounds like this?

I'm guessing not, from what I've read here. I got an email offer from Newegg, and it lists 3 CPU coolers that fit my LGA-775 CPU:

This Thermaltake

This Artctic Cooling

And this Zalman

The Thermaltake looks interesting, as long as I make sure I've got it well-braced in my tower case, because it has mounts for both intake and exhaust fans, 80 or 90 mm. But I've read here that Zalman is quite good usually.

Since this is my first build, I'm new to the after-market CPU cooling game, so I'd appreciate any advice. And if I'm going to go mucking around w/changing the CPU HSF, I want it to be the last time. At least in this system build, I'm probably not ready to deal w/liquid cooling, but if you think I should, say so.

System specs:

Lian-Li PC-V2000B case
Intel 925XCV
Intel P4 550
Crucial 2 GB DDR2
ATI X600 Pro
PC Power 510 Express PSU
Two 200 GB Maxtor Ultra in RAID 0
One 300 GB Maxtor
NEC ND-3520A DVD burner

If you know this case, the HDs and PSU are isolated in the bottom, and the mobo is fake BTX upside-down in the top. Case has a front 120mm intake fan, a 120mm rear exhaust fan, an extra 80mm fan in the PSU compartment, and a PCI exhaust fan at the very top of the case.

Thanks for your help.
 
You might want to consider the Thermalright XP90 or XP120. Those have some of the lowest thermal resistance around.

The Zalman 7700 is not quite as good as the XP90 or 120, but it is quiet.

The reason why your stock HSF sounds like a Cessna is because your Pres-hott CPU is insanely difficult to keep cool when under load.
 
Originally posted by: wisdomtooth
You might want to consider the Thermalright XP90 or XP120. Those have some of the lowest thermal resistance around.

The Zalman 7700 is not quite as good as the XP90 or 120, but it is quiet.

The reason why your stock HSF sounds like a Cessna is because your Pres-hott CPU is insanely difficult to keep cool when under load.
Click to expand...

:thumbsup:

For me I would choose the 7700 quiet and it looks nicer.
 
Regarding the Zalman 7700, I was looking at the mounting info Amazon listed for my setup:

1 clip support for Socket 775, 1 backplate for Socket 775

Can I assume that I'd have to pull the mobo and attach the backplate or some sort of bracket to the back of the mobo? Or have they worked this out so that I can just pull the current Intel HSF and use the Zalman hardware to attach it from the top?

Secondly, my system is in a tower. Amazon's helpful info says that:

"The maximum weight for a cooler (fan) is specified as 450g (.99 pounds) for Intel Socket 775/478 and AMD Socket 754/939/940. Special care should be taken when moving a computer equipped with a cooler that exceeds the relevant weight limit (the CNPS7700 weighs 918g). "

Isn't more than double the weight of the nominal spec going to bow my mobo, since this thing would be hanging sideways? It doesn't look like there's any way to brace it from the top, since it's all delicate fins and a big fan. I don't carry the tower around, but I do roll it in and out from under my desk to make changes to my system.

Thanks.
 
Get the AlCu version of the 7700. It weighs about half that of the all-copper version (which is the one that weighs nearly a kilogram).

HTH.
 
I d/l'd and read the Zalman install manual. For 775 CPUs like mine they supply a "backplate support" which goes under the mobo, and the "clip support" which goes on top.

It looks in the manual like screws go thru the clip support, down thru the mobo holes, and tighten into the backplate support. But then the manual says, "The backplate support is used for the convenience of installation. You can remove it if it is not deemed necessary." I'm not sure what they mean by this, as what , then, would the screws tighten into to hold the clip support to the mobo?

I also assume I would have to remove the mobo to get the backplate support under? Or maybe I can slide it thru a gap between the mobo mounts?

Also, it includes a "Fan Mate 2" fan speed controller. The manual did not mention if I could just not use this, and let the system control the fan speed, as it does now. Does anyone know if I can use the Zalman w/out the Fan Mate?

If anyone wants a look at the PDF manual, it's here.

I'm hoping one of you has already installed one of these, hopefully retrofitted on an already-working system. I don't relish having to pull everything back out, now that I've finally just gotten it together. 🙂
 
You don't need the fanmate for it to work. It can be controlled thermally by the bios (if supported) or by using software like Speedfan. Or you can use a hardware controller like the fanmate2. Whether hardware or software, the controller adjusts the amount of voltage going to the mb CPU fan header which obviously controls the speed of the fan.

Yes you will have to remove your motherboard to install the backplate. I use the Zalman 7000 CU (773 grams) on a socket 478 without a backplate and it works fine. The most important thing is to get rid of those plastic pins that hold the top retention mechanism to the board. Use metal screws instead. Really good insurance for the $400 video card below.....

m 🙂
 
Originally posted by: Mucker
You don't need the fanmate for it to work. It can be controlled thermally by the bios (if supported) or by using software like Speedfan. Or you can use a hardware controller like the fanmate2. Whether hardware or software, the controller adjusts the amount of voltage going to the mb CPU fan header which obviously controls the speed of the fan.

Yes you will have to remove your motherboard to install the backplate. I use the Zalman 7000 CU (773 grams) on a socket 478 without a backplate and it works fine. The most important thing is to get rid of those plastic pins that hold the top retention mechanism to the board. Use metal screws instead. Really good insurance for the $400 video card below.....
Click to expand...

Good to know it can be controlled by the BIOS, which is the way the system fans are being controlled now. Intel's Desktop Utility works pretty well--I can set the low and high end of the temp scale, and fan speed, easily, so using a device like the Fan Mate would be a bit redundant for my setup.

Bummer about having to take the mobo back out. I'll save it for a day when I'm having to do other things as well inside the case. Speaking of which, since I'm using the Lina-li case, my mobo is "upside down" from the norm, so my video card is above the CPU and HSF.

The thing about the backplate still confuses me: it looks crucial to installing the 7700, but the manual says you don't have to use it if you don't want to on LGA-775. But it leaves me hanging--just what would those screws screw into, if not the backplate?
 
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