AMD64 Heatsink/Fan combo

gan911

Member
Jul 18, 2004
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I am looking for a moderately priced, good performing heatsink/fan combo

i guess i'm looking for an under $40 price range....so i think the zalman alcu heatsink fan combo might be a good one.

Also where's a good place to find a large assortment of good heatsink/fan combos?

and you guys probably want to teach me a good lesson on which ones are good and bad

thanks for the help
 

Anubis08

Senior member
Aug 24, 2004
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I don't know so much about good and bad, but Newegg has good selection and look for copper. If we knew your system we might be able to recommend a great heatsink by name.
 

dennisjai215

Banned
Apr 16, 2004
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you want copper and aluminum buddy www.svc.com sometimes they have the godly thermalright heatsinks on sale.. and they own zalmans! but of course you gotta pair it with a nice fan
 

DaveSimmons

Elite Member
Aug 12, 2001
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The zalman alcu works great for space heater P4's, my brother just put one on his 3.2 GHz and the temp dropped 10 degrees while running much quieter than the retail HSF. It should work even better on the cooler-running A64s.

Newegg.com (fast shipment) and SVC.com (sometimes fast, sometimes slow) are two popular places to buy cooling from.
 

Lyfer

Diamond Member
May 28, 2003
5,842
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If your running stock the retail AMD HSF is far more than adequate. My 3000+ idles 38-43c and loads 45-49c. If you plan on OCing get the either a Thermalright or Swiftech solution, they own.
 

ChineseGuy

Senior member
Aug 20, 2004
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Should try and get one of the recomended ones from AMD site.
Link to Site

I don't know if they are expensive, but i ordered mine w/ retail box, so i don't have to worry about that :) But i do have my eye on this Zalman CNPS7000A because i wanted a quiet solution to match with my sonata case.
 

DaveSimmons

Elite Member
Aug 12, 2001
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Most people except extreme overclockers prefer the Zalman alcu aluminum/copper to the pure copper cu since it cools almost as well but is much lighter. The cu is way over intel's max recommended weight (and AMD's too?) and may bend your motherboard a bit.
 

ChineseGuy

Senior member
Aug 20, 2004
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BUT THAT NOISE..... so annoying :D hummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm lol if you have proper case cooling, some nice 80,92, or 120mm case fans, one for intake, and one for out. and your enviroment is not hot to begin with (room temperature). Then any of the fans recommended on that site is good. IF you want quiet, then you might have to check out that zalman fan, or maybe some other company's, and also maybe a water cooling solution...
 

gan911

Member
Jul 18, 2004
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well, i guess i should've put more info in my thing

right now, well when i get my fried mobo back from asus...i'll have

a64 3200+
asus k8vse
6800GT (whenever that decides to ship here)
OCZ 3200 plat edition ram 2-3-2-5
thermaltake 420 psu
chieftec dragon ultra case 2 80s front, 2 80s back, 1 side 80 - full tower
and a maxtor 160gb HD...

thats about all the heat source

i might do some light overclocking with the cpu, gpu, and ram....but honestly that retail hsf is weak as hell ....
 

Markfw

Moderator Emeritus, Elite Member
May 16, 2002
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Thermaltake Silent Boost K8. $30, quiet and cools much better than the Retail unit.
 

gan911

Member
Jul 18, 2004
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yea, so if i can get a zalman CNPS-7000 for like 30 bucks, its a keeper? or do you guys recommend something better ~$30
 

RussianSensation

Elite Member
Sep 5, 2003
19,458
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Originally posted by: gan911
yea, so if i can get a zalman CNPS-7000 for like 30 bucks, its a keeper? or do you guys recommend something better ~$30

Go to Here. Zalman CNPS7000-ALCU is $26. Their CU version is on back order (but it costs $29), yet the performance of the ALCU is just as good. You can also get AS5 for $6 there under Thermal Compounds.

If you want to spend near $40, get SLK 948U $30 and pair it with a 92 panaflo fan or something along those lines (you can get various fans from the "bestbyte website" as well, or Newegg. Just look for a compromise between CFM and Noise level.)
 

RussianSensation

Elite Member
Sep 5, 2003
19,458
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Originally posted by: AyashiKaibutsu
I have a zalman 7000 alcu and now wish I got one of those tower hsf like: http://www.svc.com/hyper6-19.html With the zalman on my 3400+ with AS5 it's only keeping it at 43 idle.

You do realize that your processor will be just as stable and work for just as long even at 60*C. People are simply obsessed about temperature. Think of this, I read a review which said that X800Pro runs MUCH MUCH cooler than 6800GT on the core (56*C), but at the same time, the case temperature is 10*C hotter with the X800Pro because it helps to dissipate heat much faster; thus more hot air leaves the card and ends up inside the case. 6800GT was running at something like 72*C on the core. But think about it, if both cards are stable, what is teh difference what temperature the core is running it?

When I have my P4 running at 43*C and 50*C on load I don't really care. Sometimes I dont clean the Zalman fan and after dust builds up, my cpu can get to 68*C, do I care, nope, because it still remains perfectly stable. If you kindly explain how paying 3x more money for that Hyper 6 cooler has any affect on real life performance and why running your processor at 30*C vs. 60*C is better (a good reason), then i'll probably change my mind about cooling. The only time lower temperatures are beneficial is with overclocking. But if the processor reaches the same ceiling on air cooling at 60*C vs. 30*C with 2 different coolers, but it is stable with both coolers, why pay more $$$$ for the same "real-world performance?"

When I first entered these forums, I just tried to learn many many things by reading reviews and opinions of other people. Over time I've realized 3 things: CPU or videocard temperatures have no real world impact for 99% of users (as long as they don't impede overclocking - in which case Zalman will be fine) ; a videocard is about 10x more important for a gamer than a cpu; and finally, low latency for RAM is not worth the $100+ dollar premium that memory carries and that money should be put towards a videocard or processor instead.

I do realize you are making a good point here:

"It is a well known fact that component longevity is inversely related to operating temperature. In short, the hotter something runs, the less time it will spend running. With the high temperatures seen with this latest generation of GPUs, and the higher overall system temperatures that we are seeing today, even a few degrees of cooling can act like a shield to protect your considerable investment. IE. By replacing the aluminum core with copper, you substantially reduce the operating temperature of the GPU, and add increased stability and longevity to protect your 3D investment." - EVGA.COM

Of course I doubt hardware components will fail within 4-5 years even with higher temperatures, which probably means that by then you'll probably replace them for higher performance anyway.