Hello, again, and thanks for taking the time to read my silly little message. You guys have proven such a fount of knowledgeable advice per my previous case questionnaire that I thought I'd ask of you a few more questions. I'm looking for advice. I'm in the fledgling stages of planning to build a new PC, it'll be my first "from-scratch", and I'm at the point now where I'm compiling a list of what components I want to put into the machine. I still haven't made a decision on the case, by the way, but those 120mm LiteOn triples are tempting me, and so's that little red guy with the blue anodized aluminum Enermax and the pitchfork... But alas, I've already picked enough brains on that matter. Now I'm thinking about CPU and mobo cooling. I do not plan on overclocking the CPU, but I may tweak the memory side (hopefully, the memory will consist of two 512MB Corsair LL TwinX '3500s', if I can find them; if not, 3200s). I have two items on which I'd like your input:
I'm going to be building a 3.2GHz P4 system, and between the motherboards I'm looking at, two have a northbridge cooling system, and one doesn't, and I simply can't say from prior experience whether or not this makes much of a difference. In theory, certainly, but in practise? If, indeed, it makes a difference (if only in longevity, even), the fans on these boards (MSI MS-6758, Gigabyte GA-8KNXP Ultra) have been called rattly and loud by the big review sites, and in my experience more often than not that trickles down to me. You may have ten of these boards that make the sound of promises breaking, doesn't mean the one I get will be likewise quiet. So I want to know how easy it would be to replace these coolers with more efficient, quieter ones. Again, no one will ever see it, so I don't really care if it spells my name in silver cathode greatness, I care whether or not it's quiet and frozen. I'm aware of the Zalman solution, and wonder if anyone has experience with one. If so, if not, what would you do, what advice can you give me as far as doing it to my northbridge?
Second issue is the CPU itself. As I mentioned, it's a nice, hot P4, 3.2C. I don't want to use the stock cooler, and I have never installed a CPU cooler before. In fact, the idea of trying to get thermal paste evenly on something (after having buttered toast this many years) frightens me a little. But I need to know how, and I'll get there, tips appreciated. Anyway, what do you think the best way (aside from watercooling or the infamous cryo solution) would be for me to cool this processor down? Again, I do NOT plan on overclocking the CPU, but I still want it as cool as possible without sounding like a jumpjet. And at some point I'm going to have to grease it, any tips there? The Antec grease better than the others? A better one yet? A greasing tool, perhaps? What advice do you have for me on installation of the device? Am I just making more out of it than it really is? Tell me what you think.
Thank you all in advance for your replies, and thank you for taking the time to read through my post. Any replies appreciated.
I'm going to be building a 3.2GHz P4 system, and between the motherboards I'm looking at, two have a northbridge cooling system, and one doesn't, and I simply can't say from prior experience whether or not this makes much of a difference. In theory, certainly, but in practise? If, indeed, it makes a difference (if only in longevity, even), the fans on these boards (MSI MS-6758, Gigabyte GA-8KNXP Ultra) have been called rattly and loud by the big review sites, and in my experience more often than not that trickles down to me. You may have ten of these boards that make the sound of promises breaking, doesn't mean the one I get will be likewise quiet. So I want to know how easy it would be to replace these coolers with more efficient, quieter ones. Again, no one will ever see it, so I don't really care if it spells my name in silver cathode greatness, I care whether or not it's quiet and frozen. I'm aware of the Zalman solution, and wonder if anyone has experience with one. If so, if not, what would you do, what advice can you give me as far as doing it to my northbridge?
Second issue is the CPU itself. As I mentioned, it's a nice, hot P4, 3.2C. I don't want to use the stock cooler, and I have never installed a CPU cooler before. In fact, the idea of trying to get thermal paste evenly on something (after having buttered toast this many years) frightens me a little. But I need to know how, and I'll get there, tips appreciated. Anyway, what do you think the best way (aside from watercooling or the infamous cryo solution) would be for me to cool this processor down? Again, I do NOT plan on overclocking the CPU, but I still want it as cool as possible without sounding like a jumpjet. And at some point I'm going to have to grease it, any tips there? The Antec grease better than the others? A better one yet? A greasing tool, perhaps? What advice do you have for me on installation of the device? Am I just making more out of it than it really is? Tell me what you think.
Thank you all in advance for your replies, and thank you for taking the time to read through my post. Any replies appreciated.
:beer:
Facebook
Twitter