Any Reccomendations? Yes, i'm asking you!

[fustercluck]

Yeah, pretty much the same question as everyone else. I want to know which heatsink/fan i should get. My cpu temp has been averaging 50C ever since i got it back in december, though it runs at 59c when i'm playing games and such. So i've finally decided i better get some better cooling powah in there.

Soooo, what heatsink/fan should i get? I don't want anything noisy...

I was thinking about getting a Swiftech MCX-4000 with....well i dunno what fan. What do you think i should get? I'm willing to spend about $50 at most.

And another thing...i'm kind of curious about what results i'll get. How much of a temp drop should i hope to see?

 

[mechBgon]

Is the case ventilation pretty good? If it's so-so, consider starting there. Heatsinks are only as effective as their supply of cool air. 😀

 

[Cerb]

ditto MechBgon.
If your case temp is above 30C (assuming around 25C ambient), you need to work on that first.
If it is at or under 30C, then...
SLK-800u + Panaflo L1A
or
SLK-900u + Panaflo L1A
Forget my previous mentions of the Enermax adjustable in any thread ever (well, they are great for the case, not HS). I finally got some Panaflos that weren't unbalanced, and they are the perfect heatsink fans 😀.

 

[RedWolf]

I have been quite impressed with the Thermaltake Silent Boost ($27 at SVC). Just purchased that over the SLK800 and it seems to be an excellent heat sink. But, as stated above, if your case isn't cool, a good heat sink won't be able to do it's job efficiently.

 

[fustercluck]

Thanks for the replies.

My airflow probably isn't real good, it's kind of an old case. I have 2 exhaust fans on the top of the back, and one intake fan on the bottom front, though it's covered up by the case plastic. Or maybe it's the other way around...i forgot. Not to mention it's about 100 degrees every day out here. Though we have the AC running just about all the time, so it's only about 76 or so inside here.

How would the noise be on a SLK-900u + Panaflo L1A? I've heard the SLKs are pretty noisy.

 

[clarkmo]

The slk's are absolutely silent. No noise whatsoever.

But if you decide to put a fan on it the noise will increase. If you put a Panaflo on it, you'll barely hear it.

 

[pspada]

Originally posted by: clarkmo
The slk's are absolutely silent. No noise whatsoever.

But if you decide to put a fan on it the noise will increase. If you put a Panaflo on it, you'll barely hear it.

LOL, well, if you have a fan but don't plug it in, it's absolutely silent too! 😱

 

[Cerb]

Originally posted by: jacktackle
Thanks for the replies.

My airflow probably isn't real good, it's kind of an old case. I have 2 exhaust fans on the top of the back, and one intake fan on the bottom front, though it's covered up by the case plastic. Or maybe it's the other way around...i forgot. Not to mention it's about 100 degrees every day out here. Though we have the AC running just about all the time, so it's only about 76 or so inside here.

How would the noise be on a SLK-900u + Panaflo L1A? I've heard the SLKs are pretty noisy.

The SLKs have no fan, so aren't noisy. The L1As make ~20dbA...near silent, and you could probably get away w/ it 7volted, too.

 

[fustercluck]

Hm, i just might do that.

How much of a change are we talking here though? I mean, how many degrees would it knock off my temps? It's at 50C now.

 

[snowairg]

I've got a SLK-900(A) on my XP 1800+ with an 80mm Panaflo L1A and the following averages over the past week (during normal usage):

Case 29 C
System 30 C
CPU 33 C

Temps (weather) in the last week have been in the mid 70s (F), but today are above 80 F and my CPU has climbed to 35 C. My case is silent, so is the HSF combo.

I definitely can recommend one of the SLK heatsinks with an L1A. Good luck!

 

[fustercluck]

Ah...that's kinda what i'm hoping for. What were your temps before you had the SLK though?

 

[DerwenArtos12]

the 900 may be too expensive once you get a good fan on it and teh performance differences between it and the 800 are not worth the extra $10(roughly). So with an slk-800A I am getting the thermaltake smart fan 2.

 

[mechBgon]

You really should get a case that has a good deal of airflow near the CPU. That's what the CPU makers recommend and stress... gotta keep the air moving past the CPU, or it'll just keep recirculating its own hot exhaust to a considerable extent.

Your case sounds like the first-generation Inwin Q-series or Antec KS-series full-tower... am I close? 😀

 

[snowairg]

Originally posted by: jacktackle
Ah...that's kinda what i'm hoping for. What were your temps before you had the SLK though?

Brand new computer I just built, so I really don't know. I didn't track the temps in my old system (Tbird 1.4 with an SVC Golden Gate).

Also, I agree with DerwenArtos12. Save $10 and go with the 800. The only reason I got the 900 is b/c SVC was sold out when I got there, right after telling me on the phone they had some. So they gave me a 900. 🙂