Best Athlon 64 CPU Cooler ? Your Opinion / Temp Stats please.

[SourTimes]

Hi. I am absolutely fed up with the stock heatsink/fan combo i received with my 3500+, I have re-seated heatsink , re-applied my as5 and still get idle of 44 or so and full load of 58. Looking for a new heatsink/fan solution. I'd love the coolermaster hyper 6, but its just too big, I can't handle the idea of that beast hanging off of my mobo. I have visions of it tearing out the socket and crashing through my 6800gt I am alternating between the zalman cnps7000a-cu or the thermaltake venus 12. I am using this in a k8n neo2 btw, so would really like to hear from some people with this same board and one of these above coolers and your temps. Thanks in advance.

 

[oogabooga]

i have a zalman cnps7000a-alcu

it's nice cause its pretty damn quiet, my temperature stats i think are messed up since my computer reports my cpu at 66degrees? [which i'm SURE can't be right] but since it was stable I overclocked anyway, and am running my amd 64 3000+ at 2400mhz (2010 stock i believe).

Not a big jump, but it's stable when i run my cnps7000 at just 7 volts. Airflow in the case is also minimal, all my fans are running ~5-7 volts. As for cooling performance i wish i could say, as mentioned i think my thermo is messed up or something. But when i pushed it the extra 300mhz up to 2400, there wasn't a significant increase in temperature according to the sensor. Regardless, the computer is still stable so yay

I use a MSI K8N-Neo FSR, similiar to what you have, but not quite, i'm not sure how much hotter your socket runs than my 754. Hope that was helpful, if you got a question to ask me, just shot a reply or pm.

 

[prometheusxls]

Originally posted by: oogabooga
i have a zalman cnps7000a-alcu

it's nice cause its pretty damn quiet, my temperature stats i think are messed up since my computer reports my cpu at 66degrees? [which i'm SURE can't be right] but since it was stable I overclocked anyway, and am running my amd 64 3000+ at 2400mhz (2010 stock i believe).

Not a big jump, but it's stable when i run my cnps7000 at just 7 volts. Airflow in the case is also minimal, all my fans are running ~5-7 volts. As for cooling performance i wish i could say, as mentioned i think my thermo is messed up or something. But when i pushed it the extra 300mhz up to 2400, there wasn't a significant increase in temperature according to the sensor. Regardless, the computer is still stable so yay

I use a MSI K8N-Neo FSR, similiar to what you have, but not quite, i'm not sure how much hotter your socket runs than my 754. Hope that was helpful, if you got a question to ask me, just shot a reply or pm.

Another vote Zalman 7000a AlCu

 

[nycxandy]

I have the Thermalright XP-120 and I'm getting an idle temperature of 7C less than the stock cooler.

According to my Asus Probe (my monitoring program).

Previous (Stock A64 HSF)
Idle: 45C
Load: 60C

Now (Thermalright XP-120 w/AS5)
Idle: 37C
Load: 46C

 

[fanboi]

Yeah, I'd go with the XP-120 (if you can fit it on your board). If not, the CNPS7000 is very good.

However, the XP-120 won't fit on your board. So you could go with the XP-90. If you don't wanna OC though, the Zalman is a good choice.

 

[ZobarStyl]

I'm wondering the same thing; I was going to go water this time but have decided against, but I still want a quality HS for a decent air O/C...how does the Zalman compare against a Swiftech for instance? Either way does anyone have a link to the Zalman from a good reputable e-tailer, the Egg doesn't have any...

 

[Ironmanstl]

I am using an Thermalright SLK-948u on my set up,
I also use Arctic Silver 5

With a case temp of 20,
idle is 34-35
load is 44-46

this is with a 56 cfm 92mm fan which is as quiet as a case fan
I had a 92mm 110cfm delta on it to begin with, it dropped my temps a few more degrees, but it is WAY too loud

I had this heatsink on my neo2 and it fit great

 

[Mik3y]

xp-120

 

[demenion]

i'm using a zalman cnps 7000a... i'm getting temps around 43-44c idle...

i think i applied the as5 wrong because my temps are basically the same w/ the stock thermalpaste they included...

 

[Corporate Thug]

xp-120

 

[slurmsmackenzie]

thermaltake big water 12

 

[LifeStealer]

Originally posted by: shady06
xp-120

Think of how heavy it would be made of copper Anyone say chip crusher?

 

[fanboi]

Thought I'd post the stats:

Stock AMD:
Idle: 45
Load: 52


XP-120 w/Arctic Silver Ceramique
Idle: 39
Load: 48

And the temps are dropping everyday as the AS Ceramique settles in. Usually takes about 200 hours of use before Ceramique is fully settled in.

 

[tphss]

XP-120 DOES NOT fit the Neo2 Platinum, however, the smaller brother, the XP-90 (that I just bought) will fit.
If not I would go for the Zalman 7000AlCu.

 

[CraigRT]

Originally posted by: fanboi
Thought I'd post the stats:

Stock AMD:
Idle: 45
Load: 52


XP-120 w/Arctic Silver Ceramique
Idle: 39
Load: 48

And the temps are dropping everyday as the AS Ceramique settles in. Usually takes about 200 hours of use before Ceramique is fully settled in.

so that 4C difference is big enough to warrant an upgrade?
I seriously wouldn't bother.. mine is somewhere around the same (low 50's) but makes no difference to me, it works perfectly stable...

 

[gummi467]

Heh, I seem to be the only one but I am running a Thermaltake Venus 12. Running with a MSI K8T Neo FSR Mobo and Athlon 64 3000+ slightly OC'ed. Used Arctic Silver 5 of course.

Ambient room temp: 26-27C (aka- warmer than most)
Case temp: 35C
CPU temp idle: 42-43C
CPU temp load: 47-48C

Venus 12 comes with built in fan control from 2000rpm to 5500rpm so that is nice. basically from inaudible to a jet engine. I currently run mine at 3000rpm and it makes a pleasant whisper. if I crank it up all the way I can knock off 2-3C of CPU temp but it's obnoxious and unnecessary. Overall I really like my venus 12. It is pretty heavy but it's rock solid when mounted. Heh anything is better than the stock stuff.

 

[Nickel020]

Originally posted by: CraigRT

Originally posted by: fanboi
Thought I'd post the stats:

Stock AMD:
Idle: 45
Load: 52


XP-120 w/Arctic Silver Ceramique
Idle: 39
Load: 48

And the temps are dropping everyday as the AS Ceramique settles in. Usually takes about 200 hours of use before Ceramique is fully settled in.

so that 4C difference is big enough to warrant an upgrade?
I seriously wouldn't bother.. mine is somewhere around the same (low 50's) but makes no difference to me, it works perfectly stable...

It's not only that the cools better but is at the same time much quieter. At the same noise level the XP-120 will probably have 15C or so better temps.

@ OP:
Since the XP-120 won't fit, get the XP-90.

 

[fanboi]

And besides, most HSF upgrades are done to achieve only a few degrees difference. Very few cases where you'll actually see huge differences in temperatures.

As was mentioned above, the noise reduction is a big added bonus. Oh, and the fact that the 120mm fan cools more than just the CPU.

Oh, and the fact that it looks friggin awesome with blue LED's all over the place through my side window All you can see is the mother of all HS's.

But yeah, it won't fit the Neo2. So go with the SP97 or XP-90.

*Note: The 4-5 degree temperature difference was right off the bat after installing. Arctic Silver requires a few weeks to settle in, so you get another 4-5 degree drop after Ceramique has been on for a while.

So, theoretically: 4-5 degree drop from heatsink + 4-5 degree drop from Ceramique (after it has settled in) = 8-10 degree total temp drop.

Not bad.

 

[kamranziadar]

If you dont wanna spend more leave your case open for better cooling. It is cheap

 

[Gnosis]

I use a Zalmann 7000B-CU and a AcoustiCase case with two
papst 120mm.

this gets me 36-38 degrees of cpu temp on idle with
cool n' quiet enabled.

and about 58-60 degrees of cpu temp at "max-max"

this is a setup that isn't optimized for temp but rather
low sound and I'm very happy with it. the Zalmann usually
idles at 2100 rpm and then goes up to 2700 under load.
this means that it's very quiet at idle since I also have the
chassi-fans tuned down a bit.

I'm planning on adding some sort of chassi-fan controlpanel
sometime later as well but there so no hurry really...

 

[navyjay]

Anyone know if the xp-120 will play nicely on the DFI LANPARTY UT 250Gb board? What's the difference between xp-90 and xp-120?

Jay

 

[intogamer]

http://www.nvnews.net/reviews/...ema_cooler/index.shtml
What about those?
It is a Zalman and Swiftech fan. Looks more like a Zalman fan.
TEMPS ARE NICE
64 3000+(winchester)

Fan off 1.7v 2.5ghz
Idle Temp
Fan off 40
Lowest Fan Speed 32
Highest Fan Speed 29

This should be the best cooler for the 64 processors.

 

[imported_Computer MAn]

Another vote for the Zalman 7000Alcu. I have one and it keeps my cpu at around 35C idle getting around 40C under load. My processor is at 2.35ghz and 1.7 vcore also. Another big pluys is how quiet it is.

 

[Bubbasuwannee]

I'm using the Thermaltake Tower112 on my MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum board along with Thermaltake's UFO Fan. Temps using MBM are around 39-40 Degrees Celsius at idle and 50-52 Degrees Celsius running Prime95 Torture Test. Winchester 3000+ OCed to just over 2.2GHz. Hopefully I'll see some temperature drop as the AS5 settles in as I've been hearing. Still runs a little bit hotter than my Athlon 2500+ with TT Volcano 11 OCed to 2.3GHz. It seems as though these board don't read temps corretcly, my core program reads about 4-5 Degrees higher than MBM does.

Christian J. Grest

 

[Icepick]

Originally posted by: Bubbasuwannee
I'm using the Thermaltake Tower112 on my MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum board along with Thermaltake's UFO Fan. Temps using MBM are around 39-40 Degrees Celsius at idle and 50-52 Degrees Celsius running Prime95 Torture Test. Winchester 3000+ OCed to just over 2.2GHz. Hopefully I'll see some temperature drop as the AS5 settles in as I've been hearing. Still runs a little bit hotter than my Athlon 2500+ with TT Volcano 11 OCed to 2.3GHz. It seems as though these board don't read temps corretcly, my core program reads about 4-5 Degrees higher than MBM does.

Christian J. Grest

I get the same thing. Core Center consistently reads 4 degrees higher than MBM and SpeedFan. Also, I find that I get different temp readings depending on how I boot the PC. If I do a cold boot, power it completely down and then power it up I get idle temps around 46-47C with MBM. If I do a warm boot (reset) I get idle temps of 36-38C with MBM. I don't really know which to believe. If 36-38C is the correct temp then I'm very impressed with the stock cooling I got with the 3500+ Winchester and see no reason to upgrade the HSF. This setup has been running for five weeks now so the thermal pad has had plenty of time to set correctly.

Edit: This is running stock speeds - no overclocking.