Best cooler for P4?

[Banditbanger]

OK, I'm ready to overclock my P4 2.4B.... Just need a good cooler. If possible, a heatsink/fan combo, not water cooling or peltiers (maybe if standard approach won't work).

Any suggestions as to which cooler would fit my needs?

 

[THUGSROOK]

best cooler = Alpha

good coolers = thermaltake P4V 478, thermaltake Dragon Orb 478, thermaltake Volcano7, AVC sunflower

any of those will do.

 

[Banditbanger]

Thanx... what about noise?

 

[THUGSROOK]

on the alpha you buy your own 80mm fan - so noise is upto you.

thermaltake p4v 478 = 37dba 70mm weird fan
thermaltake dragon orb = adjustable is optional, nonreplacable fan
thermaltake p4 volcano7 = adjustable is optional, replacable 80mm fan
avc sunflower = 37dba (i think), non replacable fan

 

[Banditbanger]

Any thoughts on Zalman coolers?

 

[THUGSROOK]

nope - none

 

[CrawlingEye]

If noise isn't something you really care about, you could go Alpha PAL8942T + Vantec Tornado, like I did.

It's not really even all that loud. It's rated at 55.1dBA, but it has nearly no whine at all, it's more of a woosh type noise.
Hell, I even fell asleep tonight with my computer on, which is about 5-7 feet from my bed.

 

[linster]

Can someone recommend a vendor for the Alpha that's cheap and reliable?

 

[Dexion]

2 of the best places to get cooling.

2cooltek
Plycon

I would like to suggest a better fan then Thermaltake or the Alpha PAL 8942. Thermalright has released a P4 version of the AX-7, called the AX 478 and is the best air cooling solution right now according to overclockers.com which have perhaps the oldest overclocking site, best testing and comparision methods out there.

 

[dbwillis]

I got my Alpha 8942 from Plycon..great cooler and a good price!

 

[harbinger52]

Where is a good place to buy the AVC Sunflower?

 

[DukeChestnut]

HA!

u have overlooked the best p4 cooler. the thermalright ax-478... cool... idle temps at 29 celcius. not f***ing bad for an air cooled hsf.

 

[SupermanCK]

SVC has vantec tonado for cheap

But I have a Thermaltake Volcano 7+...which is really good...i get 48C Max on low fan speed setting @3000rpm...with medium fan speed @4800rpm i get 44-45C, and high fan speed @6000rpm setting i get 42C, all temps reading from running Prime95 for a long time
the only disadvantage is you can't really find a 70mm fan to replace this one, which they had a designed with a 80mm fan instead of 70...

 

[CrawlingEye]

Originally posted by: DukeChestnut
HA!

u have overlooked the best p4 cooler. the thermalright ax-478... cool... idle temps at 29 celcius. not f***ing bad for an air cooled hsf.

uh-huh? I'm at 26c and dipping 1-2c below ambient every now and then. to 24-25c.

I even took screenies. :Q

 

[Jwyatt]

Originally posted by: CrawlingEye

Originally posted by: DukeChestnut
HA!

u have overlooked the best p4 cooler. the thermalright ax-478... cool... idle temps at 29 celcius. not f***ing bad for an air cooled hsf.

uh-huh? I'm at 26c and dipping 1-2c below ambient every now and then. to 24-25c.

I even took screenies. :Q

I think this is impossible for air cooling. You will never get below the temperature your feeding the HS. NEVER Your MB might show it is lower than the ambient temp, but its not.

 

[SupermanCK]

PROBE has a problem reading the cpu temp as sys temp and sys temp as cpu temp...to fix it just go to asusprobe folder and delete the last two lines in file asuspb.ini

 

[Banditbanger]

But, isn't Volcano 7+ a little noisy????

 

[CrawlingEye]

Originally posted by: SupermanCK
PROBE has a problem reading the cpu temp as sys temp and sys temp as cpu temp...to fix it just go to asusprobe folder and delete the last two lines in file asuspb.ini

Read the other thread.

 

[Banditbanger]

OK, I'm buying Thermalright AX-478. Now, for the fan: Noise is not a great concern, but as a practicing audiophile I would definitelly like to be able to listen to some music after a few hours of work on my computer without having to turn the volume all the way up and wake up half of the neighbourhood. So, I reckon something around 50-55 cfm and 40 dBA should do the trick. I'm considering the following fans (any other suggestions are welcome, naturally):

1. Sunon KD1208PTBX-6A, 50.6 CFM @ 40.5 dBA, 3900 RPM, 4 Pin
2. Thermaltake Thermal, 53 CFM @ 39 dBA, 5000 RPM, 3 Pin.
3. YS Tech Adjustable, 48.7 CFM @ 39.5 dBA, 3700 RPM, 3 Pin.

Which one of these or any other suggestions?

 

[THUGSROOK]

you think 40dba is quiet? are you nuts!

i use an Alpha with a 21dba 27cfm fan on my system and it never ever reaches 50*C, idles @ 30*C.
(100% prime95 stable)

you might wanna rethink your purchase

 

[Banditbanger]

So, if I understand correctly, having a Vantec Tornado is like standing near a Jet-plane

 

[Banditbanger]

KHMMMM... I just saw a 92mm to 80 mm fan adapter. This could be the best of both worlds: high cfm and low noise.

 

[bwass24]

2. Thermaltake Thermal, 53 CFM @ 39 dBA, 5000 RPM, 3 Pin.

NOT! a good choice. The noise level might be 39dBA (I have no way to tell), but the sound this fan makes when running at high speed, is similar to a chainsaw.

Choice 3 (the YS Tech adjustable) is great and reasonably quiet even at top speed.

 

[CrawlingEye]

Originally posted by: THUGSROOK
you think 40dba is quiet? are you nuts!

i use an Alpha with a 21dba 27cfm fan on my system and it never ever reaches 50*C, idles @ 30*C.
(100% prime95 stable)

you might wanna rethink your purchase

Vantec Stealth?
Sounds like the exact specs. 21.7dBA and 27CFM.

 

[CrawlingEye]

Originally posted by: Banditbanger
So, if I understand correctly, having a Vantec Tornado is like standing near a Jet-plane

Not really, it doesn't whine at all, it's just a woosh noise. I'm using mine without a rheobus, so far.
I don't think I'll be getting a rheobus for it, either. It's perfectly fine... I fall asleep with my computer in the same room (about 5-7 feet away).

It was a little noisy in comparison to my AVC at first, but after a day I stopped noticing it. I think since it's more of a "woosh" than a "whine" it's way more tolerable.

It has pretty much no whine with my case closed. There's a tiny bit with it open though.

There's one video review where he the guy turns it on at www.3dgameman.com , however for some reason his fan's a lot louder than mine, I think he just cranked the mic gain up. I did a comparison with my rig vs his. I listened to it then paused it while it was on and listened to mine. It seems his review made it sound a lot louder than it is.


...just my $.02