Best cooling solution for non-OC'ed Athlon XP?

[madbunny]

What heatsink/fan combo would you recommend for a non-OC'ed Athlon XP rig? Setup planned:

Antec 1040 case w/ 4 fans installed (2 came w/ case): Brand/model suggestions for the other two fans? I was thinking of sticking 2 quieter fans w/ lower CFMs up front and keeping the factory-default fans in the back, where they'll be less noticeable. How much of a difference will cutting out the fan grilles make?

Athlon XP 1600+ CPU + ECS K7S5A mobo: While I am not going to OC this baby, I would still like a reliable quality fan and sink. Suggested combo? Looking for a good value under $50.

I am trying to resist the temptation to mod the case to all hell --- it's definitely sweet looking, but I'd have to buy some man-tools to do that In terms of structural integrity, does having a server window affect heat dissipation / air flow enough to be worried about? How about the heat given off by all those neon threads &c.? I'm also a bit concerned about my SCSI drives & card --- right now they're sitting in an open case and occasionally the CDR will hiccup because of the heat. Anyone use those "drive coolers" that you install in a 5.25" bay?

Thanks, guys!

madbunny

 

[2Cool]

Non-OC'd? Maybe an Alpha PAL6035 with any non-screaming-meanie-delta fan installed.

Otherwise maybe an SK6 or PAL8045 with slower/quieter fan, allows for any potential future bouts of OC mania.

 

[DeusMeridius]

Ive got the 1030b that I modded about 2-3 weeks ago. I am using 2 sunons in the front, 2 sunons in the back, a tope 120mm sunon blowhole, and a side 92mm sunon intake blowing on the hsf/vid card area. I recommend cutting out the fan grills. I did just for the added cfm. Im running an athlon Xp 1500 on a Shuttle AK31v3. Right not Im running it at 1.4ghz, but Ive tested it up to 1550. When room temp is around 75 i run idle at 25-26 case and 37cpu. Load is like 28 and 42. Im using the SK6 with a Delta but Im sure if you got a lower cfm fan then you would be fine.

 

[Swanny]

I'd go for the TaiSol CGK 760092. Copper bottom, quiet, and good cooling performance.