Best LGA775 Heatsink/Fan for Q6600 OC?

JohnVM

Member
May 25, 2004
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0
76
Hey Guys,

I have a now 1.5 yr old Q6600 setup that I want to crank the speed up on. I don't think it's whatever the best stepping is for overclocking, but I'd like to get at least a decent overclock out of it.

What heatsink/fan should I get for this? I'd like to stay on air just for difficulty reasons -- my main machine is a new 920 and this Q6600 machine is just a server I keep in the basement, so I don't want to invest too much time/money into this.

Sound isn't an issue at all as the machine stays in the basement (headless), and has 20 hard disks in it, 7 fans, and already sounds like a helicopter.

This Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 seems exceedingly popular on newegg, http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16835186134 but I'm curious if it's just a case of a product getting a lot of play and not actually being that great, or if it's a good one to go with. It's also very cheap, which is nice.

Also, what kind of OC should I expect to be able to achieve?

Anyways, any help would be great. Thanks for any input.
 

TC91

Golden Member
Jul 9, 2007
1,164
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you should get 3ghz-3.2ghz with the arctic freezer depending on how many volts your q6600 needs to get there
 

Lemon law

Lifer
Nov 6, 2005
20,984
3
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From what I can see, the arctic cooling freezer is the best bang for the buck, it should knock about 7 C off your processor temps. There are better and more expensive coolers out there that could knock another 5C
off, but they are cantilevered way out, are far heavier and more expensive, will require mobo removal to install a bolt through kit, and may not fit in your case. There is another heat pipe based sunbeam cooler that
looks good for bang for the buck but I can't recall the model #.

Read reviews of cpu coolers on various overclocking forums for head to head real world tests. Since fan noise is no issue with you, you have a big advantage. And on overclocking sites, you can also get great advice on how to overclock your given processor. Your mobo is your other overclocking problem, some boards can't be over clocked or have very limited ability in the OC area.
 

Idontcare

Elite Member
Oct 10, 1999
21,110
64
91
Hi John, hard to beat that $19 for the artic cooler. For my Q6600's I used tuniq120 tower but it is 2x more expensive.

Frostytech does a good job evaluating and ranking HSF's so you can decide for yourself what kind of performance/dollar you are willing to buy into.

http://www.frostytech.com/arti...?articleid=2271&page=5

(Arctic Cooling is near the very bottom of this list, tuniq is near the top...the price difference is not without reason)
 

Phunk0ne

Senior member
Jul 20, 2007
494
0
0
HOLD IT!

your topic says.. " Best LGA775 Heatsink/Fan for Q6600 OC? "

Stop all your thoughts and bust open your wallet! there is only 1 solution, and you know it! Skip the bang for the buck, put that arctic freezer back in the fridge! No longer do you have to look and skim through gazillion other comments before coming to a conclusion but this . . .

What you really want !!!

Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme Copper !

http://www.thermalright.com/ne...u_cooler_t_copper.html

;)

add a nice Scythe S-Flex SFF21-F would do the trick . . .

ps: did I mention the TRUE copper comes in limited quantities?

 

Capt Caveman

Lifer
Jan 30, 2005
34,543
651
126
Originally posted by: Phunk0ne
HOLD IT!

your topic says.. " Best LGA775 Heatsink/Fan for Q6600 OC? "

Stop all your thoughts and bust open your wallet! there is only 1 solution, and you know it! Skip the bang for the buck, put that arctic freezer back in the fridge! No longer do you have to look and skim through gazillion other comments before coming to a conclusion but this . . .

What you really want !!!

Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme Copper !

http://www.thermalright.com/ne...u_cooler_t_copper.html

;)

add a nice Scythe S-Flex SFF21-F would do the trick . . .

ps: did I mention the TRUE copper comes in limited quantities?

And if you read his post, he doesn't want to spend that much money.
 

cmdrdredd

Lifer
Dec 12, 2001
27,052
357
126
He said best. The topic is for the best. That is the best end of story. If you don't want the best don't make a topic that asks for the best.

Also nowhere in hos post whatsoever did he mention a pricepoint. He simply said the AC7 looks like a good deal. While it may be true he never did put a $$$ limit. So...there you have it.

I should also mention that the TRUE Copper should not be installed on a system with the motherboard sitting vertical. It should be installed laying down because the weight can break the motherboard, no joke.
 

Lemon law

Lifer
Nov 6, 2005
20,984
3
0
Originally posted by: Idontcare
Hi John, hard to beat that $19 for the artic cooler. For my Q6600's I used tuniq120 tower but it is 2x more expensive.

Frostytech does a good job evaluating and ranking HSF's so you can decide for yourself what kind of performance/dollar you are willing to buy into.

http://www.frostytech.com/arti...?articleid=2271&page=5

(Arctic Cooling is near the very bottom of this list, tuniq is near the top...the price difference is not without reason)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Just want to point the arctic cooler 7 was not tested, the arctic model tested in the link was an alpine 7 which is a poor choice.
 

TheVrolok

Lifer
Dec 11, 2000
24,254
4,092
136
I have an Arctic 7 Freezer Pro on my Q6600 @ 3.0 and it runs 58C tops during load. My room has a pretty warm ambient temp as well (my parents are controlling the heat these days ..), I think if I had the ambient where I like it; the CPU would be much closer to 52-54C. I just re-OC'd (I stopped OCing for a bit) it though, so I think I can get a bit more out of it. Do you know which Q6600 version you have though? B3 or G0 stepping? What's the VID? Different variations of the same chip experience different overclocking accomplishments. I think I should be able to get 3.3 or so out of my chip (G0, 1.25 VID) pretty easily on air with my load temps not much over 62. But we'll see.

Edit: Forgot to mention, it can also depend on the quality of the board/RAM you have.
 

Capt Caveman

Lifer
Jan 30, 2005
34,543
651
126
Originally posted by: cmdrdredd
He said best. The topic is for the best. That is the best end of story. If you don't want the best don't make a topic that asks for the best.

Also nowhere in hos post whatsoever did he mention a pricepoint. He simply said the AC7 looks like a good deal. While it may be true he never did put a $$$ limit. So...there you have it.

I should also mention that the TRUE Copper should not be installed on a system with the motherboard sitting vertical. It should be installed laying down because the weight can break the motherboard, no joke.

Obviously, you skipped this in his OP - "I don't want to invest too much time/money into this." Which makes a Core-Contact Freezer a great option based on ease of installation. A Xigmatek S1283 ($18) or Zerothem FZ120 ($14) would be great for the price.
 

Gillbot

Lifer
Jan 11, 2001
28,830
17
81
the AC Freezer 7 Pro took my Q6600 G0 to 3.4GHz and upgrading to water gained me zero. I think the AC Freezer 7 Pro is probably one of the most often overlooked values out there.
 

yh125d

Diamond Member
Dec 23, 2006
6,886
0
76
There are better and more expensive coolers out there that could knock another 5C
off, but they are cantilevered way out, are far heavier and more expensive, will require mobo removal to install a bolt through kit, and may not fit in your case.

Common misconception about tower coolers ;)


The Xigmatek S1283 (#2 temp wise by FrostyTech) is only 600g with the fan included (F7P is 520), same price after rebate, doesn't require motherboard removal (easy to use the pushpins), is same price at newegg after rebate, and should have no problem fitting in any ATX case



The Sunbeam Core Contact Freezer (#1 on frostytech) is about the same weight and size, while being a few dollars more than the Xigma
 

Tempered81

Diamond Member
Jan 29, 2007
6,374
1
81
I like the lapped thermalright ultra 120 or thermalright ultra 120 extreme (TRUE).

It goes nice with 1 or 2 high speed 120mm fans, and is top-notch for air cooling.

 

yh125d

Diamond Member
Dec 23, 2006
6,886
0
76
I'm surprised by how many people are still recommending the Ultra 120. It's heavy, an older design, and doesn't perform as well as coolers half the price
 

MTDEW

Diamond Member
Oct 31, 1999
4,284
37
91
Originally posted by: Gillbot
I hate pushpins on ALL coolers. I always replace the pins with a bolt through kit like this: http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/lgbowiscsp.html

I have a few of those exact kits. (i bough several as i knew i'd need them someday)

What sucks was when i decided to ditch those god awful push pins on my Scythe Infinity, i realized i cannot use one of these kits, cuz the heatsink is so large, i cant get a screwdriver in there to screw in the mounting screws.

I wish i could get ones like the ones that came with my Tuniq that have "thumb screw heads" or whatever they're called.
Like these.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...0Controller%2fHeatsink
 

Gillbot

Lifer
Jan 11, 2001
28,830
17
81
I keep a few of the kits also, though I just used my last. I need to order a couple more.
 

OCNewbie

Diamond Member
Jul 18, 2000
7,596
25
81
In case you haven't already bought something, then the ZEROtherm ZEN FZ120 for $13.99 after rebate is the best deal out right now that I'm aware of.

Oops, I see someone already mentioned it a while back.