Best performance Athlon heatsink/fan for ~$20?

[Danny]

Looking for something to cool an overclocked barton 2500. (to 3200+ levels hopefully)
Newegg has the Zalman CNPS3100+ for $20 that seems to get good reviews.
Is there anything better? I'm willing to spend a little more if the benefit is worth it.
I'd like something reasonably quiet if possible.

edited title for nebula

I did end up getting the Zalman CNPS3100+, I just need to wait for my case now.

 

[Corporate Thug]

slk900 A @ svc

 

[Kdiver58]

I have the same processor at the same speed
with a Zalman and I can render a video at
90% cpu load for 2 hours and never go over
41-42 c. Get the al/cu zalman the pure copper
is too heavy. This statement is on the Zalman
paperwork. It lists the allowable weights for
each processor and the all copper cooler is
over that weight for the AMD Athlon XP

K

 

[Kdiver58]

Mine is the Zalman 7000 al/cu on a Asus A7N8X
you need the holes in the motherboard
to mount this cooler .. YMMV

 

[nebula]

Same question here. I would get the 900A but SVC just replied to my email saying it may be two weeks before they get it back in stock. They didn't have a definite ETA. I'm building a new system for a friend and don't think we can wait that long. So, what's a good alternative? XP2500 Barton on a MSI KT6 Delta-LSR,no mounting holes on this mobo, mild overclocking.

 

[WobbleWobble]

The ThermalTake Silent Boost is available for $30CAD (~ $20USD). It comes with a Panaflo fan and is fairly quiet. It's not as quiet as the Zalman CNPS3100+ (I own both), but I don't think the CNPS3100+ will be able to handle a O/C to 3200+. I used the CNPS3100+ back when I had my Athlon 1.2GHz...

If you really want a Zalman, try the CNPS6000 series, it should give you better cooling,

 

[pspada]

Can you say.....Speeze?

 

[mindwreck]

Originally posted by: shady06
slk900 A @ svc

 

[ponyo]

Originally posted by: pspada
Can you say.....Speeze?

SVC GC68 is same as that Speeze and only $1.99. But I would go all out and get GC69 for $5.50. Heck it's worth buying GC68 just for the fan.

 

[Borgthepieeater]

The Akase King COpper CU### has to be my fave, only 15 quid in HyperinflatedPCprices World, cpu remains at about 45c when doing a shedload of games, like CoD or U2. But the most indearing feature is its unobtrusive blue LEDs in the fan, its an 80mm not 60 so no high pitched whirr and its so easy to fit, lots of give in the clips. Holds on steady too, which, when u gto a £300 gpu underneath it is always a good thing, highly reccommned

 

[nebula]

OK, we need more recommendations. The Speeze coolers are aluminum base, which to me, seems like old news. If I was the OP, I guess I'd change the topic to "best performance HSF for $20". But that's what I'm looking for, maybe not the OP. I don't want "just a cooling solution", I want some OC headroom. Otherwise I'd just get a Taisol!

So far I'm looking at these:

Thermaltake Volcano 7+
Zalman CNPS3100+
Thermalright SK-7 (looks nice but limited availability)
Vantec Aero 7 Lite

But someone mentioned the Zalman was too heavy? Is a copper base/insert not needed? I want to lean that it is a better solution.

HELP!!! I'm going nuts trying to find something and can't justify paying $30+ Please don't say the SLK-900A anymore!! It's OOS.

 

[sugarkang]

But someone mentioned the Zalman was too heavy? Is a copper base/insert not needed? I want to lean that it is a better solution.

try the zalman website for exact weights. the only ones which are super heavy are the 7000s. IMO, they are totally worth it cos you can use them on the ath64. i have the so called super heavy 7000 all copper one. what is meant by too heavy is up for debate. you have to put on special mounting brackets, which are included with the fan, in order to use with a 462 socket. at that point, it's fine. it's far too heavy to mount on the standard plastic cpu socket, and it's not even physically possible with the zalman anyhoo. you HAVE to put the brackets on.

that being said, is it still dangerous? well that HS is really heavy, so i wouldn't recommend putting your PC in a Jeep to your next LAN party and going over 200 speed bumps. the weight of the HS may damage your mobo.
if you're going to leave your box stationary, then you've got no problems. i'm really happy with my 7000 all copper results. i wanted to get the aluminum/copper blend, which is a lot less expensive and much lighter, but unfortunately they didn't have that in stock when i went. the copper is better for cooling, but not by much.

if you've got decent airflow in your system already, go with the aluminum/copper blend one. the weight is not a problem on that at all.

 

[OG357]

You want Cool?
I Run an AMD Athlon 2600+ Over Clocked to 2.2 Ghz on an ASUS A7V8X MOBO

Get the ThermalTake Volcano 7, the fan runs @6100 RPM
My CPU temp is 29c / 84 f....... and have seen it as low as 80f
I think I payed $26.00 USD for the volcano 7
The case has a lot to do with your cpu temp too, I went from an ok case to an Antec SOHO 1080 AMG Plus server case and it knocked off 15 Deg F on my CPU
My System is so kool ::beer::beer:

L I N K S

C A S E:
antec-inc.com
H E A T S I N K / F A N:
thermaltake.com

 

[Corporate Thug]

hmmmm, slk900 vs volcano 7.. tough calll.....




















yeah right

 

[nebula]

Hey thanks Danny!

We decided to go with the Zalman also. Since both me and my buddy are engineers, we actually went right down to comparing the thermal resistance of the sinks. It came down to the fact that they are all good, but we had to split hairs to determine which was just a little better. The Zalman has the lowest of the following:

Thermaltake Volcano 7+
Zalman CNPS3100+
Thermalright Volcano 9
Vantec Aero 7 Lite

Also he thought that the user reviews of the Volcano's said mainly that they cooled well but only at higher fan speeds, which is way loud. Of course that was just his interpretation.

I'll say it again, SLK-900A is still OOS as of this morning.