Better than retail heatsink

[IKeelU]

My brother's system has an XP 1800 + and occaisional beeps when he's been playing for a couple of hours. I checked the bios and this means the CPU is exceeding 60C!! I need something that will cool it by at least 10 degrees more than the retail, but won't break his ears (or the bank). Hopefully nothing louder than what came with the CPU, and an all-in-one package (fan + sink) would be nice.

I was thinking about the Volcano 6CU (with the weaker 31 Db fan), but I heard it doesn't do a much better job than the retail one.
Any thoughts?

 

[paralazarguer]

YOu don't NEED a new HSF. If noise is a big consideration you might want to consider an Intel solution. The stock fan will handle it. on Athlons, 60c is not as bad as all that. It's especially not bad if you're reading from the internal diode. If the system is still stable it's not a consideration AT ALL. The system will become unstable many, many, degrees before damage occurs. You should be able to disable hardware warnings or raise the temp in the bios.

 

[paralazarguer]

BTW some people might suggest the volcano 7+ (note the plus) because it has a three speed fan adjuster. Even on it's lowest setting it's ridiculously loud. Forget about it. Of course, to me the stock fan that AMD uses is ridiculously loud.

 

[MassiveUnit]

quote: "on Athlons, 60c is not as bad as all that." What are you running? Unless you really want your processor to fry as soon as something even marginally jars your heatsink, 60C is outrageous. Get a Thermalright SK6 with a quiet Sunon fan from www.sidewindercomputers.com. Thermaltakes are not the best you can get for your dollar. And to say it again: 60C IS OUTRAGEOUS!!!

 

[ThisIsMatt]

You could read the sticky with all the heatsink reviews...

The stock hsf should work fine, but it won't work if it's sealed in an air-tight box...what kind of assistance is it receiving from case fans? What's the motherboard reporting for temperature?

 

[SWScorch]

Originally posted by: 7757524
YOu don't NEED a new HSF. If noise is a big consideration you might want to consider an Intel solution. The stock fan will handle it. on Athlons, 60c is not as bad as all that. It's especially not bad if you're reading from the internal diode. If the system is still stable it's not a consideration AT ALL. The system will become unstable many, many, degrees before damage occurs. You should be able to disable hardware warnings or raise the temp in the bios.

7757524: cut it out with the AMD-bashing. The guy is NOT going to throw away his current setup and buy a brand new mother board and CPU just because its running a bit hot! You may think AMD is the spawn of Satan and since it runs 10% warmer than its Intel counterpart should be demolished, but some people are more concerned about value and price-to-performance ratio than a processor than can run on only 50 watts. He already has the system, and occassionally it runs a bit hot. Big deal. Do you honestly think he is going to heed your advice and spend $600 on a new mobo/CPU, rather than invest 10 dollars in a case fan or 30 in a better heatsink??

 

[mechBgon]

Now, by "stock" heatsink, are you talking a stock retail heatsink (looks similar to this), or is it a heatsink that came bundled with an OEM processor? Could you tell us

• what kind of ventilation the case has (how many fans, where they are, which direction they blow)
• room temperature where the computer is (basically, is it really warm, over 85F/30C?)
• what the BIOS says the CPU voltage is
• what brand and model of motherboard this system has
• what kind of thermal-interface material is being used (thermal grease [if so, what brand], or pre-applied square of phase-change thermal compound)
• whether the heatsink has ever been removed since its initial installation
• is the computer in a restricted space such as a hole in a computer desk?

With the answers to the above, it should be possible to determine whether the 60C temperature reading is cause for concern or not. Knowing what motherboard you've got also helps with recommending other heatsink options.

 

[paralazarguer]

No, scortch. I gave him that suggestion so that he'd know for his next PC. I then gave him some advice for his current problem.

 

[SWScorch]

Yes, you did, as an afterthought....

 

[Cogman]

there are a few solutions to this problem.

1. Get an ThermalRight AX-7, I have seen many reveiws rating it #1 or not far from it and at a price that is hard to beat (usually 35 with a good fan) Here is a link to a site that sells it at an awsome price + you can get ASIII for a great price there. Also if you go there I recomend getting the ajustable clear fan.

2. Get the SVC GC68, Again, Lot of people say it is very good heatsink. Same recomendation for the fan and Thermal Grease.

3. Get the SK-6, Same site, Not as good as the AX-7. Same with everything else.

4. Go Water Cooling. This option is not for the light of pocket (this is why it is the last option). but it will cool any current cpu setup you can think of if you get the right cooling. I recomend going Here, Here, or Here for some good prices.

I recomend going Here for further info regarding cooling setups and such. They have a very wide variaty of reveiws/information on cooling and its setup.

[edit]Fixed a linkie for yah[/edit]

 

[Lucky]

2. Get the SVC GC68, Again, Lot of people say it is very good heatsink. Same recomendation for the fan and Thermal Grease.

 

[DukeChestnut]

Originally posted by: 7757524
BTW some people might suggest the volcano 7+ (note the plus) because it has a three speed fan adjuster. Even on it's lowest setting it's ridiculously loud. Forget about it. Of course, to me the stock fan that AMD uses is ridiculously loud.

I concur with 7757524 & Cogman. the volcano 7+ shud not be a viable option if noise is a concern. and yes even the stock amd hsf is kinda loud. best bet wood be to get a nice sized AX-7 and throw an 80mm Panaflo H1 on it. quiet & cool guaranteed!

 

[IKeelU]

Thanks to all for contributing. I'll be ordering the AX-7 and a bunch of panaflows from kdcomputers as soon as my credit card arrives. BTW for mechBgon, the HSF is the one that came with the Retail CPU. It turns out, the store who assembled the computer didn't even put in a case fan (which is to their detriment since they give a two-year warranty on all the systems they build).
The reason I asked about the volcano 6CU is that I can get it for $18.00 CAD at a local store (I live in Montreal), which comes out to about $12.00 US, as opposed to $40.00 US for the AX-7 with an L1A and shipping.

 

[DukeChestnut]

btw, wut mobo does ur bro have?

 

[mechBgon]

You're right, they are picking the wrong place to cut costs when they leave out case fans! LOL, makes me think of the servers at work... when I got there, I was scandalized to find that the only fans were the PSU fan and the fan on the CPU heatsink.

Not any more, though

Good luck, hope the new goodies get everything cooled off for you. By the way, did you get some thermal compound too? The AX-7 doesn't appear to come with any.

 

[IKeelU]

It turns out this store also used the thermal pad that came with the HSF:|:|:|:| Found out when I took off my own sink (I bought my computer at the same store, only mine came with a fan since I got an Antec case - as opposed to the generic one my bro has). Anyway, every place seemed to be out of Arctic Silver today so I settled for this 25% silver compound by Startech.

After scraping off the pink goo melted to the HS and sanding it down a bit I re-installed it and voila! My temps are down by 6 degrees C. I think that after a real lap job and some AS3 I could maybe bring my temps (and my brother's) down some more. I even found an article that could help me:

Lapping Article

btw DukeChestnut we are both using the MSI K7N420 Pro.




Man, I wonder what I ever did to that store.

 

[NesuD]

just to let you know some of the msi k7n 420 pros are wiggy on their temp reporting. i wouldn't put much faith in temps reported by that board. i am using that same retail heatsink with the pink thermal pad on a 2000+ cpu but i have 4 case fans pumping air through my case my idle temps as reported by the board stay around 43c and load goes up to 48 - 52 depending on the current room temp. The retail heatsink is more than adequate for normal use with reasonable case cooling. i you plan on overclocking though then you need to look at a higher performing heatsink in addition to improved case cooling.

 

[elw00dblues]

NesuD is right I would bet, but look at the bright side: you got that f$%)(ing pad off of the CPU. That's never a bad thing, and the change lowered your temps significantly.

 

[tazdevl]

Well I'm running my XP 1800 @ 1.73 and load temps are 42C with low CFM, quiet case and HS fans.

If you want the best of the heatsink bunch for an AMD processor, you want a Thermalright SLK-800. Picked mine up for $43 form 2Cooltek. Head over and read reviews here and here and here. Nice thing about the LegionHardware review is that it clearly demonstrates that the 800 works well with high and low CFM fans.

Don't know if you pulled the trigger or made the decision to pull the trigger on your purchase. If you've got the cash, I'd grab the SLK-800 given the choice.

However, the AX7 is a solid alternative to the SLK-800 and a bit cheaper (~$25 US). Availability is probably better in your neck of the woods too.

I wouldn't bother lapping the AX7. Thermalright puts a pretty much perfect finish on the base of its heatsinks. Just smack it on and enjoy.

I'd imagine that once AMD gets their .13 process worked out and yields improve, you will see better performance out of the Tbred core.

 

[IKeelU]

NesuD you are correct in saying that the pads are adequate for non-OC'ers, and if you're building a single system, fancy compound might not be worth it. However, given that a 3g tube of Arctic Silver 3 will last 25+ applications, and that stores get it at cost price, it would seem almost foolish for them not to use it (especially when they build dozens of systems every week). Five cents of compound and 3 extra minutes of work (to remove the pad) is a small price to pay for 6C less. (My temps might be innaccurate as you mentioned, which is why I post the delta).

Using the thermal pad isn't necessarily blasphemous. But good compound (and heatsinks) aren't just for OCing, either.