Concerns regarding Zalman 9700 weight on my E6400

[toronado97]

I want to overclock my 6400 c2d/gigabyte p965 s3 system, but frankly I'm a bit worried about the weight this heatsink is going to put on the motherboard. I realize that they wouldn't design a fan that would overstress a system component, but the fact is that the motherboard will sag in on itself with it's own weight when supported from the ends. Strapping a 5 pound heatsink onto it kind of freaks me out a bit. The reviews I've read have all mentioned keeping your rig stationary and not bumping into it much or moving it around, but I'm a college student, and my computer is in transit a moderate amount. The last thing I want to worry about is my fan breaking my motherboard heh. Am I being stupid here? If this might be a problem, are there any other coolers out there that will do an adequate job of cooling this beast without all the weight? Looking for air cooling only please, no water coolers. Thanks for the help.

 

[nippyjun]

I have the 9700 and although it comes with the frame to bolt it to the mobo, i'd still be very leary of using it if you are going to be moving the case. I'd consider something of a lower profile. If you aren't moving it then i would get it. If you are only moving it every few months, then maybe you would consider taking it off the cpu when you are moving the system (even though that's a hastle).

Hope that helps.

 

[toronado97]

That does help Nippy, thanks. Do you have any suggestions for something that might be a little lower profile that will still cool well enough to let me OC this baby over 3ghz without frying eggs on it?

 

[RallyMaster]

Thermalright Si-128?

 

[nippyjun]

Originally posted by: toronado97
That does help Nippy, thanks. Do you have any suggestions for something that might be a little lower profile that will still cool well enough to let me OC this baby over 3ghz without frying eggs on it?

I just looked at my 9700 manual and even in there it says Zalman is not responsible for damage that can occur when moving the computer.

As far as what cooler to use... can you just use the stock cooler? You may find that a 3gig overclock is acheivable with the stock one. And even if you loose out on a few hundred MHZ of overclockability using the stock cooler, you'll save money, and that money could be put to a better video card (i don't know what vid card you have, but it's the other major component that effects overall speed the most).

Let us know what you do.

 

[JEDIYoda]

Usually when I move my computer I support the heatsinks via a wooden forrm or a piece of cardboard or even with string...good Luck!!

 

[toronado97]

Well Nippy, I'm running at 36C idle right now, without overclocking on my stock fan. Full load it goes up to about 57. If I overclock it to 2.6 ghz, idle goes to 40, and load to about 64. Those numbers are about 10 degrees higher than the normal reports I've seen of stock fans. I've got some Arctic Silver coming in the mail which I will apply, but I don't expect it to make "that" much difference.

As far as case cooling, I have a 120mm exhaust in the back, and 2 80mm's, one in front and one on the side, and cable management isn't amazing but it is certainly not haphazard either. I'm afraid to push it any higher than 2.6 without an alternative cooling solution, and have backed it down to stock speed for now, as mid 60's at full load makes me a little nervous for now.

Thanks for all the useful replies though. I might try the Zalman 9500 instead, it's listed at 500 some grams, and the stock intel is 422 i think it is, so the weight difference itself isn't that bad. The problem is the Zalman sticks out so much farther than the stock intel cooler, that's the main worry I have.