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Decent Socket A Cooler?

S

stahlhart

Super Moderator Graphics Cards
Yeah, I know, ancient. But I was planning on taking my old system (XP2500+, 1Gb, XP SP3) and relegating it to the basement as a file server for storing backup images, etc., in addition to keeping it kicking around to play older games that aren't fully Windows 7 compatible.

I've got this Thermaltake copper brick for it (can't remember the model now) that I got back sometime in 2004-5 or so; has a single, noisy 80mm fan, and about the best I can get with it at stock core voltage and multiplier is 40-45C.

Is there better air cooler available for something this old, or should I just live with it?

edit: Thermalright, not Thermaltake (oops)
 
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That temp does seem a bit high for a copper heatsink, but really, you aren't going to do much better than a copper brick and an 80mm fan for a Socket A mounting system. They didn't make any big tower heatpipe heatsinks that I am aware of for Socket A.
 
40->45? That really isn't THAT bad. Try lowering the voltage on the CPU and blowing out any dust on the fans. You also might try cleaning and applying new thermal grease. That stuff does actually go bad I believe.

Really, though, unless you are hitting 70C while overclocking, you should be pretty stable.
 
VirtualLarry said:
That temp does seem a bit high for a copper heatsink, but really, you aren't going to do much better than a copper brick and an 80mm fan for a Socket A mounting system. They didn't make any big tower heatpipe heatsinks that I am aware of for Socket A.
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They can't, Socket A didn't support the through hole standard that we have today. The only heatsinks you could get had to be clipped onto the socket itself (ahh, memories.)
 
I'd be happy with 45 degrees-I bet that's low for that computer. My old socket A setup was normally 55-60 degrees and higher.
 
Cogman said:
They can't, Socket A didn't support the through hole standard that we have today. The only heatsinks you could get had to be clipped onto the socket itself (ahh, memories.)
Click to expand...

that's not entirely true. I've had socket a boards that had mounting holes for heatsinks and waterblocks. Worked well with my whitewater block. Not many heatsinks utilized them tho.
 
Thanks, everyone, for the responses.

The motherboard is a budget ASRock with only two core voltage settings, stock, and I think a .5V boost. I've pretty much kept it here as it hasn't been 100% stable set up as an XP3200+... it will run for a while and then eventually crash, and even then it doesn't seem to offer much of a difference in performance. Really nice and stable at stock, though.

I do have to go in and reapply TIM and blow the dust out of the fins once or twice a year -- it's exactly like Zap says, the fins are real tight and the dust just sticks in there until it's like a blanket. I run Motherboard Monitor 5, and when it starts to creep up to 50 I know it's time for maintenance. 🙂

I'll probably just keep it where it is, or mabye I'll see if I can put a deeper or mabye a higher RPM fan on it -- Thermalright provided three different sets of clips for fan options, and I've still got them around somewhere.

Thanks again...
 
Cogman said:
They can't, Socket A didn't support the through hole standard that we have today. The only heatsinks you could get had to be clipped onto the socket itself (ahh, memories.)
Click to expand...

i had a big swiftech brick that bolted through the board.

it collected dust pretty badly. the 80x38 delta screamer of a fan didn't help things either.



OP: clean it, get a more quiet fan, reapply the tim. temps aren't too bad anyway. you're not going to find a much better heat sink than what thermalright was doing for socket A.
 
This won't help with load temps, but in idle or intermittent use it will probably drop your temps 10C:

http://www.stargaz0r.nm.ru/ <--program called S2KCtl...it's a russian site though, make sure your AV shields are up before going there 😉 Never had any problems with the download before though...
 
ElFenix said:
i had a big swiftech brick that bolted through the board.

it collected dust pretty badly. the 80x38 delta screamer of a fan didn't help things either.



OP: clean it, get a more quiet fan, reapply the tim. temps aren't too bad anyway. you're not going to find a much better heat sink than what thermalright was doing for socket A.
Click to expand...

Really? I thought that was a 939 addition. Interesting. I do remember at least that most of the mounts were clipped directly onto the socket.
 
Cogman said:
Really? I thought that was a 939 addition. Interesting. I do remember at least that most of the mounts were clipped directly onto the socket.
Click to expand...

I still have a soyo dragon kt333 lite that has the mounting holes. haven't used that board in years.
 
Cogman said:
Really? I thought that was a 939 addition. Interesting. I do remember at least that most of the mounts were clipped directly onto the socket.
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not all the boards had mounting holes. i guess that was an optional spec. i've still got my msi kt266a board (bad caps) hidden somewhere around here.

looking at an old review of the mcx462, it weighs as much as my mugen 2 does, and the fan draws way more amps. i wonder if i still have that fan?
 
Thermaltake Big Typhoon, was a top cooler "in the day" and can be found on ebay, the Cooler Master XDream III available new, the SPCR has archive listing of coolers.
The Zalman 7000 (check website? ) and 7000B but NOT the 7000C model. The Aluminum is prefered over the Copper for its lighter weight. The CU is easier to come by.
 
the op reminds me of me actually i did whatever i could to keep a old machine alive,was a obsession i was using a pentium 4 for gaming back when core 2 duo was the rage i had a hard time letting it go but i like the fact hes willing to make good use of such a old machine most poeple would put it into a closet or toss it like yesterdays trash i remember buying this old frys prebuilt gamer at this swapmeet for $80 it looked like no one ever used it was probaly a 2003 or early 2004 as it had xp no sp and it was very clean inside,felt like i went back in time wish i still had it for the fact it was completely original retro gamer 2003,most people would have changed something in the pc it was like finding a original 1970 hemi cuda with 10 miles in a barn somewhere
 
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