Originally posted by: Aries64
Originally posted by: czech09
I currently have a 3000+ Winnie running with a xp-90 my temps are ridiculously high = around 38-39 idle) but that might be due to either the HSF being faulty or some sensors on the Ultra-D mobo that may have gone bad. I just bought an Fx-53 chip off the forums yesterday and am wondering which hsf to stick with...I've always hated how the thermalright hsfs are pretty difficult to put on and remove compared to just stock ones. So I'm thinking about going to something else. There is the option of staying with the stock fx-53 hsf that I'll get but I have no clue how good that is? I've read up and supposedly these chips idle around the low 40s stock and under load get to about the mid 50s or so and that's considered normal. I was also thinking about the 7700 ALCU from zalman which I've heard some good things about. Then of course the idea of water cooling is still in my mind but since I've also ordered a 7800gtx, that's probably out of question considering the problems with the sensors or w/e on that card (Plus it might be too pricey overall anyways). So what do you think I should get?
Thanks.
I don't find the XP-90 difficult to install, but the removal is sort of a pain-in-the-^ss. Speaking from satisfied experience, I say as long as the XP-90 fits on your mobo without interferring with your RAM and the 7800 GTX (which is doubtful) I say go for the XP-90 and a Panaflo fan. I have never used a 7700-Series HSF before but from what I've read they are excellent as well.
Now a few notes: I ran the "stock" HSF that came with my Retail FX-53 for a few months before going to a Thermaltake A1772. I can't remember exactly what my FX-53 ran at idle and load - I think around 40-42 idle and 63-67 load (207MHz FSBx12 Multiplier = 2,484MHz) but I do remember that with the Thermaltake A1772 the overall system temps dropped by about 10 degrees Celsius.
I thought that was pretty good, as there are only minor differences between the "stock" HSF and the A1772. The A1772 uses the same exact retension mechanism as the OEM (stock) HSF that shipped with the FX-53s' with the exception of (a) the A1772 uses an all-copper fan (the Retail FX-53 HS in aluminum) and the fan that comes on the A1772 has a higher top speed than the fan that comes in the factory FX-53 HSF combo. Thermaltake makes many of the OEM HSFs' that come with the Retail AMD CPUS. This is why the retension systems are the same on the chips sometimes.
Then I decided that I wanted better, more efficient cooling than what the A1772 provided in order to quiet things down a little. So I went with the XP-90 and Panaflo L1BX. I got an additional 10 degree Celsius temp reduction just as I had with my move from the OEM FX-53 HSF to the Thermaltake A1772. Again, the 10 degree Celsius decrease was across the board (at idle and load). Idle can be the PC doing nothing or running Word or surfing the internet. Load is Prime95 run for several hours to allow the ambient temp inside the PC case to simulate real-world temps.
BTW, at the time I was switching my HSFs' I was running only 1 (one) 36.7 GB U320 Cheetah in a Cooler Master Wave Master case. Then December of 2004 (merry Christams to me!) I bought my Lian Li V1000 case. And a few months ago I upgraded to four (4) 36.7GB U320 Cheetah's in RAID 0+1. I've only had my FX-57 for two weeks. Prior to that all other system specs were the same as my current sig (see bottom of my post). Under load my FX-53 got to the mid 60s' at 2,484MHz (207MHz FSBx12 Multiplier). My FX-57 rarely hits 59C at 2,898Mhz (207MHz FSBx14 Multiplier).
