How should I cool an Opteron 165?

[carmaster22]

I'm looking at buying an Opteron 165 (OEM) along with a Zalman CNPS9500. I do want to OC, but I'm not expecting anything crazy, something in the neighborhood of 2.4 to 2.7 is fine with me.

I'm new to OCing so I really have no idea, does the Zalman completely replace the HSF that you would get with a retail processor?

If the Zalman goes directly on top of the processor, what should I use inbetween them? Thermal grease? A thermal pad? Something else?

Also, is it better to leave the cover off of my case (I currently only have one case fan that is probably 6+ years old), or should I invest in a couple more fans and put my case back together to create airflow?

Finally, I have an MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum, what is the best bios to use when upgrading to a dual core processor? (If I need to ask this in the mobo forum I will, but I thought I'd try it out here first)

Thanks for any help and sorry for being such a noob.

 

[JSFLY]

I'm new to OCing so I really have no idea, does the Zalman completely replace the HSF that you would get with a retail processor?

Yes

If the Zalman goes directly on top of the processor, what should I use inbetween them? Thermal grease? A thermal pad? Something else?

Arctic cooling Silver 5

Also, is it better to leave the cover off of my case (I currently only have one case fan that is probably 6+ years old), or should I invest in a couple more fans and put my case back together to create airflow?

If you have a case with good airflow, leaving it closed would be better. Otherwise, its fine to leave it open.

Finally, I have an MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum, what is the best bios to use when upgrading to a dual core processor? (If I need to ask this in the mobo forum I will, but I thought I'd try it out here first)

Check the MSI website for latest bioses.

 

[carmaster22]

How much Arctic Silver 5 should I buy? It comes in 3.5g and 12g. How much will I need?

 

[keeleysam]

Originally posted by: carmaster22
How much Arctic Silver 5 should I buy? It comes in 3.5g and 12g. How much will I need?

You will need like .2G. Get the small one.

 

[zephyrprime]

Get the scythe ninja from Newegg for $40.

 

[Elfear]

Originally posted by: zephyrprime
Get the scythe ninja from Newegg for $40.

:thumbsup: Only I would add get it at Jab-tech for $33.95. My office rig hit 2.9GHz (Opteron 144) rock stable using a passive Ninja.

 

[aka1nas]

A Thermalright XP90 (Copper or regular version even) cools down my OCed 165 rig at home pretty well.

 

[robertk2012]

If you get a retail version the included HSF will be fine.