Originally posted by: walkure
Originally posted by: Marktoloba
My board is the new a8n-sli board... So I should go with the thermalright XP-120 or the zalman or even another kind? Plz provide a link if possible
Hello. I also own the A8N-SLI, and I have a AMD 3200+ winchester (I actually bought the retail one because I got it for $203 from ZipZoomFly (however the
current price there is $214. ), and the lowest price for the OEM version at the time was
only $193 from Monarch. But after that $193, consider that I would have wanted to buy the 3 year warranty for an additional $15, and that would have put me at $208, which was already higher than the $203 for the retail, which
includes the 3 year AMD warranty, and also the stock HSF (which now maybe will see use as a paperweight

)
As far as CPU buying for you RIGHT NOW, pricewatch shows me the following link for the lowest price on the 3200+ OEM ($178.94):
http://www.smksuperstore.com/c.../viewitem.asp?ID=13295
I have never seen that site before, so I'm very skeptical if it's actually the Winchester, or if it's really the Newcastle. I'd certainly call before ordering (though like I said, pricewatch gives me that link when I specifically click on the 3200+ 939 pin 90nm (Winchester). If they can't tell you for sure that it's the Winnie, then I'd say go with Monarch for $193 (then add warranty if you want).
OK, onto your heatsink. I bought the
Thermalright XP-120, which by all accounts is the ultimate heatsink that is currently in existence for P4's or A64's. I paid $43 (and about $4 shipping) at the following link, which to my knowledge is still the lowest price anywhere for this item, if you want the COLDEST CPU possible:
http://bestbyteinc.com/prodinf...tion=&aitem=7&mitem=24
Does the XP-120 fit on the A8N-SLI? If you look at
the official compatibility list from Thermalright, it says it's no problem. I have also seen at least 1 person post pictures of their setup with these components in the motherboard section of this forum. As for me, I've yet to get any of it put together (haven't had time... hopefully this weekend... btw thanks to
Amaroque for his tips on installation in a thread I posted about this last night).
Along with that heatsink, I ordered the
Panaflo 120mm 103.8 CFM fan. It seems to push A LOT of air, and comes pretty highly recommended by several reviews I've seen (not to mention official Thermalright recommendation). You may also consider a fan by Nexus; many people love them and say they're super-quiet.
Please refer to
this thread from the Hot Deals section for more comments on the XP-120, and also on page 2 and 3 user
Inappropriate4AT posted links to many different fan options that you might consider.
Hope this helps in your buying!