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Need a new CPU cooler for Q9650 **Updated Megahalems results**

E

elconejito

Senior member
...Zalman 9700

[Background]
I know Zalman CPU coolers have a pretty bad rap over here, but I've had this thing for a long time and loved it. It was originally cooling a Q6600 OC'd to 3.2Ghz. Idle temps were in the low 30s and load temps barely reached 60. At the lowest speed setting (via the fanmate controller) it was pretty much silent, and definitely the quietest fan in the case. Turning up the fan speed made very little difference except to increase noise. At the time I bought it, it was one of the top performers per some review I saw somewhere. Not *the* best, but up there. And I do like the look of it, and it was really quiet.

So there.

Well, I upgraded this winter to a Q9650. With it overclocked to 4Ghz temps came up to mid-high 30s at idle and high 60s during load. I'm OK with those temps. But if I overclocked much above that the temps go into the 40s at idle and 70s during load. That's too high for my comfort level.

Then, this spring I moved to a new place. It is a very old unit and insulation sucks, drafty, etc. The A/C is no where near as good as where I lived before, so ambient temp is a few degrees hotter than before (at much higher cost, too). And now my temps at 4Ghz OC are idling right around 40c give or take a few degrees. Load temps are around 70 degrees and will on occasion go higher. Dropping to 3.8Ghz doesnt improve temps that much, but does bring me back below 40c at idle. Too hot.
[/Background]

The air coming out of my case doesn't feel hot. It's actually cool air at idle (if the room is cool the air is downright cold) and modestly warm at full load. So I'm pretty sure the problem isn't airflow in the case, I think the main source is getting the heat off of the processor. Turning up the fan on the zalman just increases noise, and doesn't help much (if any) with temps.

So I'm looking around for a new CPU cooler. I have several factors weighing in, none of which is a "must have", but they all will play a part in the decision. In no particular order:

-Cost. The cheaper the better, but if the best cooler is $100, so be it.
-Appearance. I have a side window and I like to gaze at the inards of my computer.
-Cooling. Must have better performance than the Zalman 9700, otherwise why bother. I don't think this will be a problem though.
-Noise. Shouldn't be any louder than the rest of the case.
-Upgradeability. This is probably the least influential, but if someday i go i7 (or i12, whatever) and it fits another socket, that would be a plus.
-Not interested in lapping. I want to buy it and install it.
-I'm OK with getting a cooler A and replacing with fan B. I'm OK with special bolt-on kits (like the Zalman) but if it attaches with push-pins, I'm all for it.
-Needs to be available at a regular retail place like newegg or Microcenter.

This is going in an Antec 1200. 3x120mm fans in front, 2x120mm fans in rear, and 1x200mm(?) on top. All fans are on their lowest setting and that nice quiet whoosh is about as loud as I want to get. I've had airplane cases before and I'm past that. More into silence now. So the new cooler shouldn't add appreciably to the total system noise (the zalman adds zero noise).

Size of the cooler shouldn't be an issue as the 1200 is pretty big.

I'm using Artic Silver 5 as TIM.

I've had experience with a few other coolers.
-Artic Freezer Pro 7. When I upgraded to Q9650, I kept the zalman 9700 and put this freezer on my Q6600 and put it up for sale. Temps at 3.0Ghz (instead of 3.2) were about the same.
-Xigmatek S1283. I'm using this as a passive cooler in my fileserver cooling an AMD 45w chip.

Coolers I've considered...
-Xigmatek S1283. Lots of people seem to like it. Cheap. I love a good bang for the buck scenario. Really plain looking though. Is the stock fan sufficient? Is it quiet enough? Or would I have to replace it?
-Xigmatek Dark Knight. Same as S1283, right? But much better looking. Not sure about cost though and I also have the fan question.
-Megahalem. Just heard the name.
-Scythe Mine. Browsing around at FrostyTech
-Scythe Orochi. Ditto.

I'm not quite ready to go to water cooling (someday though), as I'm super busy at the moment and I need something I can do in a day.

Any other suggestions out there? Did I miss something obvious?

Any help you guys can offer is greatly appreciated.
 
I personally love Noctua coolers w/ 2x Noctura fans in push-pull. Even when spinning at 500rpm, it keeps my cpu at about 30-38C. When its on full blast, it drops it to around 15C-23C.

Edit, this is @ 3.83GHz.
 
Either the Megahalem, or buy a TRUE pre-lapped & pay the extra $19.
Look through the threads here for fans that are quiet and/or push alot of air. For cheap, it'll prob be the Yates DSL12.
Good luck.
 
Originally posted by: zerogear
I personally love Noctua coolers w/ 2x Noctura fans in push-pull. Even when spinning at 500rpm, it keeps my cpu at about 30-38C. When its on full blast, it drops it to around 15C-23C.

Edit, this is @ 3.83GHz.
Click to expand...

15C huh?

your room must be 10C. :X

My vote goes out to the megaliem.. or however it spelled.
 
i would go with TRUE or megahalem.

If you are interested in megahalem, i got a new megahalem for sale. see my sig
 
Aigo - helps if you cough in the middle of saying it...

Maga*cough*lem

And I'd recommend it too.
 
So the consensus seems to be the Megahalems?

For those of you that own one, a few more questions if you don't mind...
It looks like it doesn't come with a fan, is that accurate?
Does it support Push & Pull, or just one or the other?
Can the airflow be pointed upwards (i.e. away from video card) as well as out through the rear exhaust?
There is no need to lap this right?

Since they are fairly hard to come by, are there any others i should take a look at?
 
Originally posted by: elconejito
So the consensus seems to be the Megahalems?

For those of you that own one, a few more questions if you don't mind...
It looks like it doesn't come with a fan, is that accurate?
Does it support Push & Pull, or just one or the other?
Can the airflow be pointed upwards (i.e. away from video card) as well as out through the rear exhaust?
There is no need to lap this right?

Since they are fairly hard to come by, are there any others i should take a look at?
Click to expand...

the unit doesn't come with a fan. It has one set of fan clip.
yes, it supports Push and Pull. (you will need to buy one more set of fan clip to do push and pull)
yes, you can place the heatsink anyway you want as long as your motherboard has space for it.
you don't really need to lap (i didn't lap mine), but you can lap it if you want.
 
Originally posted by: BTRY B 529th FA BN
How come you are still working on 4Ghz with your Q9650? says in your sig, whats the matter?
Click to expand...

Pretty much just time. My original goal before I got the chip was 4Ghz. Then I saw how easy that was and my new goal is 4.2 (FSB 475). The main hurdle is finding time, since I do a lot of freelance work and this is my production machine. With what little time I have I've been trying to find as low volts as possible at either 4 or 3.8 to avoid heating the chip past my comfort level (I know some people run theirs as hot or even hotter, but I'm just not comfortable there).

If better CPU cooling isn't the answer, I'd still be pretty happy at 3.8 or 4. The speed increase, especially in video encodes, has been well worth it.

Honestly, that note will probably be there through the summer 🙂
 
I think you won't get too much higher than 4.25Ghz - I did post at 4500Mhz with mine but blue screened after a second but all of that was a 1.5vcore which is waaaay too much for that chip. Try playing with the fsb and lowering the multi on it to maybe 8.5 or 8. Basically your chip is the limit on that board. I love mine 🙂
 
I'd be very happy with 4.25. My volts are pretty low (I think) at 1.3125 in BIOS. My VID is 1.25. I'd be comfortable up to maybe 1.35v in BIOS so I'll see how high I can go with that limit. Assuming of course, I can keep these temps down....
 
I vote with AigoMorla -- with this caveat (and based on his own reported results for another cooler as well as a couple benchtest reviews that substantiate the results).

If you want the most effective cooler (with lowest thermal resistance) at whatever cost in crowded case interior, possible lapping, etc. -- then it looks like the IFX-14 (ThermalRight) fits that criterion.

For next most effective, with a flat (or near-flat) heatsink base (so very little lapping) then the Prolimatech Megahalem is the way to go. Its thermal resistance is lower than either the Noctua NH-U12P or the ThermalRight TRUE. Somewhere among those latter scores, you might find the Xigmatek or the Sunbeam "Core Contact." But all of these will beat a Zalman.

The PRolimatech has dimensions that are approximately consistent with either the Noctua or the TRUE. It has equivalent weight to either the Noctua or the TRUE. And it will probably buy you an extra 2C to 4C improvement in load temperatures over the Noctua or TRUE -- depending on how much extra voltage you apply to the Q9650. At stock settings, I think the Q9650 has a thermal wattage of around 95W (somebody correct me if I'm too far off). It shouldn't be more than about 105W. Over-clocking it will push it higher, but the Prolimatech or any of the other coolers is more than ample.
 
Originally posted by: elconejito
I'd be very happy with 4.25. My volts are pretty low (I think) at 1.3125 in BIOS. My VID is 1.25. I'd be comfortable up to maybe 1.35v in BIOS so I'll see how high I can go with that limit. Assuming of course, I can keep these temps down....
Click to expand...

Damn. Those Q9550's always require lower volts. My Q9650 needs 1.42vcore to run 4.25Ghz
 
@BTRY B 529th FA BN - mine is a Q9650, not sure if you were referring to mine specifically when you mentioned a Q9550. Is that 1.42v in BIOS or CPU-Z?

Any thoughts on the TIM that comes with the Megahalems? I have some Arctic Silver 5 lying around which I can use, or is the stuff that comes with it pretty good?

For fans, I'm leaning towards one of the Scythe S-Flex fans, or maybe the Noctua P12.

As best I can I'll try to do a comparison of temps before and after the swap, just in case anyone else is interested.
 
got an unlapped megahalems, chip specs in sig. im quite happy with it but my chip is one of the warmer running ones it seems, despite not needing a lot of voltage to do 4ghz. i will work on getting it higher once i have a water loop in place lol


total system:
Q9650 @ 4ghz 1.296vcore CPUz
GA-EP45-UD3P
4x2GB G.Skill 1066 (1068 with current divider) C5 @ 2.02v link
EVGA 9800GTX 512MB
Megahalems with push/pull low speed yates + another low speed yate on outtake duty right behind the cooler
150GB Vraptor for OS+Games
2x400gb + 500gb 7200.10 Barracudas and 2x1TB 32mb Cache Spinpoint F1s taking care of storage duty

all this in a lightly modded Thermaltake Armor case in dire need of replacement lol
 
Originally posted by: faxon
got an unlapped megahalems, chip specs in sig. im quite happy with it but my chip is one of the warmer running ones it seems, despite not needing a lot of voltage to do 4ghz. i will work on getting it higher once i have a water loop in place lol


total system:
Q9650 @ 4ghz 1.296vcore CPUz
GA-EP45-UD3P
4x2GB G.Skill 1066 (1068 with current divider) C5 @ 2.02v link
EVGA 9800GTX 512MB
Megahalems with push/pull low speed yates + another low speed yate on outtake duty right behind the cooler
150GB Vraptor for OS+Games
2x400gb + 500gb 7200.10 Barracudas and 2x1TB 32mb Cache Spinpoint F1s taking care of storage duty

all this in a lightly modded Thermaltake Armor case in dire need of replacement lol
Click to expand...

How flat was the surface of your megahalem when you got it...or did you check?
 
I should omit answering Tullphan's question, because I haven't bought one yet.

But from various resellers and their promotion pics, I'm betting that the base is pretty flat.

If there is any warpage or irregularity, it would disappear with lapping. And I'd advise lapping even the flattest surface, since it's nickel-plated. You want bare copper . . . .
 
Just got a megahalems (thanks to Sacraster). The surface is pretty flat. At least to my untrained eye it is as flat as can be. I think the only purpose in lapping it would be to remove the nickel. Frankly, I'm going to leave it as is. Personally not really interested in lapping. Thats the reason I ruled out the TRUE since it seems that is mandatory to lap.

I probably won't install till next weekend. I'll try and post up some pics and take temperature readings before and after.
 
Originally posted by: elconejito
Just got a megahalems (thanks to Sacraster). The surface is pretty flat. At least to my untrained eye it is as flat as can be. I think the only purpose in lapping it would be to remove the nickel. Frankly, I'm going to leave it as is. Personally not really interested in lapping. Thats the reason I ruled out the TRUE since it seems that is mandatory to lap.

I probably won't install till next weekend. I'll try and post up some pics and take temperature readings before and after.
Click to expand...

Well, do yourself a favor before you install. Get a small 8-inch-long metal ruler, hold the cooler upside down with the heatsink base at eye-level to a lamp or light-source, and position the edge of the ruler across opposite corners and sides. That should tell you how flat it is.

I've lapped a few C2Ds and C2Qs to get the nickel (or some say zinc) off the IHS to expose bare copper. I've lapped a couple ThermalRights to make them flat and grind off the nickel to bare copper. And I've tested combinations of heatsink lapped and unlapped against IHS lapped and unlapped. Removing the nickel from the IHS accounts for half the cooling improvement (assuming the surface was flat to begin with), or removing it from the heatsink base accounts for an equivalent improvement under the same assumption.

Nickel and Copper are right next to each other on the galvanic table, and the choice of nickel may address corrosion. But lapping off one surface, covering it in paste and keeping it under pressure will not accelerate any corrosion. And while the two metals are adjacent on the galvanic table, the thermal resistance of nickel truly sucks in comparison to copper . . . .
 
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