Need quiet P4 478 heatsink/fan combo

[cw42]

P4 2.4b.
I want to get a quieter heatsink/fan combo than my stock p4 fan, but still able to cool efficiently during the hot times of the summer. I don't OC, so I don't need anything too fancy. Also, I don't really care about how loud it may be during loud times, but mostly during idle times. Right now i have a Antec 430 psu fan that I can barely hear, radeon 9700pro stock fan (would a AC rev3 be quieter than this?), and 2x enermax 120mm fans running at their lowest rpms at 24dba. Thanks.

 

[Nebor]

I'm one of the board's silencing nuts.

Don't listen to all the people who post here and tell you the Zalman 7000Cu is the answer to your prayers: It's not. I have one.

Go for one of the nice Thermalright heatsinks, like the SP-94 or SP-97 (check for compatibility w/ socket 478.) If you're like me, and don't want to remove the Intel stock retention bracket, the Thermalright slk948 actually clips into the stock retention bracket, making for an easy install, without removing your motherboard from the case.

Once you have that, get a nice quiet 92mm fan, Pabst or Acoustifan would be my choice, since the larger and more recent Panaflos are suffering quality control problems.

If you don't have a fan controller yet, go ahead and order one to hook up to your case fans and your new processor fan. That way you can adjust them all as needed.

And yes, the VGA Silencer would be quieter than your 9700 Pro stock cooler, but not as quiet as a fanless Zalman ZM80C-HP, which you can definitely use, since you have adequate case airflow.

 

[McArra]

Zalman 7000 is very quiet, but nebor seems to have special hyper sensitive ears.... go for it, you won't be dissapointed.

 

[Nebor]

Imma throw a rock at you.

 

[jhurst]

Originally posted by: Nebor
Imma throw a rock at you.

The Zalman is a very good cooler, don't listen to Nebor. Plus, its around half the price of a SP94 (don't forget you have to buy your own fan for it). For $30, the Zalman is the best deal on a HSF around.

 

[Nebor]

Originally posted by: jhurst

Originally posted by: Nebor
Imma throw a rock at you.

The Zalman is a very good cooler, don't listen to Nebor. Plus, its around half the price of a SP94 (don't forget you have to buy your own fan for it). For $30, the Zalman is the best deal on a HSF around.

I HAVE the Zalman 7000 Cu. I'm telling you, don't get it if SILENCE is important to you. This fan won't do it.

 

[Hans5849]

Originally posted by: Nebor

Originally posted by: jhurst

Originally posted by: Nebor
Imma throw a rock at you.

The Zalman is a very good cooler, don't listen to Nebor. Plus, its around half the price of a SP94 (don't forget you have to buy your own fan for it). For $30, the Zalman is the best deal on a HSF around.

I HAVE the Zalman 7000 Cu. I'm telling you, don't get it if SILENCE is important to you. This fan won't do it.

nebor, my cousin has the 700ALCU and its totally silent when you turn the fan all the way down. And we all know about your obsession with silence.

just adding this link to a good heatsink round up SilentPC

 

[cw42]

thx for the replies, im goin with the zalman after reading a bunch of other reviews online.

 

[Pauli]

Yeah, Nebor is losing credibility with every post that he disses the Zalman. His must either be defective or he refuses to run it at anything lower than full speed. This is one awesome HSF - quiet, effective, not too pricey. If you leave the fan running at full speed, yes, it is not too quiet. Dial it down to 55% or so (with the supplied fan controller), and you simply can't hear it. I am using Speedfan to control mine and default it to 55%. When the CPU temp jumps hotter (when I am encoding video), Speedfan increases the speed to 90%.

 

[Nebor]

Originally posted by: Pauli
Yeah, Nebor is losing credibility with every post that he disses the Zalman. His must either be defective or he refuses to run it at anything lower than full speed. This is one awesome HSF - quiet, effective, not too pricey. If you leave the fan running at full speed, yes, it is not too quiet. Dial it down to 55% or so (with the supplied fan controller), and you simply can't hear it. I am using Speedfan to control mine and default it to 55%. When the CPU temp jumps hotter (when I am encoding video), Speedfan increases the speed to 90%.

Alright turbo, head on over to SPCR and see that every Zalman 7000Cu fan exhibits TICKING and WHIRRING at <7v. I'm using a fan controller to control mine. That's also why there are so many people who change out the fan on theirs for other 92mms, like the Evercool.

There are quieter solutions available than a stock Zalman 7000Cu, and for the money, I couldn't see why you wouldn't choose one of the Thermalright offerings.

 

[Naruto]

I have 7000ALCU and the fan isn't silent. I have it set to 70% using abit fanQ. 70% is no where near silent but manageable. I'm pretty sure the fan can never be silent even using the little fan control box set to low, but it will be whispering at that level of rpm. But when set to that level, the 1500 or less rpm cant push the air all that well.

 

[wkwong]

Originally posted by: Nebor
I'm one of the board's silencing nuts.

Don't listen to all the people who post here and tell you the Zalman 7000Cu is the answer to your prayers: It's not. I have one.

Go for one of the nice Thermalright heatsinks, like the SP-94 or SP-97 (check for compatibility w/ socket 478.) If you're like me, and don't want to remove the Intel stock retention bracket, the Thermalright slk948 actually clips into the stock retention bracket, making for an easy install, without removing your motherboard from the case.

Once you have that, get a nice quiet 92mm fan, Pabst or Acoustifan would be my choice, since the larger and more recent Panaflos are suffering quality control problems.

If you don't have a fan controller yet, go ahead and order one to hook up to your case fans and your new processor fan. That way you can adjust them all as needed.

And yes, the VGA Silencer would be quieter than your 9700 Pro stock cooler, but not as quiet as a fanless Zalman ZM80C-HP, which you can definitely use, since you have adequate case airflow.

i totally agree. not that the zalman is not quiet, but you can get a much more quiet combination with the thermalright. fans such as the panaflo L1A or the vantec stealth are both pretty quiet. they dont move too much air, but thats the cost for silence. (they still cool find BTW, i tested them and the review is on my site under the panaflo L1A review)

imo, i think the vga silencer rev2/3 is practically dead silent even on high. i have a true430 and like 2 low noise fans. even when i turn the fans all the way down, i can only hear the vga silencer if i put my head next to it. maybe thats just me though, i've read some reports that people say the vga silencer is loud.

 

[Nebor]

The VGA Silencer on high makes a high pitched fan noise indicative of the 60mm fan it employs. It really isn't bad for the performance it gives. I keep mine on low at all times, and I'm not very sure if I can hear it. I'm considering putting my ZM80C-HP back on though.

 

[Pauli]

OK, Nebor, if you're really looking for a completely silent system, yes, you can hear the Zalman even at 50% speed. However, you'll only hear it if the rest of the system is COMPLETELY silent. My system isn't exactly silent, but it is very quiet and would make most of the non-SPCR crowd very happy, and I simply cannot hear the Zalman at 55% in my system. And even at 55% it cools my 2.8C very well under normal (non-encoding) usage. It's a HUGE improvement over the stock Intel HSF.

I do agree with you that the Thermalright solution will be even quieter and perhaps even a bit better at cooling than the Zalman. However, it will cost twice as much and be more of a hassle because it doesn't come with the Panaflo and it doesn't come with a voltage controller like the Zalman does. It's great that you are pointing out alternative solutions that are even quieter, but there are so many people that are completely happy with the Zalman (even at the SPCR messageboard), your hard line against it is really unwarranted.

 

[dudeman007]

LOL I love bashing threads. And yeah dude, the zalman is pro.