Newbie on cooling... please point me in the right direction?

[dcdomain]

Read a couple of threads in this forum... and am now very confused. I was just going to get a decent heatsink, some fans and slap them in. Guess I was wrong anyway for a Thunderbird system what would you guys recommend?

I'm not into overclocking (maybe I will be in the future when I have more time to devote to my computer) but I understand AMD chips still run very hot. In addition what kind of metal should I be looking for in these heatsinks? Aluminum?

I also heard if I went with a midtower case I should consider the air flow, but in a full tower I should just go for brute force cooling. The cases I am considering are: Antec SX1030, SF860, 920AX (Alienware case mid and full, from Directron.com), and the Fong Kai FK320. By the way, the FK320 with it's air duct over the CPU basically forces me to go with a passive heatsink right? Orb cooler definitely can't fit in their right?

Thermal Take Orb: I've heard a lot of people using Orb coolers. There seems to be a bunch of different ones, Golden, Blue, Super, Chrome. They look really cool, and if I had a clear side panel, I'd go with them. They also seem to be very cheap too... but I heard problems about mounting?

Alpha: I have really no clue what these are, but a lot of people are recommending them. They look like normal heatsinks to me...

STEP: My friend who taught me everything I know so far highly recommends this company. I'll probably get the 1.2 Thunderbird with their Kodiak 7000 system listed under Internet specials if I am to buy from this company.

Then there's this one: http://www.store.yahoo.com/taisol/dualfan1gcoo.html Doesn't seem like it fits in the other two categories.


The following are the online stores I am thinking of purchasing from:
Inflow Direct, PhamComputer, Pc Power Cooling.

Haven't done much research in terms of system fans. So again, I don't have a lot of knowledge on this subject, so if you guys could recommend some stores and products to me, it'd be greatly appreciated. If you guys would like to give suggestions on the rest of my computer, a description is located here: Specs for the computer I am currently building...

 

[Mikewarrior2]

First off, if you are using a socket A setup, stay away from the orbs, excpet for possibly the SuperORB. a taisol cek733... will suit your needs better than any other orb heatsink.

The fong-kai case should not force you to use a passive heatsink.

Out of those cases, i would recommend the Antec. Best stock cooling out of the group.

Alpha's are higher cost, forged heatsinks of absolutely superb build quality(compared to other commercial heatsinks). They are the top heatsinks, but not exclusively. They may look like normal heatsinks, but they are a)forged(higher density), and have great design that help it perform as well as they do. The Globalwin FOP38 is up there, as is the Hedgehog stuff. However, if noise is a concern, neither the hedgehog nor Globalwin will perform as well as an alpha will with a quieter fan.

Step-Thermodynamics is not bad, but you may have more fun doing this stuff on your own. Of course, you don't run of the risk of accidentally chipping/cracking your duron/t-bird core, but with a good heatsink, your chances of doing this are very minimal.

I dont' know what you are planning to buy at PCPowerCooling, but their heatsinks aren't all that great, and their power supplies are highly overpriced. Their fans aren't too bad, but they are not really 28CFM either. As far as inflowdirect and pham computers, both are reputable places to purchase computer stuff.

Also, looking at your webpage, i wouldn't write off the MSI K7T Pro 2 so fast. IT is still an excellent mb, and can be purchased for less than an abit board.


Mike

 

[Vpham97]

Look in my first sig to see if you can still buy that Antec for $82 or not.

Use the Taisol HSF.

This case already come w/ 2 outtake fans. You can buy additional fan if you like. If not, it's fine the way it's. That's about all you need, overclocking or not. Don't let this be a heachache. I had a lot of fans running in my current setup. I'll probably be disconnecting them soon. I like my peace of quiet better.

 

[mjbones]

I just finished building a 1ghz athlon system and the cpu at idle
runs aboout 78 degrees and when I play quake 3 for about 20 minutes
the temperture goes to about 98 degrees steady.
I have a case 21"h ,17.5"d,and 8.5"w. I installed 2 3.5" fans
on the side blowing on the board and on the cpu. I have 1 3.5"
fan on the top blowing air out of the case. I masked up all the
areas where air can come into the case.
I have a very consistent temperature and a stable system.

athlon 1 ghz.
kt7raid motherboard
256 mushkin memory
GeForce 2GTS video(64 meg)

 

[Mikewarrior2]

your cpu isn't running at 98F unless your ambient case temp is 53F. Chances are, your cpu is running in the 45-50C range.

its hte kt7 MB lying to you. The thermistor solution for reading cpu temp is highly inaccurate.

Mike

 

[dcdomain]

Thanks for the suggestions. Just bought a Antec SX1030 black case from Onvia, 92 bucks including shipping. Great deal since it comes with two case fans and the 300 watt AMD approved power supply... I read on the thread about the Taisol heat sinks that the higher end retail AMD Thunderbirds come with them. So I'll hold off on the heatsink purchase until I get the chip itself.