P4 2.26GHz CPU + Stock HSF + Fanmate = good thing?

[mcurphy]

I'm looking for a way to dampen the noise on my wife's PC, and I figured a Fanmate to tone down the HSF on the stock P4 cooler would be a cheap fix.

But I'm wondering if I slow down the fan to non audible levels, would it still cool the CPU effectively?

Would the low rpm's be suficient for a 2.26GHz P4? She only uses the computer for internet browsing, so nothing intensive would be stressing the processor.

 

[thecoolnessrune]

Stock P4 heatsinks are horrible. Leave it to the mobo to determine fan speed. You need all you can get. With the money you'd spend on a fanmate, you'd be closer to a Ninja, and you could run that passively.

 

[herbiehancock]

Originally posted by: thecoolnessrune
Stock P4 heatsinks are horrible. Leave it to the mobo to determine fan speed. You need all you can get. With the money you'd spend on a fanmate, you'd be closer to a Ninja, and you could run that passively.

I'd agree with almost everything........but you do know the Fanmate will only cost him like $4 or so, right? They're terribly cheap online.

But do NOT use the Fanmate with your stock cooler, or you'll have fried cpu for breakfast.

 

[mcurphy]

Originally posted by: herbiehancock

Originally posted by: thecoolnessrune
Stock P4 heatsinks are horrible. Leave it to the mobo to determine fan speed. You need all you can get. With the money you'd spend on a fanmate, you'd be closer to a Ninja, and you could run that passively.

I'd agree with almost everything........but you do know the Fanmate will only cost him like $4 or so, right? They're terribly cheap online.

But do NOT use the Fanmate with your stock cooler, or you'll have fried cpu for breakfast.

Is this true, even if my wife does nothing more than internet browsing? The CPU is never under anymore than prbably 10-20% load. I was hoping at least a small airflow over the stock cooler would be a suffucient, cheap way of keeping the noise down.

I do have a Zalman CNPS7000-Cu I could throw on it, but I didn't want to go through the hassle of switching it out. Plus I'd rather sell the Zalman and make a little cash for upgrades on my rig, lol.

 

[A554SS1N]

Go over to http://www.silentpcreview.com and I'm sure they'll give you alot of info about making things quieter.

 

[mcurphy]

Originally posted by: A554SS1N
Go over to http://www.silentpcreview.com and I'm sure they'll give you alot of info about making things quieter.

I know how to make things quieter. And I'm also a frequent visitor to that website.

What I want to know is if a fanmate on a P4 Stock cooler will provide adequate cooling if the fan speed was decreased to non audible levels.

Is the answer to this question available at SPCR.com?

 

[VinDSL]

Originally posted by: mcurphy
I'm looking for a way to dampen the noise on my wife's PC... She only uses the computer for internet browsing, so nothing intensive would be stressing the processor.

Buy her a Scythe Mine 3...

Quietest HSF I've ever (not) heard -- does a V good job of cooling -- looks great -- and you can probably get one for $30'ish if you look around! 😉

 

[VinDSL]

Originally posted by: mcurphy
What I want to know is if a fanmate on a P4 Stock cooler will provide adequate cooling if the fan speed was decreased to non audible levels...

Um...

Define "non audible levels".

To my way of thinking, the answer would be, "No!"

Besides...

Read and heed! 🙂

When booting a computer in which FAN MATE 1/2 is used with the CPU fan, an alarm sound may be generated by a system monitoring program to indicate that the rotation of the CPU fan is slow.

If this happens, you may turn the speed control knob fully clockwise to increase the fan speed, set 'CPU Fan Detected' to 'Disabled' in the BIOS settings, or set the slowest rotation of the CPU fan in the system monitoring program to less than or equal to 1500 RPM.

* Some mainboards do not boot if the rotation of the CPU fan is below a certain number of RPM. If the BIOS settings are updated, Silent Mode can be used. For more information on updating your BIOS , please refer to your mainboard manufacturer's web site.

Keep in mind:

1. Please check the allowed wattage of the CPU fan connector on the motherboard, as well as the rated wattage of the fan to be used.
2. Zalman Tech. Co., Ltd. is not responsible for any damage to systems or CPUs caused by using the product outside of its specifications.
3. Do not use FAN MATE 1/2 with fans that have a start up voltage of more than 5V. Please check the start up voltage in the specifications of the fan.
4. The specifications of any product may change without prior notice to improve the performance thereof.

 

[RalfHutter]

Originally posted by: mcurphy
What I want to know is if a fanmate on a P4 Stock cooler will provide adequate cooling if the fan speed was decreased to non audible levels.

Is the answer to this question available at SPCR.com?

As someone who's tried this with various of the early P4's, including a 2.26, I'd say "non-audible" will be your sticking point. The stock Intel IHS fans are fairly noisy at 12V, and not a whole lot better at 7-ishV, and that's about as low as you'd want to go and still have decent cooling, even at low CPU usage levels.

If I was you, I'd consider getting one of the inexpensive heatsinks that are listed on the SPCR main site. Something like an Arctic Cooling, or a Zalman 7000 will be capable of doing what you're looking for, probably for less that $25.

If you're a frequent visitor to SPCR, you're probably aware that once you quiet down the HSF, you probably start being bothered by the PSU fan, vidcard fan and HDD noise, so don't be too surprised if your CPU issue is only the beginning....