SLK 900 U? .. Help? Suggestions?

[Kharlia]

I'm currently using an Antec "LANBoy" Case with 350W Antec "TRue Blue" PSU, no idea about the technical name for those two; sorry.
I've installed a Smart Case Fan II on the back fan grill, and another one in the front; under the HD for intake.
I'm still using the stock AMD HSF, but I"m thinking of purchasing an SLK 900 U (using NF7-S BTW), I hear the capacitators around it may sort've block it? .. is it true? .. can somebody confirm this? .. And when I look around, most peopel pair the SLK 800 or 900 series with Smart Case Fan IIs, or Vantec Tornadoes? .. with the reviews I hear from some websites its very loud, but when my Smart Case Fan II (in the back grill), spins at max speeds, its like a freakin' race car! Will the sound be drowned out if its installed on top of the heatsink? ..

I have my case fans spinning around 3100 RPM, and 3600 RPM; but still get a case temperature at around 33-35C; is this normal? ...

My CPU with default stock fan is 46 C roughly. This is too hot? .. I've done no occing yet; plan to do some to my Barton 2500 though.

Also; I'm wondering what are HD Coolers? .. I've never figured out.

Any help is appreciated, thanks.





Kharlia

 

[Kharlia]

Anybody?

 

[Peter D]

What revision of the NF7-S do you have? If its 2.0, its fine. A chart of tested motherboards for fitting is available here.

As for a fan, obviously the best one would be a 92mm Tornado due to its high CFM rate, but also.. 55+dBA is quite loud.. If you do get a Tornado, either volt mod it, or get a rheobus controller of some sort. Also, remember to use a good high quality thermal grease inbetween the CPU and SLK. Ceramique is the product of choice right now..

Hope that helps

 

[Kharlia]

How do I tell if my NF7-S is a 2.0 or 1.2? .. I have no clue how to do it. :| Some help on that would be nice.

Rheostat?.. Rheobus? .. sounds so familiar? .. which ones the manual controller? ..
I live in Toronto; and I seem to be having troubles getting my hands on a Vantec Tornado (yes; its sad.)

Also; any point in getting extra case fans? ..

 

[Kharlia]

Also; reviews I read around tell me if I want "quiet"; I should go with a Vantec Aeroflow. Would that be enough to oc my 2500 barton? ..

 

[Peter D]

Check on your motherboard, there should be a sticker somewhere on the PCB itself, or on the bottom side of one of the PCI slots that should say the revision number. If not, I think it may say under on of the tabs on CPU-Z. Also, you may be able to tell simply by the PCB colour. 2.0's use a very vibrant orange colour, almost reddish..

Rheobus and Rheostat are both kinds of fan controllers. I hear the Sunbeam Rheobus' are quite good. I use a Vantec Nexus and its quite good too

Aeroflow fans have a temperature diode if I remember, so the RPM goes up and down as the temperature does. If you're gunna get Rheobus/Stat then that kinda fan is pointless on one respect, but if you're OC'ing, its good cuz it'll go up as the temp most certainly will..

Extra case fans? You can never have too many fans.. I suppose Case cooling is extremely important to any computer, especially an overclocked one. Always have more exhaust than intake fans though. What kinda case do you have?

As for finding a Tornado in Toronto, perhaps you will have to try an online based company. Bigfoot has 92mm Tornados, and they also have a Store Front

Hope this helps. Also, Welcome to the forums, fellow Canuck!

-Pete

 

[Davegod]

btw thermalright have released the SLK-947 or something, which is basically the SLK-900U but a few minor changes to better motherboard compatibility. If you have a NF7-S v2.0 then doesnt matter since supposably the v2.0 is about the best suited board for that heatsink. Personally I'd probs go with the newer incarnation since more likely to fit your next motherboard? Wouldnt pay much extra though since IIRC AMD have removed the mobo spec requiring those holes! I think AMD64 boards have two holes at either side...

The 900/947 will take any size 60mm to 92mm, I'd suggest either a 80mm or 92mm, probably 80mm since with the 92 i suspect most of the airflow be going over the side of the HSF anyway. Plenty of choice for the fan: Panaflo L1A seems most popular pick if you want quiet and mild/moderate overclocking; followed by NMB for the hardcore silence nuts; pabst have a range of speeds, all high quality; YS-Tech adjustable if you want a spectrum of options; Delta screamer or Vantec Tornado if youre a deaf overclocking madman.

46C is fine, if thats idle then probs will be a tad warm under full load, but should be fine for non overclock. but, the reported cpu temps vary wildly between mobos and even bios - IIRC on the newer BIOS versions of the NF7-S temps are reported quite dramatically higher than in earlier versions. tbh "temps" are fine if you can run a cpu intensive program for >4 hours without instability (prime95, SETI or looped 3d/pcmark etc tend to be favoured choice for this).

 

[Davegod]

forgot hard disk coolers;

totally unnecessary unless your running SCSI or a significant array of disks. aslong as your case has decent cooling -- preferably with a case intake fan somewhere around the hdd's -- then the hdd's will have perfectly good cooling.

 

[Kharlia]

Bigfoot seems like a good option; I'll pay 'em a visit sometime, sort've far away for me (about 45 minutes) as its closer to Etobicoke than the eastern part of Greater Toronto.

I've confirmed that I'm using NF7-S rev. 2.0.; as for my case; I use an Antec Lanboy with 350W True Blue PSU.
Antec Lanboy

I'm wondering where the Vantec Nexus controller would go? .. in one of the optical drive's slots? .. seems to be in that dimension; just wondering.
As for cooling; what am I to do? .. drill more holes in my window? .. ROFL? (Seriously, I thought of that as an option;b ut that would sort've ruin my beautiful case. :'( I've got two fan grill/slots, one in the front under all the optical drives, and another under the PSU at the back (which is the visible one at a glance). I can't drill anything at the top for ventilation as theres like less than 4 CM between my PSU and the back of my optical drive at the top.

As for the heatsink, whats the difference between SLK 900 U, and SLK 900 A? .. SLK 900 A seems to have uhh.. I forget what I call 'em.. grapple hooks? .. you know. It should also be compatible with my NF7-S rev. 2.0 right? .. I don't know; I know with the opinions and rewviews that screws seems to be the choice, and the "better" thing, as the goliath is less likely to fall. :|

But this seems to be easier installation? .. And I've never installed a thermalright HSF before, how does the fan over the top hold? .. how does the on top get there? .. (And I don't go to LAN parties that often, couple times a year; so I don't really mind).

 

[Kharlia]

I'm too lazy to go back and press the edit button. ;0

But anyhow, I've been wondering, do I install the HS in, then put the metal springy things around the right holes for the fan atop? .. or shove the fan on first, then stick the whole product into the motherboard afterwards? ..

 

[Peter D]

I chose a 900U myself because I feel more comfortable having that huge weight screwed onto my motherboard, not clipped on, although the 3-Prong clip on the SLK-800/900A is very sturdy.

Installation is quite simple, but unfortunately Thermalright didnt include instructions in the package (wtf?) Although you can obtain said instructions here with some nice pics to help along.

As for fan mounting, if you didnt see on the page, they use a very unconventional but cool clip. Slid the appropriate clip into the correct hole, put the fan on the little 'step' on the heatsink, and pull the clips over, with the 'V' shape in the clip in the fan mounting holes. I find it easier to install the heatsink and then the fan when I'm all done, especially if you have a big fat fan like a Tornado

Oh and the Nexus controller? It fits into either a standard optical drive bay (5.25) or you can buy a smaller one that fits in a floppy bay (3.5)

:beer:

 

[sheltem]

Would the SLK 900 with a 92mm Panaflo M1A cool my CPU better than the Vantec Aeroflow?