Suitable Heatsink and fans

[Elcs]

*Sigh*

After careful deliberation, I have no idea what to get.

Id love to buy some YS Tech 80mm Adjustables but they do not exist in the UK as far as I know (ive searched 22 UK stores without luck) but I did find Enermax 80mm 3/4 pin adjustable fan UC-8FAB-B retail at this place but it doesnt give much info. Any good? or should I just get a few fans off their page and buy a Baybus to control the noise?

I also found the famous ThermalRight Heatsinks over here in the obvious section. However, the prices are quite outrageous. You Americans pay $20-25 for an SK-7? Thats about £13-17, very nice price. This place is selling them for a whopping £38 and the SLK-900 is just short of £53. I need UK people to find me a cheaper deal or some other good suggestions. I need good performance and quiet operation. Preferably quieter than my Volcano 7+ on low speed. Id rather keep cost for the Heatsink alone to about £25 max.

Thanks for any help.

EDIT: im planning on getting a 1700+/2100+ to overclock (will decide nearer the time) so i need a pretty hefty cooler and a fan that can be quiet on 7V and can push air quite well at 7-12V

 

[Cerb]

80mm fan roundup
There's all the info you'll need (note: not want ). Both fans are included.

Don't know about the Thermalright HS stuff across the pond, though (though the Enermax fan is definitely high, unless that £7.99 includes shipping).

 

[blade]

Here is more info on that fan. I've never used it so I can't say how good it is, but the specs are good. The YS-TECH FD8125 80mm they sell looks good too. 34dba isn't too loud, unless you have many in that range.

As for heatsinks, too bad you don't have more lower cost stores to choose from. Of the ones that sites sells and that you want to cool and also be quiet, the only real choices are the thermaltight or the alpha heatsinks. The alpha 8045 is 29.50 and it bolts to the mobo. The sk7 is 32.50 and the slk700 is 29.50, that would be a decent choice too. Though it says it fits just 60 or 70mm fans, an 80mm fan "might" fit it.

You have no other online stores there?

 

[Elcs]

Originally posted by: blade
You have no other online stores there?

As I said, I've got a list of 20 and I've got those 2 that are in my 1st post. I'll post some of the better/more varied ones.

Aria
Ebuyer
Overclock
The Cooling Shop
VGI

Ive taken these few just because I remembered off the top of my head that they sell rather varied gear. Maybe not cheap but after Ive got a target, price will come into consideration.

Edit: As you said, the Alpha uses the mounting holes. I was looking for an SLK-800U specifically but it looks like its going to outrageously expensive.

 

[blade]

If you can't find a SLK800U or Alpha in your price range then either a sk7 or slk700 isn't a bad choice at all. The sk7 cools just slightly less than the slk800 and the slk700 "probably" cools similar to the sk7. And they all have a 3-prong clip.

 

[Elcs]

Originally posted by: blade The sk7 is 32.50.

I wouldnt mind if it was only 32.50 but "Price: £32.50 (£38.19 Including VAT at 17.5%)"
Damn VAT pushing everything up. Hope the other ThermalRight products come along and push this price down soon.

Any other heatsinks that are good? I might be clutching at thin air here but £38 isnt in my budget.

3 fans, rheobus, cpu, heatsink, DDR and motherboard = expensive

 

[blade]

Sure, many others are good, though very few are as good as the thermalright ones. Check around for a thermalright sk6+ or AX-7. Those should be cheap and they do cool very well also.

Other choices if they are available there are the vantec aeroflow, coolermaster heatpipe, volcano 9, volcano 11. But those all cool very close to the volcano 7+ you have, and most are noisy. If you want better and quieter cooling, thermalright or alpha is the only way. Swiftech is another but they are usually even more expensive.

 

[Cerb]

I use one of the enermax 80mm fans as a case fan (will be getting another when I get a new HS). Dialed down about half-way, I can't hear it in free air from more than a foot away, and can't hear it at all amongst my other fans (Cybercooler 80mm ball, Enermax 120mm adustable, 92mm Enermax adjustable--the loudest of the Enermaxes--Glacialtech HSF, Enlight PSU & case). I have not tried the YS-Tech one.

 

[Buz2b]

IMHO, the Enermax adjustable isn't nearly as good as the YS Tech. I"ve had both and the YS Tech was the better of the two. The reason? The Enermax didn't have decent output in anything but the max speed, at which point it makes a high pitched whining sound that is much louder and annoying than most.

 

[Elcs]

Originally posted by: Buz2b
IMHO, the Enermax adjustable isn't nearly as good as the YS Tech. I"ve had both and the YS Tech was the better of the two. The reason? The Enermax didn't have decent output in anything but the max speed, at which point it makes a high pitched whining sound that is much louder and annoying than most.

As Ive pointed out, Id love the YS Tech Adjustables. They'd save me £30 on a rheobus but Id be very hard pressed to find a decent American Company to ship to the UK at reasonable prices. After delivery is charged, then add VAT (damn UK tax system) and then add import duty... It would probably be about the same price but with a much longer wait.

If anyone knows of or is willing to search for a handful of US companies that ship to the UK, Id be very grateful. Even if they dont include the items I have said Id like in this post, I would like to see them. Might prove useful in the future.

 

[dpm]

I know just how you feel comparing UK prices to American ones: just after I got back to the states I started searching pretty hard for an American store that would ship here, after being shocked at UK prices.

Sadly, none of the better US stores would ship to Europe (some wouldn't even ship to Canada!). I think I found 1 so-so store that would ship to Europe, but would only accept US credit cards (doh!). So I gave up and just got used to the bad news.

I'm about to move to a non overclocked 2000+ or 2100+ and want an effective but very quiet hsf, so I've also been searching about, looking at the same places you have, from the looks of things.

However if I'm going to have to pay another £50+ for a hsf then maybe its time for me to start looking at intel, and to take apart my work dell to find out how they make it so quiet... Its getting about time to replace my K7S5A anyway

Anyway, if you find a decent UK deal on a good heatsink, let me know! cheers

 

[Elcs]

Originally posted by: dpm
I know just how you feel comparing UK prices to American ones: just after I got back to the states I started searching pretty hard for an American store that would ship here, after being shocked at UK prices.

Anyway, if you find a decent UK deal on a good heatsink, let me know! cheers

Thank God someone on this board is from the UK and knows what Im talking about.

Ill be getting my cash in a few weeks and Ill be working flat out to find some kind of decent cooler. I was even tempted to get another Volcano 7+ until I saw it as £35 - I paid £25 for mine in the UK!!

*sigh*

 

[dpm]

Well, if you are still tempted, Maplin's have the volcano 9 for £17.99. I think its just a slight update on the volcano 7 with a better smart fan and temperature monitoring.

They also had something called a "fortis Monster 90" for £34 (a huge looking beast, that only gets so-so reviews), this wierd, triangular 3 fan 67dba thing for £19.99 and the zalman flower for £20/£35 (copper & alumin mix/ pure copper). I'm quite tempted by the zalman - i'll have to research whether its as quiet as they claim. Strangely, I couldn't find any of these on their website, only in store.#

hmmm. birmingham needs more cheap pc stores.

 

[Buz2b]

to take apart my work dell to find out how they make it so quiet

They do it by doing nothing. You might well see a single duct over or around the CPU to direct the air but that's it. With nothing bu Intel systems I guess they just don't worry about it. Besides, if it fries in a couple of years or so, you might just shop with them again. Nice racket.

 

[dpm]

I had suspicions it was something like that - plus they are all <2 gig cpus. Dont P4s over 2 gig produce a fair bit more heat? Since I want to move beyond the 2 gig mark seems i might as well stick with amd and spend more on the hsf...

ah well.

 

[Buz2b]

It is still possible to get build a (somewhat) silent PC with a P4 in the 2.5+ neighborhood. There are many who have done it. You just have to be very concious of airflow, using low cfm fans at almost every turn.

 

[Elcs]

Just been looking around, would the slk-900 take an 80 mm fan without modding or difficulty?

 

[Buz2b]

Just been looking around, would the slk-900 take an 80 mm fan without modding or difficulty?

From a recent review:

Like its smaller sibling, the SLK-800, the SLK-900 offers the user the option of choosing from a variety of fans sizes by offering various "steps" cut into the top of the fins, giving fans of different diameters a resting point. The SLK-900 though, doesn't stop at a paltry 80mm, though. It also offers an additional step to allow for the mounting of a 92mm fan without the necessity of using an adapter.

In other words, yes.

 

[dpm]

I was going to say that if you are sick of UK online stores, then the big computer fairs are supposed to be worth a shot, as long as you know what you are looking for. A friend of mine says that "All formats" is a good one ; here - it visits a few cities. I think I'm going to check it out next time its in brum, as I want a set of £50-£75 speakers too.

Have you decided on the slk-900, Elcs? Where did you find it?

 

[Elcs]

Originally posted by: dpm
I was going to say that if you are sick of UK online stores, then the big computer fairs are supposed to be worth a shot, as long as you know what you are looking for. A friend of mine says that "All formats" is a good one ; here - it visits a few cities. I think I'm going to check it out next time its in brum, as I want a set of £50-£75 speakers too.

Have you decided on the slk-900, Elcs? Where did you find it?

I go to Fairs as and when I need to buy stuff but to be honest, Id doubt they'd have them or be any cheaper.

I found the SLK-900 on a US store that ships to the UK. It didnt have the YS Tech 80mm adjustable that Im looking for so I continue my search. Its also quite an expensive piece of kit when looking at the worst case scenario of having to pay VAT and Duty.

Probably going to stop with an SK-7 if I find a store with a fan I like.

 

[dpm]

After looking around some, I think I might get myself a SLK-800 or SK-7 from sidewindersomputers . They are pretty cheap, and the shipping to UK isnt bad, with USPS global express.

They don't do the YS-tech fans, although they have got a couple of variable speed fans - no idea if they are any good. As for me, I'm going to slap a panaflo L1A on top.

The only thing I'm not sure of is how import duty/tax works. I've bought cds from the states before, and not charged anything, but whats the odds of getting away with a larger package? And what would they actually charge?

 

[Elcs]

Originally posted by: dpm
After looking around some, I think I might get myself a SLK-800 or SK-7 from sidewindersomputers . They are pretty cheap, and the shipping to UK isnt bad, with USPS global express.

They don't do the YS-tech fans, although they have got a couple of variable speed fans - no idea if they are any good. As for me, I'm going to slap a panaflo L1A on top.

The only thing I'm not sure of is how import duty/tax works. I've bought cds from the states before, and not charged anything, but whats the odds of getting away with a larger package? And what would they actually charge?

Yeah, Ive looked at about 8 US suppliers that ship to the UK ad Sidewider look the best. Im disappointed at the lack of YS Tech adjustables but Ive grown to accept that they are hard to find. If I get myself a rheobus, Id be buying a Panaflo H1A for an SK-7 or SLK-800.

I do believe that they can only charge VAT @ 17.5% and Duty @ 3.5% on the goods. Im not too sure if that VAT and Duty are charged on the delivery costs but all my calculations take this into consideration. My grandad didnt have any trouble bringing in a GF4 but that was brought back as a present and HM C&E said that he didnt need to pay anything on it.

HM C&E site is rather poor and like most legal parts of websites, its severely overcomplicated and is like walking through quicksand.

 

[dpm]

Hmm. I see what you mean. I've brought stuff back on the plane with no trouble (about $150 worth - mb, video card, cpu and RAM), and had stuff shipped to me from a friend, but never direct from a store, so I've always avoided this.

It does look like I'd have to pay VAT + duty on the total cost including p&p, which is an arse, and stops an SLK-800 being much cheaper than bloody overclockers.

The SK7, however, should come in under this paragraph; (here)

3.3 Can I get relief from duty or VAT on any goods?
Yes. EC agreements allow relief from charges on certain imported goods if they have an intrinsic value of £18 or less although this particular relief does not include alcohol, tobacco products, perfume or toilet waters which are covered in paragraph 3.4 The intrinsic value is the actual value of the goods excluding postage, packing and other miscellaneous costs.

Which would mean that it'd be about £25 delivered. Tempting.
I'm going to try to check up on that, however.

 

[Elcs]

Originally posted by: dpm
Hmm. I see what you mean. I've brought stuff back on the plane with no trouble (about $150 worth - mb, video card, cpu and RAM), and had stuff shipped to me from a friend, but never direct from a store, so I've always avoided this.

It does look like I'd have to pay VAT + duty on the total cost including p&p, which is an arse, and stops an SLK-800 being much cheaper than bloody overclockers.

The SK7, however, should come in under this paragraph; (<a class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://www.hmce.gov.uk/forms/notices/143.htm" target=blank>here</A>)

Which would mean it'd be about £25 delivered. Tempting.
I'm going to try to check up on that, however.</SPAN>

Yeah, we could be exempt but I dont trust governments. They say 1 thing and they will probably have their own loophole to make you pay.

Id really like to know how you get on with your research. It will be great if we are exempt from at least some Taxes and Duties even if we are very limited on their value.