Switching to Intel E8400

[datwater]

I haven't had an Intel since my socket 7 Pentium 233MMX.

I'm finally ditching AMD to get on the Wolfdale train.

It's a bittersweet move for me.

On to my point, and my question. I have an E8400 on the way. I do not intend to OC it, at least at first. I am wondering if I will be ok with the stock cooler. Alot of the reviews I am reading say how crappy the stock fan is. I would test it out and then replace it, but I don't relish the thought of installing it, finding out I don't like it, and removing it, and the motherboard, in order to install an aftermarket cooler with a backplate.

I of course, want my pc to be cool, and quiet, but I also don't want to spend $50 or $75 on a Zalman fan or something.

Any advice is appreciated.

Thank you.

 

[DSF]

No need at all to pay for an overpriced Zalman. The stock cooler is perfectly capable of keeping the temperatures within an acceptable range. If all you're worried about is reducing the noise (which may not be all that bad in the first place) I'd look at budget coolers like the Xigmatek HDT-S1283 which is less than $30 after rebate with free shipping at Newegg:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16835233003

 

[Acanthus]

The Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro is another really popular cheaper cooler if you are concerned about temps, noise, and price.

 

[DSF]

Originally posted by: Acanthus
The Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro is another really popular cheaper cooler if you are concerned about temps, noise, and price.

Indeed. The only reason I didn't mention it is that the Xigmatek is actually cheaper on the 'Egg at the moment due to the deal.

 

[Hugh H]

Originally posted by: Acanthus
The Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro is another really popular cheaper cooler if you are concerned about temps, noise, and price.

This.

I had my 8500 (pretty much the same thing as an 8400) cooled with this when I first got it... it will work better than the stock heatsink and will also be quieter. Also, it uses push-pins, so you don't have to worry about installing a backplate.

Now... IF you think you may want to overclock later down the road, I would go with a beefier cooler. This was my first build and as a complete noob, I thought I would never overclock. It is so easy to do with these chipsets, that it would be hard not to go for it. I replaced the Artic CF 7 with a Tuniq Tower because, even though it was handling the overclocking just fine, I wanted my chip to be as cool as possible on air. Just something to keep in mind.

 

[OCGuy]

Originally posted by: Hugh H

Originally posted by: Acanthus
The Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro is another really popular cheaper cooler if you are concerned about temps, noise, and price.

This.

I had my 8500 (pretty much the same thing as an 8400) cooled with this when I first got it... it will work better than the stock heatsink and will also be quieter. Also, it uses push-pins, so you don't have to worry about installing a backplate.

Now... IF you think you may want to overclock later down the road, I would go with a beefier cooler. This was my first build and as a complete noob, I thought I would never overclock. It is so easy to do with these chipsets, that it would be hard not to go for it. I replaced the Artic CF 7 with a Tuniq Tower because, even though it was handling the overclocking just fine, I wanted my chip to be as cool as possible on air. Just something to keep in mind.

As someone who went from a AC7 to a tuniq, how much change did you see?

 

[datwater]

Thanks for the input guys. Still chewing on it.

 

[Hugh H]

Originally posted by: Ocguy31

Originally posted by: Hugh H

Originally posted by: Acanthus
The Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro is another really popular cheaper cooler if you are concerned about temps, noise, and price.

This.

I had my 8500 (pretty much the same thing as an 8400) cooled with this when I first got it... it will work better than the stock heatsink and will also be quieter. Also, it uses push-pins, so you don't have to worry about installing a backplate.

Now... IF you think you may want to overclock later down the road, I would go with a beefier cooler. This was my first build and as a complete noob, I thought I would never overclock. It is so easy to do with these chipsets, that it would be hard not to go for it. I replaced the Artic CF 7 with a Tuniq Tower because, even though it was handling the overclocking just fine, I wanted my chip to be as cool as possible on air. Just something to keep in mind.

As someone who went from a AC7 to a tuniq, how much change did you see?

It was pretty significant. With the AC 7, I was doing about 44C - 46C idle, 55C - 57C under heavy load... sometimes breaking into the 60's. Mind you this was with the E8500 o/c to 3.52. With the Tuniq 120, I was able to overclock it further to 3.8Ghz, doing about 39C idle and 44C - 46C load. I also managed to lower the Vcore to 1.25 from the stock 1.3v, and apparently some people have it running stable at my same speeds with only 1.17v on Vcore. When I get back home I'll try that voltage, and if it is stable my temperature should drop even further. As my first experience with overcloking, this was almost too easy.

What I found the most surprising was that temperatures with the Tuniq Tower don't seem to increase much under load, while with the AC 7 although having a good idle temp the load temperature would increase too much (and hence why I changed it).