Thermaltake Big Typhoon VX or Thermalright SI-128 SE?

[ArchAngel777]

Anyone give me advice on which one to use? And if there is a better one than these two, let me know... As you may all know, I have a very hot Q6600 and my PWM is also running extremely hot. I already have four case case (two intake, two exhaust) and it seems that side fans cannot really hit the NB Heatsink... The ram sticks are in the way. So I will need a top down cooler.

Thanks!

 

[Nickel020]

The SI-128 SE is best top down cooler at the moment. The Scythe Andy Samurai is a little worse (but considerably cheaper), and the Coolermaster GeminII again a little worse than the Scythe but also provides cooling for your RAM due to it's big 2x120mm fans layout.

All three are fine choices, Thermalright for top performance, Scythe vor value, Coolermaster for additional RAM cooling, pick what you think is best.

 

[SerpentRoyal]

Wait for Newegg to put the open box Big Typhoon on sale...$18 plus $6 shipping. You'll need to swap the stock 120mm with a medium speed 120 x 38mm Panaflo. IP35-E will be able to control a 2-wire fan. Use a side vent for best cooling performance. The average case temperature is around 37C and can hit 45C in a warm room (85 to 90F). That will cause your CPU temperature to rise at least 7C. A side vent will help lower temperature min of 3C.

 

[RussianSensation]

I haven't owned Thermalright SI-128 but I can tell you about the Big Typhoon. The airflow isn't that strong at 2100rpm and barely any of it reaches the bottom of the motherboard by the time it has to go through the heatsink fins. Also consider that the cpu helps to heat up the area around the PWM and a more effective cooler like thermalright Ultra 120 will help dissipate cpu heat much faster. My Tuniq Tower is basically put to the max with Q6600 G0 at 3.4ghz at 1.36825 V. The Big Typhoon is an inferior cooler and I would probably focus on trying to reduce your cpu temperatures because with that not only will your case temperatures drop positively affecting all other components, but as a result it should lower PWM temperature. What is the heatsink you are currently using?

 

[SerpentRoyal]

Originally posted by: RussianSensation
I haven't owned Thermalright SI-128 but I can tell you about the Big Typhoon. The airflow isn't that strong at 2100rpm and barely any of it reaches the bottom of the motherboard by the time it has to go through the heatsink fins. Also consider that the cpu helps to heat up the area around the PWM and a more effective cooler like thermalright Ultra 120 will help dissipate cpu heat much faster. My Tuniq Tower is basically put to the max with Q6600 G0 at 3.4ghz at 1.36825 V. The Big Typhoon is an inferior cooler and I would probably focus on trying to reduce your cpu temperatures because with that not only will your case temperatures drop positively affecting all other components, but as a result it should lower PWM temperature. What is the heatsink you are currently using?

The 38mm medium speed Panaflo provides plenty of static pressure to get the air down into the MB. The air temperature will rise about 6C after passing thru the fins, but that's still significantly cooler than the NB and MOSFET regions on the MB. With a side duct positioned above the Big Typhoon, the nominal air intake temperature will be 30C (85F room). I don't see any problem with 36C air blowing on NB and MOSFET.

The BT's fin assembly also has a 2.5" x 0.5" opening right above the IP35-E's MOSFET heat sink. This opening permits direct "unheated" intake air to cool the MOSFET region.

Having low air intake temperature at the fan is critical for good cooling. If you have a hot room, then the intake temperature at the fan can exceed 40C. That's an instant rise of 9C at the CPU.

Ultra 120 is a fine CPU cooler but it does not address MOSFET and NB cooling. Additionally, the cooler cannot use room temperature air for cooling unless the user design a custom intake duct. You cannot violate the laws of heat transfer and thermodynamics.

When tested in my Antec SLK3000B case and my E4300 @ 3.47GHz, I see an advantage of 3C with the Ultra 120 Extreme at the CPU. Unfortunately, the Ultra had deficit of 11C at the PWM and 8C at the NB.

 

[ArchAngel777]

Thanks guys, I ended up ordering a SI-128 SE with a 120CFM 120mm X 120mm X25mm fan from Silverstone. It rivals the air flow of the panaflow.

I am currently using a Tuniq Tower and quite frankly, I am not impressed. It is possible I have I a bad IHS on my Q6600. But @ 1.34v @ 3.2Ghz, stressing prime maximum would get up to 80c load at a room temperature of 84F. Maybe I am expecting too much, but that does not impress me one bit. I verified with a razor blade my CPU and heat sink, and it is not percectly flat, but very very minor concave... Not nearly as bad as a lot of people. Also, the PWM was shooting up to 80F too under load...

Looping 3DMark 06 @ 640X480 for about 30 minutes nets 70c load for CPU and 60c load for PWM. I suppose that isn't terrible since that is stressing my CPU more than even a normal game out (due to the low resolution and no AA). It was to help simulate how hot the core will get when I upgrade to an Ultra, or the nVidia next gen...

I might cancel my SI-128 order now that I think about it... The only problem is that my CPU idles at 51c... But I don't plan on keeping this more than 3 years.

Input?

Edit ** too late. Cannot cancel my order... 😀

 

[SerpentRoyal]

85F is going to raise your temperature across the board by 5C compared to a 75F room, indepedent of ANY FAN OR CPU COOLER.

 

[ArchAngel777]

Yep, Graysky wrote an article on his test. For each farenheit increase or decrease, the core temps on the CPU will raise of fall around .8c. So, actually, 85 to 75 would be an 8 degree difference in core temp... Of course it will vary from machine to machine.

Winter is coming up here soon, so I will be around 62F shortly, which should decrease temps a good 12c minimum.