AthlonXP heatsink/fan recommendations please

[mikeymike]

I'm thinking about upgrading my system within the next 6 months, I'm staying on the AthlonXP range for money reasons.

I'd like a quiet cooler, that doesn't weigh a tonne and does a reasonably good job of CPU cooling.

I'm currently using a Global Win CBKII-58 solid copper cooler with a ~3000RPM fan. The fan makes a slight whine which is annoying, but it keeps my 1800+ Thoroughbred under 50C even under load*. I have both case panels off on my system, I live in the UK, currently it's low to mid twenties celsius outside. I also have a GeForce Ti4200 to heat up my system too.

My main concern is keeping the CPU temp low as I don't like it heating up my hard disk (hard disks in my opinion/experience are best kept cool if you want them to last). My secondary concern (though it is a very close second) is noise.

* - I did have the side panels on with a side panel fan, but the cooling is better with the PC near the window in my room, and noise difference is negligible. CPU cooling difference is negligible as well, it's the hard disk temperature that I'm striving to keep low - Seagate 7200RPM 120GB disk, usually around/under 42C.

Temps (system has been on for a few hours): CPU 47C, System 32C, Seagate 42C.

 

[Tavelkyosoba]

why dont you want it to weigh a lot? do you LAN a lot?

i have a few suggestions.

Speeze "Falconrock": its got an 80mm fan so its very quiet and it cools very well...however it is one of the heavier coolers i've worked with.

Antec Solutions plus: crappy as is...but you can put a vantec stealth fan on there(the fan holder is removable, so this is easy) and it'll be quiet as the breeze while still offering decent cooling.(my athlon 1.2 runs 50 idle with bad circulation) this is also a very light cooler(aluminum with copper core)

I've got a book of matches,
I've got a can of kerosene,
I've got some bright ideas involving you and me.

 

[Coyote]

Check out the vantec aeroflow (about $25 US), I've one of those. My Ti4200 OTES makes much more noise than it. Look up the decibel rating and see if it's OK for you. Otherwise, I also use an SLK-947U I got on sale for $20. It may be too heavy for u though, but if not you could put a real low noise fan on it.

Re: keeping your HD cool. I'm not sure the cpu HSF is your answer to that problem. The HSF doesn't make your cpu generate less heat, it just dissapates it better (ie, puts it in the surrounding air better/faster)

Mobile XP 2600+ (11X200)
Abit NF7-S v 2.0
Maxtor 60GB ATA 133 7200RPM
512MB Corsair Twinx 3200LL
BBA 9800 Pro
Enermax Noisetaker 420 watts
Win98SE

 

[mikeymike]

Re: weight - I don't like absolutely massive heatsinks. They're more difficult to fit, if you change motherboards something might be in the way of them fitting, and attaching a ~one pound weight to one end of a sheet of plastic tends to make me think "SNAP" despite it being bolted down 🙂

Antect solutions - so good heatsink poor fan I take it?

re: hard disk and HSF - the job of a HSF is to draw heat away from the processor and get rid of it. A bad heatsink will fail in one of these respects, causing the air to warm up inside the case, instead of it being circulated somewhere to be vented out. Obviously the 'venting out' can be a failure in the PSU, but given my system is open, the PSU probably is doing very little work in that respect.

http://www.mikeymike.org.uk/mikes/mypc.txt
<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by mikeymike on 07/02/04 05:17 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[Tavelkyosoba]

antec solutions: yes it does have very nice heatink, the fins are thin and numerous(about 40 fins, i keep coming up with different numbers when i count hehe)...and they're not polished to increase surface area(and reduce production costs)

the fan mount is a removable alluminum sleeve that scres to the base. this protects the thin fins and also gives the option to apply a 60mmx25mm fan intsead of the stock 60mmx10mm fan

the stock fan is a 60mmx10mm ball bearing, but it is very loud and dies very quikly(like all 60x10 fans) replacing it with a vantec stealth fan moves enough air and is dead quiet. you could also put a very powerful 60mm fan (thanks to that sleeve)

HDD heat: even with the sides open its still advisable to have a rear fan; use an 80mm fan or a slot blower, both work just as well.

I've got a book of matches,
I've got a can of kerosene,
I've got some bright ideas involving you and me.<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by tavelkyosoba on 07/02/04 01:25 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[mikeymike]

My experiences in attempting to cool the hard disk suggest that a rear fan would make no difference in reducing the hard disk temp.

I've tried mounting a fan right next to the hard disk, so it was blowing air above and below the disk, ~3000RPM fan. Not even a degree difference at point blank range. Hard disks would need to be designed differently to make heatsink mounting above and below a workable idea, then a fan(s) might help. I know it's not the disk that runs so hot, because running it in an old system (like P3 age) I find it runs about 7C cooler. It's the general system temperature that brings it up, and I believe hard disks don't conduct heat particularly well.

An identical disk in a PC I built for a customer recently, Barton 2500+ with a graphics card that ran much cooler, the disk ran at 2C cooler than the one in mine does on average. That machine had a stock AMD CPU fan (~3000RPM), a case side fan (same speed) and the PSU fan.

 

[endyen]

This was a good article <A HREF="http://www.tomshardware.com/cpu/20030113/index.html" target="_new">http://www.tomshardware.com/cpu/20030113/index.html</A> If you can get your hands on an AVC Robin, they are very quiet and rated high. A good lapping nevers hurts.

 

[Tavelkyosoba]

with respects to lapping, i found a third and 4th step, after polishing with steel wool(where i used to stop) i found that a semi-abrasive soap will polish it even further...then a dry rag will finish it off.

maybe you already knew this...but i didn't

I've got a book of matches,
I've got a can of kerosene,
I've got some bright ideas involving you and me.

 

[Zeekfu]

Anybody have any luck with items like this? I read a review that said it cooled the hdd about 4 degrees c. Alot of the buyer reviews say the fans don't last all that long though. Also some complaints about dust gathering on the circuit board of the hdd. As I recall though the review said they could be mounted on either side of the hdd. Think it's worth it?

<A HREF="http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=35-888-105&depa=0" target="_new">http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=35-888-105&depa=0</A>

<font color=black>yippie ki ya, m..........<font color=black>

 

[Tavelkyosoba]

yeah, that is actually the best solution around. everything else blows air across the surface, that blows air AT the surface.

and those fans wont last long because they're sleeve bearings, try and find one with ball-bearing fans. or replace them with an appropriate ball bearing fan yourself.

I've got a book of matches,
I've got a can of kerosene,
I've got some bright ideas involving you and me.