Suggestions for air cooling Q6600

[Europa2010AD]

I'm planning to build a new comp with an Intel Q6600 CPU. I'm planning to OC it to .. may be around 2.8 to 3.0Ghz in the future. I'm looking at air cooling only, and am looking for alternatives to the Thermalright Ultra 120 -- all that "lapping" I've read about it is a little too much for me to handle.

Any suggestions for an easier to install, less troublesome CPU cooler that is efficient at cooling as well? I'm not TOO concerned about noise -- as long as it's reasonable, I'm fine with it.

 

[aeiouandxyz]

Any cooler that doesn't use push pins should be a snap to install. God I hate Intel's stock cooler.
Zalman: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118223
Xigmatech: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233003
Retention bracket for Xig: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233019

 

[dallasjoh]

Xigmatech: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835233003
Retention bracket for Xig: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835233019

Thermal compound = Artic Silver 5 or Artic Cooling MX-2

 

[dagger]

Benchmarks > opinions: 😛
http://www.frostytech.com/top5heatsinks.cfm

The absolute best performing air cooler:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835207004

 

[V3NOM]

XigmateK not tech... sheez.

 

[rockbyter]

push pins limit the weight of the heatsink, which really limits the cooling capacity. If you can vision removing and reinstalling the motherboard, installing any heatsink with a backing plate is a walk in the park if you take your time and have a second set of hands. On your own its a little more complicated but doable.

in the frostytech master list, the top 30 or so will do 3 GHz without being too crazy, match it up to the noise level you are looking for. Tuniq Tower is my personal choice, but have a big case and lots of air flow from case fans to supplement

 

[squatchman]

Make sure the cooler you want to buy will actually FIT in the case you want to put it in.

Some of these high end air coolers are pushing 155+ mm

 

[magicbullet]

Any cooler that doesn't use push pins should be a snap to install. God I hate Intel's stock cooler.
Zalman: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118223
Xigmatech: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233003
Retention bracket for Xig: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233019

i'm noob here. what is the retention bracket???????what is the purpose of it?

 

[Europa2010AD]

Any cooler that doesn't use push pins should be a snap to install. God I hate Intel's stock cooler.

Doesn't the Xigmatek use push-pins? Does using the retention bracket eliminate the use of the push-pins? Also, according to some user reviews, the Xig's retention bracket is made of metal, therefore some are concerned that there's a chance it could "short" the Mobo. Is this a genuine concern?

Make sure the cooler you want to buy will actually FIT in the case you want to put it in.
Some of these high end air coolers are pushing 155+ mm

I'm planning to get the Antec 900 as my case. Any idea if it has enough room for the Xigmatek?

i'm noob here. what is the retention bracket???????what is the purpose of it?

I believe it is an X-shaped bracket to be mounted at the back of the motherboard, in order to give extra holding strength for the cooler.

Lastly, what's the difference between the Xigmatek HDT-S1283 and HDT-S1284EE? Why is the S1283 recommended but not the 1284?

 

[Europa2010AD]

Oh I just realised the S1284 has 4 heatpipes compared to the 3 of the S1283. So I guess in addition to my questions above, is it worth it to go for the one extra heatpipe?

 

[V3NOM]

1: if you get the S1284 you need a different xigmatek bracket.
2: Don't get the S1284.lol

 

[Youraputz]

I have a Q6600 currently OC to 3ghz (9x333 - stock voltage of 1.168v) using this cooler (ocz vendetta 2):

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835202007

under 100% load, prime on all cores for 24 hours the hottest core never broke 43C according to realtemp. no lapping or anything fancy, just a little line of thermal goo and a minor fight with those &*(^&( pushpins and its all set.

pros:

very solid air cooling
120mm fan = quiet
price

cons:

pushpins suck (install it before mounting your mobo to the case IMO)
tall (make sure your case has enough room)
the way the fan mounts to the fins takes some practice to get right. its nice because it reduces vibrations to basically 0, but its a 1-time nuisance.

overall, 8.5/10, -1.5 only because of setup, based on performance and price 10/10.

 

[Twist86]

I use the XIGMATEK S1283 with the ACK-I775 Back Plate *sold separate*

@ Stock this sucker would chill under 40c @ 2.4ghz at 333x9 = 1.325v 50c tops this is in a 21c room.

@ 400x8 @ 1.3500v I get a max temp of 55-55-50-50 @ 1050RPM on Prime95 on the 80000 test after that I see 50-50-44-48

Idle temps @ 400x8 2 1.3500v is 32-31-25-28 fan speed 800RPM

I expect better cooling if I was to turn the fan up to the 1500RPM but I need a fan controller I think...motherboard is currently set to "auto" for fans.

This is based off a 21c-22c room temp.

Forgot to add...my AS5 is like 20 hours broke-in so I should see bit better temps once its done.

 

[Europa2010AD]

whoa that's a little technical for me.. I've never OC'ed anything and this will be my first time. What's "400x8"??

AS5.. you're referring to the thermal paste right? hmm, I didn't know it takes time to break-in... so thanks for the info!

 

[ammotastic]

Zalman 9700 with optimum amount of Artic Silver 5, should see stable max load temps of no more than 46c, on a q6600 oc'd to 3ghz after initial wear-in of the AS5.

 

[balloonshark]

Twist86, Your numbers look very similar to mine. I also have a Q6600 GO (VID 1.325) @ 3.0GHz (stock voltage) and my room temp and CPU temps were identical. I use Prime95 short FFT's for max CPU stress.

You could try changing the CPU fan speed in your BIOS if the option is available although I figure it's running full speed when priming. I ran mine at 1200 rpms idle and 100% when the temps reached 45C which ended up being about 1400 rpms. I also use AS5. You could also try a program called Speedfan to control your fan speed/s. There is a very detailed sticky about calibrating the temps in the CPU section.

I've since lapped my CPU and added 2-1600rpm fans to my S1283 with very little improvement.