Third Party CPU Cooling that fits on a GA-X38-DQ6?

[Zenoth]

Hey guys,

With some delay I finally received a call earlier today confirming that I'll get my E8400 at my door by tomorrow after noon. That's the good part. But I have seen pictures of the stock Intel cooling solution that comes with it, and to be honest it looks like a very cheap and poorly efficient HSF (perhaps I'm entirely wrong and it actually does perform well?). I am planning to over-clock the heck out of that CPU so... I guess I'll need something better.

With that said, not all third party CPU cooling solutions are compatible with the GA-X38-DQ6 due to its integrated heat spreader design covering most of the north bridge and even some copper at the back of the board, which supposedly and certainly does make everything harder to secure firmly especially if it has push pins and stuff like that I'd presume.

Are there any KNOWN compatible and GOOD (not necessarily the very best though) third party CPU cooling solution for my GA-X38-DQ6 and an Intel S775 Dual-Core CPU? Something that will install WITHOUT the need of extra efforts other than using my bare hands? Please, if there are, I'd really appreciate to receive some recommendations.

Thanks!

 

[systemlord]

O yea your going to need a massive cooler because the stock cooler is good for stock speeds in my book. If this is your mobo then any CPU cooler will fit. Heres the top two CPU coolers, the Tuniq Tower 120 and the Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme.


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835154001

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835109125


Tuniq Tower 120

By systemlord at 2007-11-13

By systemlord at 2007-11-13


Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme

By systemlord at 2008-01-22

By systemlord at 2008-01-22

 

[Zenoth]

Wow... hmmm...

Anything smaller and with a fan included? That's a little too big for my tastes, and I don't feel like having to pay for an extra fan to mount on top of those. As I said I'm not looking for the "very best there is", just something better than the stock cooling will do.

 

[systemlord]

I am planning to over-clock the heck out of that CPU so... I guess I'll need something better.

There all going to be big like the pictures I have provided, they remove heat and they do it well while being massive. Smaller then this and your not going to able to OC the heck out of it, if you want something smaller then I suggest you go water cooling that has a small cooling block. Small CPU cooler means small overclock and a big OC mean big CPU cooler, so now you have to ask yourself do you really want to OC big or small.

 

[Zenoth]

I see.

Well, alright I might consider one of those then. Aren't those huge coolers blowing up the heated up air onto the Memory modules?

 

[Zenoth]

What about that one: http://www.pcmoddingmy.com/e107_plugins/content/content.php?content.405

 

[volvotech]

I have the same board. It all depends on whether or not you want to remove the factory 'Crazycool' heatsink from the bottom of the board or not. Any of the bigger heatsinks require a lower mounting bracket for support that cannot be installed as long as the heatsink is there. That's the problem with the 2 listed above. They need the lower support. Gigabyte shows you how to remove it in the instructions for the board, but I've heard different opinions on removing it.
On mine, I put a OCZ Vendetta cooler http://www.frostytech.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=2220. It uses the factory style push locks. The only problem I had was the cooling fan was right up against the RAM if I used the first slot. It seems to do an alright job, but I'm a little worried about cooling the area around the cpu, so I'll prob change it.

Scythe also makes decent coolers that use the push pin style clips

check this site out: http://www.frostytech.com/top5heatsinks.cfm

In the reviews, they show what hardware comes with the cooler.Also at the top of the page you can also do a review search by manfacturer.

Hope this helps

 

[systemlord]

I see.

Well, alright I might consider one of those then. Aren't those huge coolers blowing up the heated up air onto the Memory modules?

Those push pin locks are a piece of crap that don't allow you to apply enough pressure, and the more pressure you have ontop of the CPU the better the heat transfer. Sometime these push pin type coolers pop out and therefore cause massive heat build-up to where the CPU shutdown to prevent meltdown.

These coolers I have provided you are twice as high as the RAM dimms, which suck in air and push it out the other end. The air from these coolers will never push air over the RAM dimms, but wish they would. I will only recommend coolers that will allow you to OC like you stated, big OC. The Tuniq Tower does come with a fan included and a fan speed controller, the Thermalright Ultra does not come with a fan.

Because of the size of these CPU cooler theres a back plate that go's underneth the bottom of the mobo so that they mount firm like a sandwich, the mobo being the meat. Its very simple the install these coolers compared to the stock push pin type cooler that sometimes pop out sometime after installation.


Tuniq Tower 120 review, >>> http://www.anandtech.com/showdoc.aspx?i=2906&p=1

 

[systemlord]

The top three CPU coolers on the market are: (1) Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme, (2) Tuniq Tower 120, (3) Zalman 9700. The Zalman 9700 being the loudest of the three because it uses a fan much smaller than a 120mm fan, smaller fans have to spin faster to keep up with the bigger fans that spin slower but push more air.

 

[Zenoth]

I will try to find the Tuniq Tower 120, because my local store has nothing in-store from the makers of that cooler. And the only one they have from Thermalright is the XP-120. I will call them tomorrow and ask if I can still order one of those recommended here. The Tuniq is a little expensive when I consider I have to buy a 120mm fan too, but I guess it's the price for higher performing CPU's via OC'ing, of course.

Alright guys, I think it'll be alright.

But will I be 100% sure that the Tuniq will fit my GA-X38-DQ6 without having to un-install any of the integrated cooling on the board itself? I don't want to remove anything and risk breaking stuff, I never removed anything from a motherboard (I mean integrated stuff like the passive cooling on mine that covers even a portion of the board at the back). Overall I think I will go with that Tuniq anyway. I mentioned Thermalright but I heard a sample of the noise level from the Tuniq at full speed and it is still relatively quiet, which is what I want. Something decent, better than stock cooling, and relatively silent at full speed. So far the Tuniq is what I seem to want.

 

[Zenoth]

I think a found a combination of cooling solution that should be more affordable. What about the Thermalright SI-120 + a Scythe S-Flex SFF21E 120mm fan at 20.1dBA? Should that be compatible and be efficient enough?

By the way, I MIGHT try "big" over-clocks, but I won't leave my OC on 24/7. I will benchmark and play some while it is moderately OC'ed, but I won't do every day activities with it at "maximum stable over-clocks". I don't plan to do that, but yes I do plan on "moderately" over-clocking. By that I mean around 30% to 40% OC, but I don't think I'd go for more on a 24/7 usage basis.

I am aiming maybe for 3.6Ghz maximum for 24/7 operation, and later I will try 4.0Ghz but only for benchmarking and testing purposes.

 

[systemlord]

The Tuniq is a little expensive when I consider I have to buy a 120mm fan too.

You do not have to buy a fan for the Tuniq Tower 120, it comes with one already. See in the picture where it says Tuniq on the middle part of the fan, that comes with.

By systemlord at 2007-11-13

 

[Zenoth]

Thanks for the support, everyone.

But I've decided to go with a cheaper OCZ Vendetta. All other solutions were, at minimum, around $30 more expensive, and even $10 extra above my budget would have simply break it. Maybe in a few months, especially when summer arrives, I might consider a better solution, but for now, tight budget forced me to stay on the cheaper side. I'm expecting the OCZ Vendetta to be at least "somewhat better" than the stock Intel cooler.

 

[night_wolf_in]

The top three CPU coolers on the market are: (1) Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme, (2) Tuniq Tower 120, (3) Zalman 9700. The Zalman 9700 being the loudest of the three because it uses a fan much smaller than a 120mm fan, smaller fans have to spin faster to keep up with the bigger fans that spin slower but push more air.

agreed, im using the zalman 9700. it is efficient.

 

[systemlord]

Thanks for the support, everyone.

But I've decided to go with a cheaper OCZ Vendetta. All other solutions were, at minimum, around $30 more expensive, and even $10 extra above my budget would have simply break it. Maybe in a few months, especially when summer arrives, I might consider a better solution, but for now, tight budget forced me to stay on the cheaper side. I'm expecting the OCZ Vendetta to be at least "somewhat better" than the stock Intel cooler.

Heres a list to compare coolers.

By systemlord at 2007-12-29

 

[Zenoth]

Thanks.

But, as I said, my choice is made. And the Vendetta isn't on that list, so to me it's a little irrelevant right now. However I will surely consider the Thermalright Ultra-120, eventually.

 

[systemlord]

Thanks.

But, as I said, my choice is made. And the Vendetta isn't on that list, so to me it's a little irrelevant right now. However I will surely consider the Thermalright Ultra-120, eventually.

The Vendetta is an improved version of the other two OCZ brands listed in the chart, so it should perform better then the two listed. I forgot to mention this in latter post.