What CPU(s) are these fans for?

[jhsachs]

I've got a bunch of perfectly good used CPU fans that have just one problem... nothing to tell me what CPUs they're for. Most of them have no part number that I could look up.

Lots of web sites explain how to choose a fan for your CPU, but how can I "choose" a CPU for my fan? Are there hidden marks to look for, or some other way to tell?

 

[thx1138v2]

Most 3rd party CPU coolers (fan + heatsink) these days will fit both AMD and Intel CPU's. They often come with adapters for one or the other CPU so you would need the adapters also. Some are designed generically and come with two adapters - one for AMD and one for Intel. The other qualifying factor is how much heat they are designed to dissipate. That relates to the TDP (Thermal Design Power) of the CPU.

As far as I know there's no way to distinguish them without markings. Many should have a sticker on the hub of the fan. Few companies are going to pass up a chance to stick their name on something. That may not apply to coolers sold in the same box with the CPU. You might be able to browse the web looking for CPU cooler images to match what you have in your hand. Some have distinctive construction.

https://www.google.com/search?q=cpu+cooler+images&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjXjcS5jujRAhVL1mMKHWMfBQ8Q7AkINQ&biw=1024&bih=644

 

[jhsachs]

It sounds like the answer to my question "How can I tell what CPUs a cooler is for?" is, "You can't." That's discouraging, although given what I already knew it's not totally surprising.

The precise question I meant to ask was: How to tell what CPU socket a fan is designed to work with? That's how sellers describe their coolers. (Part of this is about the possibility of selling my surplus coolers on eBay.) As far as I know, though, the form factor of the cooler itself is the same for all Intel sockets and all AMD sockets, so that is no help.

You said that coolers have different heat dissipation capacities, which makes them suitable for different types of CPUs. I can look up a given CPU's TDP, but I don't know a way to connect that with the cooler classification by socket type.

At this point it looks like my only option is to assign any unidentified cooler (i.e. almost all of them) to the CPUs with the lowest TDPs -- except that I don't even know what CPUs those are.

If you or someone else can shed even a little more light on this matter -- secret knowledge, rules of thumb, special case solutions -- it will be welcome.

While typing this message I noticed that "CPU cooler" and "CPU cooker" differ by only one letter, both in the alphabet and on the QWERTY keyboard. It's an appropriate coincidence.

 

[salerhino]

It sounds like the answer to my question "How can I tell what CPUs a cooler is for?" is, "You can't." That's discouraging, although given what I already knew it's not totally surprising.

The precise question I meant to ask was: How to tell what CPU socket a fan is designed to work with? That's how sellers describe their coolers. (Part of this is about the possibility of selling my surplus coolers on eBay.) As far as I know, though, the form factor of the cooler itself is the same for all Intel sockets and all AMD sockets, so that is no help.

You said that coolers have different heat dissipation capacities, which makes them suitable for different types of CPUs. I can look up a given CPU's TDP, but I don't know a way to connect that with the cooler classification by socket type.

At this point it looks like my only option is to assign any unidentified cooler (i.e. almost all of them) to the CPUs with the lowest TDPs -- except that I don't even know what CPUs those are.

If you or someone else can shed even a little more light on this matter -- secret knowledge, rules of thumb, special case solutions -- it will be welcome.

While typing this message I noticed that "CPU cooler" and "CPU cooker" differ by only one letter, both in the alphabet and on the QWERTY keyboard. It's an appropriate coincidence.

If they are little bit older, they are probably for AM2,LGA 775..
Just measure holes distance

 

[Isokolon]

The fans will probably work with any heatsink of the same brand.
If you mean the heatsink you basically have to compare photographs