XFI-14 vs. TRUE 120 vs. Any other good suggestions

[ThrottleAbuse]

So even though I said I wasn't going to O/C I decided my Q6600http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_Core_2 needs to get bumped up a bit. I just want to go to 3.0 Ghz for now and spend less than $100 on the setup. LOL should have just bought the more expensive chip. DOH.

I have been looking at the big article on CPU coolers from here and they seem to really like the new XFI-14. I have also had the TRUE recomended by a few people. Which of these two is better? And does anyone know if they will it fit in my XION Onyx case???

Also what is the deal with the fans? Toms recommended the Scythehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scythe Slip Stream fan 800rpm fan and it moves quite a bit more air than the more expensive S-Flex fan which has a bearing setup and is a little less noisy. Any help would be great.

I forgot to add. Will I need to buy anything special after I buy the fan and heatsink to control the fan speed, etc? I already have some Arctic Silver 5. And I dont really want to mess with a controller if I dont have too. And was also hoping it wouldnt run at full speed all the time.

 

[ThrottleAbuse]

I decided I want to go with the XFI-14 unless someone chimes in.

Any help with the fan question? Do I need to buy anything else to hook it up to my P5Q Pro and so it can control the speed. Thanks

 

[aevm]

Q6600 at 3.0 GHz does not require an expensive and huge cooler. Just use the stock cooler, or get an Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro if your Q6600 is OEM. I know that the Freezer fits in that case and on the P5Q Pro.

S-Flex fans use "fluid dynamic bearing". That's really not the usual "bearing". I have 3 SFF21Es in the case and one on the Ninja cooler and they are very quiet.

 

[ThrottleAbuse]

Thanks for the help. Do I need anything special to control the fan speed or will plugging it into my MB work. I want it to not run at 100% all the time.

Edit. I am going to get a nice cooler just in case I want to go a little further with the O/C ing.

 

[aevm]

There are some articles here that might interest you.
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article30-page1.html
http://www.silentpcreview.com/section12.html



The coolers below can adjust fan speed depending on temperatures, so I guess they're just what you want...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233003 XIGMATEK HDT-S1283
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233001 XIGMATEK HDT-S963
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835202007 OCZ Vendetta 2

For example this is a quote from the Xigmatek HDT-S1283 specs (the other two say similar things):

The heatsink is cooled by the 120mm fan mounted on the side of the array which blows nearly 100 CFM of cooling air at its maximum 1500 RPM. Its support for PWM lets the BIOS control the speed of the fan based on the CPU's thermal needs – lowering the fans speed and noise during off-peak cycles. A spoiler on the back side of the cooling array diverts air to cool components around the CPU as well.

If the HDT-S1283 fits in your case, I'd prefer it to the other two. It works best if you also get this bracket:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233019


Before you buy a cooler, make sure it fits in your case, OK? Which model of Xion Onyx do you have?

 

[ThrottleAbuse]

Thanks aevm for the links the really liked the scythe slip stream that the toms article recomends for the IFX-14. I have found very little info on the ifx-14 except the toms article which doesnt compare it to the other thermalright units.

As far as the speed control thing I just want it to work like my stock intel one does. When the cpu is cool the fan is slow. When the cpu is hot the fan goes fast. From what I can tell this is how any fan you plug into the MB will work, but I was just looking for someone to confirm.

As far as the case this is what I have

http://xionusa.com/Product-case-XionONYX.asp

And I have a corsair 520HX power supply. It looks like it will fit as the height of the IFX-14 is 161mm and the case is 205 mm wide.

 

[aevm]

All right, if you want a good review of the IFX-14 here's one:
http://www.madshrimps.be/?action=getarticle&articID=673

 

[ThrottleAbuse]

LOL thanks. I did a bunch of reading this morning. Seems the TRUE is better in all out performance at the price of more noise because you need to push more air over it with more powerful fan. The IFX-14 does very close with a smaller amount of airflow. I am assuming the TRUE is going to be quieter than the stock HSF setup, but I am going for less noise.

 

[aevm]

Oh yeah, the TRUE is one of the quietest out there. Last year I did a ton of research, with these priorities:
1. quiet
2. good cooling (less important)
3. price (not important)
4. size (didn't care at all, with my huge TJ-09)

The short list I ended up with was TRUE+SFF21E fan, followed by Scythe Ninja. I got the Ninja eventually, but only because where I live the TRUE would have meant waiting two more weeks.

There's also the more recent Noctua NH-U12P. That one didn't exist yet when I was shopping.
Performance matches or beats the TRUE, and has the quietest fan ever invented. The price is disgusting, ($98+shipping), but then the (TRUE +shipping + S-Flex fan + shipping for the fan) might cost even more. If I needed a cooler today that's the one I'd buy (it's only $60 in Canada too...).
http://www.ncixus.com/products/27130/NH-U12P/Noctua/
http://www.anandtech.com/showdoc.aspx?i=3268&p=2

 

[ThrottleAbuse]

I ordered the IFX-14 and a scythe slip stream like the toms article said. I will have to remove my 140 mm side fan to fit it in my case, but I aready have a front fan and rear fan so I should be okay. Like I after reading around the IFX-14 seems to deliver close the the TRUE performance with less noise because the TRUE seemed to require more fan.

 

[ThrottleAbuse]

Is Arctic Silver 5 okay as a thermal paste or should I look at getting something else? I didnt see that the IFX-14 came with anything.

I am thinking I will put the 140mm fan from the case on one side of the IFX-14 and the scythe slip stream on the other side. Wonder which should push and which should pull?

 

[aevm]

MX-2 is nicer if you're mechanically challenged like me, just in case of spills. That's because it doesn't conduct electricity.

I'd make the bigger fan pull, I think. I bet it doesn't matter anyway.

 

[ThrottleAbuse]

Should I use the Chill factor from thermalright that came with the HS or use the Arctic Silver 5 that I already have?

 

[aevm]

If you trust Thermalright to make a good cooler, you might as well trust their paste too. It's been tested with the cooler after all. But I'm sure AS5 would be fine too. No idea which is better, sorry. Flip a coin.