Absolute BEST air coolers

[paul_]

What are the best air HSFs, both for CPU and video card? I've heard and seen Zalman at the top, but I'm not sure if there is anything better out there. Would I be better off with an Arctic Cooler for the graphics card? The goal here is to significantly OC an X2 4400+ and a 7800GT. Noise is an issue, because I do use this computer for media at night i.e. watching a movie while falling asleep.

[madad2005]

Before I write anything I'd just like to state that I DO NOT CONDONE OVERCLOCKING AT ANY LEVEL AND YOU DO SO AT YOUR OWN RISK. LIKEWISE FOR ANY HARDWARE MODS THAT WILL INVALIDATE YOUR WARRANTY! Done.

Well, for NVIDIA cards, I hear that the Zalman vf700 is the best (although the vf900 is due to be released sometime soon). I use it on my 6800XT and it is completely silent and the GPU temps range from 47 (idle) to 55 (full load). It is easy to install too. I heard the installation for the Arctic Silencer is much more troublesome, plus it looks bulky as hell.

Air coolers for CPU's - the AK-913 has been top of Custom PC's air cooling list for a while now

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=184657

and gives good room for overclocking, as does this gigabyte cooler:

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=212686

The gigabyte is also quieter but is very bulky apparently.

If you want more specialist info, then you might be better off asking in an overclocking forum where everyone gets involved in it. www.guru3d.com springs to mind.

Good luck anyway.

[paul_]

eh...I'm ready to take the risk. So many people OC the X2 4400+ and the 7700GT significantly that it encourages me. So, I'll probably end up getting my X2 up to maybe 3.01GHZ! :eek: and my 7800 at a decently higher speed from factory OC stock. Hello, performance!!! Higher clockspeed than an FX-60...I'm in.

My question for now I guess is, is the new Zalman CPNS9500 good to bring my processor to 3GHZ? From what I understand, it is. I literally cannot wait until I get home and put this B3AST together!

-Paul

[madad2005]

Well, with the zalman vf700 I managed to unlock 4 pipes and 1 vertex shader as well as overclock the gpu by 22% and the ram by 12% on my vid card.

That zalman cpu cooler was rated alongside watercooling (if my memory serves me right). I'm sure it will do a good job!

Best of luck with it! What PSU are you using?

EDIT: ooOOooOOoo I just saw the coming soon sign at the bottom of your reply! You must benchmark that and let me know how it performs! I'm especially interested in how your new hard disk will perform!

[paul_]

I'm using an Antec TPII 550W. Plenty of b33f under the hood, and the voltage isn't bad, either.

I don't know anything about unlocking pipes and shaders, but I do plan to OC this beast to whatever extent I can. And yes, my setup is gonna be SCHWEET, I can't wait until march 4th when I get home. The parts will be waiting! I'm expecting... "decent" improvements from what my current X700 throws out :D I also understand that the improvement from the X2 doesn't make a big difference in gaming... I'm willing to bet that going from playing HL2 on a heavily loaded socket 754 A64 3400+ to an X2 4400+ with loads more cache AND A COMPLETELY DEDICATED CORE...it should be a bit better. Double the RAM and double the GPU performance will help, too ;)

-Paul

[madad2005]

I think they the pipelines and shaders on the 7800GT were hardware locked. No chance of opening them. I think you can expect a serious increase in performance, especially if you manage to get your cpu up to fx-60 speeds. I found 2 gigs does help with bigger games, but the 7800gt gives almost double the frame rates of the x700 for the same spec pc. It is a kick-arse card - I'm jealous! That is going to be a nice setup... I'm off to save some more pennies up so I can buy one!!!

[paul_]

the setup will be great...the only question in my mind is how the heck I'm gonna fit everything into a Tt Tsunami case! I've heard some video cards stick into the HDD bays, making 1 unusable...not a problem, as I'm only getting 1 :D

There is no doubt in my mind that the 4400+ (having the same core as the FX-60) will well surpass the FX-60's 2.8 GHZ, and probably climb to 3.1 or so :) My guess for the 7800GT is maybe 510 and 1300, so YESSS for speed! some of the parts are on sale on newegg today so i'll probly order the case and windows XP.

I will be jealous of myself when I get the computer up and running...and yet I cant wait until I have the money to go SLI!!! THEN the envy sets in. I can't believe how good a 1st build this is - I hope I don't royally screw up! I shouldn't though. The only thing I haven't figured out is firing up the computer for the first time.

-Paul

[madad2005]

Well my 6800xt is 9-10 inches long, but it fits fine in my Tt Shark case. I don't know how big the Tsunami case is in comparison. I'd assume the 7800 would be roughly the same size, if not even slightly smaller.

I'm off to be jealous! ;-)

[paul_]

Well, add together Zalman coolers (the biggest ones, CPU + GPU), the 7800GT, 3 case fans, and put it into a small case = problem. Maybe. At least, I hope not. Any suggested changes to my build? (I'm bursting the seams of my budget as it is, so nothing too much more expensive.)

-Paul

[madad2005]

Woops - a bit late on but here goes. If you are worried that the case will be too small, then get a bigger one. It will last you a long time too. Keep me updated on your progress. Also, remember that the power cable you attach to your gfx card shouldn't have anything else attached to it. Makes it much more stable especially when overclocking. Another thing, when you put those RAM heatsinks on (they come with the Zalman) your card, get it right first time as they ARE NOT coming back off!! ;-) Use the thermal pads on them as I've heard people having problems when attempting to use thermal grease with them.

[PrntRhd]

Moved this to Performance SIF, please note no OC in the regular forums.

[paul_]

Thanx madad, I'll keep that in mind...I was gonna use Arctic Alumina Adhesive, but Newegg doesn't carry it, and it seems like too much hassle for a small increase (1-2fps). But either way, my warranties are out the window from the start :D

I can't wait for March 4th, that's when i get home and I can start puttin' her together.(I go to boarding school) Anyway, to the main point of the thread, is Zalman the best air-cooling I can get for a 7800GT and an X2 4400+ for OC'ing?

[madad2005]

For the graphics card, I believe so. The vf700 (and the vf900 whenever it comes out) are extremely impressive and a doddle to install, much unlike the arctic silencer which is very fiddly and isn't as effective anyway. You also get RAM heatsinks with the zalman, as well as some of their own thermal grease (which I wouldn't use).

For the processor, I am not so sure. I know the Zalman is good, but from what I remember, when testing for temp. reductions compared to stock cooling and overclocking windows allowed, the Gigabyte G-Power is the bid daddy of them all. Here is a link:

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=212720

The guys from custom pc magazine usually push their gear to the limit and they recommend this one. Although it too is bulky, it can run fairly quietly too. They actual difference when overclocking is concerned might be as little as 5Mhz, though.

For the thermal grease, I got a bit worried about which stuff to use in the past. Nowadays, as long as your grease is silver-based and is from a reputable supplier, it will work just fine. I have used stuff from Geil, Akasa, and Arctic Silver and the Akasa kept the CPU at roughly 1-2 degrees centigrade cooler than the AS (which I use now), and around 3-4 degrees cooler than the Geil stuff. In the end, it is all better than the thermal pad supplied with the cooler. I have a feeling if you get a Zalman or gigabyte cooler, you will get decent grease with it too.

Yet again, I wish you the best of luck and roll on the 4th! Just make sure you don't push your gear too far and fry your system! ;-)

[paul_]

I have heard that AMDs (at least earlier models) have a feature that de-tunes the processor when it starts to overheat, like cool 'n quiet is with load. Is it still around? Either way, the proc is not going past 3GHZ or 1.475vcore under any circumstances. Okay, maybe 1.5, but that's just if I can only reach 3ghz with that much power. This comp is gonna be SICK no matter how much or how little I OC it. I'm gonna stick with the Zalman 9500 though - cuz i kinda ordered it already :rolleyes:

-Paul