C2D - pick my HSF for me

V

Valnar

Supreme [H]ardness
Joined
Apr 3, 2001
Messages
4,570
I'm building a silent (not totally 0dB silent, but very quiet) PC for my father that will have an Intel C2D 6400.

It's a micro-ATX board in an Antec NSK3300. There's not too much room to play with.

Requirements:
* Good cooling and quiet operation. He's hard of hearing already and lives in a warm climate.
* 92mm fan max. No 120mm options due to space constraints in case
* Cannot be a super huge (read: tall) copper heatsink that looks like the Empire State Building. It will be shipped cross country and I don't want anything weighing too much.
* Would prefer, although not required, so have the heatsink seperate from the fan. No integrated fan. I can then mount whatever fan I need depending on how well it cools vs sound level.
* No overclocking on the C2D will be done.

-------------------------------
My current choice is a Thermalright XP-90 with a quiet Vantec or Nexus 92mm fan. I'm looking for alternatives that I may have overlooked.

Thanks,
Robert
 
Just maybe you might be able to fit a scythe infinity in there :confused: Using the fan that comes with it, it is VERY silent..... Hell, you dont even need a fan on this cooler. If your not going to OC, the temps will be OK....
 
Actually, those are the kind I want to avoid. Very big and heavy. But thanks.

Robert
 
I'm about to get rid of my XP-90C, b/c to get decent performance the fan needs to run pretty fast. And 90mm fans are louder than 120mm fans. Don't get me wrong it performs well, but I'm about to revamp my whole case/cooling.

I'm thinking of upgrading to a Scythe Ninja (or Infinity) b/c it performs well while being very quiet.

Just keep an eye on this thread: http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1123593
 
If you haven't already purchased an OEM cpu why not go boxed with the stock HSF which is more than adequate? An OEM (unboxed) costs about the same with no warranty and no HSF. BTW, in many if not most cases, and overclocker reaches a mem limitation before a temp limitation. Anyway, there is evidence to suggest that for some folks there must be a correlation between HSF and watch size. ;)
 
I got the Thermalright XP-90 with a Vantec 90mm fan. I'm not too happy with the performance, but it's adequate. Although it could easily be the fact I keep this small case dead quiet.

Idle is about 39-41c depending on ambient and burn-in temps get up to 58c. The C2D runs smoothly though. I may try something else; dunno yet. If I crank up the fan to a faster speed where it's hearable, the temps drop about another 1-2c.

What kind of temps can I expect out of the Antec NSK3300 or any other small micro-ATX case?

Robert
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top