Cooling Equipment

T

TSS Modder

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just to save time, i thought that id condense a few cooling questions i have into one thread.

1) CPU cooler:
the Thermalright XP-90 seems like my best choice. my question is should i buy a XP-90 or XP-90C? ill be buying a Venice 3200+, so ill be OCing it relatively high. would the extra 20$, weight, and copper be worth it?

if i was to buy the XP-90C, would i be able to undervolt the fan and still maintain reasonable temps? ill most likely being buying a Fanbus, so if i kept the CPU fan pretty low i should still get fairly low temps.

what about Arctic Cooling CPU coolers? i havent heard about any of these from anybody. i just stumbled on them while checking out GPU coolers. the Freezer 64 looks pretty nice: http://www.arctic-cooling.com/cpu2.php?idx=10&data=2&disc=
anybody have any takes on this?

and what about the Zalman CNPS-7700 Cu? http://www.zalmanusa.com/usa/product/view.asp?idx=145&code=005

2) GPU cooler:
Zalman VF-700 Cu. its quiet, its copper, and its from Zalman: http://www.zalmanusa.com/usa/product/view.asp?idx=149&code=013
Arctic Cooling NV Silencer 5 Rev.2: http://www.arctic-cooling.com/vga2.php?idx=40

my main concern for the GPU is its noise moreso than its heat. ill be looking at getting a 6800GT. i need a GPU cooler that can keep things relatively cool w/o much noise. the GPU will obviously be OCed. i also need the GPU coolers to work on 2 cards in SLI. i wont be starting out w/ SLI, but it will definately be a future upgrade, so i need a GPU cooler than will fit in a SLI setup.

3) RAM
the RAM i will most likely be buying will have heatspreaders and will be OCed, most likely w/ the voltage knocked up. will a XP-90 w/ fan be able to blow air on the RAM, or will dedicated cooling be necessary?

4) Fans
what brand fans should i buy? the case that i will buy (unknown) will be using 120mm fans, hopefully. at least one in teh front and back. possible one up top. i need very quiet fans. again, ill probably be using a Fanbus, so they will be undervolted, but i need them quiet out of the box.

5) Fanbus
which Fanbus should i buy? need some recommendations here, since i dont know which ones i should look into. it needs to control at least 4 fans. 5 fans would be preferable, but i dont need a lot of excess controllers. if one has a switch for CCFLs, thatd also be great for when i want to turn them off.

i dont care too much whether the Fanbus uses knobs or switches to control voltages. id have more control w/ knobs, but a simple flick would turn a fan from 12v to 7v (or 5v) to off, which might be convenient. w/e. you guys recommend to me what your preferable Fanbuses are.
 
TSS Modder said:
just to save time, i thought that id condense a few cooling questions i have into one thread.

1) CPU cooler:
the Thermalright XP-90 seems like my best choice. my question is should i buy a XP-90 or XP-90C? ill be buying a Venice 3200+, so ill be OCing it relatively high. would the extra 20$, weight, and copper be worth it?

if i was to buy the XP-90C, would i be able to undervolt the fan and still maintain reasonable temps? ill most likely being buying a Fanbus, so if i kept the CPU fan pretty low i should still get fairly low temps.

what about Arctic Cooling CPU coolers? i havent heard about any of these from anybody. i just stumbled on them while checking out GPU coolers. the Freezer 64 looks pretty nice: http://www.arctic-cooling.com/cpu2.php?idx=10&data=2&disc=
anybody have any takes on this?
Click to expand...

XP-90 seems pretty sweet. It's @ an awesome price point too. $25 for the XP-90 from svc.com (usually goes on sale every other week or so)

I have an XP-90 in my media server PC running a P4 3.2E. I threw a 9.2cm tornado on there for kicks. it was turning @ 10k RPMs and annoying as hell. I replaced it with a 9.2cm zalaman 5kRPM unit and it's only about 2C (max) warmer under load. I'm sure I'd need the tornado if I was doing serious OCing.

as for the weight of the XP-90 I am thouroughly impressed. It's very lightweight. I've killed mobos by loading them up too much with WC blocks... so the HSK weight is a big factor to me.

lemme see if I have a pic of mine really quick:

HTPC_Build_day310-vi.jpg

the XP-90 dwarfs my stock Prescott HSK, but it's actually about the same weight (w/o the tornado). w00t!

TSS Modder said:
and what about the Zalman CNPS-7700 Cu? http://www.zalmanusa.com/usa/product/view.asp?idx=145&code=005

2) GPU cooler:
Zalman VF-700 Cu. its quiet, its copper, and its from Zalman: http://www.zalmanusa.com/usa/product/view.asp?idx=149&code=013
Arctic Cooling NV Silencer 5 Rev.2: http://www.arctic-cooling.com/vga2.php?idx=40

my main concern for the GPU is its noise moreso than its heat. ill be looking at getting a 6800GT. i need a GPU cooler that can keep things relatively cool w/o much noise. the GPU will obviously be OCed. i also need the GPU coolers to work on 2 cards in SLI. i wont be starting out w/ SLI, but it will definately be a future upgrade, so i need a GPU cooler than will fit in a SLI setup.
Click to expand...
I've got the AC cooler on my STI 9800Pro AIW. it's mo quiet. The only card I've heard any complaints about with the AC blocks are the FX6800U family. Apparently the stock cooler blows away the AC rig.
I've got mine on H20, and I have my GT using the Ultra HSK.. so I'm a happy guy with that.

Be careful though.. AC's suck if you get the wrong one. I got the AC Nv6 rev2 for my 6600GT agp, and the thing only fits PCI-e. whoops!

g2g

----------
In all honesty, if you're planning on spending this money on cooling... look into some affordable WC solutions... that tornado and XP-90 is loud enough to break up a marrage. heh heh.
 
ive considered WC, but the cost is always much higher than air, and i can make air relatively quiet.

my room is always pretty loud anyways, but if i play a game i dont want to hear my fans kick in louder than my game.

between that, and i dont have the space for WC. ill most likely be buying a Lian Li PC-7B+, which doesnt look like it has much room for WC. i dont really feel like taking the time to WC it, anyways.
 
i had a longer more thorough reply just about finished when my internet connection buggered up on me.

the short version: XP-90 CPU cooler, panaflo fans for case and CPU, zalman VF-700 Cu GPU cooler, whatever fan bus you find for a good price(vantec nexus series works pretty well), no dedicate cooling for the ram, unless you are going extreme(winbond UTT or BH-5 at 3.3 or more), heat spreaders don't even make much of a difference on DDR I memory, unless you are going for the outer limits.

you can do good watercooling for suprisingly little these days. less than $200 total.
 
OCing will not be extreme, though im hoping for it to be relatively high. hoping to take that 3200+ up to at least 2.4GHz (3800+). think the temps will still be reasonable at that OC?

what about the XP-90C? is it worth the extra 20-25$ to get copper? esp for that kind of OCing? if the aluminum version will do just fine, then ill take that extra 25$ and put it towards the Seasonic 500W PSU instead of the 430W.

what about the Arctic Cooling CPU coolers? that Freezer 64 seems pretty potent.

does anybody have any experience w/ the NV Silencers vs. the Zalmans? im leaning towards the Zalmans myself, but if the Silencers are quieter then id take those.

all in all, im expecting the cost of cooling equipment to hit approx 100$, still 100$ less than WC. i really dont have the money for WC.

also, i have an idea for my computer: create air ducts. what i would do is take balsa wood and cyran (sp?) wrap (the stuff you put over bowls that contain food), and create 2 basic ducts: one for the CPU/RAM, and one for the GPU.
i could either get a case w/ 1 120mm fan and split the duct into 2 parts, or get a case w/ 2 80mm fans and use a dedicated fan for each duct. my only issue is noise.
if anybodys interested in visually seeing what im talking about, id be glad to create a basic diagram for them.

 
TSS Modder said:
what about the XP-90C? is it worth the extra 20-25$ to get copper? esp for that kind of OCing? if the aluminum version will do just fine, then ill take that extra 25$ and put it towards the Seasonic 500W PSU instead of the 430W.
Click to expand...
the XP 90c gets MAYBE a degree cooler temps than the XP 90, and weighs enough to run the risk of damaging your motherboard in the long term. i don't know about spending it on the PSU, especially a seasonis(antec supplies are good, and dang quiet), but the XP-90c is not a terribly worthwhile investment.

TSS Modder said:
what about the Arctic Cooling CPU coolers? that Freezer 64 seems pretty potent.
Click to expand...
some people have good results and some have bad. is seems to me that AC has some qulaity control issues given some of the things that i have heard happen with their product.

TSS Modder said:
does anybody have any experience w/ the NV Silencers vs. the Zalmans? im leaning towards the Zalmans myself, but if the Silencers are quieter then id take those.
Click to expand...
in line with what i was saying above: zalman makes good quality stuff that is quite quiet. the revision 1 silencers have a flaw with the fan electronics that can cause them to make an annoying clicking noise. who knows what problems will crop up with the rev 2s?

TSS Modder said:
all in all, im expecting the cost of cooling equipment to hit approx 100$, still 100$ less than WC. i really dont have the money for WC.
Click to expand...
only $100? wow, i guess that you must have found some good deals, then. given that good fans typically run over $10 each, plus the cost of the heatsinks, i though that your total would be a bit higher.

TSS Modder said:
also, i have an idea for my computer: create air ducts. what i would do is take balsa wood and cyran (sp?) wrap (the stuff you put over bowls that contain food), and create 2 basic ducts: one for the CPU/RAM, and one for the GPU.
i could either get a case w/ 1 120mm fan and split the duct into 2 parts, or get a case w/ 2 80mm fans and use a dedicated fan for each duct. my only issue is noise.
if anybodys interested in visually seeing what im talking about, id be glad to create a basic diagram for them.
Click to expand...
ducting works to a degree..........it's usually better to put a fan in the side of the case to bring air directly to where it's needed, rather than running a duct. case fans are not all that good at moving air against a resistance, and forcing air through a tube adds resistance.
 
alright, so well say the XP-90 and the VF-700Cu.
along w/ 4 Panaflo fans.

the total of those items runs to approx 103.24$. if i add a Vantec controller, that takes it up to about 128$. still less than WC by a good bit.
 
Ditto on the XP-90, VF700-Cu, and a good fan controller. It also depends on the case you get... some allow more noise out than others.
 
Alrighty. XP-90 and VF-700Cu it is, gentlemen! thanks for the recommendations.

so ill skip on additional RAM cooling...

what model Panaflos do i need to get? im gonna need 1 120mm (for front), 1 92mm (for CPU), and 2 80mms (1 in back. 1 up top.). so you think that rubber grommets and fan isolators are necessary? such as items from here: http://www.svc.com/sounddampening.html
and any other items you guys recommend.

for the fanbus, ive decided on the Zalman ZM-MFC1 to control everything. it has 4 knob adjustments, and 2 switch adjustments (0v, 5v, 12v). seems pretty nice.

the case i have my mind set on is the Lian Li PC-7B+. its the cheapest Lian Li w/ 1 120mm in the front, and the cleanest, highest quality case i can find for less than 100$.
 
if you are going to put the fans on controlers anyways, why not get panaflo "high" fans to have the full range of performace available to you? i suppose that the logical conclusion of that line of thought would be that you should the the "ultra" flavour fans, but i can just barely hear an ultra at 5V, wheras i suspect that a "high" fan at 5 V would be functionally inaudible.

my own experiences with adding sound deadening gaskets to fans is that it makes no difference with a quality fan like a panaflo or a delta, since the primary source of noise is the moving air, as opposed to the fan vibrating.
 
could you direct me to the specific model of the fans and where i can get them for a relatively low price? heres a direct link for the zalman: http://www.zalmanusa.com/usa/product/view.asp?idx=1&code=017

i cant tell what voltage to what voltage i can control the fan. as in from 5v to 12v or 7v to 12v or even 0v to 12v. im not an electrical expert, so maybe you can help.

what about using sound absorbing material? the Lian Li doesnt have a side window, and i dont feel like spending the extra money for one, so i might as well line the insides w/ deadening material. does anybody know where i can get some good quality stuff for relatively cheap?
 
i don't live in the US, i don't track american prices all that closely. H1A == high, M1A == medium etc.

http://www.panasonic.com/industrial/appliance/pdf/fba12g.pdf
http://www.panasonic.com/industrial/appliance/pdf/fba09a.pdf
http://www.panasonic.com/industrial/appliance/pdf/fba08a.pdf

the x1B series of fans have RPM sensing. re-sellers often put a -bx at the end of the designations of these fans instead. it might be a good idea to get a 92mm H1B(x) fan for your CPU so that you can set your bios to automatically shut down you machine if you ever accidently stop the fan while the computer is still running.
 
you mean theres actually a thermaltake product that does what its supposed to do?! i may have to take a look into that...





:p
 
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