I need help on choosing a HSF :)

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Emuc64

n00b
Joined
Jul 24, 2004
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Greetings, as noted in the motherboard section, I'm building a new computer. After not keeping up with technology for two years (last time I built a computer), I'm now even more confused with what HSF to get. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I don't want to spend over $50 for a HSF combination. Also, I currently have a Coolermaster HHC-001copper HSF in my current rig. It's a bit loud for my tastes as of late. I think it's rated as near 50dBA's in a "real world" review on some website.

Anyhoo, I'm going to be putting it on an AMD 2500+ processor. I don't think I'll overclock it right away (if ever), but it'd be a nice bonus if I can just swap a fan or turn up the speed when I need to overclock.

I'm thinking of a few choices...

A) ZALMAN CNPS6000-Cu Pure Copper $29
B) ZALMAN CNPS7000A-Cu Pure Copper $41 (it may be too large for the nforce2 mobo - I was thinking of getting Asus "A7N8X-E Deluxe" or perhaps Abit "NF7-S" - Seems like it will hit the boards own heatsink/fan)
C) Swiftech heatsink Model "MCX462-V" $42 + some fan?
D) Thermaltake SILENT BOOST Highest Performance Cooler up to 3400+ $30
E) Thermaltake EXTREME VOLCANO 12, All Copper $43
F) Thermalright "SLK900A" $43 (heat sink only, I'll need a suggestion for a fan too)

Whew! Am I confused. The only problem is reading reviews online, sometimes they're posted when they come out. i.e. A) the first Zalman listed is reviewed in mid 2002. Sure it may be ok back then, but how does it compare now? It's hard to look up and check reviews and decide on something like this when they can get dated. That's why I'm here and need suggestions.

Again, I'm concerned about sound and I most likely would not overclock it (maybe 2 years later?)

Thanks in advance for any suggestions given.

Just added: Also, is a fan controller the best option for sound/airflow control? Should it be manual or one of those rehostadt (sp?) thingies?
 
Search the forums for a used sp-97... you can get one for $30-$35.... +92mm panaflo or equivalent...

or an ALX-800 for 10-20 off the net... 80mm

I would go with the Abit over the Asus...

Don't mess around with fan controllers.. jsut get fans that can handle the task, at an acceptable sound level...
 
asus is good as long as it likes your other hardware, abit is better

tt volcano 12 is a rip off at that price, i would go for the slk900a with a panaflo L (quiet) or M (quite quiet)
 
i'd get the 7000Cu... you may have to cut the mounting bracket a bit to make it fit on the nf7-s (which i'd recommend over the a7n8x, having used the a7n8x) but other than that it rocks. the 7000AlCu is almost as good for a few dollars less, and if you move your computer a lot it is good because it weighs less as well.

i'd avoid thermaltake products in general. (kind of on principle) they're decent as a budget product, but for <$10 you can get something a lot better. so it isn't worth it.

ForeverUnknown: the xp-120 is a p4/a64 only cooler. it is too big to fit on any athlon xp board, especially in a midtower case.
 
Man, I would try the retail sink first. My friend has his 2500xp @3200 speed for 7 months with good temps. I put an slk800 with an 80mm TT2 fan and never a problem.

Just fyi.
 
Hi everyone, thanks for replying... I had ordered it last night (time constraints) and was on a super tight budget, so I ended up with a SLK-900A and a 92mm Medium Panaflo.

Let's hope the noise and cooling will be good. Thanks again for all the help!
 
Hi Emuc64,

I've put a Thermaltake Silent Boost K7 on my 2500+ (and the quietness is beautiful) however, I plan on oc'ing to the full 3200+ (I'm oc'd at 2.00GHz right now). May I ask where you ordered your SP-97? (sorry to hijack your thread, I figure it's okay because you reached a verdict already ;))

Also, does anyone know where I can order online an SP-97 and a QUIET panaflo fan? (preferably in Canada) Thanks.
 
Emuc64 said:
was on a super tight budget, so I ended up with a SLK-900A and a 92mm Medium Panaflo.
Click to expand...
that will be the best cooler of all the ones in the list anyway, the zalman is better for lower noise levels but with that fan you will get good performance out of the thermalright, although im not familiar with the swiftech one... its probably nice too

thermaltake are crap full stop, they are bigger than other heatsinks but still get outperformed, thus they use low grade metal, the reviews i have seen where tt heatsinks come out on top are where they have more airflow going through them

and arctic cooling are quiet which makes them a v.good deal at the price but theyre still cheap and you cant overclock with them
 
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