New to cooling tech...

[brasscorpion]

so I need some help and some hopefully quick answers to a few questions.

First, how important is cooling??? I know that heat is a major killer to electronic components and performance but if we are talking a few degrees here and there at an ever increasing expense, is it worth the trouble???

Second I just bought a new AMD 64 4000 (2.6Ghz). Is the cooler that comes in the box sufficient to keep my chip cool? I was thinking of buying a Rosewill cooler...but do I need it?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835200014

Right now I don't plan to overclock anything not just yet. I want to get the system up and running and take down some heat numbers to at least have a baseline. Then I will bump the sttings up slowly.

Lastly I purchased the Passive cooled MSI 8600GTS. I am stsrting to second guess this purchase because I doo plan to overclock it. Not super blazing but probaly a 5-10% OC. So was the passive cooled GPU a mistake??? Should I have purchased one with a fan??
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127287

I do plan on running LOTS of case fans to move air through the case and I plan on modifying my case to allow heat to escape out the top...I may even put a fan in the top of the case that draw the heat up and out through the top.

Thanks for any help guys...when I get ready to OC I will come back for some more help.

Happy 4th

Brass

 

[michaLcoughliN]

#1 the stock HSF will be fine if your no overclocking.

#2 Lots of fans doesnt necessarily mean better cooling. Its all about air flow inside the case. Gotat compensate air flow in with air flow out.

 

[kirbyrj]

The other side of cooling tech (as you put it) is noise. The stock cooler is probably good enough for most non-OC applications, but the Rosewill one you have linked is probably quieter. The passive cooler on that video card will definitely be quieter than an active one.

The stock cooler usually allows for a minor OC. I OC'd a E6300 to 2.8Ghz or so on a stock Intel cooler (YMMV). Heat does play a factor. The lower the heat, the further you can OC as a general rule.

With a passive cooler, you need good case flow. With "alot" of case fans you should be ok with the passive cooler and a mild OC.