Which HSF for Intel 920?

[onebelo]

planning to get intel 920 and looking for which HSF would be best and easy to install .. not planning to OC it much, maybe just to get it past 3.0 would be good enough ..

-Zalman 7700 / 7000?
-Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro?
-Thermalright XP120 / XP90?
-Gigabyte G-Power Pro?
-Scythe Ninja SCNJ-1000?
-Tuniq Tower 120?

any other suggestions? which of these would fit on the ASUS P5WD2 Premium and in the Antec P150 case (or Raidmax X1) with no problems?

 

[mikemodano9c]

unless you just want to be "cool" and run a huge xp-120, then get the xp-90...it performs better and is smaller...

with a good low noise 92mm fan it won't be any louder than the xp-120

i owned both, the xp-90 cooled better and wasn't a pain to mount. read comparisons...the xp-90 performs better...

i see people recommend the xp-120 all the time and im just like

xp90c > xp90 > xp120 in cooling performance...

the xp90 is the cheapest of them all and is only slightly outperformed by the xp90-c (by 1 or 2 degrees C)...hardly worth the price difference imho...

 

[_Korruption_]

unless you just want to be "cool" and run a huge xp-120, then get the xp-90...it performs better and is smaller...

with a good low noise 92mm fan it won't be any louder than the xp-120

i owned both, the xp-90 cooled better and wasn't a pain to mount. read comparisons...the xp-90 performs better...

i see people recommend the xp-120 all the time and im just like

xp90c > xp90 > xp120 in cooling performance...

the xp90 is the cheapest of them all and is only slightly outperformed by the xp90-c (by 1 or 2 degrees C)...hardly worth the price difference imho...

That's because you probably installed it wrong. The XP-120 is way better than the XP-90. A low-noise 92mm fan may not be louder than a comparable low-noise 120mm fan, but it'll move much less air. The XP-90C, on the other hand, is not worth the money. Too much weight.

The Tuniq Towers are from Thermaltake, so avoid those.

Get the Thermalright SI-120 + 775 bracket + a 120mm Panaflo Low. Profit.

 

[onebelo]

is the thermalright xp120 hard to install? im scared of damagin the cpu

also, is there a big difference between the XP-120 and the SI-120?

by the way, what do you guys think about the Raidmax X1 ATX909WBP Case? Or should I just go with the antec P150?

 

[ChronicTrees]

The stock hsf seems to be pretty good. BitchBreaker has one at 4.5ghz+ on the stock cooler.

From the ones you listed I would go with the zalman just to have a quiet rig.

 

[EnderW]

If you only want 3.0GHz or so, stick with the stock cooler.

 

[onebelo]

yea stock hsf might do but my room does get hot. hottest room in the house, even when the a/c is on. so with some of the hsf that requires installation on back of motherboards, figure itd be easier to install those first time around as im building the pc .. plus that way, i want the cpu as cool as possible even if im not o/c'ing it much

 

[.Wiggles.]

why not the thermaltake big typhoon at least with amds it is the best

 

[N H O]

i say go for the ninja

 

[onebelo]

wnet ahead and ordered the thermalright SI-120 with panoflo fan and adapter. thanks for the suggestions

 

[mikemodano9c]

That's because you probably installed it wrong. The XP-120 is way better than the XP-90. A low-noise 92mm fan may not be louder than a comparable low-noise 120mm fan, but it'll move much less air. The XP-90C, on the other hand, is not worth the money. Too much weight.

The Tuniq Towers are from Thermaltake, so avoid those.

Get the Thermalright SI-120 + 775 bracket + a 120mm Panaflo Low. Profit.

sorry to burst your bubble flash, but the xp90 has been proven to perform better than the xp-120...go look at about every review comparing the two heatsinks and come back here and tell me that

i first bought a xp-120 for an overclocked prescott, it performed well but not as well as i thought it should. i then bought a coolermaster hyper 6 and it cooled BETTER than the xp-120 with a very high cfm 120mm fan on that same platform...then i bought a xp-90 and it cooled almost exactly the same as the hyper 6....

i hate uneducated people spewing incorrect facts about things...

you wanna know why the xp-90 is a better performing cooler? it is pretty simple if you look at it...

even though the profile of the xp-120 makes it look huge it isn't heavy at all, and the metal fins about the base only are about the size of the cpu socket area...not very big...the fins that encompass the large top area are not that tall either.

the xp-90 even though more compact distributes heat faster and in a better area for a 92mm fan to dispense...there are more fins directly above the cpu socket area.

here is a review from silentpc and a quote:

"CONCLUSIONS

Thermalright has a winner in the XP-90. The only HS that can clearly best it is Thermalright's own much larger XP-120 with a much larger fan. Yet it will probably fit nicely without problems on the vast majority of motherboards in conventional ATX cases, and it even works well with a Panaflo 80L fan at low speed. It does all this without any serious weight penalty; with a 92mm fan, it should easily fall within the 450 grams maximum HSF mass recommended by Intel."

google is your friend...there are about 5-6 such reviews with direct comparison of the xp-90 and xp-120....guess which one wins every time in performance...

yah i guess i can't install a heatsink ...


EDIT: dear god...i see you have a heatsink guide/sticky here...maybe you should change some of your incorrect statements reguarding thermalright coolers. like the one above...given equal airflow a xp-90 will always outperform a xp-120...huge amounts of airflow on a xp-120 (100+ cfm) will not drop temps that much on a xp-120...the heatpips simply cannot move heat from the base plate fast enough for it to really make a difference...

there is basically no reason to buy a xp-120 or si-120...i owned one...it was a good cooler but it is NOT top of the line aircooling...even my hyper 6 outperformed it...by a wide margain in fact...it's not like i have some agenda to push cause i hate the xp-120...it just isn't as great as people make it out to be...it's stupid to recommend it over something that costs half as much, performs better, and has better compatibility...

 

[_Korruption_]

Hey, it's alright if your mileage varies. There's no consistent proof saying that the XP-90 is actually a better heatsink. You're telling me that an XP-90 will always outperform an XP-120/SI-120 with two comparable fans (in terms of noise)? There's no consistent evidence of that... everybody's mileage may vary (also known as YMMV), and I point that out in my writing.

The fact of the matter is that the XP-120 uses 120mm fans. Nobody's saying it is automatically a better heatsink (the SI-120 seems to have even less surface area), but the ability to use 120mm fans means less noise for a given amount of airflow, and that's what matters here. I always suggest the XP-120/SI-120 because you can get the same amount of cooling power that the XP-90 offers, if not more cooling power, but with less noise. I guess that makes the XP-120/SI-120 superior, does it not?

Your Hyper6 weighs a ton. That is a penalty to many. There are only a few heatsinks out there that can rival their heavier competitors, and the Thermalright offerings are part of that group. The new Hyper6+ hasn't been making any sort of waves... and the proprietary 100mm fan will be a pain. The issue about compatibility with the XP-120 has been solved with the SI-120 -- one can maintain the lower-noise levels while maintaining the XP-120 potential.

I stand by my recommendations in the sticky thread... nobody's really had an issue with the suggestions, as they work for everybody. You really can't go wrong with any of them. I'm not saying it is the definitive guide for air-cooling, but I've been following the air-cooling scene for a long time to know the good from the bad.

 

[mikemodano9c]

Hey, it's alright if your mileage varies. There's no consistent proof saying that the XP-90 is actually a better heatsink. You're telling me that an XP-90 will always outperform an XP-120/SI-120 with two comparable fans (in terms of noise)? There's no consistent evidence of that... everybody's mileage may vary (also known as YMMV), and I point that out in my writing.

The fact of the matter is that the XP-120 uses 120mm fans. Nobody's saying it is automatically a better heatsink (the SI-120 seems to have even less surface area), but the ability to use 120mm fans means less noise for a given amount of airflow, and that's what matters here. I always suggest the XP-120/SI-120 because you can get the same amount of cooling power that the XP-90 offers, if not more cooling power, but with less noise. I guess that makes the XP-120/SI-120 superior, does it not?

Your Hyper6 weighs a ton. That is a penalty to many. There are only a few heatsinks out there that can rival their heavier competitors, and the Thermalright offerings are part of that group. The new Hyper6+ hasn't been making any sort of waves... and the proprietary 100mm fan will be a pain. The issue about compatibility with the XP-120 has been solved with the SI-120 -- one can maintain the lower-noise levels while maintaining the XP-120 potential.

I stand by my recommendations in the sticky thread... nobody's really had an issue with the suggestions, as they work for everybody. You really can't go wrong with any of them. I'm not saying it is the definitive guide for air-cooling, but I've been following the air-cooling scene for a long time to know the good from the bad.

with equal airflow a xp-90 will always outperform a xp-120...that is FACT...if it is at the expense of a small noise difference then so be it...that is up to the individual...but a 92mm fan is plenty capable of moving enough air at a tolerant noise level unlike a 80mm fan...look at the nice panaflo fans.

so no the xp-120 is not superior, it is actually inferior...it provides less cooling performance @ XXX airflow, is large enough to create compatibility problems in some cases, and it is a little hard to install/remove because of its size.

im not sure why you are complaining about weight...if you aren't moving around your box then who really cares? i sure don't, but a 120mm fan isn't exactly "light"...think about that...

i already said an xp-90 performed about the same as the hyper 6....so save your breath...both perform better than your coveted xp-120...deal with it...

read all the reviews with comparisons of the two...thermalright could have made the xp-120 top dog if they had given the heatsink more material...like i said the fins below the heatsink have a large footprint, but are very short...they needed more material...the area above the socket is too small and there is not enough fin area directly under the fan...the xp-90 provides a more efficient, direct path for heat removal using a 92mm fan....

keep your recommendations...it doesnt matter you provide inaccurate information that some people use to spend their $$$, just because you cant admit you are wrong.



it is obvious the only good reviews of the xp-120 where it shines the reviewers are using processors running at default (usually lower speeds) that create low amounts of heat and therefore any decent heatsink could do the job....when pushed under overclocking and higher wattage output the xp-120 faulters...

 

[_Korruption_]

with equal airflow a xp-90 will always outperform a xp-120...that is FACT...if it is at the expense of a small noise difference then so be it...that is up to the individual

That small noise difference still exists no matter which way you look at it. To compare, I've got two fans, a 120mm Coolermaster LED sleeve-bearing fan, which moves 42cfm and produces about 22dBA, and a 92mm Panaflo medium-speed, which moves 42cfm and produces 27dBA. They move the same amount of air (at least rated by the manufacturer), yet the Coolermaster is several times quieter. The noise difference still exists, and for somebody like me, who likes their computers quiet, it is the deal-breaker. Both heatsinks may produce similar results, but the Coolermaster-equipped XP-120 will be several times quieter. There's no doubt about that.

so no the xp-120 is not superior, it is actually inferior...it provides less cooling performance @ XXX airflow, is large enough to create compatibility problems in some cases, and it is a little hard to install/remove because of its size.

That's why the SI-120 exists... it has all the performance (and potential for quiet) that the XP-120 offers, but removes all compatibility issues. The SI-120 has even less surface area yet matches up with the XP-120.

im not sure why you are complaining about weight...if you aren't moving around your box then who really cares? i sure don't, but a 120mm fan isn't exactly "light"...think about that...

You want to avoid weight whenever possible, no? Only two big-name manufacturers these days follow the light-weight philosophy, and they are Thermalright and Arctic Cooling. Both brands do it with a lot of aluminum, and they do it to good success. One single 120mm fan will be negligible in weight compared to a 92mm fan.

i already said an xp-90 performed about the same as the hyper 6....so save your breath...both perform better than your coveted xp-120...deal with it...

To quote SPCR again: "The only HS that can clearly best it [the XP-90] is Thermalright's own much larger XP-120 with a much larger fan". Of course that's true, and the fact that this performance comes with a much larger fan is natural -- the heatsink is just much larger. The point still stands that the airflow deficit generated by the 92mm fan will put it behind the XP-120/SI-120 with a comparable 120mm fan. The same potential for cooling with less noise makes it a better choice. "deal with it".

keep your recommendations...it doesnt matter you provide inaccurate information that some people use to spend their $$$, just because you cant admit you are wrong.

I don't think I'm wrong. Not one bit. I stand by my suggestions, and I believe they are accurate. It is up to the users themselves to make the final decision, not me. I'm not going to let some nobody ruin that for everybody. I can take constructive criticism and comments, but for somebody to tell me that I'm flat-out wrong (when I'm not), that isn't righteous.

it is obvious the only good reviews of the xp-120 where it shines the reviewers are using processors running at default (usually lower speeds) that create low amounts of heat and therefore any decent heatsink could do the job....when pushed under overclocking and higher wattage output the xp-120 faulters...

So you're telling me that you'd rather use the regular XP-90 for heavy overclocking, over the XP-120 or SI-120 with a faster 120mm fan? Such a fast 120mm fan will be able to produce more air than any fast 92mm fan can.

The bottom line is that you're happy with your XP-90 and it works for you. Don't be raining on everybody's parade here.

 

[mikemodano9c]

P4 Heatsink Rankings

XP-90

XP-120


XP-90 Vantec 1500 rpm, <50 dBA² 0.18 C/W
XP-120 Delta 1502 rpm, <50 dBA² 0.19 C/W


Those dBA measurements are from 8 inches from the fan intake on both fans...which translates to less than 30 dBA three feet from the fan...so very quiet in other words...

THIS PROVES EVEN AT THE SAME NOISE LEVEL THE XP-90 IS A BETTER PERFORMING COOLER THAN THE XP-120...

LOOK @ THE C/W RATINGS...THE XP-90 IS A BETTER COOLER EVEN AT 30 dBA

Increasing the CFM and dBA only widens the margain the XP-90 BEATS the XP-120

The SI-120 does better than the XP-120, almost besting the regular XP-90 in the top end while providing almost exactly the same performance at a low noise level, but unfortunately it still costs almost twice as much for no real benefit, not even noise level.

Wanna keep arguing?


oh and which cooler costs ~25 dollars and which one costs ~50?

maybe you should edit your thread

 

[N H O]

P4 Heatsink Rankings

XP-90

XP-120


XP-90 Vantec 1500 rpm, <50 dBA² 0.18 C/W
XP-120 Delta 1502 rpm, <50 dBA² 0.19 C/W


Those dBA measurements are from 8 inches from the fan intake on both fans...which translates to less than 30 dBA three feet from the fan...so very quiet in other words...

THIS PROVES EVEN AT THE SAME NOISE LEVEL THE XP-90 IS A BETTER PERFORMING COOLER THAN THE XP-120...

LOOK @ THE C/W RATINGS...THE XP-90 IS A BETTER COOLER EVEN AT 30 dBA

Increasing the CFM and dBA only widens the margain the XP-90 BEATS the XP-120

The SI-120 does better than the XP-120, almost besting the regular XP-90 in the top end while providing almost exactly the same performance at a low noise level, but unfortunately it still costs almost twice as much for no real benefit, not even noise level.

Wanna keep arguing?


oh and which cooler costs ~25 dollars and which one costs ~50?

maybe you should edit your thread

alright, not to pick a fight or anything, but im juss having a hard time understanding exactly wat you are saying here, so you are saying that a xp90 paired a nexus 92mm fan rated at 19dBA that moves 27cfm can cool better than a xp120 paired with a nexus 120mm rated at 22dBA that moves 36cfm?

 

[_Korruption_]

P4 Heatsink Rankings

XP-90

XP-120


XP-90 Vantec 1500 rpm, <50 dBA² 0.18 C/W
XP-120 Delta 1502 rpm, <50 dBA² 0.19 C/W


Those dBA measurements are from 8 inches from the fan intake on both fans...which translates to less than 30 dBA three feet from the fan...so very quiet in other words...

THIS PROVES EVEN AT THE SAME NOISE LEVEL THE XP-90 IS A BETTER PERFORMING COOLER THAN THE XP-120...

LOOK @ THE C/W RATINGS...THE XP-90 IS A BETTER COOLER EVEN AT 30 dBA

Increasing the CFM and dBA only widens the margain the XP-90 BEATS the XP-120

The SI-120 does better than the XP-120, almost besting the regular XP-90 in the top end while providing almost exactly the same performance at a low noise level, but unfortunately it still costs almost twice as much for no real benefit, not even noise level.

Wanna keep arguing?


oh and which cooler costs ~25 dollars and which one costs ~50?

maybe you should edit your thread

A 92mm fan versus a 120mm fan, there's still a noise difference no matter how you look at it. A 120mm fan spinning at 1500RPM will put out at least 70cfm. A 92mm fan spinning at 1500RPM will put out around 30cfm. That's quite a difference if you ask me.

You say the SI-120 does better than the XP-120, but it has even less surface area compared, so try explaining that?

I don't need to argue, and I'm most certainly not editing the thread.

 

[mikemodano9c]

A 92mm fan versus a 120mm fan, there's still a noise difference no matter how you look at it. A 120mm fan spinning at 1500RPM will put out at least 70cfm. A 92mm fan spinning at 1500RPM will put out around 30cfm. That's quite a difference if you ask me.

You say the SI-120 does better than the XP-120, but it has even less surface area compared, so try explaining that?

I don't need to argue, and I'm most certainly not editing the thread.

the more you talk the less it seems like you should be compiling sticky threads on cooling...

i didn't write those reviews and make that comparison...that is about as good as you are going to possibly compare heatsinks...im not sure if you actually read my links that dispell your myth that the xp-120 is such a great low noise cooler compared to the xp-90 (and other thermalright coolers). they use a single p4 in the same config and calculate c/w by ambient temperature and measure using the cpu diode and an external sensor to measure accuracy.

the si-120 might not cause as much of an airflow restriction, there might be something different about it that increases the heatpipes ability to transfer heat...i don't manufacture them so i couldn't tell you...all i see is that it performs better than the xp-120...

i posted those links simply because it was the most direct comparison using set variables, while you will find plenty of other reviews comparing these two coolers and showing the xp-90 to be a better cooler...i didn't dig the only comparison out of the blue just to prove you are incorrect...

LOL @ a 92mm fan producing 30cfm @ 1500rpm and a 120mm fan producing at least 70cfm @ 1500rpm.....are you kidding me? i think we have a winner for most broad common sense lacking post on hardforum

i love it how someone can point out another's incorrect statements, back it up with hard facts in a direct comparison...and then the other person still holds on to their original bias just because they want to be right in their desperate mind...

facts.

1. at the same cfm the xp-90 outperforms the xp-120
2. at the same noise level (yes they measured noise level) the xp-90 outperforms the xp-120. at less than 30 dBA...how many times do i have to HIGHLIGHT things for you to read and understand them? 30 dBA is not bad at all...a 92mm fan @ 30 dBA has no noticeable whine like an 80mm fan...
3. the xp-90 costs about HALF as much...
4. with the xp-90 you are almost guaranteed compatibility on every motherboard but with the xp-120 it is hit and miss.

re-read, visit the links, educate yourself...its a shame someone has to do it for you. i could care less if you post your opinion if nobody else might make a decision on what to buy because of it, but when someone might read that and think the xp-120 will perform better or perform better at a lower dBA than something that costs half as much and has many advantages that i just noted....it makes me cringe...i guess you like to get people to waste cash...

im done here...do the right thing and change your thread...

jesus who made that a sticky?

do you even know what c/w is?

it is obvious that you think cfm is everything, while it is a determing factor in performance obviously you don't understand that airflow placement and heatsink design characteristics play an even more important role...heat travels from the core through the ihs to the heatsink base...you want airflow to hit as close to the center of the heatsink as possible so that the heat can be taken off the fins of the heatsink asap...meaning a smaller fan that's airflow will hit more closely to the center...hopefully you can grasp this concept but im starting to fear it is hopeless...

also large cfm fans do make lots of airflow, but they generally do it as much less pressure...

the large base circle of direct airflow from a larger fan coupled with reduced pressure cause a performance deterioration compared to a smaller fan...so on the right design a smaller fan with less cfm and more pressure can OUTPERFORM a larger fan that pushes more cfm....i believe this is called physics? might wanna check that out...

it is clear in this case that the xp-90 when coupled with a low noise yet powerful 92mm fan, with its more centralized design and more centrazlized airflow characterstics is a better cooler than the xp-120 no matter the airflow...the design of the xp-120 simply is not as good...

you are the typical consumer...you see a cool heatsink that can accomodate a 120mm fan and you think its obviously better than something smaller...i bet you own an ipod...dontcha?

trust me the guys at thermalright are laughing because they have made so much $$ from people buying xp-120's when they sell a cooler for half the price that outperforms it...

 

[mikemodano9c]

wnet ahead and ordered the thermalright SI-120 with panoflo fan and adapter. thanks for the suggestions

im sorry you wasted cash...

the only good thing the larger 120mm fans provide as far as performance is the ability to cool your motherboard mosfets a little better...and with the si-120 you don't really get that benefit since it rises the heatsink fan much farther from the motherboard...

sell it, buy an xp-90, and go take your woman out to dinner...