This thing any good?

[CB]

http://www.quietpc.ca/acb/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Product_ID=167&CATID=23

[a2jfreak]

If by "good" you mean "pricey" then yes, it's excellent!

[astroworp]

well, it's $65 in Canadian dollars...

i'd say gor for the cnps7000-CU rather than the 6000, the 7000 is much better.

[RADA]

Got a buddy that uses the 6000. It works great, but he's terrified of moving his case, due to the extreme weight of this heatsink. If you do a lot of moving of your PC, or you are a LAN-gamer, I'd say no to this heatsink. I use a Thermalright SP-94(P4) (SP-97 for AMD). Its baseplate attaches thru your MoBo, so there is less of a chance of breaking the board during moving. Witha nice 92mm fan, it works great. The Thermalright weighs more, but its method of attachment is more secure. I have no worries when I move my case around.

[CB]

Yea, I do a lot of LANing, so that dosn't sound safe... I didn't even think of that... I was just thinking about possibly doing some sound recording with my computer.

My present cooling system is like a jet engine with all of the noise it makes, so I was looking around and I saw this one recommended on a couple of sites as a very quiet heatsink fan. You guys know of a cheaper or lighter solution to the noise problem?

I might want to get quieter case fans too...

In fact, now that I think about it, the case fans are proly generating the most noise...

[astroworp]

check these out
http://www.silenx.com/productcart/pc/viewCat_Z.asp?idCategory=3

[Geeky1]

CB, The Zalman "Flower" heatsinks are awful in terms of performance.

What do you want? Just something quiet?

Want to post specs on your current system, and some pix of it, or a link to some pix of it's case, like from newegg, so I can see how it's set up in terms of cooling?

[RADA]

The SP-94 mounting bracket is really well engineered. Here's a link to a review, so you can check it out yourself.

http://www.systemcooling.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1077

As for fans, I use a 92mm Panaflo M1 48 CFM @ 2450 rpm Noise = 30 dBs
If you want something a little faster you could try the Panaflo 92mm H1 (hi-output) 56.8 CFM @ 2850 rpm and 35 dBs

[NoFuture]

Go watercooling, It may be expensive but well worth it.

Just a suggestion...

[Bud]

i have that zalman setup and its not that great. I run a 1900+ Ecsk7s5a pro at stock speeds and get around 40-50c. I also but a better fan on there, just a tad louder.

[csimon]

that is probably the best passive cooler to date ...but if you want to OC that may not be sufficient.

[Bud]

just get a better heatsink like a slk-800 or slk-900 and put a adjustable fan so it can be quiet if need be.

[Spinner]

'Zalman CNPS7000/A-Alcu/Cu' is a much better piece of kit. If you want quiet, then that's the heatsink you want (good cooler too), not that flower one, which I might add is a very old HS. It's been out for years.

[GnomeWizardd]

Slk 900a I have it and i am oced up too 2.4 ghz and i am at 100* F in central Fl!

[Dragstk]

I have been using a Zalman CNPS7000A-CU for several months. I had Thermalright SLK-800 w/ a Thermaltake Smart fan(not sure of the model). I get the same temps with both HS/fans (25 C. at idle-mid 30's, gaming), but the Zalman is so much quieter. But I have to agree with RADA, it is heavy, and would question using it if you move your computer a lot.

[Spinner]

Dragstk had this to say
But I have to agree with RADA, it is heavy, and would question using it if you move your computer a lot.

Agreed

[CB]

Geeky1 had this to say
Want to post specs on your current system, and some pix of it, or a link to some pix of it's case, like from newegg, so I can see how it's set up in terms of cooling?

I've got the extra tall tower that is modled after the original Alienware case. I've got a case fan in the front and back, and some cheapo heatsink and proc. fan, that I have since lost the box, and thusly the name of.

GH found the peices for me (he's pretty good at finding those deals, ya?) so maybe he remembers, but I doubt it.

[Geeky1]

If it's bigger than the original Alienware case, it probably has 6 CD bays, right?

That would make it an Antec SX1240.

Ok, I can work with that. And what's in it? CPU, video card, mb, hard drive(s), etc?

[madmat]

Geeky, the original alienware case was the hydraulic case which was bigger than the 2nd generation case that was similar to the 1040/1080 antec.
Just thought I'd interject that for clarity.

[Geeky1]

Oh, yeah. I forgot about that.

If he's got that hydraulic case, it just needs to go in the trash. Nothing with a single 60mm exhaust fan is useful for any modern system.

[CB]

Yea, it's the one with six bays and a door, with a grill on the front. As you can tell, I'm reallly bad about keeping the liturature for my components, AND I have a bad memoyr, so I don't remember any of the names of the peices anymore....

Bad Geek! Bad! ... No Pocky!

[Geeky1]

Just to double check, it looks like this, right:
http://www.directron.com/da01sld.html

[CB]

Just like that, but with only six bays behind the door

[Geeky1]

Wait... 6 bays including the two floppy bays, or 6 cd bays?

[madmat]

That'd be nice in aluminum.

[GHoosdum]

Geeky1 had this to say
Wait... 6 bays including the two floppy bays, or 6 cd bays?

It's a Chieftec Black Dragon case - DX-01BD model, 4 CD bays. It currently has 4 80MM case fans doing 30 CFM each on it. The system is a stock Duron 1.3 on an ECS K7S5A. What he's looking for is relative quiet.

The thing still sounds like a vacuum cleaner - the CPU cooler is similar to the AMD stock heatsink, but has something very akin to the Delta 38 screamer mounted on top. In fact that's what it may be, but I don't remember clearly, as I haven't been inside CB's case in at least a year.

I have offered him a quieter aluminum cooler, basically this thing:
http://www.svc.com/newsvcgc3280.html
(but an older version made by Galaxy, OEM YS-Tech) that I've run on several systems up to 1.8 GHz with no problem (including a much warmer running 800 MHz Duron) and I feel that the cooler would be perfectly sufficient for a stock 1.3 Duron as well. Opinions? Anybody want to second-guess me? ;) It's hard to argue with "free."

I offered him the same cooler about a year ago (he forgets this but it's true) and he turned it down, because he had already spent the money on his vacuum cleaner fan and didn't want it to go to waste... now look who comes crawling back for a quieter solution! :eek2:


//edit: At $1.99 with the case fan, fan guard, and silicon thermal grease, that cooler seems to be a pretty good deal for stock applications, or if you just need a case fan and a big chunk of aluminum... :thumbsup:

[CB]

Yes, now we all know how absent-minded CB is...

[Geeky1]

GHoosdum, I've got that heatsink with a Coolermaster thermally controlled fan on my 1.3 Celeron. I do NOT like that heatsink at all. It is fine for a Celeron/P3, but I wouldn't use it on anything putting out >30w of heat.

I've got a how-to article on lapping I'm going to write, and that heatsink was the <strike>victim</strike> volunteer.

I have never, ever, EVER seen a worse base than what that heatsink had. EVER. Not even the old Slot 1 P2 coolermaster heatsinks I've lapped could even APPROACH that thing in terms of how far out of whack the base was. It's cheap, but there is no excuse for a base to be as bad as the one on that heatsink was. So unless you're going to lap it, stay far, far, FAR away from it.

Anyhow, CB, I'd recommend picking up 5 Thermaltake SmartFan2 case fans, and a SK-7, SLK-800, or SLK-900.

The SmartFan2s are the best 80mm fans on the market, period. Set them up with the thermal control feature they have, and you'll have a very quiet system under normal use, but one that has more than enough cooling power for anything you could put in it, should the need arise (either from a hardware upgrade, or during the summer if the A/C fails or whatever).

[GHoosdum]

Like I said, the one I've got is an older model, not from SVC, and while the base is bad, it's no worse than the SK-6 I used to have. Temps were in the 30s C when i ran it on both the Duron and an XP1700+.

Keep in mind, Geeky, that you're recommending CB drop $75+ on cooling equipment for a PC that would be quiet enough with some 30 CFM case fans, and a processor that is worth less than any SLK series heatsink.

[Geeky1]

True. The advantage though, is that (especially with a -U heatsink) is that it'll scale to just about anything he'll be able to put in there for the next 6 months - 1 year, unless he goes 64 bit.

Regardless, he could just get a Volcano 9+ from Newegg for $20, and that would do just fine. too.

[GHoosdum]

hehehe... with my level of respect for Tt's heatsinks, I'd say that the "just fine" delivered by the V9+ is on par with the "just fine" delivered by the generic aluminum! ;)

I agree with the scaling of the SLK series, though. CB, any real upgrade plans any time soon?

[Geeky1]

:rolleyes:

Believe it or not I've seen a V9+ perform on par with an SLK-800; in fact, I did the test myself.

I brought my SLK-800 in to work, and slapped it on one of the CAD/CAM machines that had a V9+ on it, and I used the SF2 off the V9, on full speed (which is what it was set at on the V9 too), and they performed identically according to MBM5.

[CB]

I'm looking at February as upgrade month

[GHoosdum]

Then maybe getting an SLK-900A now might be worth it... Joe got a good deal on that and an Enermax adjustable fan somewheres...

Geeky: How loud is that fan at full speed? ;)

[Geeky1]

Ok, ok, so it's loud at full speed. But the only other thermally controlled fan that has enough power to be of any use is the Vantec Thermoflow, and that's an exhaust fan only, since it's got a built-in thermistor.

The SF2's speed vs. temp. curve is also much steeper than other thermal fans; it hits full speed @ 55*C or so, vs. ~70*C for other fans.

But, it will never hit full speed in normal circumstances, so it doesn't really matter. The point of having an extremely powerful thermally controlled fan is that if you ever DO need the performance, it's there.

[GHoosdum]

True - I was just asking about the volume at full speed because that's the speed at which you tested both of the heatsinks at - I'm willing to wager that at lower speeds, the SLK was A LOT better of a cooler, and that even the generic aluminum would perform decently with the SF2 at full roar... ;)

I mean, heck, I great temps off of my SLK900A with a 32CFM case fan on it right now!
/me grumbles about losing the 53CFM Mechatronics fan and having to wait to OC the Barton again...

[CB]

I'm not worried about performance. I want:

1 Quiet
2 Not to melt my proc.
3 Not to crush my proc. core

I have no other concerns, and I never overclock.

[GHoosdum]

Oh, it won't melt... it'll just fry crispy... I got a fried XP2100+ you can check out if you'd like! ;)

[CB]

What about those haet sinks that have no fan?

[GHoosdum]

Not recommended for AMD processors. There's only one that I know of that even works decently at all, and it's for a P4.

And by "decently" I mean it doesn't kill the processor. But it doesn't run exactly "cool" either...

[Geeky1]

See what GH said for my opinion of fanless heatsinks.

CB, the SF2 is the best fan for any application taking 80mm fans. Trust me on this one- I've been through in excess of 50 80mm fans looking for one that offers the best compromise between noise and performance. The SF2 is it.

It offers thermal control, manual control, or constant full speed operation. It flows up to 75cfm, and the noise level is as low as <20dBA. It's well suited to any application from silent cooling to extreme overclocking.

You simply can't go wrong with the SmartFan 2. I can honestly say, that out of the more than 50 80mm fans I have, the SmartFan2s are the best.

[CB]

Okay, thanks guys. Now I know, and knowing is half the battle...