I have been purchasing AMD CPUs for many years now. However I may have
to switch to Intel because of the following:

On Pentium type motherboards (such as Dell & some IBM), a case fan
blows onto a large heat sink which is attached to the CPU.

I know of no AMD motherboards which support this or cases set up to do
this. If you know of any let me know.

So anyway here are my questions:

1. What Pentium motherboards are designed to allow a large heat sink
over the CPU which is designed to have a case fan cool it?

2. Are there cases specifically designed for such motherboards which
have a properly placed fan?

3. Who would supply the plastic tube thing which diverts the air from
the case fan onto the CPU heat sink? The motherboard manufacturer? The
case manufacturer? A third party?

I've found that case fan cooled systems (such as the Dell towers &
desktops) are much quieter than systems which require a fan mounted
directly over the CPU heat sink.

I know there are water cooling systems for AMD, but I wonder if it
would in the long run be cheaper to simply go with a Pentium and a
case fan CPU cooling solution?

I could just buy a Dell I suppose since it has such a setup and is
much quieter than heat sink mounted fan solutions, but I prefer to
build my own systems. So I guess I have to switch to Intel, even
though I would prefer not to. But I will if it means getting less
noise without having to pay a lot of money (for water cooling).

> I could just buy a Dell I suppose since it has such a setup and is
> much quieter than heat sink mounted fan solutions, but I prefer to
> build my own systems. So I guess I have to switch to Intel, even
> though I would prefer not to. But I will if it means getting less
> noise without having to pay a lot of money (for water cooling).

Your computer will only be as noisy as you make it. Quiet fans are only
slightly more expensive.

I think the case fan insert that Dell uses is very much a proprietary
design - sure you CAN get them (can't recall where I saw them) but if you
install one in your case you will be somewhat limited in the size and shape
of the heatsink you buy.

There's nothing wrong with using "outside" air this way but it's certainly
not required for proper CPU cooling.

J Higbee wrote:

<snip>

>
> I could just buy a Dell I suppose since it has such a setup and is
> much quieter than heat sink mounted fan solutions, but I prefer to
> build my own systems. So I guess I have to switch to Intel, even
> though I would prefer not to. But I will if it means getting less
> noise without having to pay a lot of money (for water cooling).

There is no reason for you to put up with arbitrary choices made by
others when there are so many options for engineering your own solution.

There is also no point in trying to create a new summary when so much
has that has already been written is easily available:

www.google.com search: cpu "ducted fan"

groups.google.com searh: "ducted fan" group:*comp*

RM

I have an Chieftec Apollo series case that has a 120 mm fan in the back. My
motherboard it's a MSI 865PE Neo 2 PFISR and the processor is the P 4 2.8 E
with the original heatsink. The 120 mm fan is right in the way of the
processor fan. You might whant to check out this config.

Silva

note: I suspect that the system wont start if the CPU fan is off.

I have an Chieftec Apollo series case that has a 120 mm fan in the back. My
motherboard it's a MSI 865PE Neo 2 PFISR and the processor is the P 4 2.8 E
with the original heatsink. The 120 mm fan is right in the way of the
processor fan. You might whant to check out this config.

Silva

note: I suspect that the system wont start if the CPU fan is off.

In article <(E-Mail Removed)>, J Higbee
says...
> I have been purchasing AMD CPUs for many years now. However I may have
> to switch to Intel because of the following:
>
> On Pentium type motherboards (such as Dell & some IBM), a case fan
> blows onto a large heat sink which is attached to the CPU.
>
> I know of no AMD motherboards which support this or cases set up to do
> this. If you know of any let me know.
>
Every single Shuttle XPC case. Also you can achieve the same with a
Zallman Flower HSF.

--
Conor

Dumb as a box of rocks...

What I don't understand here is why you need to buy an Intel product to get
this. Even AXP's can support fairly large heat sinks using all three clips
on the CPU socket and the A64 heat sink mount is at least as good as the
P4's. As for the duct fan you're talking about, this is not an ATX standard
for any platform but it can be add fairly easily to a system powered by
either chip.

Carlo