Heatsink - stock vs. Zalman CNPS7000B-cu ??

[Lon Leader]

Probably off-topic here, but it's going on a A8N-SLi

Which is better, the stock heatsink on a Athlon 64 X2 3800+ or a
Zalman CNPS7000B-cu?
- from a cooling point of view
- from a sound point of view

 

[Mercury]

head over to www.silentpcreview.com - they have a review of the zalman 9500
and conclude that at low - medium loads it is as good as the best, but at
high loads the fan lets things down a bit.

The stock AMD cooler is not too bad IMO (on a 3500+ venice) - with CnQ the
cpu on mine runs below 40c even on a hot day, low 30's on an average day. At
that level the fan barely spins, under load it is not too bad.

With Prime95 torture test running and CnQ on with a target temp of 51c,
thats how hot the CPU got (hot day) and the fan was quiet / not too busy.

X2 3800+ will place a greater load on the system.

Perhaps start out with the stock cooler knowing it will be a bletch to get
off and read some reviews. If you can get quiet 12cm fans then I would get a
Thermalright XP120. The Ninja scythes are supposed to be great, but are way
heavy (over the CPU load limit). People report you don't have to have a fan
with the scythe...

Given how cool these chips run anyway and how effective CnQ is, the urgency
/ need for a potent cooler is largely remove. If you are going to run your
system near 100% then some reduction of noise will happen with one of the
better coolers - but then disc drive mounting will be the next job as most
drives are still noisy seeking, so pick a case that includes low noise
mounting for your drives & a 12cm quiet fan at the front to blow over them &
keep their temps down. The Antec P180 case has all that although some buy
quieter fans...

HTH

 

[Bill Smith]

also off topic, but check out this one:

thermalright xp120

I'm using one "passive" on my overclocked p4 and my load temps (hl2
lost coast @ full and hdr) have dropped up to 15 degrees...it's
unbelievable ! The fan I use(120mm) is attched to my clear side and
draws in cool air and blows it over part of the heatsink, the north
bridge and the memory. Very well constructed product and my results
are staggering to say the least!

Check the website out, just google it. I'm sure it does socket 939
with a retention modification (included !)

FYI

 

[Lon Leader]

Thanks for the info.. That makes two recommendations for the
Thermalright XP120.

Perhaps I should have mentioned - my reason for asking about the
Zalman is because I already have it, currently on an XP 2000. I'd like
to try the stock fan, but am concerned about 1) how to get it off if I
try it, and 2) how to reinstall it if I decide it was the way to go
(perhaps with a fan adapter and a larger, quiter fan). Can it be
reinstalled using thermal paste, or do I have to come up with a
replacement for whatever is on it now?

 

[Mercury]

Thermal paste is ok.

The older zalmans are good,the newer are better, and the thermalright is
better again esp.with a quiet fan such as a Nexus, not that you'll need much
of one. The only failing of the zalman 9500 compared to others is the fan
when on full speed.

The scythe is just too heavy unless you are a fanatic... then it is possibly
best.