what's the best silent CPU cooler??

[mojouk]

hi everyone

I have a dual processing athlon. It has 2 x 1.8GHz processors.

It gets very hot, even with the 2 fans that I already have on the motherboard.

I also have fans mounted to 2 of my hard drives (these are OK), but now the base unit sounds very much like an aeroplane.

I'm looking for really good CPU fans that are very very quiet and keeps the heat down really well.

I think that the over heating / crappy fan problem in the PC is causing it to crash (fairly regularly).

Any advice as to what CPU cooling/silent fans are the best in performance and cheapest in terms of value for money (Can't spend too much as I need 2.......................and I'm a student!!)

 

[floppybootstomp]

Best Coolers for AMD CPU's I've ever used are Thermalright. The SK-7 seems to be a good compromise between price and performance at around £21.00 each.

Couple those with a couple of Pabst, Panaflo or even YS-Tech fans (YS-Tech if you're on a budget) and you should have a result.

And don't forget to use some good thermal Compound, Arctic Silver 3 or 5 are both good.

Heatsinks link Here

Quietest solution I know though, is probably the Zalman copper finned, but probably wouldn't suit in Dual CPU setup, due to the fan(s) being mounted on overhead brackets. And they're £35-00 to £40.00 each, inc. fan & bracket.

 

[mojouk]

I have looked at the photos of the fans that you (floppybootstomp) and others have suggested.

I didn't realize how scarey they would be to fit onto my motherboard which needs 2 fans because it's a dual processor!!

The ones I've got on there already are little plastic things that can be screwed into it using 4 tiny screws and they have like 1 obvious connection to the motherboard. (3 pin I think, can't remember).

Would something like a thermalright (am thinking SK-6) be easy for a novice to fit onto an Athlon processor?

Do they just clip on or do I need special type of glue........you see... I really have no idea.

Also, how can I tell , technically, what temp the processor gets to, idle and at max. I know it gets hot because it keeps the room well heated, but I've noticed that people are able to monitor the heat using pretty exact figures, how do they do it?

 

[floppybootstomp]

Heatsink & fan combinations (coolers, collectively speaking) either clip on to the ceramic socket the CPU is mounted in, or they will bolt through the motherboard, using four nuts & bolts.

Easiest option is clip-on, which is the more common. They are not 'glued' on.

Between the heatsink base and the core of the CPU must be applied a thin layer of thermal compound or 'grease' as some refer to it.

This should have the effect of filling in any small scratches or flaws between the two mating surfaces, dissipate any air gaps and aid thermal transmission from CPU core to heatsink. The fan then keeps the heatsink cool.

No, it's not difficult, providing some time and care is taken during the fitting.

The heatsink retaining clips are sometimes quite stiff, and it can be a little tricky to fit the clip into place but using a long thin flat-bladed screwdriver to guide the clip into place helps a lot in most cases.

If you need more information, ask.

To monitor temperatures, either take a look in the computer's BIOS or use a freebie software program such as Motherboard Monitor (do a Google, don't have a link handy).

 

[mojouk]

Just a couple of questions.

1) Where is the core of the CPU to where I have to apply the compound. (maybe they illustrate this area when I buy the fan?)

2) How can I look at the computers 'BIOS'

Have looked around and have found a Thermalright SLK-7 which comes as a package for £16, which is pretty good, but I haven't checked out the noise level on it yet.

Anyway, thanks for ur advice.

 

[floppybootstomp]

1) If they're Athlons, XP's and/or Bartons, the core will be the small raised platform in the centre of the CPU, on the upper surface.

It's usually silver coloured and has writing on it - your CPU details.

If it's an Opteron 64 Bit CPU, I beilieve the die surface area is bigger, but not sure, haven't seen one yet

2) Take a look in your motherboard manual. The Bios is accessed during boot sequence, usually by pressing DEL or one of the 'F' keys.

Take a look under 'PC Health Status' or similar.

Caution: Don't change anything in the Bios you don't understand.