Which Heatsink & Fan?

[dave stockdale]

Which CPU Heatsink and Fan?
I'd be glad of any comments/opinion ref choosing cooling arrangement. I'm
not a modder.
Planning first upgrade using full tower, AMD XP Barton 2800 on Gigabyte
Board - GA-7N400 Pro2.
Been reading the reviews and now head is spinning - need a prod.
What I want is:-
Not too noisy
Not to pricey - but prepared to pay for the right solution.
Good quality
Fan speed to vary...I think? Do I need that? and if so should speed vary
with temp automatically or is manual adjustment ok?
At the mo starting to look at the Thermaltake range.
Any advise/opinion welcome.

 

[digitalNeurosis28]

Which CPU Heatsink and Fan?
I'd be glad of any comments/opinion ref choosing cooling arrangement. I'm
not a modder.
Planning first upgrade using full tower, AMD XP Barton 2800 on Gigabyte
Board - GA-7N400 Pro2.
Been reading the reviews and now head is spinning - need a prod.
What I want is:-
Not too noisy
Not to pricey - but prepared to pay for the right solution.
Good quality
Fan speed to vary...I think? Do I need that? and if so should speed vary
with temp automatically or is manual adjustment ok?
At the mo starting to look at the Thermaltake range.
Any advise/opinion welcome.

i'm no expert, but i've been going nuts this past week trying to
determine the right hardware for a new pc i'm buying. combined with the
fact that i've been going through this process every 2 years or so, over
the last 12 years, i have become quite good at selecting just the right
component.

i suggest you go with the Thermaltake A1671 from their volcano series.
for details visit http://www.thermaltake.com/coolers/volcano/si/a1671.htm

have a great day


ps just in case you're wondering, i in no way benefit from recommending
this or any other product.

 

[w_tom]

First demand numbers. Any review that does not provide
essential numbers is only based on bias. Your most important
parameter is "degree C per watt". Any heatsink that does not
provide that number is hiding something; eliminate it. Lower
"degrees per watt" means a better assembly. That is the
parameter that really measures the entire heatsink fan
assembly. CFM is to confuse those who never learned how
heatsinks work. Ignore that CFM number most often promoted by
the same heatsinks that fear to provide the "degree per watt"
number.

Second parameter is dB - measure of noise. Again lower is
better.

Notice all the hype and writing. Only required were basic
parameters. Variable speed fans, etc are peripheral features.
First and foremost, demand "degree C per watt" and "dB"
specifications. Its not rocket science, expect where authors
get paid by the word and therefore fear simple numbers.

 

[kony]

i'm no expert, but i've been going nuts this past week trying to
determine the right hardware for a new pc i'm buying. combined with the
fact that i've been going through this process every 2 years or so, over
the last 12 years, i have become quite good at selecting just the right
component.

i suggest you go with the Thermaltake A1671 from their volcano series.
for details visit http://www.thermaltake.com/coolers/volcano/si/a1671.htm

That hunk of metal looks fair, but the fan doesn't... a small, higher
RPM, louder fan with lower airflow and poor bearings.

Any decent heatsink for Athlon uses a 80 x 25 mm fan, either dual
ball-bearing or one of the best sleeve-bearings from Panaflo or Papst.
Other qualities of a good 'sink include: large copper baseplate, well
finshed, not rough, that's soldered or pressed in, not screwed on.
It should have a 3-point clip, uses all three socket tabs per side, or
through-board mounting (which won't work on the OP's board, since
Gigabyte omitted those mounting holes).

With these things in mind there are many options, but not many from
Thermaltake... the only thing they offer that seems fairly decent is
the A1889, "Silent Boost".

 

[dave stockdale]

I appreciate your comments and logic...I'll have a look around -in the
meanwhile do you have any in mind that would fit the bill?
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