My new CPU Cooler

[c_hegge]

A few days ago, my boss aquired a Dell Dimension PC (can't remember the model). The case was falling apart and the motherboard was faulty, so we decided to scavenge parts out of it. I got the CPU heatsink since there's no way of mounting it to a motherboard or a fan to it, or so I thought. I was able to use zip ties to hold everything together, so here it is.

btw, does anyone know whether top motor fans are any good, as I have at least 20 of them in my collection.

[Rulycat]

Re: My new CPU Cooler

I REALLY wouldn't use zip ties on a cooler - no springing to press the cooler onto the CPU.

[dood]

Re: My new CPU Cooler

I don't consider this a good idea...

[ratdude747]

Re: My new CPU Cooler

fail. very bad idea. sounds like a good way to pan-fry a cpu.

[c_hegge]

Re: My new CPU Cooler

OK, will swap it back. I've been using it for the last month or so and the idle temp of my OC'd CPU is only about 40C or so (without either of the fans running). I thought it would be fine as long as you do them up tight enough

[370forlife]

Re: My new CPU Cooler

I use these same dell coolers on my supermicro x6dal-g. Turns out the heatsink retention bracket for a socket 603/604 intel fits these coolers perfectly, and a 754/939/AM2/AM3 heatsink retention bracket fits the two little clips at either end perfectly.

[c_hegge]

Re: My new CPU Cooler

fail. very bad idea. sounds like a good way to pan-fry a cpu.

It's an Intel CPU. These don't fail when overheated like AMDs do. I've seen clips snap on coolers in other PCs and it only contacts it in one corner. The CPU was fine after replacing the cooler, the PC would just shut off about 5 secs after power on.

[shovenose]

Re: My new CPU Cooler

lol i wanted to see what would happen a while back to an old p4 1.something ghz dell if i threw it. it was kinda heavy, so i didnt throw it very far, (i took the hdd out though cuz i cant test it without the hdd), and so i threw it.
i just looked at the pics of the exeriment. (i have them numbered)...
throw 1: case damage, heatsink mounting clip bent, causing the pc to overheat and shut off eventually
throw 2: more severe case damage, cd and floppy no longer good, case fan fell off mounts. pc still worked
throw 3: it landed right in the psu area (upside down), psu fan shot, 56k pci modem came loose, heatsink more bent, very severe case damage
stuck the hdd in, bootedup, it works

[Madcat]

Re: My new CPU Cooler

Hahaha zip ties. Yeah I'd use them only temporarilty with the system on its side. Maybe even have a 5 pound weight of some sort on top of the cooler. My buddy's recent custom rig has that case. Enormous beast but nice enough of room to work with. Routing of cables is paramount unless you like jungle vines. That cooler looks very useful, the base seems a bit too wide but other than that, looks very OC capable.

[crepiduse]

Re: My new CPU Cooler

Almost like the Thermaltake Frio I use on my AMDx6

[c_hegge]

Re: My new CPU Cooler

I still haven't swapped it back as it's doing the job quite well. It's quiet and it works, but I can get the CoolerMaster Hyper TX3 really cheap from work, so at some piont I'll get one of them.

[Madcat]

Re: My new CPU Cooler

Speaking of coolers the TT Frio is very tempting to me. I got my friend a Cooler Master Hyper N620. Its a damn good cooler for the price of $40. Has two fans from CM with rifle bearings which make 'em quiet. Theres a whine coming from them, but its drowned out by all the fans of the 1200 case.

[crepiduse]

Re: My new CPU Cooler

My Frio is the best ive had air cooling wise, I am oc'd and the fans are not noticable in my office anyways, The laser printer is louder. the Frio keeps my AMD x6 cool as ice almost even when working with 3d layout designs.

[c_hegge]

Re: My new CPU Cooler

I swapped it with a CM TX3. It's a bit better since it uses 92mm fans instead of 80mm. I replaced the original CoolerMaster fan with an identical pair of AVC fans I found in my collection and used the old temperature controllers. The cool thing is, though that the TX3 also came with an AM2/939 clip and the base of the old dell heatsink fits perfectly, so it should be fine for Socket AM2.

[ratdude747]

Re: My new CPU Cooler

the stock fan isn't bad if you have pwm on the fan header. i have an identical cooler and I never used the second set of fan brackets... my case/mobo combo is built in a way that would make a second fan block the rear exhaust fan.

[c_hegge]

Re: My new CPU Cooler

It's not that it's a bad fan, but I would prefer to use the separate speed controller and save the PWM fan for a PC that will use it and the stock fan has a 4 pin connector which doesn't fit in the 3 pin socket on the controller. The reason I like using the separate controller over the one on the motherboard is because it turns the fans off. Then the CPU is cool, which is most of the time as the case has really good airflow.

[ratdude747]

Re: My new CPU Cooler

at the lowest pwm setting on my rig with the cooler, it is virtually silent. your breathing is louder... but if you have no pwm, no point in using a pwm fan.

[c_hegge]

Re: My new CPU Cooler

Mine does have PWM, but I like the fans being off as it means less dust build up.

[ratdude747]

Re: My new CPU Cooler

i don't mind my fans being on as long as it is not too noisy... even the slightest bit of airflow will make your cooling so much more efficient.

before it died, my asus a8n32-sli's fan control would have the cpu fan off under minimal load. however, the threshold was low so running anything would turn the fan on (not very fast though).

[weirdlookinguy]

Re: My new CPU Cooler

Personally I hate the whirring of the fans turning on, off, on, off. It is a major pet peeve of mine with laptops. I'd rather have a quiet constant whoosh than silence, then loud fan, then silence, then loud fan. The cycle drives me nuts.

Luckily the new Sony lappy I got a few months back tends to leave the fan on running slowly most of the time. My old HP laptop did the on-off cycle nonstop. Irritated the crap out of me.

For my desktop I am running the stock Intel cooler on PWM (I lucked out and got a Nidec fan). It is very quiet. I have a Delta PSU with a 120mm Yate-Loon and it too is near silent. Then for exhaust I have a 120mm Cooler Master fan running on a regular 3-pin header. Temperature controlled by my motherboard, but it always just spins quietly and never revs up.

Couple that with a case that breathes very well (Antec Solo) and my system's cooling is just the way I like it: the fans are constantly running on low, never rev up, and everything stays nice and cool.