x-anime Posted January 28, 2006 Posted January 28, 2006 After making much use of my Zalman CNPS7000b-cu which is now being donated to my girlfriends' A64-2800+ (along with my 6800GT) I'm now looking for an affordable cpu air-cooling solution. So far, my options are: Zalman CNPS9500 (looks a bit big & heavy) Thermalright XP-90 / XP-120 w/ Panaflo (heard they're the best) Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 (fairly cheap and looks like a good design -similar to the Shuttle XPC system) Swiftech MCX6400-V (never heard of them but someone recommends them) I don't want to go with water cooling as its too much hassle and I'm not gonna need it anyway. What are people's opinions on the above? I'm looking for silence first and foremost, which makes me think of the cooler with the largest, slowest fan possible, but I also want to be able to o/c this thing too. People, your thoughts and comments? Or should I just make do with the standard AMD heatsink/cooler? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPeitz Posted January 28, 2006 Posted January 28, 2006 The Zalman is huge, but it is awsome from what I have seen. I would go with the XP-90 or move up to a XP-120. The XP-120 runs cold as ice! I got one on ebay and recomended it to one of my friends, running games like FEAR, Q4, BF2, it dosn't break a sweat, it has been tough to see it go above 45C, it has a couple times after looooooooong LAN games (4+ hours of BF2 or HL2). If that is to big though I would go with the XP-90, they cool about the same and can be had for $25 (there is a link in the recommendations page 1, for now, somwhere). If you have the room though I would go with a XP-120 or the Zalman. I havn't seen much about the AC Freezer or the Swiftech, but other Swiftech products I have seen have been quality so it might be worth it. Hope this helped. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnyMon Posted January 28, 2006 Posted January 28, 2006 Jpeitz, what fan do you use on your XP-120? Where did you plug it in to? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Dynamic Posted January 28, 2006 Posted January 28, 2006 You can either use a "Panasonic Panaflo FBA12G 12U1C 120mm" or whatever else he suggests. That fan right there will run you about $15-$20 i think. I was going for the XP-90c Copper which should be much better then the aluminum editions out there along with a 92mm Tornado which might not be a good choice since it's so damn loud as i've heard. Here is a link for a good fan on the XP-120... Panasonic Panaflo FBA12G 12U1C 120mm http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList....ATTR11=&ATTR12= Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest thespin Posted January 28, 2006 Posted January 28, 2006 If you are not going to OC, the stock HS will do fine ... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidhammock200 Posted January 28, 2006 Posted January 28, 2006 Thermalright XP-90 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
x-anime Posted January 29, 2006 Posted January 29, 2006 I think I'm gonna go for an XP-120 with the Panaflo fan, or if I can't find that here in Hong Kong, I'll pick up either the Zalman CNPS9500 or the Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 Pro. My only question now is does anyone know if there are any incompatibility issues with the CNPS9500 in the Infinity SLi board? I thought I stumbled across a recommended HSF thread on this site earlier but I can't seem to find it now... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
fariss Posted January 29, 2006 Posted January 29, 2006 I think the Zalman website has a compatability chart. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
arklab Posted January 29, 2006 Posted January 29, 2006 For a cooler I'm going to try a Sythe Ninja, although it's a "tower" and could place torque stress on the mother board (I may use a counter-balance if it needs it). The heatsink database review on Overclockers.com gave it C/W rating of 18 when used with semi-agressive fan (ie noise), which is better than most water-cooled rigs. As for the 120mm fan, the guys at QuietPCReview.com (who really obsess over this noise thing ) swear by the Nexus fans. The only draw back is price (about $20) and finding them. They have found, however, that a company named Yate Loon makes the fans for Nexus and can be found for about $8 each I found them at: Coolerguys.com jab-tech.com case-mod.com All have excellent reseller rattings, too. Silverstone has some interesting nine bladed fans for more agressive cooling, as well. Hope this helps some. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
x-anime Posted February 1, 2006 Posted February 1, 2006 thx for that though i actually just installed my new arctic cooling freezer 64 pro -after a bit of fiddling to get it mounted just right so it exhausts air directly into my rear 120mm. its very quiet (i used a zalman cnps7000b-cu previously) and doesn't interfere with any of the ram slots or the capacitators or the x1 pci-x slot. great cooler so far Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Loony Posted February 1, 2006 Posted February 1, 2006 What about the Big Typhoon? It seems to be a good cooler. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReD.SkY Posted February 1, 2006 Posted February 1, 2006 BIG typhoon, the best air cooler with an upgraded fan and when you lap the base to a mirror finish. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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