Fx55

[foamy654]

hey if i where to buy a fx55(new build gonna scimp on extras to get nice procy) what would be the best cooling solution .... noise:not a prob.. price: not much over $300.. use: mainly gaming,overclocking

open to every thing at the momment i was thinking a vapochill micro extrame?

thanks :thumbs-up:

[hardnrg]

i think you need at least watercooling for an fx cpu... they run hot... don't even bother with air

[Nerm]

If you plan to OC then you need at least water on that cpu. I have seen some pretty good OC's on them on air, but they are a lot better on water. Of course their best results are on phase but you aren't gonna get that for $300 lol.

[i_lag]

zalman resorator looks good, dont know how well it preforms, but heard good things bout it, but its external, so if your a lanparty kinda guy this might not be to good..... or if ur buget can stretch...Koolance

[Kamikaze_Badger]

Koolance focuses on silence, not performance, usually.

 

A custom watercooling setup is your best bet.

[Fire-Medic]

If you plan to OC then you need at least water on that cpu. I have seen some pretty good OC's on them on air, but they are a lot better on water. Of course their best results are on phase but you aren't gonna get that for $300 lol.

591111[/snapback]

 

300$ for phase is possible if you buy a used unit.

 

I've seen some of the Mach II units running about 275$ used

[habitual geek]

okay, my opinion is probably not going to be popular or "cool", but i have used many heatsinks and have had H2O(high quality Danger Den custum stuff, about a $300 total H2O setup) on an extremely HOT Prescott core CPU with an 800Mhz overclock and hefty vcore, likely hotter than any FX55 runs, or at least as hot

 

H2O works well, if done correctly, but it has drawbacks

 

1. unless you run very expensive MCT5 or Fluid XP, you will always have the risks associated with leakage, and i don't care how careful you are, eventually it will leak somewhere to some degree, hopefully it doesn't take out your hardware while you are away

 

2. high maintenance compared to air, you have to top it off from time to time, take apart and drain, clean, fill, bleed, fill, bleed, etc.....

 

a high quality Thermalright XP-120, XP-90, XP-90C, or SI-120 will allow you to overclock just as high, yes, your load temp will run 10*c higher than if you were running H2O, but it will still be well within safe limits

 

like i said, i have had both, and i am currently selling my rig, including the H2O parts, there was just not enough return on the investment and associated risks were too great, and maintenance too high, so my new build will be running a Thermalright HSF, you just can't beat 'em

 

forget phase change, not practical

Edited December 6, 2005 by habitual geek

[Nerm]

forget phase change, not practical

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Why do you say that? I run a phase setup 24/7 as well as many other guys do. It cools 10x better than air and water. Plus it has little to no maintenance after the initial setup. AND they last a long time. I know guys that have had the same phase unit on multitudes of different computers over the last 5+ years and the phase unit it still running just as strong as it was when he first bought it.

 

Xinul, you are right. You can get a used phase for about $300.

[DECwakeboarder]

but it depends on the type of phase change you get...anything like a Mach II or other "store bought" ps cooler should be able to go 24/7, most of the extreme custom multiple cascade systems should not be ran 24/7 though.

 

If you don't mind the power bill going up (I think it is about the same as another computer just for the cooler) then I would say go phase change since you seem to have the money.

[habitual geek]

Why do you say that? I run a phase setup 24/7 as well as many other guys do.

591239[/snapback]

 

PC

 

1. consumes large amounts of power

 

2. noisy

 

3. more complicated = propensity for problems(read expensive repairs) more likely

 

4. initial cost of setup to do it right typically prohibitively expensive

 

5. not easy to take your PC to lan parties or move in general

 

6. ratio of performance gained to cost/time invested is horrible(you have reached the point of diminishing returns)

 

AIR

 

1. uses no extra power

 

2. not nearly as noisy

 

3. simple, heatsinks don't quit working, fans do, but if you have your hardware monitoring features set up correctly that's no big deal, can replace a fan for $15

 

4. initial cost low(in this case he could use the extra $$ to get nicer stuff instead of making cheaper stuff run a little faster)

 

5. moving your PC with minimal thought is easy(trans port on side)

 

6. ratio of performance gained to cost/time invested is much better(my 3.0E did 3.8Ghz with the XP-120 HSF, moving to H2O added ZERO speed gains although it did run much cooler doing it, but was nowhere near dangerous)

 

Personally I think the OP should look into getting a 4400+ X2 or 4800+ X2, a Thermalright XP-120 or whichever model fits his mobo, overclock that bad boy, would smoke an FX55, cost much less, run much cooler, and have dual cores......

[Nerm]

PC

 

1. consumes large amounts of power

 

2. noisy

 

3. more complicated = propensity for problems(read expensive repairs) more likely

 

4. initial cost of setup to do it right typically prohibitively expensive

 

5. not easy to take your PC to lan parties or move in general

 

6. ratio of performance gained to cost/time invested is horrible(you have reached the point of diminishing returns)

 

AIR

 

1. uses no extra power

 

2. not nearly as noisy

 

3. simple, heatsinks don't quit working, fans do, but if you have your hardware monitoring features set up correctly that's no big deal, can replace a fan for $15

 

4. initial cost low(in this case he could use the extra $$ to get nicer stuff instead of making cheaper stuff run a little faster)

 

5. moving your PC with minimal thought is easy(trans port on side)

 

6. ratio of performance gained to cost/time invested is much better(my 3.0E did 3.8Ghz with the XP-120 HSF, moving to H2O added ZERO speed gains although it did run much cooler doing it, but was nowhere near dangerous)

 

Personally I think the OP should look into getting a 4400+ X2 or 4800+ X2, a Thermalright XP-120 or whichever model fits his mobo, overclock that bad boy, would smoke an FX55, cost much less, run much cooler, and have dual cores......

591248[/snapback]

 

 

You make a couple good points and I do agree that phase is not for everyone, but you have a few misconceptions about a few things.

 

1. Yes, it does raise the power bill lol.

 

2. Phase is not that loud. In fact my current phase setup is more quiet than when my system was on air.

 

3. Phase is not NEAR as complicated as people seem to think. I guaruntee you that you can not replace the stock HSF with an XP-90(or your HS of choice) any faster or simpler than I can install a phase unit.

 

4. Yes, you are right here! Phase is definately much more expensive than air, but not that much more expensive than a good water setup.

 

5. Yes, phase does add weight and mobility issues but it isn't something that is a huge deal. Besides most people that are extreme enough to have phase normally have another system on air or water for lans.

 

6. Here you said you didn't gain any performance going from air to water. This is not the same as going from air to phase lol. I will agree as I said before phase is not for everyone and to most normal users phase would not even be near worth it, but for an extreme OCer/bencher like myself a phase unit is like having a piece of heaven lol. Also, again you mention time. Phase does not take that much time. I can setup a phase unit on your system just as quickly and easy as you can an air setup and in more than half the time it would take to setup a water system. Air and phase neither one take hardly any maintenance if both are setup correctly to begin with. The one that takes all the maintenance is water.

 

Now if you want to talk about 2 and 3 stage cascades, LN2, or DICE then you get into the less practical area's of extreme cooling. A single stage phase is to the right person very practical.

 

Another thing is I don't care how much you OC a 4400 or 4800 they are in no way going to be able to "smoke" an FX55 with the same percentage of OC.

[cchalogamer]

Just pretend i quoted nerm and I'll save the bandwidth of havign you load it again...

 

As for water, it helps, exibit A, warmer days, with a Zalman 7000cu i cant hit 2.6 on my winchester, i can up teh voltage bc it wont stay cool under load, but with water i can keep it under 40C vs the 51C it hit with the 7000 and high volts in the same room. With < 40C i can up the volts more safely and get the 2.6ghz that the chip will do, likely I could get higher out of it, but that's what It'll do with voltage I feel is safe.

 

So air is good, water is better, and phase is best.

 

As for that X2 stopming a FX-55 bs, you need to rethink that, need more proof, bigred removed his FX-60 (dual core like and X2) and replaced with the FX-59 simpilly because it SUCKED in comparison. We all know bigred runs the best bc he can, dual core is not the best, atleast not at this point or for awhile longer. Now i WOULD look at the 4000+ instead of a FX-55, but that's another story, then again, the 4000+ doesnt have an unlocked multiplier (just like the X2 doesnt) so you cant look foward to the same OCing fun.