Pulling the trigger on a new HS/Fan

[GhostGT]

I'm about to order one off newegg along with a new laptop battery and a sound card.

Would you all say that the Zalman 9700 is the best choice? Is there something that might perform better, even if it is a little more expensive? Looks are somewhat important since my case has a window, and if I DO get the Zalman, I'll try to do something about the blue or green LEDs. My whole case is red.

 

[freestyler105]

There are tons of better performers. Get one of these:
http://www.xoxide.com/thermalright-...thermalright-ultra120-extreme&channelid=FROOG
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835154001

The top one is the best performer, but you will need to buy your own fan. Make sure whatever fan you get has a high CFM rating, probably over 100. This one is over 130, that's crazy:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185054

 

[bullzi]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186134

thats my HSF, absolutely amazing, totally silent, and keeps my oc'ed E6550 uber cool not to mention, its really cheap for what you get but it works absolutely great

 

[A True Folder]

If you go for the thermalright get the Ultra 120 extreme, not the Ultra 120 that freestyler has linked (the extreme has an extra heatpipe)

I have the scythe 1900rpm on my TU120e, it's near silent at 1700rpm

I like the look of the Arctic that Bullzi linked but the push pin mounts are not to my liking, it's a personal call I suppose.

The TU120e would be the best performer to date of the two (Tu120e & Tuniq Tower) but the fans you buy have a massive effect on temps.

If you think you have room for it have a look at the Thermalright IFX-14

 

[GhostGT]

are any of these heatsinks installable without removing the motherboard? something about the AC freezer attatching via clips only?

 

[A True Folder]

The Arctic does not require m/board removal by the looks of it, same mounting procedure as the stock cooler by the looks.

 

[worshipme]

The Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 PRO and the OCZ Vendetta which I have are probably the best price to performance coolers. They both use push-pins for installation onto the motherboard so they are very quick and easy to install, push-pins are OK as long as the heatsink doesn't use anything bigger than a 92MM fan. If you want maximum overclocking potential, then the Thermalright ULTRA 120 Extreme is the best choice, it uses a backplate that requires you to remove the motherboard to install. And with the fan, it's going to be at least twice of the Freezer 7 PRO or the Vendetta.

 

[freestyler105]

Whoops, I meant to link to the Extreme. Looks like newegg doesn't have it, I just searched Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme and that's what it linked me to.

Post edited.

It depends what's most important to you. Performance vs. ease of installation/price.

 

[GhostGT]

Update:

After much consideration and research, I think that I'll be ordering the Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro for my Q6600. I really don't feel like removing my motherboard at all, and the quicker this install is, the better. I've got two final questions before I go ahead and order this off Newegg.

1. The installation of this new heatsink/fan WILL require removal of the actual CPU, right? If so, this will obviously require a re-application of thermal grease. I should just go ahead and get some AS5 for this, I assume.

2. I've got an ASUS P5K-E motherboard. Anybody have experience with this motherboard AND the AC Freezer 7 Pro? I saw ONE person who mentioned a tight squeeze regarding ASUS motherboards and I sure hope that doesn't occur here.

Cheers,


Chris

 

[worshipme]

You will need to clean the CPU heatspreader and the HS base using isopropyl alcohol. The P5K doesn't have extravagent cooling as the Gigabyte P35 DQ6 does and the AC F 7 PRO isn't huge so I wouldn't have thought you'd have any problems. I have the P5K and the OCZ Vendetta which is the same size as the Freezer 7 PRO and it mounted fine with lots of room around. I found it easier to mount it and then put the fan on otherwise it was hard to press the push pins.