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Good CPU fan for core 2 duo E6600

KDS

ULTIMATE Member
I'm not buying a new pc till 2010 so I need to get most out from my current pc. I can make fsb to 300mhz and all works fine temp is reaching about 62 to 70 C with stock cpu fan.

I would like to bring the CPU temp down to 40 c or less recommend me a good CPU fan. I don't want to spend too much though. as it's only going to be needed till my next computer.
 
Picking a good cooler is never easy these days, there's a huge choice and usually the biggest issue is size/space v noise. Some fans look a normal size in pictures but it's only when they arrive that you realise the whole unit is bigger than your entire PC :), while others may be more compact but are very noisy.

Installation is the last pain, not all coolers have been reviewed (google search ftw), so you don’t always know how fiddling it will be to fit them and this can be important. There’s nothing more stressful than feeling as if you have to put a lot of pressure to clip something in on an expensive piece of flimsy cpu/mb kit.

Don’t forget that you may also need to take your whole mobo out to fit one properly as most like to use the bracket method, which sometimes requires pressure from your hands on both sides of the board. Depends how accessible your case is too of course.

I can’t recall the name of what I have but Akasa and Zalman tend to be good makes. Remember that anything with noise levels around 39db+ is going to sound like a small Hoover at full spin, while those with larger fans may be bigger but compensate by being quieter. 28dB and lower are fairly quiet. My tactic is to target how much I want to pay and then Google for reviews of a product shortlist I come up with to find out how they fair.

For example (old but useful):
http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=8757&page=1
 
Thanks Mark 4 the tip, I did search google but didn't get any hit, I'm going to go 2 a local computer shop and try it. I'm looking 4 easy method to install. I'm not looking to take out MB to install etc.

I should have bought a good fan when I bought the cpu, never mind. is ur cpu fan was easy to install ?
 
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I think many of the Zalman may be out of the question.

Most I've came across for the intel platform usually require a backplate to be fitted to the rear side of the board. I've got one of the higher end Zalman units in mine and while easy enough to fit... you do need the board out.

The good news is that Akasa tends to be on the cheaper end and many fit via the standard 4 push pins that stock coolers use. I'd just make sure I got one with heatpipes and not just a solid block. Tend to use akasa for all the cheapo builds I have done for people. The are cheap but do work well enough. (akasa also generally way smaller than Zalman)

Akasa AK-975CU isn't too bad at around £12-15. (just get decent thermal paste as the pre-applied pad isn't up to much)
 
I think many of the Zalman may be out of the question.

Most I've came across for the intel platform usually require a backplate to be fitted to the rear side of the board. I've got one of the higher end Zalman units in mine and while easy enough to fit... you do need the board out.

The good news is that Akasa tends to be on the cheaper end and many fit via the standard 4 push pins that stock coolers use. I'd just make sure I got one with heatpipes and not just a solid block. Tend to use akasa for all the cheapo builds I have done for people. The are cheap but do work well enough. (akasa also generally way smaller than Zalman)

Akasa AK-975CU isn't too bad at around £12-15. (just get decent thermal paste as the pre-applied pad isn't up to much)

Thanks u very much yea I need to clean the cpu. Need to buy a thermal cleaner as well, 100% alcohol should be ok isn't it ?

What thermal paste u recommend or any thing should be ok ? this my 1st time on over clocking so any helpful tip is welcome.
 
Thanks u very much yea I need to clean the cpu. Need to buy a thermal cleaner as well, 100% alcohol should be ok isn't it ?

What thermal paste u recommend or any thing should be ok ? this my 1st time on over clocking so any helpful tip is welcome.

You do get specific cleaners. Arctic Silver ArctiClean is very good.

As for paste anything Artic Silver does is good. The two part stuff is meant to perform really well.

Zalman ZM-STG1 Super Thermal Grease is well worth considering also. Paints on to both surfaces with a brush built in to the cap. Works very well.

Depends on what price you can get stuff for really. Just ignore pads and the like as they are never as good as decent paste.

(BTW... the Akasa Heatsink is ok and small enough. It's cheap which is good. Just don't expect the same performance as some of the bigger coolers. Difficult to suggest one which you don't take the board out. Also consider Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro, Akasa AK-965 Intel Cooler and the like)
 
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Arctic Silver all the way for paste, it's all I've ever used. Just remember to keep the paste even across the surface of your CPU (1mm ish) and leave some space near the edges because you don't want the paste spooling over the side when you press the heatsink down, that would increase the temp.

As for fitting, generally it's as Entity hinted. If you see "push plugs" then it should just clip in but if you see screws then it will need a backplate (if it didn’t come with the mobo then it will usually come with the cooler – only a cheap bit of metal) and most usually involve removing the mobo.

However I actually prefer the screws because those push plugs made me sweat a lot while trying to get them in properly :) but with screws you have a degree of tactile feedback - don't screw it very tight, just firm. Remember the mobo is only a plastic pcb.
 
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45CFM, can't complain about that :)
 
The only issue I've ever had with the freezer pro is that it's getting on a bit. It only has a 3 pin connector. The newer 4 pin units tend to be a bit better for overclocking if the board supports it.

This is important if you have an asus board for stuff like Q-Fan. ;)

Mark.J said:
However I actually prefer the screws because those push plugs made me sweat a lot while trying to get them in properly but with screws you have a degree of tactile feedback - don't screw it very tight, just firm. Remember the mobo is only a plastic pcb.

Agree completely on this. The push pins are pretty much a pain and never give the same contact that screwing into a backplate does.

For myself I really like the Zalman Super Flower Tunnel coolers. Only issue is that you can't really fit em unless the board is out of the case. (well not ONLY issue as they are huge so you need a big enough case. That and they are not the cheapest)

If however the new PC is going to be a self build then a Zalman may be a very good investment as they tend to support more than one platform. Mine for example came with kit for AMD platforms and a few intel ones. (socket 775, 1366 etc) So perfectly feasible to use it on a new build when ready to do so.
 
If you go for a cooler with push pins, don't get one that is heavy. Push pin design is fine if the cooler is not too heavy. I have seen some huge coolers use push pins, and it baffles me why the makers did not use a more substantial mounting method. I have never liked the push pin idea, it's fine if the cooler has a sprung bracket which can take the tension, and is also light.

Push pin coolers might be somewhat easy to fit, assuming they have a tension bracket. But like I discovered, solid frame coolers, like the ones that come with Intels cheaper range CPU's, are crap. I Built a PC for a friend 4 months ago, he got a E5200, great CPU, crap cooler design. Due to the solid plastic frame, there is no spring that allows the cooler to be tight on the CPU, but also not so tight it bends the board. Due to the solid frame the pins are attatched to, the board bends instead, far more than is healthy imo. So much so, the 4th pin would not clip in place. I ended up fitting the cooler that came with my E6300, which is a far better design, as it has a sprung metal bracket that flexes when the clips are pressed down, allowing it to be tight, but it doesn't bend the board. Obviously, Intel saving some money on their cheaper range by including crap coolers. Recently bought a E5200 for a media PC I'm building, so of course ran into the same problem. Intel should be slapped for providing such rubbish with their cheaper CPU's.

If you rule out any cooler that requires the board to be removed, you are ruling out a lot of the best ones. Of course, the ones that require back plates etc, are generally bigger. Bigger = more money usually. Arctic Cooling's Freezer Pro 7 is a good choice, it uses push pins, so it's easy to fit, but isn't too heavy. Also it's very reasonably priced. Like Butler said, probably the best bang for buck cooler there is. If you go with that, make sure you get the Pro 7, they do a Freezer 64, but that's for AMD CPU's.
 
One last spot of advice about CPU coolers, in fact coolers and your computer case in general - clean the dust out every 6 months (with the PC switched off). I use the nozzle end of my hoover at full suction to gently go around the heatsink, fan and case area.. sucking all the dirt out.

This is important and will keep your computer temps down by -8c or more on hot days. Also try to clean behind the PC case and under it since dirt can easily get circulated back inside. Just remember to wear some protective eye wear and a towel over your nose and mouth while doing it as the dirt inside a PC can be more damaging to your health.
 
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Thanks guys I think I'm thinking to go with Arctic Cooling's Freezer Pro 7. When I build my next pc which I think will be core i7 920 (unless amd comes with some thing so great 4 a lesser price) I'm going to go with back plate method,

It's lot to over clocking than I thought.

So let me recap this what I'm going to do

1)remove the stock fan
2)clean the cpu with arctiClean
3)put 1mm think Arctic Silver on the middle of cpu http://www.ebuyer.com/product/126410
4) install the Arctic Cooling's Freezer Pro 7
overclock on the mother board till the pc is not stable.

Out of all this putting thermal Material is the difficult bit as it will bad if u too much and bad if u don't use too much.

will give it a go what's the worse could happen ;-)
 
One last spot of advice about CPU coolers, in fact coolers and your computer case in general - clean the dust out every 6 months (with the PC switched off). I use the nozzle end of my hoover at full suction to gently go around the heatsink, fan and case area.. sucking all the dirt out.

This is important and will keep your computer temps down by -8c or more on hot days. Also try to clean behind the PC case and under it since dirt can easily get circulated back inside. Just remember to wear some protective eye wear and a towel over your nose and mouth while doing it as the dirt inside a PC can be more damaging to your health.

Just a thought on top of this. I've got fan filters installed on all my case fans.
There are some very good aluminium ones that you can remove and wash.

e.g.

2704.jpg


I got mine from Kustom PCs as they are local to me but (I think) you can get em anywhere. I do notice a significant decrease in dust inside the case and also that of the air getting pumped out.

Sad thing is that it was a Doctor that put me on to them. As I have a Dust allergy he suggested I try them as the dust is caught better and not allowed to circulate as much. So good for me heathwise and good for the PC dirtwise.
 
Just a thought on top of this. I've got fan filters installed on all my case fans.
There are some very good aluminium ones that you can remove and wash.

e.g.

2704.jpg


I got mine from Kustom PCs as they are local to me but (I think) you can get em anywhere. I do notice a significant decrease in dust inside the case and also that of the air getting pumped out.

Sad thing is that it was a Doctor that put me on to them. As I have a Dust allergy he suggested I try them as the dust is caught better and not allowed to circulate as much. So good for me heathwise and good for the PC dirtwise.

this a good idea I should get some to put in my fans, my pc full of dust have to clean it when I put the new fan in
 
what u guys think about this CPU fan doesn't look like complicated install and I can move this to the new core i7 when I get it.
This fan comes with thermal paste put on do I still need to apply more ?
 
That frostytech article has an excellent comparison of fan noise on page 3, really useful.

Some people may not bother about noise but I like my computer to be both cool and quiet (no pun to AMD intended lol).
 
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Hi KDS
I have seen some reviews of that beast that suggest it is a pig to install!!

also on overclockers and in stock is http://www.frostytech.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=2383

I looked at the Arctic cooling beast because i have an old and trusty arctic cooler 64 pro which is still the dogs as far as i am concerned

Good luck with yer build

Really read the user guide didn't look that difficult then again I wouldn't know till I buy it.

Titan TTC-NK85TZ is looks amazing but £33 is bit more than what I wont to spend on a fan
 
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