Need CPU Cooling Suggestions

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2005-10-11 11:16am

The past couple of months have seen my CPU produce a marked increase in heat judging from performance of some heavy programs and readings from the thermal sensors (I'm getting over 80° Celsius when it's running flat out and around 70° when stable). It is a Prescott P4 in 3.2 GHz, so I shouldn't be too surprised about the heating problems, but it does hinder performance when the CPU BIOS limits itself as it gets hotter.

So, does anyone know of any good fans or heatsinks I can buy from sites like Dabs.com and the like? I've never installed either product before, so something that won't have me ruining my motherboard and chipset would be nice.

I noticed this little miracle and wondered if it'd be all it's cracked up to be and how easy it'd be to install. Also, Peltier type devices would be good given the lack of sound and efficiency, though they do lap up the juice.

Appreciate any help.

Arrow · Post by **Arrow** » 2005-10-11 11:49am

I have the Thermalright XP-120 heatsink, with a panaflow 120 mm fan. It works beatifully and is easy to install, but isn't capable with every motherboard. The XP-90 is also a good bet.

However, if you've only started to see thermal increases in the past couple of months, you might just need to replace your thermal compound.

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2005-10-11 11:54am

At first I thought it was just a dust build-up or a lack or airflow, but having cleaned the thing out twice and moved it to a more aerated place, it doesn't show any improvement.

Uraniun235 · Post by **Uraniun235** » 2005-10-11 12:22pm

Did you apply thermal grease or Arctic Silver when you installed the heatsink, or did you just use the thermal pad that often comes preinstalled? If it's the latter, I've heard that it can dry up over time and lead to increasing temperatures.

You might try just pulling the heatsink and CPU, cleaning the thermal goop off with high-purity isopropyl alcohol, and reapplying and reinstalling - although, if you wanted to upgrade to a bigger and quieter heatsink/fan, now would definitely be a good time for that.

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2005-10-11 01:20pm

Nothing cools like the smooth taste of liquid oxygen...

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2005-10-11 01:32pm

Uraniun235 wrote:Did you apply thermal grease or Arctic Silver when you installed the heatsink, or did you just use the thermal pad that often comes preinstalled? If it's the latter, I've heard that it can dry up over time and lead to increasing temperatures.

You might try just pulling the heatsink and CPU, cleaning the thermal goop off with high-purity isopropyl alcohol, and reapplying and reinstalling - although, if you wanted to upgrade to a bigger and quieter heatsink/fan, now would definitely be a good time for that.

I've not installed anything, this is all OEM stuff, and since the PC was bought last year around 21/12, it's not even a year old yet. I could apply more thermal grease and clean it out (again), but I'm thinking a better fan or heatsink combo would be better.

Spanky The Dolphin wrote:Nothing cools like the smooth taste of liquid oxygen...

Actually, the best you can buy is essentially an A/C unit for your PC. Cost only about US$1,000 and keeps even a Pentium 4 at 4GHz below -20 degrees.

Arrow · Post by **Arrow** » 2005-10-11 01:43pm

If you're running at stock speeds, the stock HS is more than enough. A new fan may be warrented. But your HS most certainly has an adhesive pad for a thermal interface. Some AS5 or the like should fix your problem.

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2005-10-11 02:11pm

Is it worth buying any particular type of thermal grease? My dad happens to be an engineer, so it should be easy (and free) if he gets it. But I don't feel like slapping just anything on for caution.

phongn · Post by **phongn** » 2005-10-11 02:11pm

The Zalman CNPS7000B-AlCu is a good CPU cooler. You may also need to improve case cooling (Pabst fans may be more inexpensive on your side of the pond).

Don't use Peltiers.

Uraniun235 · Post by **Uraniun235** » 2005-10-11 02:37pm

Spanky The Dolphin wrote:Nothing cools like the smooth taste of liquid oxygen...

I prefer the taste of Fluorinert chilled with liquid nitrogen, like these guys did...

link 1
link 2

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2005-10-11 02:43pm

phongn wrote:The Zalman CNPS7000B-AlCu is a good CPU cooler. You may also need to improve case cooling (Pabst fans may be more inexpensive on your side of the pond).

I think a screwdriver rammed at strategic places will provide adequate cooling holes.

Don't use Peltiers.

Their price-tag alone pretty much gave me that impression. I'd have chosen liquid nitrogen at that price range.

phongn · Post by **phongn** » 2005-10-11 05:00pm

Admiral Valdemar wrote:I think a screwdriver rammed at strategic places will provide adequate cooling holes.

LOL. Time to buy that Dremel, AV

Don't use Peltiers.
Their price-tag alone pretty much gave me that impression. I'd have chosen liquid nitrogen at that price range.

Peltiers also need a good seal plus they're just a heatpump, it'll do you no good if your cooling is poor.

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2005-10-11 05:03pm

Yeah, this one I linked to is basically a godly heatsinkin copper rather than aluminium like some cheaper variants. It still needs the APU fan or at least a case fan, but then I'm not ripping those out anyway. Though the case fan is rather large and doesn't seem all that effective, if quiet.

phongn · Post by **phongn** » 2005-10-11 05:35pm

Admiral Valdemar wrote:Yeah, this one I linked to is basically a godly heatsinkin copper rather than aluminium like some cheaper variants. It still needs the APU fan or at least a case fan, but then I'm not ripping those out anyway. Though the case fan is rather large and doesn't seem all that effective, if quiet.

Copper does not neccessarily imply superior cooling - it depends on the design of the heatsink.

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2005-10-11 05:42pm

Thank you, Mr. Nitpick.

Obviously, I'm going to go with the better built model, of which I'm assured the silent heatsink system above is very well made. There is a Dabs own one, but it works only on AMD chipsets I believe and has a fan with it to boot.

phongn · Post by **phongn** » 2005-10-11 05:53pm

Admiral Valdemar wrote:Thank you, Mr. Nitpick. Obviously, I'm going to go with the better built model, of which I'm assured the silent heatsink system above is very well made. There is a Dabs own one, but it works only on AMD chipsets I believe and has a fan with it to boot.

Just remember that you might need to add more case fans to move all that air or start routing cables so they don't interfere with airflow.

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2005-10-11 08:03pm

Hmm, if I can find a decent heatsink and fan combo, that sorts that out.