Which heatsink would you buy?

[KvHagedorn]

I'm building a new computer and would like your input. I'm getting an Asus A7N8X-E Deluxe board and a mobile Barton 2500+. This board has the 4 mounting holes beside the socket, and I want something serious. The two I've narrowed it down to are the Thermalright SP-97 and the Zalman CNPS7000A-AlCu . Does anyone have experiences with these sinks? let me know what you think. Thanks.

[TnT]

You can check out the reviews at SilentPCReview, they are pretty thourough:

http://silentpcreview.com/section12.html

[UtwigMU]

Thermalright is the way to go for serious men.

Here's a database on overclockers, although fans are not equal, so one can't compare the results directly.


Otherwise, thermarlight is smaller - 99 vs 109mm of Zalman and weighs less (585g vs 773g).

Here's another review that would imply 0,36C°/W ratio with silent fan.

Problem with online reviews is that I haven't seen one where both are compared in same conditions with same CPU and same fan.

[a_h]

I own 2 thermalrights (both sk7s), nicely finished and usually you get them for a fair price.

If my next machine will be air cooled, I'm going to look for thermalright again ;-)).

Cheers, Hannes

[UtwigMU]

I also have a pair of SK-7's - both in my main box.

With Zalman F1's @3000 and good airflow through Chieftec case I get 58°C on CPU0 and 56°C on CPU1 with RAM temperature at 26°C and VGA temperature at 36°C.


EDIT: CPUs 2x AthlonXP 2500+ Barton @ 2.26GHz (133x17) 1.85V.

[KvHagedorn]

Good links, guys.. thanks.

[TransformX]

Seriously, I'd go with Spire WhisperRock IVâ„¢ or Spire FalconRock IIâ„¢.

They're lightweight (no chance of harming your motherboard if you move your computer), cheap, *SILENT* and very reliable.
Since you're using the mobile version, heat dissipation is already lower than the desktop version and the coolers above perform very well with the desktop version.

Why go with expensive, heavy, fancy shmancy stuff you don't even need ?

[DukeP]

I have the Zahlman, but the pure copper version.
its really great, and really, really quiet.

Oh, and on my friends computer, where the motherboard fan controller malfunctioned, he could still use his computer 34 minutes, before it shutdown due the heat.
750grams of pure copper takes a while to heat up..



Seriously, I have installed the Zahlman copper versions in 5 machines now, and only heard praise for it.
Its even very simple to install (no bending pieces of sheet metal here, its screw-mounted diecast aluminium).

~~DukeP~~
Edit : quit=> quiet; quite => quiet - Thanks.

[KvHagedorn]

lol i thought for a second you were saying it died, Duke.. might want to change "quit" to "quiet".

[Grail]

Kv, the Zalman can be quieter depending on the fan you choose to use with the SP97. You will have to install the Zalman on the A7N8XE-Deluxe before you mount it in your case (no if's and's or buts..). Make sure you have at least 55mm from the center of your CPU to the bottom of your PSU or anything else that will obstruct it. Most of the customers I sell the Zalman to love it.

I don't have specific info on the SP-97, but if it performs anything like it's SP94 brother, it has the most potential for OC and better performance than the Zalman. If you stick a Papst fan(12db one) on it, you'll get some decent peformance that is quieter than Zalman.

Personally, I'd go for the SP-97 and a quality 92/80mm fan with a fan controller/rheobus.

[GNEP]

KvH - I noticed in another thread ("which socket A mobo") Grail mentioning potential incompatabilities at the moment between the Asus and mobile 2500+'s - need to wait for a new BIOS or go for another nF2 brand.

http://forums.murc.ws/showthread.php?s=&postid=464808#post464808

[KvHagedorn]

i noticed that too.. thanks for the heads up.

[UtwigMU]

http://episteme.arstechnica.com/eve/ubb.x?a=tpc&s=50009562&f=77909774&m=383007062631

Here's a long thread on mobile XP.

[az]

http://www.dansdata.com/quickshot004.htm

The second one on the page

AZ

[GNEP]

Actually there are folks at nForcersHQ that seem to be running the XP-M and A7N8X's just fine:

http://www.nforcershq.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=44717