Case Fans & CPU Cooler Questions

Juniper · 11 Jun 2008 at 16:09

Hi all,

I've got an Antec Sonata II case with an AMD Athlon 6000+ cpu on it. The cpu has the standard heatsink on and it's been getting quite hot, up to 60* playing games and I can only imagine it's going to be getting worse as the summer months go on. What is a good upgrade to the heatsink on the cpu to bring that down a bit?

I'll be putting an 8800GT in it shortly, so is it worthwhile replacing the Antec Tri-Cool on the back with something better, like a yate loon and also adding another one in the front of the case and adding a fan controller to help with the temperatures?

I haven't overclocked anything in it, so it's more really how to bring the temps down a bit without having to spend a fortune. Probably not wanting to spend much more than £50 on the parts, but I can go higher if needed.

Thanks!

Greebo · 11 Jun 2008 at 16:23

Artic Freezer pro if you want value for money and will enable to overclock as well if you want.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showp...64 Pro PWM CPU Cooler (Socket 754/939/940/AM2)

Tuniq tower if you want one of the best and are going to overclock to the max.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showp...CPU Cooler (Socket 478/754/939/940/AM2/LGA775)

Make sure you have good airflow in the case and your cables are tidy.

If you haven't already got a front fan then that will make a big difference. My amd rig had one at the front in front of the hard drives and one at the back near the cpu and kept a good airflow flowing through the case.

I had them on a fan controller which meant that i could have them quiet but put them up when gaming/hot summer months.

Juniper · 11 Jun 2008 at 16:29

Just had a scooch around the OC shop and I'm thinking:

Akasa AK FC-06BK Fan Controller Junior - Black £7.99
Yate Loon D12SL-12 120mm Case Fan - 3 Pin £3.99
Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 Pro PWM CPU Cooler (Socket 754/939/940/AM2)

What about fan controllers, I'm tempted with the Akasa as it's quite cheap and I don't really need it to do much, but is it worth spending more on it?

Greebo · 11 Jun 2008 at 16:53

anewhope said:
Just had a scooch around the OC shop and I'm thinking:

What about fan controllers, I'm tempted with the Akasa as it's quite cheap and I don't really need it to do much, but is it worth spending more on it?

That will be fine. The more expensive controllers bring in displays with rpm readouts and temperature probes (My asaka has these) but I never really look at them since all infor can be found in windows with coretemp, everest etc.

Also some high end controllers have alarms and automatic fan speed increases to match increases in temperatures.

One last feature you get with only a few expensive ones is the ability to switch off each fan totally - basic fan controllers only vary the voltage to the fans from 5v or 7v to 12v.

So not worth spending any more money unless you need any of those features.

All I ever did with mine was turn the knob until I couldn't hear the fan anymore for surfing etc and then put it on full, if and when needed. Who cares how many rpm my fan is spinning?

JoeDredd · 11 Jun 2008 at 17:00

Can I just add my 2penny worth....I have just replaced my antec fans with Yate loon and added a zalmann MFC1+ controller....they have made a big difference in noise...so much quieter, but I wish I went with D12SH to give that extra oomph when needed yet still ok and quiet when not, so maybe think about getting the biggest shifting fan you can get and use the fan controller

Juniper · 11 Jun 2008 at 17:21

Greebo said:
That will be fine. The more expensive controllers bring in displays with rpm readouts and temperature probes (My asaka has these) but I never really look at them since all infor can be found in windows with coretemp, everest etc.

Yeah, I've got Speedfan installed and as long as I just make sure the temperatures are fine then I don't think I need to go overboard on it.

One last feature you get with only a few expensive ones is the ability to switch off each fan totally - basic fan controllers only vary the voltage to the fans from 5v or 7v to 12v.

I think if I had more than two fans that I needed to control, that ability would be handy but with only two I think the ability to just adjust the voltage is fine.

JoeDredd said:
Can I just add my 2penny worth....I have just replaced my antec fans with Yate loon and added a zalmann MFC1+ controller....they have made a big difference in noise...so much quieter, but I wish I went with D12SH to give that extra oomph when needed yet still ok and quiet when not, so maybe think about getting the biggest shifting fan you can get and use the fan controller

Good point, I'll get the D12SH ones instead.

Greebo · 11 Jun 2008 at 17:35

JoeDredd said:
Can I just add my 2penny worth....I have just replaced my antec fans with Yate loon and added a zalmann MFC1+ controller....they have made a big difference in noise...so much quieter, but I wish I went with D12SH to give that extra oomph when needed yet still ok and quiet when not, so maybe think about getting the biggest shifting fan you can get and use the fan controller

Yate Loons shift more cfm than D12SH, it's just D12SH are meant to be quieter but not much in it tbh.

See this thread for a full and frank cfm/silence discussion:

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=17882906

JoeDredd · 11 Jun 2008 at 18:02

Greebo said:
Yate Loons shift more cfm than D12SH, it's just D12SH are meant to be quieter but not much in it tbh.

See this thread for a full and frank cfm/silence discussion:

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=17882906

Sorry greebo should have made myself clearer I have fitted Yate loon D12SM but now wished I fitted Yate Loon D12SH

But now looking at the deltas and boy do they shift some air; Delta EFB1212VH 120x25mm

Greebo · 11 Jun 2008 at 19:31

JoeDredd said:
Sorry greebo should have made myself clearer I have fitted Yate loon D12SM but now wished I fitted Yate Loon D12SH

But now looking at the deltas and boy do they shift some air; Delta EFB1212VH 120x25mm

Yeah but have you heard them? Jet engine!

I would rather have a Yate loon, Noctua, Xilence, Asaka Amber, Sharkoon which shifts a decent amount of air quietly!

And if using as case fans you just needs a nice steady flow of cool air circulating through the case not a car test wind tunnel!

Also my mistake, I thought the D12SH were the Noctua ones, not the different Yate Loon.

JoeDredd · 11 Jun 2008 at 19:35

Greebo said:
Yeah but have you heard them? Jet engine!

I know Brilliant

I would love to fit 1 in my TT and watch it take off !!!!

Pneumonic · 11 Jun 2008 at 22:58

You will be limited by the thermal load that the heatsink can cope with before a fan like that would max out.. at 4ghz I notice no difference in temps when running my delta's at 3000 or 3500+ rpm simply because my TRUE can not move the heat fast enough... done a comparison on it a while back is on here somewhere with graphs and everything! This is why at high clock speeds you notice little to no difference between having 1 and 2 delta's on a heatsink

Edit:
Here

I have one somewhere @ 4ghz which shows even less difference at higher RPM

JoeDredd · 12 Jun 2008 at 08:48

Thats a nice bit of info Pneumonic, are you still running that rig???

I agree with what you have done, when you need to shift some air due to temps then you turn them up, thats why I should have got the SH as oppose to the SM !!

Better to have too much than not enough, especially when you have fitted a fan controller

Pneumonic · 12 Jun 2008 at 10:01

yeah she is still running

Juniper · 12 Jun 2008 at 10:18

Greebo said:
Yeah but have you heard them? Jet engine!

I would rather have a Yate loon, Noctua, Xilence, Asaka Amber, Sharkoon which shifts a decent amount of air quietly!

And if using as case fans you just needs a nice steady flow of cool air circulating through the case not a car test wind tunnel!

Also my mistake, I thought the D12SH were the Noctua ones, not the different Yate Loon.

Would you also recommend the YL D12SH's or would they be overkill on a stock clocked system?

Greebo · 12 Jun 2008 at 11:46

anewhope said:
Would you also recommend the YL D12SH's or would they be overkill on a stock clocked system?

No, not really. If the price difference isn't much then why not. You will have a nice cool flow of air through your system and you may at some point not have a system at stock and the fans will last for years (I have had mine 4 years now in 3 computers) so best to think ahead always

Juniper · 12 Jun 2008 at 13:41

Greebo said:
No, not really. If the price difference isn't much then why not. You will have a nice cool flow of air through your system and you may at some point not have a system at stock and the fans will last for years (I have had mine 4 years now in 3 computers) so best to think ahead always

Awesome, I'll get them ordered asap.

Thanks for all your help guys

JoeDredd · 12 Jun 2008 at 15:40

anewhope said:
Awesome, I'll get them ordered asap.

Thanks for all your help guys

NP, its nice to see someone benefitting from other peoples experiences