I'm returning the sunbeam CCF

Merlin5 · 16 Sep 2009 at 17:35

Hey chaps, the sunbeam doesn't clear my first ram stick and I can see it will be rather awkward to clip it down. I've decided I want the thermalright 120 extreme, AS5 (if you think so, or OCZ freeze or MX-3?) and a fan. I've rang OCuk and discussed it. They're cool (scuse the pun

) with it and they're going to send me a returns form. I don't mind paying the extra for a better HDT, plus fan, plus TIM. I hadn't removed the sticky backing to the HDT base, all I did was attach the fan and hold the whole thing over the socket position until I saw it was touching the ram, so it's all repackaged up beautifully as good as it arrived. What I need to know is, will the 120 extreme fit my CM 690? I know that the base clears my ram as this pic clearly shows, it's the same model mobo as mine

http://img529.imageshack.us/img529/2491/120onmymobo.jpg

My concern is whether it will clear the side cover of the case? When I held the sunbeam CCF high enough to clear the ram, it didn't look like it would clear the side cover, but then, maybe the ultra 120 has the higher base and heatpipe clearance but perhaps a shorter heatsink than the CCF? Sorry to be a pain, but would love confirmation if it will fit then I can go ahead and buy it. Many thanks.

Btw, I asked him, nice chap called steven, about a fan for the 120 and he recommended a sharkoon, can't remember which one,.. er.. sharkoon typhoon sound right?

Big.Wayne · 16 Sep 2009 at 17:53

Hi Merlin,

I'm not sure of the dimensions of your Coolermaster case but for reference the TRUE fits in an Antec P182/300 case . . .

The Sharkoon range of fans are called Silent Eagle btw

Sayso · 16 Sep 2009 at 18:06

The TRUE fits in the 690 with push pull fans?

Merlin5 · 16 Sep 2009 at 18:07

Big.Wayne said:
Hi Merlin,

I'm not sure of the dimensions of your Coolermaster case but for reference the TRUE fits in an Antec P182/300 case . . .

The Sharkoon range of fans are called Silent Eagle btw

Cheers big wayne. Looking good then!

Antec 300
458mm(H) x 465mm(D) x 205mm(W)

CM 690 Dominator
482mm(H) x 524.5mm(D) x 213mm(W)

Merlin5 · 16 Sep 2009 at 19:02

So, which TIM do I eliminate?
Is this 76.4cfm and 25mm thick fan going to give me maximum cooling? I only ask because I read that 35mm is better for static pressure, and I was also wondering if cfm needed to be over 90? :confused:

zero-one · 16 Sep 2009 at 19:13

I personally used AS5 on my last build and it's brilliant but i hear MX-2 is very good too.

bifday2k · 16 Sep 2009 at 21:02

AS5 = 200 hour curing time untill you see best resulst.
Mx2 = No curing at all

So all depends on what u want, both are good, just one takes that little bit longer to reach peak performance.

About the fans, these 2 would be a lot better to use, and a lot quieter then the sharkoon one.
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-056-AK&groupid=701&catid=57&subcat=4
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FG-004-NC&groupid=701&catid=57&subcat=4

Probably best getting tha apache as its just as good, but cheaper.

38mm fans are probably the best way to go, but are noisey especially the top of the range delta fans.

If you are really interested in 38mm fans, Yate loon do a 1300rpm one thats around 23db, and just under 50 cfm. But sadly can't link to it lol.

setter · 16 Sep 2009 at 21:12

Bifday2k is right about the sharkoon se 2000's theyre great fans but theyre pretty loud at full speed. Two of the apaches on a TRUE will be nice (youll need 2 sets of fan clips which im not sure the rev c comes with) also id reccomend this adapter.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CB-031-AK&groupid=701&catid=48&subcat=153

This will allow control of both fans via pwm from the cpu fan header.

Merlin5 · 16 Sep 2009 at 21:14

bifday2k said:
AS5 = 200 hour curing time untill you see best resulst.
Mx2 = No curing at all

So all depends on what u want, both are good, just one takes that little bit longer to reach peak performance.

About the fans, these 2 would be a lot better to use, and a lot quieter then the sharkoon one.
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-056-AK&groupid=701&catid=57&subcat=4
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FG-004-NC&groupid=701&catid=57&subcat=4

Probably best getting tha apache as its just as good, but cheaper.

38mm fans are probably the best way to go, but are noisey especially the top of the range delta fans.

If you are really interested in 38mm fans, Yate loon do a 1300rpm one thats around 23db, and just under 50 cfm. But sadly can't link to it lol.

Thanks. Isn't 1300 RPM and 57 CFM a bit on the low side though? I mean I don't really know, but I'm just assuming high RPM+ CFM= more airflow = better cooling. Or not?

Merlin5 · 16 Sep 2009 at 21:16

setter said:
Bifday2k is right about the sharkoon se 2000's theyre great fans but theyre pretty loud at full speed. Two of the apaches on a TRUE will be nice (youll need 2 sets of fan clips which im not sure the rev c comes with) also id reccomend this adapter.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CB-031-AK&groupid=701&catid=48&subcat=153

This will allow control of both fans via pwm from the cpu fan header.

Ah, ok, now I see that 2 fans with lower cfm would be better than one fan with high cfm and rpm. This would be the famous push pull thing I've read about, would it?

setter · 16 Sep 2009 at 21:26

Well i used to run 5 of the 2000 rpm sharks in my rig, (2 on a TRUE) but that system was a high clocked intel q6600 which generated a lot of heat, i needed fans like the sharks to keep it cool, luckily mine were ran of a fan controller to keep the noise down in normal use. The good thing about the apaches is the pwm function that speeds/slows them according to temp.

bifday2k · 16 Sep 2009 at 21:28

Yup thats the famous push/pull lol.

Aslo low rpm is'nt a bad thing, if it has the static pressure, thats why the apache and noctua fans are so good at there rated rpms.

Soon i'll be getting some of those 38mm yateloons for my radiator and doing Push/push for even more static pressure.

May be a waste of £20 for 4 fans, but if i can run all 4 at 7v they will be virtully silent and will still be adding nice cooling (in theroy, still gotta thest it lol).

Merlin5 · 16 Sep 2009 at 21:33

Hmm, decisions.*scratches chin* Don't really want to spend £20 on 2 fans right now, I might still plump for the one silent eagle or apache, but I'll have a good think on it. I could always pick up a cheap pci fan controller at some point if it's too loud.

bifday2k · 16 Sep 2009 at 21:39

just get 1 apache fan @£10 this week offer, and thats it..

When u have a spare £10-£15 you can get another fan and one of these http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CB-031-AK so both fans can be controlled by the mobo.

Big.Wayne · 17 Sep 2009 at 03:23

Merlin5 said:
Hmm, decisions.*scratches chin*

Hey Merlin5,

I wouldn't bother burning up too much grey matter on choosing a fan or thermal paste!

I found the only way to get a good opinion on fans is to buy them and try it out, you could spends hours pawing through specs sheets comparing dBa vs CFM and I tell you that the paper specs are mostly a load of old googlies!

Just do a bit of quick reading, get a rough spec then choose the fan you like the look of. Fans and TIMs are really like a Soup Of The day in this place, we are know Creme of Tomatoe is the best but then people get bored and you get an Oxtail Soup uprising heh!

I understand that most of us techies can get a bit anal retentive with the smallest details but I don't think its worth getting so caught up in the details that you loose sight of the overall project!

Just choose a fan you like, if it's poo then sell it and try again, sooner or later you will find your personal grail fan, same goes for TIM which doesn't make such a huge difference unless you like to spend a friday night in beating one off to your 2°C temperature drop when idle!

Get on with it and good luck! :cool:

Pulse · 17 Sep 2009 at 05:32

Personally I wouldn't go with those Sharkoon one's, there Noise-CFM ratio seems a bit poor. I'd personally get an Akasa Apache @ 57CFM/16dB Or the Xilence Red Wing @ 68CFM/21dB, anything under 25dB I think it is, is practically inaudible from a meter away.

FaceplantSi · 17 Sep 2009 at 07:30

Big.Wayne said:
Just choose a fan you like, if it's poo then sell it and try again, sooner or later you will find your personal grail fan, same goes for TIM

This +1

My two penny worth... get an Apache on TWO - get another if you like it!

Mal X · 17 Sep 2009 at 08:18

or Xigmatek

seriously, i wouldn't worry about fans...any of the top brands will do.....the only thing i'd be careful of is noise..........

push pull will reduce temps by about 2 degrees...........but unless you're into extreme overclocking then it's not really worth it.....you'll reduce temps far more by lapping cpu/ cooler, combined with good case ventilation.

Merlin5 · 17 Sep 2009 at 19:31

You're right guys, thanks for the advice. I must say, I nearly went for a red or blue LED fan, like the xigmatek, and even saw an AC ryan blackfire 4 somewhere which looked pretty nice. I might even still buy one at some point. However, you're right about picking one I like the look of, and personally, didn't really like the look of the apache, so I bought the sharkoon which has that nice white fan and golf ball indents. Ordered this morning and this little bundle arrives tomorrow. Yippee!

setter · 17 Sep 2009 at 20:01

If your bothered by noise id suggest a cheap fan controller for the sharkoon, itll cool great but itll be loud.