Which "silent" cooler should I go for?

blackbull

blackbull

blackbull

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7 May 2003
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Location
ashington, Northumberland
Hi, As the title I am looking to replace the standard cooler on a P4 3.4GHz Prescott which drives me crazy! I would like something that produces a much reduced sound. Not interested in water cooling. I have been looking at the Thermaltake Big Typhoon but I think it will be to big for my case The PC is a Advent 9102 from PC World (in my defence I had had no choice!! I got the PC a year ago under the government home computing initiative. So i was offered a PC at a much reduced cost but my employer had a deal with PC world which tied you having to buy equipment from them!)
Anyway back to the point, the case is smaller than a standard ATX so my first choice cooler is out of the question but from the following would be the best option?

Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro CPU Cooler (Socket 775) (HS-017-AR)
Akasa AK-920 EVO 120 Direct Heatpipe Copper with Fan Controller (Socket 754/939/775/478) (HS-025-AK)
Gigabyte G-Power Pro (Socket A/754/939/478/775) Cooler (GH-PDU21-MF) (HS-004-GI)
VapoChill Micro Ultra Low Noise (Socket 775) (06-L-0017) (HS-007-VP)
Thermaltake Silent Tower Universal Heatpipe (Socket 939/754/775/478) CPU Cooler (CL-P0025) (HS-010-TT)
Zalman CNPS9500-LED Aero Flower (Socket 939/754/478/775) CPU Cooler (HS-015-ZA)

There, a not so short shortlist, also could anyone confirm my socket type I have always belived I had a processor working in a 775 socket but 3dMark tells me it is a 478 socket!!
 
I would definitely go for the Artic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro for the best performance although it does not have a fan controller but its much quieter than reference cooler, it is also the Elite socket 775 cooler in Custom Pc magazine. The AK-920 is quiet but expensive and not very good at cooling according to CPC. The gigabyte G-power pro is rubbish for pentium 4s as far as I know. The zalman has a speed controller which means it can be quiet if needed although it is expensive. If you want to know more I suggest getting yourself this months Custom Pc.
About what socket you have, pentium 4s were made in a variety of sockets including both 478 and 775 so I suggest you get CPU Z available here , this will confirm what socket you have.
 
Go for the Thermalright XP90 or 120. You also need to order a skt775 bracket for whichever one you go for. Either give you total silence as you select either a 92 or 120mm silent fan to go with it @ the same time. On my 670J (hottest Intel CPU ever so far!) I have complete silence with an XP90 + 92mm silent fan running @ 1950rpm.

On my old Prescott 3.2 skt478 (hotter than the skt775 cpus) it would never go above 55c even in the summer. Avoid Zalman as they all have noisy fans even when you use the fanmate to turn it down to 13-1400rpm.

Another advantage of the Thermalrights are that they also cool the surrounding components on the mobo (check their website for clearance with your mobo before ordering though).
 
Mikey1280 said:
I would definitely go for the Artic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro for the best performance although it does not have a fan controller but its much quieter than reference cooler, it is also the Elite socket 775 cooler in Custom Pc magazine. The AK-920 is quiet but expensive and not very good at cooling according to CPC. The gigabyte G-power pro is rubbish for pentium 4s as far as I know. The zalman has a speed controller which means it can be quiet if needed although it is expensive. If you want to know more I suggest getting yourself this months Custom Pc.
About what socket you have, pentium 4s were made in a variety of sockets including both 478 and 775 so I suggest you get CPU Z available here , this will confirm what socket you have.
Click to expand...

Thanks for all the info and I will get custom PC now. CPU Z confirmed it is a 775. And to everyone else many thanks it seems I am spoilt for choice...will let you know how I get on.
 
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I have just ordered an Artic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro. The article in Custom PC was very convincing plus this week I have just fitted an Artic Silencer to my X850XT and I am happy with both its cooling performance and its lack of noise. However, I was also very, very impressed by the testimonials for the ThermalRight SI-120 and a Vantec Stealth 120mm Fan (or other similar fans.) In the end I went for the former on a value for money basis. If I am disappointed with the Freezer 7 Pro I know exactly what my next option will be...
Thanks for all your advice recommendations I thought I would be humming and arrhing about this for a another week or two ( I have already before posting this thread) but there you go I made a decision in less than 24 hours. and will hopefully have my order delivered on Tuesday...
 
marc mercer said:
another vote for the scythe ninja
Click to expand...

On a 3.4GHz Prescott Core? Have you tried this, prime stable for any length of time?

I always avoided these because they say 2.8GHz maximum on the specs. From the looks of it, you need to mount a 120mm on the side to use it for anything else, at which point you've just spent £50 to buy a Freezer 7 Pro that you could have had for £15.
 
Well im running my prescott at 3.9 (3.4 stock) almost. and running fine 24.7. Yes, you just mount an amber or any other decent 120mm on the side of the ninja and your away. Best heatsink ive ever used. Well woth the money.

And as said in my previous post.

700rpm, 3.9ghz (almost, wont alow me to put more volts in it with this crap mobo) and crusing 24.7, with no issues at all.
and best of all, its silent :D

And if you shop around, you can get it for £28-30. Though it does take some looking ;)
 
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