CPU Fan Recommendations?

ElementalDragon

The One and Only
Joined
8 Aug 2002
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Ok..... i'm lookin for a new fan for my A64 3700+ since right now i'm using the stock fan. there are two that i've been looking at and deciding between.... but i just can't pick one over the other, because they BOTH seem to be rather remarkable coolers. the two that i've been debating between are the:

Zalman CNPS9500 LED CU copper cooler
GigaByte G-Power Cooler Pro

as i said... they both look great... both seem to have their own advantages and disadvantages... i just haven't been able to pick which one. If anyone else has any input.... or another cooler they have that they know works well for my CPU or at least one close to it, please say so.
 
I like the gigbyte. I might just buy one!!!! Thanks for the link.
 
I have the Zalman-CNPS7000A-Cu. Haven't got a bad thing to say about it.

Just remember the weight. It's OK if you are not going to LAN parties & the like. Very easy to fit on the P4.
 
I quite like my Thermaltake Volcano/venus 12. Can't remember the exact model. :p
 
yeah... the GigaByte does seem like one excellent cooler to me.... but in the reviews i've seen, it turns out being rather loud, even with it's huge fan (think it's actually like... a 130mm fan or somethin? not a normal size like 80, 92, or 120). just hard to decide between those two. and i think i've read about people having problems installing the Freezer 64 on the A8N-SLi Premium, LA..... which is one reason i have been skeptical on considering that one... unless they recently changed the design, but i think the one part around the fan was blocking/rubbing against the DDR if it was in the first slot. Don't really like the Vapochill either. i'm sure it works well... but even in the very first review i read, they said installation is quite the pain. too hard to get at the screws to mount it.... and the fins on the heatsink bend quite easy.

just checked the reviews again for the Freezer 64. seems like it may work if i have it so the fan is blowing the air up towards the PSU.... but that's not really what i wanted. would rather have it blow out the case fan that's right at the back of my case.

edit: just was looking again.... and it MAY work.... but could still rub the DDR stick in the first slot....
 
Go with the zalman.

I don't like the zalmans price ($57 for a HSF is offensive) or it's high weight and overhung CG moment loading (top heavy) on the MB scares me, but....

The high density fins on the gigabyte will clog with dust much too fast.
I don't like having to tie up a floppy bay for a speed controller.
40 db top end noise is outrageously high these days, especially at 3200 rpm.
 
Lee, any opinion on the Freezer 64?

Also.... i was kinda looking at those Verax coolers..... they seem to be quite quiet themselves...... but from what i've seen they don't seem to perform that well. has anyone else read anything about them or anything? kinda lookin for a balance between good cooling and quiet.
 
I have a freezer 64 on an a8n-sli premium I dont see anyproblems...

It's blowing up which is better than out back a) becasue heat rises so it can shift more and b) I have a huge great psu fan sucking it out via the tagan psu.

And no problems with ram either... I really dont know where folks find all this crap to talk about decent products...
 
Asswipes rate the fan in sones instead of dBa...

http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/~jw/dB.html

Wallowing through the above
-Freezer spec is 1 sone is about 40 dBa
-Freezer Pro spec is 0.8 sones is about 36 dBa
which is high for a newer HSF. Interestingly from that article the apparent sound level you hear can seem twice as loud by varying the RPM (frequency) of the noise. So it is very hard to say whether this fan is noisy or not.

Aside from annoying me by making me look up the conversion formula that Freezer looks like a damn nice fan. Excellent 0.2 deg C /W thermal resistance. Light weight (relatively). Lower CG. Good spacing on the fins to prevent clogging. Pricing is tolerable.

Go for the Freezer 64 Pro - has better blade protection, quieter at same price. One note - In my case the fan will blow towards the back wall and a solid wall on the PSU. If my rear case fan was a little higher it would suck the CPU heat right straight out the back.
http://www.crazypc.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=50622

Only issue I'd have is the exposed blades. Watch your fingers and snagging on power wires. The blades will snap off. Won't do your fingers any good either (been there).
 
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LA: then i guess you've never read the packaging/install instructions? that's the one thing i've read in reviews of the Freezer 64 that just about EVERY review stated. right in the install instructions, in a bright red box i think, it says that even though most heatpipes are believed to work best when the ends are in the air, they should actually be as level as possible to get the best efficiency out of the heatsink..... and as for the A8N-SLi.... THAT position would be with the fan blowing out the back..... or probably would be the same with EVERY mobo.... Plus.... on the A8N-SLi Premium.... it'd help to have it blowing towards the back, since then it'd also be blowing right through the chipset's passive heatsink.

Xenoboar: first off, welcome to OSNN. second.... that's one heatsink i didn't even bother looking at. why? i HATE when a fan requires you to install a completely different fan clamp in order to use it. is it THAT hard to make it so that it works with EVERY cpu fan clip design? most HSF's i've seen are universal, even without having to swap the bracket. the other thing that turned me away from it is the fact that it's $51 for the aluminum version WITHOUT a fan...... if i'm payin that much, i'd want it copper.... and i'd want a fan.

Think right now it's still a debate between the Zalman CNPS9500 LED, the Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 Pro, or maybe the GigaByte G Power Cooler Pro. think the Verax coolers are now outta the question.
 
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ED: the leaflet that came with my cooler said position it EITHEr blowing out back OR up to the PSU, with the latter being he prefered choice - I actulally got 5C cooler pointing wit the fan blowing up than across.
 
eeh.... maybe out the back could work a tad better in my case.... or at least i'd feel a tad better with it blowing out the back, since there's a 92mm case fan RIGHT THERE to pull the air from the freezer's 92mm fan out the back.

one question i've been pondering..... can a PSU be damaged if it get's hotter than it should.... or does it only suffer damage if it gets WAAAYYYY too hot? my psu supposedly runs at 29c according to the Ultra website..... and the exhausted air does feel quiet warm... which is the main reason i've re-plugged in my 3 92mm case fans, so i have two intake on the side, and an exhaust in the rear below the PSU to try to vent more away from it. If PSU's can take quite a bit of heat, then i'll probably just leave the case fans unplugged for now..... and maybe just plug the rear 92mm fan in when i get the Freezer (still didn't order it by the way), since i shouldn't really have a need to worry about not getting enough fresh air in the case due to mesh side panels.

Also, along the lines of GPU coolers...... should i order an NV-Silencer 5 rev. 3 for my 7800GT.... or should i just get the Freezer 64 Pro and wait for this one to be released and order it? or should i just stick to the stock fan?
 
As long as the fan is running it'll be fine. The only time it should get REALLY hot is if its about to blow up in style.

As for VGA cooler - keep the stock cooler. if its anything like the one on my 7800GTX it'll be fine as is.
 
so.... guess i might be unpluggin my case fans tonight. YAY TO THE QUIETNESS!!!!

and if the fan on your GTX is the kind of fan that i'm thinking it is..... being something along these lines...... then no, mine is not like yours. mine is pretty damn near identical to the reference cooler..... being this one. granted it's a copper cooler...... according to the Arctic Cooling website, the new Accelero cooler is like.... half as loud as the stock cooling.... and even then it's still quieter.
 
I recommend keeping the case fan in the back and one in the front to blow across the HDs. If noise is an issue put in a case fan speed controller ($20, 4 channel) and slow them down to kill the noise.

Having the power supply suck in hot case air to use to cool itself is a bad idea. It will work but it will hurt life and it could overheat at full load.

As for blowing up, it depends on the brand. The cheaper units can. The better PSUs have overheat shutdown protection.
 
for volume.... are u talkin about for the video card, or the Freezer 64 Pro? cause i'm kinda wondering how audible the Freezer 64 Pro is. sucks that stuff is like..... 2x as loud due to the side panels, and nothing really there to stop noise from traveling out of the case.
 

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