Silent but Effective HSF Combo

[kilg0r3]

I am looking for a silent but very effective heatsink-fan combo. It should be able to cool an athlon 1600+ @1666mhz and be very silent at the same time.

[FDISK]

What you want is a Thermalright AX7 heatsink combined with a YSTech 80mm Rheofan. This fan has a dial, a rheostat, on it that lets you adjust the running speed and thus the noise to the level you prefer. The Thermalright AX7 is known as being about the best heatsink available, thus even with the fan running at very low speed, you'll get good performance. Make sure you use thermal paste and get rid of the icky thermal pad, however. Good case cooling is also essential for proper temps.

You can get all necessary products at www.newegg.com (search for ax-7 and YSTech, it's called the "manual controlled 80mm fan", I believe).

[kilg0r3]

Anymore opinions or any updates?

[cpuuk]

The quieter the fan, the less cooling it is doing, so it will always be a trade-off. I have the AX7 with a standard YS fan, noise is OK, but not silent.

If you go for quiet rather than cooling, I suggest you take side of case off to allow more air to circulate. BTW taking the case side off sometimes makes it quieter, as the case can act as a resonance box.

[phamilton]

Take a look here
http://www.thinkgeek.com/stuff/fun-stuff/5a94.shtml
I havent got my hands on one but it looks good to me.

[smiller667]

I do not know where you are located, but the Verax P14 coolers might be of interest to you ... http://www.verax.de. Watch the max. ambient temperature - case temp. is 42°C max. for this cooler (specified for up to XP2000+).
The Zalman sure looks nice, but does not carry a definite speed rating ("more than") ... and frankly I would not worry about the looks of my cooler, but rather about its cooling perfomance.

[cpuuk]

Yup, I've not seen anyone using a Zalman, so it remains a big unknown.

Smiller667- That Verax looks good (80mm Pro, 19.2db), have you tried any of the fans from these guys?

[kilg0r3]

i think i will go for a combination of termalright ax7 and a verax fan.

[cpuuk]

AX7 is 80mm fan size, so order the right size fan ;)

[kilg0r3]

ougoad!!! I just took a look at the prices for these verax fans. These people are plain crazy! About 50€ for a simple fan!

[theReal]

The guys at Verax must be mad indeed to charge so much for a simple fan, quiet or not!

I can recommend the Noisecontrol Silverado cooler - it is very quiet with two Gamma 28 radial fans and it nevertheless gets the heat away pretty effectively through a 50g silver plate at the bottom of a big aluminum heatsink.

It might not be THE best cooler, but it's enough for my T-Bird 1400@1500 at 1.84V core voltage.

This is what the thermal calculator at http://computernerd.com/cgi-bin/thermalcalculator.cgi says for your CPU (assumed you run it at 1.75V):Processor: Palamino XP Model 6 Socket A Family/Architecture: A Generation: X;Rating: 1600 Speed: 1400 MHz Actual Operating Speed: 1666 MHz Actual Core Voltage: 1.75 VoltsEstimated Actual Maximum Dissipation: 70.6 WattsSo, this is 13.4 Watt less than my processor, the Silverado should be very sufficient. I stay below 50°C at 28°C room-temp. under full load (with good case cooling). Just enough and still quiet.

[smiller667]

True, Verax isn't exactly cheap :) ... just has a reputation for the quietest fans around. No, I haven't used them ... but should be more like 50-55€ for a p14-based cooler (not just the fan).

[gft]

http://www.svcompucycle.com/newsvcgc3280.html

I'm running with the stock fan. Note that this cooler uses an 80 mm fan, so make sure you have the space for it.

Get the Chrome Grill for $.90 - it looks cool and prevents cables and things from breaking the fan.

-gft

[theReal]

What I often hear to be the best heatsink around is the Thermalright AX-7.
It's made for 82mm fans as well, and it seems to be good with low-noise fans as well.

Looks good, also:

http://www.overclockersonline.com/images/articles/thermalright/ax7/top.jpg
http://www.overclockersonline.com/images/articles/thermalright/ax7/bottom.jpg

[kilg0r3]

just checked the mindfactory prices, and, they charge 44€ for the verax 80x80x25 fan only. i still think this is crazy. afterall, most of the noise that comes out of a case does not come from air flow but from vibrations created by the motor and the bearing which then is amplified by the heatsink.

it's ax7 + pabst or ystech reo then, i guess. thanks to all of you.

btw, does anyone have a good idea how to construct a fan duct that draws fresh air from outside the case?

[theReal]

I also can't imagine a Verax fan would be worth 44€. I mean, airflow is airflow, even if they make it kind of different. It's supposed to produce 12 dB/A, but moves only 14 cfm. In comparison, a Pabst NGL also produces 12 dB/A, moves 19 cfm, a Pabst NGML makes 19 dB/A and moves 26 cfm.
For a really silent fan, I'd go for a Pabst NGL then, it's only about 13€!!

Most of the noise I hear is airflow noise. My case-fans are 2 Pabst NGML (exhaust) and 2 Noiseblocker S4 (intake), the cpu fans are two gamma 28 radial blowers. The only fans I hear a motor noise from (and not much compared to their airstream noise!) are the two 45 cfm intake fans that I have to run at full speed in summer.
The case, a chieftec/antec cs601 tower, is so heavy, it absorbs every vibration - it's quite excellent in that respect (but it's a pain to carry it...)

[TactX]

I'd go for an Alpha PAL 8045 with one of the mentioned Pabst 80x80x25 fans.

I'm gonna get this one to cool my T-Bird 800 Mhz with 12 dB/A :)