I currently run a Zalman 7000A with a SilenX 120mm fan mounted above it via a Zalman FB123 fan bracket. (stock fan is removed, helped temps a little)
I'm runninga venice 3500+ @ 9X300 (2.7Ghz) and although my ram can do about 315 or so (DDR 633) my CPU bottoms out at about 2.75GHz, regardless of voltage (about 1.65V for 2.7G)
The CPU hits 55C - 60C at load at 2.7G and i'm trying to work out a way to cool it better silently, WITHOUT blocking access to my ram slots. (DFI NF4 Ultra-D board) as i do DDR ram reviews for OCZ and require access to the ram slots on a moments notice, and swap ram constantly
I have read up on the XP 90 and XP 90-C and seen that there is little temp difference between them, despite the near double weight of the unit.
Do you people, as silent PC users feel that an XP90 (C) with a panaflo low/high could compare to my zalman 7000A with silenX 120mm?
DO you think its worth the extra money and weight for the C model?
Is it even worth buying another fan, when i have the silenX?
Side note: to remove my zalman, all i need to do is lie the case on its side, unscrew two screws and gently lift the cooler. How hard will it be to remove an XP-90 (c) ?
Thanks in advance guys, I know the people on this forum are the experts and will return the favor if i can.
Upgrading cooling: XP90 (c) advice please.
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ScubaSteve
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- Location: Grand Rapids, MI
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I don't have the same mobo as you, but I do have an XP-90 with a 92mm Sunon fan that's nearly silent on it. If you go with the regular XP-90, you will benefit greatly from lapping it so that the base makes better contact with the die cover on the CPU. Mine was pretty convex, to be honest with you, and not very smooth. However, the performance of the cooler was excellent even before lapping. I'm running my 3500+ at 2.4GHz, typically. I don't ever see the temperatures exceeding 48ºC in MBM or CoreCell, with an ambient temperature of around 18ºC (according to an external mercury thermometer), but you know how great the on-board stuff is. 
I think you should just go for the regular XP-90 and save the extra $$$. BTW, the height of the XP-90 should allow you to swap out RAM easily. The heatsink's fins are directly over my RAM and I can still pull it out and put it back into place without problems. A few cool side effects of the XP90 are that it'll blow some air across the rest of the board, and it also has a small enough base that you can actually still see the CPU heatspreader! You can tell if you used too much heatsink compound on it, instead of having little piles of goo all over the place like back in the Socket-A days.
I think you should just go for the regular XP-90 and save the extra $$$. BTW, the height of the XP-90 should allow you to swap out RAM easily. The heatsink's fins are directly over my RAM and I can still pull it out and put it back into place without problems. A few cool side effects of the XP90 are that it'll blow some air across the rest of the board, and it also has a small enough base that you can actually still see the CPU heatspreader! You can tell if you used too much heatsink compound on it, instead of having little piles of goo all over the place like back in the Socket-A days.
Well i'm rather crap at lapping 
Honestly however, have you had any issues taking that thing OFF? i hear that theres a lot of tension and it can be difficult.
And what really matters is XP90 Vs. Zalman 7000.. and FYI the zalman blows just as much air around it as the XP90 does, and with my 120mm above it everything nearby is cooled.
Honestly however, have you had any issues taking that thing OFF? i hear that theres a lot of tension and it can be difficult.
And what really matters is XP90 Vs. Zalman 7000.. and FYI the zalman blows just as much air around it as the XP90 does, and with my 120mm above it everything nearby is cooled.
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ScubaSteve
- Posts: 10
- Joined: Thu Jul 21, 2005 2:59 pm
- Location: Grand Rapids, MI
- Contact:
Honestly, no. Granted, it's on there with quite a bit more tension than the AMD heatsink was, but with a regular flat-blade screwdriver it seems to pop off rather easily for me. Bit harder than the AMD heatsink, but that one was cheating, using plastic levers and whatnot. 
The XP90 comes with a new plastic piece for the retention mechanism, so you're going to have to remove your motherboard. That's the only "downside" I can say there is to it. You can access the clips very easily as well, which is another great aspect. It's not your old "brick" style HS by any means.
BTW, when I lapped mine, I didn't use anything but my bare hands and a crude water-and-sandpaper-on-glass setup. Ended up getting some rather deep & long lacerations to my right hand; I didn't even know I cut myself until the runoff was red!
I guess I pushed a little hard on the fins, eh? Turned out beautifully. You only need to do this if you're having OCD with improving computer components like me.
The XP-90 is rated at 0.13 ºC/W, and the XP-90C at 0.11. As to whether you'd ever see a difference between the two models? I highly doubt it, though they are significantly lower (better) than your Zalman, rated at 0.29-0.22 ºC/W (sources: overclockers.com and zalman product website). A 92mm fan isn't going to break the bank, so you might as well grab the quietest & highest flowing one you can get. I think heatsinkfactory.com has the XP-90's on sale, or at least for a great price right now.
I think the XP-90 would own your Zalman. j/k It's up to you, but I'd go for it if I were looking to keep temperatures as low as possible w/o breaking the bank or going deaf.
The XP90 comes with a new plastic piece for the retention mechanism, so you're going to have to remove your motherboard. That's the only "downside" I can say there is to it. You can access the clips very easily as well, which is another great aspect. It's not your old "brick" style HS by any means.BTW, when I lapped mine, I didn't use anything but my bare hands and a crude water-and-sandpaper-on-glass setup. Ended up getting some rather deep & long lacerations to my right hand; I didn't even know I cut myself until the runoff was red!
I guess I pushed a little hard on the fins, eh? Turned out beautifully. You only need to do this if you're having OCD with improving computer components like me.The XP-90 is rated at 0.13 ºC/W, and the XP-90C at 0.11. As to whether you'd ever see a difference between the two models? I highly doubt it, though they are significantly lower (better) than your Zalman, rated at 0.29-0.22 ºC/W (sources: overclockers.com and zalman product website). A 92mm fan isn't going to break the bank, so you might as well grab the quietest & highest flowing one you can get. I think heatsinkfactory.com has the XP-90's on sale, or at least for a great price right now.
I think the XP-90 would own your Zalman.
j/k It's up to you, but I'd go for it if I were looking to keep temperatures as low as possible w/o breaking the bank or going deaf.well i'm aussie and so US websites are useless.
it would cost me about $70 for for XP-90 and $90 for the XP-90C (aussie $$, that is)
i'm thinking thats worth it because the C model still weighs less than the 7000A, and comes pre-lapped (or so i have heard)
those C/W ratings sure have my interest at being almost half that of the zalman, i never realised they were that good.
www.pccasegear.com.au is my main access for these things, what 92mm fan would you reccomend from there? i currently have one silenX 92mm 14dba and thats it in 92mm
it would cost me about $70 for for XP-90 and $90 for the XP-90C (aussie $$, that is)
i'm thinking thats worth it because the C model still weighs less than the 7000A, and comes pre-lapped (or so i have heard)
those C/W ratings sure have my interest at being almost half that of the zalman, i never realised they were that good.
www.pccasegear.com.au is my main access for these things, what 92mm fan would you reccomend from there? i currently have one silenX 92mm 14dba and thats it in 92mm