Suggestions for Photoshop/Painter system

[David Cole]

My current system is:
- Asus P4Te mobo
- Intel P4 2.6Ghz cooled by an old (Al) Zalman flower and fanmated 92m Acoustifan
- 1024Mb Samsung Rdram
- Gigabyte Geforce 6600 256mb (fanless)
- one other low voltage 92mm Acoustifan over the mobo/vga card suspended on a Zalman bracket.
- Samsung and Seagate 7200rpm hdds
- modified Lian Li case with large grills set into the side panels and no case fans
- Nexus 350W psu

The system is very quiet and I use it for graphics work often with two or three graphics programs open simultaneously. Though it's not stated by Adobe in their system requirements, Photoshop CS2 is widely regarded as needing 2GB of DDR to work well and certainly I notice that PS does not fly on my system particularly when other programs are active - no doubt in part because of the lack of power under the bonnet.

I would be content to run with my present system if I could just bump up my ram to 2gb but to do this I will need X4 modules of 512mb rdram and this will cost me about £600. This would be a ludicrously bad VFM upgrade.

So what I'd like to do is find a new mobo, processor and ram which will give me a system which will be as quiet as the one I have now, will be ok in my current pc case and will work with my graphics card and peripherals. In other words, I'd like to get a new mobo (passively cooled), processor and 2Gb of DDR or DDR2 memory.

But, I am stumped as to what combination of models would work for me and meet my requirements. My experience is just with Pentium chips and Asus mobos but I'm not wedded to thesm.

I understand that most of (?all) new motherboards now accommodate only PCIe cards and I'll buy a PCIe card if I have to as long as its passively cooled.

Basically I want to spend as little as possible, but achieve the extra capacity in ram and processing while at the same time using all the rest of my current components.

Sorry about this long note. Thanks for any help you can give me with this.

David

[Irianta]

How about an AMD Athlon64 X2 3800+ paired with an Epox EP-9NPA+ Ultra motherboard? The motherboard has a fan on the north bridge, but it looks to be in a spot that allows you to replace the fan with a passive heatsink without it interfering the 16-lane PCI-e slot. This combo would probably set you back somewhere around £300 if I'm reading Froogle UK correctly.

The board doesn't have much in the bling department, but it's reputedly a solid, reliable performer -- supposedly more trouble-free than Asus' or Abit's offerings. For Photoshop and Painter, in my opinion, a dual-processor or dual-core system is a god-send.

[David Cole]

Thank you very much. I'll look into it. As you suggest, bling I can do without.
David

[doudou]

Yeah, well, PS memory reuquirements basically are a function of the number and size of images you are working on. If you are running another hungry program at the same time, sure you'll notice a big performance increase by adding more memory in to your system !
You are also among the small portion of users who will see a great benefit from switching to dual core CPUs.
So, I'd say go for any mobo that supports athlon X2 systems, get an X2 3800+, throw in 2GB of DDR, and sell your old 6600 AGP, to get the same in PCI EX, because I know of no X2 mobos that have an AGP slot (plus grpahics cards sell very well on ebay, often at higher prices than new ones !)

[Irianta]

Y'welcome

If you're not wanting to do any modifications on the motherboard in order to make it passive, I'm sure Asus' A8N-SLI Premium or Abit's AN8 Ultra would do just fine. Both have passive cooling on the motherboard out of the box. And, what ^^^ he said about dual-core processors.

[David Cole]

Thanks. Just to look at a range of options, I have considered going with a Pentium duel core processor etc. The list of components I have considered looks like this:

- Intel D 830 Dual Core LGA775 3 Ghz
- The (?)new Zalman CNPS9500 cpu cooler
- Asus P5WD2 Premium motherboard (because it is both fanless and - specifically designed to give cooler operation)
- X2 1Gb modules of Kingston KVR667D2N5/1G DDR2 667(reco’d by Asus for this motherboard)
- PCIe Gigabyte GVNX66T256DE (fanless)

It looks to me that this combo – assuming it is all compatible – will require only 1 fan – the cpu fan – in my set up (because i have a very open case).

I am very grateful for the suggestions already made round an AMD cpu and would be glad to hear if you can see obvious problems with the set up I have suggested.

Thanks

David

[Irianta]

I don't see anything obviously wrong with those. The processor might run hotter than an X2, but the Zalman is probably up to the task.

[doudou]

Oh my .... A prescott !
Dear David, if you are posting on SPCR forums you might have come accross evidence that P4E CPUs are just the contrary of "silent" CPUs, because they suck just that much power, haven't you ?
Kidding appart, I can figure out why you picked up a intel: you're used to them, and in the dual-core field they are cheaper than X2s.
But please before you make what may be a mistake, please do consider the advantages of AMD CPUs for a silent rig:
- lower maximum thermal output
- Cool&quiet !
I am not saying that a D 830 will be a nightmare to cool down, but sure that will be much easier with an AMD.

And, by the way, why not wait for yonah, which will be available in the very beginning of next year (dual core, low power etc) ? And for the upcoming geforce 7200 or 7600, supposedly faster than 6x00, and as cool (90nm process) ? But you only know if you can wait a couple of months or not....

Anyhow, just do what you makes you feel comfortable and happy !

[David Cole]

DouDou - you're right. I am just more familiar with Pentium. I did not know there was such a difference between AMD and Intel at the moment and I certainly did not know about the development of Yonah next year and the graphics cards you mention. I will wait as you suggest. I am a bit concerned that there's always a new development just over the hill and you can end up waiting perpetually, but there is no problem waiting for six months or so. I just get tired of waiting for Photoshop to do its stuff!
Thank you very much for this advice. I'll wait as you suggest. Christmas is a bad time to assemble a computer in any case!
David

[nickdeck]

David, as someone who uses Photoshop to make his living, I can tell you what works for me:

Athlon 64 3500+ CPU, cooled with an XP-120
Asus A8V Deluxe mobo
4GB Corsair RAM
2 WD Raptor SATA hard drives
Matrox P650 dual-head video card
Antec SLK3000B case

This is a pretty quiet machine, not silent, but much quieter than my previous machine that was built by someone who didn't give a hoot about noise. This box runs Photoshop CS2 very well, but I'm on the verge of upgrading the CPU to a dual-core Athlon X2 4400+, which should make it faster still.

As already mentioned, Photoshop wants all the RAM you can cram in there, but another consideration is having at least 2 hard drives. That gives you a second hard drive to assign the PS scratch disk to, which will speed things up some more.

You might also check out the Adobe user-to-user forums, where there are usually two or three threads in progress about "best systems for running Photoshop."

Good Luck!

Nick

[Irianta]

If only it were so simple AMD has the clear technical advantage and Intel is playing catch-up. However with AMD's current offerings you lack an evolutionary upgrade path to anyone's next-gen platforms: Intel already uses DDR2 memory, and AMD's next-gen platform will use DDR2 as well. If you go with AMD now, you will be using DDR memory and have to throw it away if you ever want to upgrade to either Intel's or AMD's new processors. Either way you're likely have to get a new motherboard, but going with AMD today you're also going to have to get new memory. It's a long-term problem though, and you may not care.

Besides that, the Pentium dual-core is a known quantity for someone who's used to Intel. The Intel chip itself is clearly inferior to AMD's counterpart, but on the other hand with an X2 you likely end up with nForce4 chip and have to deal with nVIDIA's drivers which can be -- how shall I put it -- flaky? The way I see it, it's price and convenience versus technical superiority. My strong personal preference is towards AMD's offerings at the moment, partly because I've already weighed the value of the short-term gains versus long-term hassles and found AMD better for my circumstances, but if you're much more comfortable with Intel then go for it. Both can be made quiet; it'll just be a lot easier with AMD.

[David Cole]

Thank you all for this advice. Perhaps I'll just buy a Dell...no, just kidding.

From what I understand, there are a number of issues for me:

- I need a dual core something because the multi-tasking which I do everyday in graphics programs will definitely be assisted by a dual core cpu

- Photoshop needs more ram than I have (I need 2Gb. Nick - I see you have 4Gb - Adobe say PSCS (and I assume CS2 though not necessarily CS3 to come) can only handle 2Gb)

- it is clear from what you all say here and from the tests I have seen reported that AMD dual core is more effective than Intel dual core (this is probably a gross simplification by me) and that anyone in their right mind in my position would be looking first at AMD

- but I see that, apart from the Athlon 64x2 3800 2Ghz, AMD dual processors need bank robberies to pay for them. I am also confused by the apparently slow speeds of these very expensive processors - 2Ghz (£200) to 2.4Ghz (£400) seems very low compared to Intel numbers, though I am equally baffled by Pentium M processors which have low speeds yet are reportedly very good. I could only afford the the 3800 I mention above. Can a Dual Core AMD 2Ghz really be more effective than a 3Ghz Pentium D? The depth of my ignorance on these matters should not be underestimated.

- and then there's the future which seems to mean everything gets changes again from the ground up.

There are just two things I want - (a) not to hear my computer and (b) Photoshop filters and plugins, and the rest, to operate at a speed which is not irritating.

I am confused as to what to do. Because I am more familiar with Intel and am often not in my right mind, I instinctively want to go forward with Intel rather than AMD even if I take a performance hit with it. Actually, the main thing that worries me about doing this is whether I can make a system based on the Intel 3Gz Pentium D 830 very quiet using this new Zalman cooler - a review I have just read of it, in which it comes out joint top, says "it is not unbearably loud". That's not what I had in mind at all.

Then again if Yonah is coming early next year should I wait?

I think I may need counselling when all this is done. Any further thoughts on all this would be very welcome.

David

nb Nick - I am interested you use the P650 Matrox card. For some years I used a modified, fanless 128mb Parhelia and then the P650 but eventually got so fed up with the awkwardness of driver installation (all the .NET nonsense) and related software unfriendliness (eg much too complicated to create a custom screen resolution) that my move to a Gigabyte Nvidia card has been a joy. Drivers solid and easy to use, changing resolutions a piece of cake, and 2D as good as Matrox. I will be sticking with Nvidia. The most useful change in sceen quality was discovering the ClearType setting.

nb2 And I'll have to buy a new PSU - I'm thinking of a Seasonic S12 500W.

[stromgald]

Yes, AMD X2 chips are very expensive, but they perform better even at lower frequencies due to better design. As an analogy, you can have 500 horsepower in an engine, but if you strap it to an large truck, it won't move as fast as if you put it in a corvette or Porsche. Intel has been hyping up the raw speed/power (Ghz) for years and it was paying off since they could build them at higher frequencies than AMD. Now, they seem to have hit the wall in raw speed due to heat issues on their higher end processors (couldn't release the 4Ghz Prescott awhile back due to 'engineering constraints'). To follow the earlier analogy, AMD decided to try making their cars lighter rather than keep beefing up the engine for more speed, and so far its working quite well. Intel also did the same thing for their mobile processors, which is why some of them can outperform a Pentium 4 at higher clock speeds. The new Yonah is based off the Donthan (Pentium M) design.

If I were you, I'd wait for the Yonah and get the cheapest dual-core Yonah you can get your hands on. The new Yonah core for the Pentium line of processors is about equal to the Athlon64 X2 3800+ in performance and heat, but will support DDR2, so you'll have a better upgrade path. If you can wait six months, that's even better because it'll take awhile for prices to settle down. If its released in Q1 2006, the prices should be at reasonable levels by Q2.

[nickdeck]

David,

On the RAM issue, Windows XP, by default, will only allow any one application to use 2GB of RAM. There is, however, what's called the "3GB switch", which you can implement by changing your boot.ini file. It allows Windows to assign up to 3GB per application. (Google 3GB switch and you should see the appropriate Microsoft page, with instructions).

Some people have reported problems with running the "switch" but I've been using it for the past several months with no ill effects. Adobe doesn't officially support the switch, but they have mentioned it in their knowledge base articles. When I open PS CS2 preferences, PS recognizes 2.7GB as being available to use. Whether you choose to use the 3GB switch or not, 4GB is still a good thing. Even after PS uses all that it can, there's more left over to run the OS and other apps.

On the video card issue, I've always used Matrox and been very happy with them. As you know, the P650 is fanless, so it works well (for me, anyway) in a quiet system.

Hope that helps,

Nick

[MikeC]

Lots of good advice already, but here's my 2 pennies worth:

1) Never wait for something better around the corner in PC-land. You will wait forever. Who cares about DDR 2 or the next CPU socket? Chances are a new AMD X2 rig will be so much faster and pleasant to use that you won't think about another upgrade till --- some years into the future. At which point, we'll be at DDR4 and 4-core processors. Meanwhile, waiting for newer parts means getting parts when they are less proven than the ones that have been around for 6 months -- usually enough time for bugs to be sorted out.

2) The A64 X2 3800+ is by far the best value option in a performance dualcore desktop processor. I don't see the cost being at all different from similar performance from Intel -- in fact, you might pay more. The ease of cooling & lower power conusmption is utterly compelling. Even the mainstream tech sites (like UK's ZDnet and C/NET) are recommending AMD dualcore systems over Intel for these reasons.

I am a happy P650 user, too, btw. Been doing dual monitoring for >10 years w/Matrox cards. Still the best implementation of dual-mon, methinks.

[David Cole]

Thank you for yet more patient, clear advice.

I am very, very nearly persuaded to go down the AMD x2 3800 route now. There is just something uncomfortable about buying expensive hardware that you know is going to be overtaken almost before you have it out of its box and that will, if I understand correctly, be unupgradeable subsequently other than in toto.

It would be really helpful if you could please suggest key components that will work well around this AMD cpu - that is a motherboard, 4Gb (thanks Nick) memory, cpu cooler, and psu. I am assuming that my current wonderful Nexus 3500 won't be suitable (?wrong connectors ?too little power) and am thinking of the Seasonic S12 500w but suspect this may be overkill I will stick with Nvidia for my graphics card - not least because the Matrox PCIe P650 has a fan (I assume the new motherboard will be PCIe), and those clunky drivers and software....

I know that there is sometimes reluctance to suggest specific items but as MikeC has implied the technology I will be adopting should be well proven by now and it would be enormously helpful to know what specific bits have shown themselves to work together reliably and quietly. Also, having gone down the quite long route of trying to select Intel based gear for this upgrade, it would be great to have a shortcut to identifying an AMD based set up - particularly as I know nothing about AMD.

It will be interesting to set up an AMD based system having only assembled Intel kit before.

Thanks again for your help - it's invaluable to me.

David

[stromgald]

350W is enough for your graphics card and 3800+ X2, but the Nexus 3500 only packs 16A on its single 12V line. You need at least 22A for modern computers. Since from your comments, you seem to be budget concious, I'd recommend getting a Fortron Blue Storm 350W, Enermax Noisetaker 370W, or an Antec SmartPower 2.0 350W. They're not the quietest, but are fairly quiet and inexpensive.

For the motherboard, there are three main chipsets makers out there for AMD. Nvidia, ATI, and VIA. NVidia nforce4 chipsets are very hot, and hard to cool, but are considered the best (performance wise). ATI doesn't seem to have a good solution unless you're going the mATX/small case/HTPC or dual graphics routes. VIA chipsets don't perform as well for overclocks and such, but are known for their stability and they're easy to passively cool. For your needs, I'd recommend looking into an ASUS A8V Deluxe, A8V SE, or ASRock 939 Dual SATA2. Other manufacturers with pretty good boards include MSI, DFI (overclocking focused), and ABit, but I like ASUS/ASRock better (good blend of features and performance with solid reputation for reliability/compatibility).

Good cheap inexpensive coolers that can handle an AMD X2 would be Thermalright SI-97 (good value) and Arctic Cooling Freezer64 (inexpensive, but very good). Personally, I'd go with the AC Freezer64 since you're probably spending a bit more on the RAM and processor than you already want to.

I'm not going to comment on the RAM, since I usually stick with value RAM from Corsair, Mushkin, and OCZ. They're solid and work fine, but you might want better RAM since you'll be getting 4 GB?

You need a good case though. That old Lian Li with no case fans won't do. Get an Antec 3000B or 3800B if you want to save money. Not pretty, but they work well.

[MikeC]

A modest but good A64 x2-3800+ system:

1. Case -- Almost any of the top half dozen or so rated case from SPCR's Recommended Cases list. The Antec 3000B is cheap and works well.

2. Mobo - ASRock 939 Dual SATA2, Asus A8R-MVP, Gigabyte GA-K8NF-9 etc... Actually the boards come so fast and furious that it's hard to keep track. Despite the reputation, nF4 chipset do NOT consume more power than other chipsets -- there was a very through power comparison of 939 chipsets, I can't recall where. Not a big deal. You don't want to pay for SLI or Crossfire. Basically, I would look at decent name, modest priced ATX boards. By now they ALL support X2. If it has a little fan on the chip, plan on replacing it with a passive one from Zalman. It's pretty easy.

3. Matrox 650 vidcard.

4. HDD -- there's our HDD list, but the quick & easy one is Samsung 200 or 250GB. I guess you will want 2 HDDs for Photoshop. Most of the new (Fluid Dynamic Bearing) drives from all the majors are OK, but stay with 2-platters if you can. Seagates are loud in seek, tho often very quiet in idle. Go notebook if you want quietest. Plan on suspending any drive you buy. See the DIY HDD suspension gallery.

5. PSU -- Seasonic S12-380 or 430. You won't need more power. It's the quietest fan cooled PSU, top quality & efficiency. Some spotty compatibility issues with DFI and maybe Asus boards, but they seem to have passed. (I have not had any problems w/many S12s & A64 boards in the lab)

As for mem, a caution: 4 sticks of 1GB ram may be hard to get running stable on any board. It's at the extreme limits, very few people run so much ram. I built an A64 - DFI board with 4 gb of good Corsair mem -- and spent days finding a way to make it boot. Generally, it seems to have to run at lower speed & Windows only recognizes 3.2G, IIRC... I was actually asked why I didn't go the smart route and use a server board that's designed for gobs of RAM.

Nexus 120 for case fans, best undervolted; for cooling, the top dogs are Ninja, Thermalright SI-120, Zalman 9500, etc. But even a lowly Arctic Cooling SS64 TC will work OK.

[David Cole]

Thanks.

[nickdeck]

David, you can scroll up to see my system specs, but I'll add a couple of afterthoughts:

I opted for the Western Digital Raptors mainly because I wanted their speed for PS. I figured there would be a trade off in noise, but in operation I really am not offended by them. They do run a little warmer than some other HDDs, so I run a Pabst 120mm fan up front to cool them. I have that fan on a Zalman Fanmate which is velcroed to the top of the case, for easy accessibility. In the summer, I turn it up a little and Dtemp reports HDD temp at around 35C. This time of year (in Missouri), I can turn it down to where I can barely hear it and the drive temps stay around 32C.

I know that some others (like MikeC) have reported problems with 4GB RAM on some systems. I can only tell you that I have had no problems with it. (Asus A8V Deluxe, four 1GB sticks of Corsair Value RAM). The system is rock solid, and PS is one program that will show up system problems in a big hurry.

[David Cole]

Thank you. I think I will start with 2Gb and my Samsung and Seagate hdds; not least because it gives me a modest upgrade path to look forward to!

Armed with the advice I have received here, I think I am heading towards a system like this:

my Lian Li case - which looks like this -
http://www.davidcolepictures.co.uk/pcDC1Jpeg.jpg
and
http://www.davidcolepictures.co.uk/pcDC2Jpeg.jpg

and has a lot of natural ventilation (and dust). I hope that I can continue to have no case fans at all or at most just an additional slow turning 92mm to add a bit of cooling for the mboard. I would like not to have to buy a new case.

CPU -AMD Athlon 64 x2 Dual Core 3800 - can't afford anything more in this range. It will be cooled by a Zalman CNPS 7700 Cu (I have gone for this rather than the new CNPS9500 because the older model's design should spill some additional air to the mobo and its pipes).

Asus A8N32-SLI Deluxe - I don't need SLI but I very mych like the passive cooling (looks like plumbing) and the new treatment on the motherboard which helps heat dissipation. I hope this will partner ok with my case. I assume this handles dual core AMD 939's ok.

Memory - I am not yet quite clear what configuration I need for a 2Gb system. I want to buy two 1Gb modules so I can easily upgrade to 4Gb idc. But I am not clear whether I need to buy a matched pair (?Kit) or just two single 1Gb modules.

PSU - Seasonic S12 430w - this seems to have the power and all the connectors I need.

Graphics card - I was thinking of a Gigabyte GVNX66T256de (fanless)(Adobe a little amibiguosly seem to recommend a vga card with at least 128mb for Photoshop CS2. I thought 256mb can't hurt. I have been very pleased with my current Gigabyte Geforce 6600 256mb (fanless) ).

And that's about it. Any further thoughts will be very useful to me.

One thing - can anyone tell me, please if I will have to reinstall the OS and all progs etc after the refurbish or can I just reconnect my current C and D drives and let XP Pro sort out the new hardware bit by bit? I thought I might just be able too unplug all peripherals and let XP deal with hardware bit by bit. It would make life a lot easier.

Thanks

David

[nickdeck]

David,

Since that mobo is socket 939, it should have no problem with your Athlon X2 CPU. You may need to do a bios upgrade, but you can find out which bios you'd need on the Asus site. (Good luck with navigating the Asus site, though. IMO, that can be a bitch when you're looking for something specific.)

As far as reinstalling Windows, I'm almost certain that you'll need to if you change mobos. I know that can be a pain, but it's the best thing to do anyway. You don't want an old cobbled up OS running on a shiny new system, right?

[MikeC]

The 7700CU is not a good choice, imo -- a bit too loud, too heavy, and not really that much better than the smaller, cheaper & quieter 7000. The Alcu version will prpobably work just fine.

[David Cole]

Thanks. Reformat/Reinstallation - I feared as much. I have only just done one and my C drive is pretty clean and in good shape! It's not the OS and programs so much as all the small items like Painter and Photoshop brushes and tools, and plugins, and Office Outlook files that seem to go awol.

I hope XP will recognise the new hardware - particularly the dual core processor, ok.

Oh well...
David

[David Cole]

MikeC - many thanks. That is exactly the sort of steer that is really helpful. I have only used the venerable Zalman flower and don't know about the newer Zalman coolers.

Thanks

David

[hravn]

Perhaps you should check out the Scythe Ninja, can run a X2 3800+ fanless.

[quikkie]

a hint about running 4 sticks of RAM with an amd processor - for some reason you will need to go into the BIOS and tweak the memory settings from 1T to 2T (don't ask me what that means!) it just helps - something to do with the memory controller or somesuch.

As for shops to go to I was pleased with gladiatorcomputers.com (UK company) which is where I got my latest rig from (see my sig for details), this time around I got a pre-built machine which was so much less hassle

-Quikkie

[David Cole]

hravn - thanks. I have decided to go for a 4400 x2. How will the Scythe Ninja cope with this? I don't know about this cooler.

Quickkie - Thanks for the ram tip. I looked up Gladiator computers and they seem good.

My main problem is the impossibility of finding an Asus A8N32-SLI mobo at the moment. No one has one and no one has any idea when more will be delivered - I suspect that most of the next batch will go to those who have already ordered.

I'll just have to be patient. I do want a fanless mobo and the A8N32-SLI's heat dissipation design is worth a look.

David

[David Cole]

[quote="nickdeck"]David,

On the RAM issue, Windows XP, by default, will only allow any one application to use 2GB of RAM. There is, however, what's called the "3GB switch", which you can implement by changing your boot.ini file. It allows Windows to assign up to 3GB per application. (Google 3GB switch and you should see the appropriate Microsoft page, with instructions).

Some people have reported problems with running the "switch" but I've been using it for the past several months with no ill effects. Adobe doesn't officially support the switch, but they have mentioned it in their knowledge base articles. When I open PS CS2 preferences, PS recognizes 2.7GB as being available to use. Whether you choose to use the 3GB switch or not, 4GB is still a good thing. Even after PS uses all that it can, there's more left over to run the OS and other apps.]


Nick
You may be interested to see this on Windows and ram usage which I found in a post about the Asus A8N32-SLI in the Asus motherboard forym:

"One thing I'll tell you right off the bat is that on any nf4 board, including this one, your memory will always run slower with 4 dimms than with just 2. The reason is that with 4 the board won't be able to run the memory at 1T. The switch from 1T to 2T will cost you at the very least about 5% in speed...in some games much more. You'll also only be able to use 3 or the 4 gig in Win-XP and then only with the /3GB switch in the boot command line (search MS knowledgebase for "/3GB") Your XP64 will use all of your memory but the current nVidia graphic drivers don't support SLI in XP64 - a very bad trade off for those of us with 2 video cards. All of thse issue will dissapear next fall when Vista is released and maybe nVidia will do 64-bit SLI in the not too distant future (as soon as they do I'll switch to XP64 if they're still doing the free upgrade)"


It means little to me and I have no idea if it's right. But I think I'll stick with 2 Gb for the time being!

David

[hravn]

hravn - thanks. I have decided to go for a 4400 x2. How will the Scythe Ninja cope with this? I don't know about this cooler.

Shouldn't be any problems, the x2 4400+ has the same stock voltage as the x2 3800+, 1.35V, which is no problem for a Ninja (even passively). I'm running my 3800+ slightly overvolted at 1.4V (overclocking to 2400MHz).

My temps @ 1.4V:

Load with Ninja passively: 54C or something
Load with Ninja + Nexus @ 9V: 50C

At 1.35 the temps would probably be 5C or so lower.

This is in a Antec P150 with an additional 9V Nexus as exhaust.