current best quiet HSF with NO thru-the-board mount?

Cooling Processors quietly

Moderators: NeilBlanchard, Ralf Hutter, sthayashi, Lawrence Lee

Post Reply
fourfa
Posts: 4
Joined: Thu Jan 06, 2005 1:57 pm

current best quiet HSF with NO thru-the-board mount?

Post by fourfa » Thu Jan 06, 2005 2:18 pm

I'm looking for a quiet heatsink/fan unit for my Gigabyte GA-7N400, socket-A. It doesn't have through-the-board mounting holes, so the Zalman 7000B I just got in the mail doesn't fit. My mistake for not confirming first.

It's going in an Antec Sonata case. Just got the quiet bug when I decided to go all MP3 with my music collection, meaning I want the thing running all the damn time. Just put in a Arctic Cooling VGA Silencer (noisy stock 9600 fan) and a northbridge passive HS (noisy stock northbridge fan). Doing better, but now the lousy Fry's special on the CPU has to go.

I read all the recommended HSF reviews and searched every keyword I could think of. The highest-ranked non-thru-board mount one on the "recommended" page was the Swiftech MCX462-V, as of August 04. Anyway, I plan to return the Zalman and exchange it - are there any better units in the $30-40 range I should look at?

fourfa
Posts: 4
Joined: Thu Jan 06, 2005 1:57 pm

Post by fourfa » Thu Jan 06, 2005 2:31 pm

hmm, ok after further searching the only other contender I find in the articles on this site is the Thermalright SLK-800. Seems like the clip-on mount is heavily out of fashion...

Tibors
Patron of SPCR
Posts: 2674
Joined: Sun Jul 04, 2004 6:07 am
Location: Houten, The Netherlands, Europe

Post by Tibors » Thu Jan 06, 2005 2:39 pm

Have a look at Thermalright SI-97. If you search this forums, you can find a lot of discussion about it.

Welcome to SPCR

fourfa
Posts: 4
Joined: Thu Jan 06, 2005 1:57 pm

Post by fourfa » Thu Jan 06, 2005 4:31 pm

thanks

Tiamat
Posts: 84
Joined: Thu Dec 02, 2004 12:27 pm
Location: Washington DC

Post by Tiamat » Thu Jan 06, 2005 4:33 pm

yeah, definately the best cooling solution for socket A is the Si-97 coupled with a low flow very quiet fan like the Nexus or the Panaflo BX L1A.

Tephras
Posts: 1140
Joined: Tue Sep 07, 2004 11:03 am
Location: Europe

Post by Tephras » Thu Jan 06, 2005 5:53 pm

The SI-97 is not compatible with the GA-7N400 Pro2 according to Thermalright, so before a purchase it's advisable to check up if that also holds true for the "non-Pro2" version.

davidstone28
Posts: 556
Joined: Tue Oct 28, 2003 5:14 am
Location: London, UK

Post by davidstone28 » Thu Jan 06, 2005 6:44 pm

The Thermaltake SilentBoost would be my 2nd choice (after the SI-97)

sthayashi
*Lifetime Patron*
Posts: 3214
Joined: Wed Nov 12, 2003 10:06 am
Location: Pittsburgh, PA

Post by sthayashi » Thu Jan 06, 2005 11:28 pm

Either that or the SLK-900A. It's not been retired quite yet and it appears to be compatible with Gigabyte boards.

Mikael
Posts: 206
Joined: Mon Dec 06, 2004 3:12 am
Location: Gothenburg, Sweden

Post by Mikael » Fri Jan 07, 2005 2:29 am

I use the SLK-900A, which has clip mounting, together with my AthlonXP-M @ 2.3GHz. I also use an ADDA 92mm 15dB fan which is running at about 1600RPM. This is enough to keep the CPU around 55C during load. Pretty good cooling performance if one consider the small amount of noise it makes. :)

The best solution would probably, as the others said, be the SI-97. It's supposed to be much better than the SLK-900A when using low speed fans.

fourfa
Posts: 4
Joined: Thu Jan 06, 2005 1:57 pm

Post by fourfa » Fri Jan 07, 2005 7:09 pm

ok, upon further inspection it is indeed a Pro2 board. There's a tall capacitor very near the processor, which is likely the problem with the SI-97. So that's out. Looks like I'll try the SLK900. Thanks for the help!

EdT
Posts: 88
Joined: Sun Dec 19, 2004 10:11 pm
Location: Montreal, Canada

Post by EdT » Sun Jan 09, 2005 9:01 pm

Whats all this mumbo jumbo and spending so much on a fan/sink, most of you would have spented more on the fan/sink than your actual CPU ! ever wonder about that ! low tech clump of metal has the same cost as a high tech 60,000 000 transistors CPU ?

I'am using a SS7(Super Socket 7) GlobalWin fan/sink on my AXP 2000+ and the temps are very acceptable, 39C idle and 48C load at max rpm and a little warmer if I lower it to 2500rpm from 4500rpm in a "Fanless" system. I'am very proud of her performance and her extensive service over the 6 years that I have owned her !

My Trusty Old GlobalWin CPM25603-32
http://ocmanila.tripod.com/reviews/cool ... /page4.htm

You should try to locate a GlobalWin FKP32, this little sink does wonders with heat and you can proberly find it for under $10 on eBay !

Eat your heart out !

Tephras
Posts: 1140
Joined: Tue Sep 07, 2004 11:03 am
Location: Europe

Post by Tephras » Mon Jan 10, 2005 12:26 am

Well, I agree with you to some extent, I use a very cheap yet very good HS myself - ArcticCooling Copper Silent 2, cost no more than 15$. However, a HSF is more or less mandatory with todays CPU so if your aim is to get your system as quiet as possible it's crucial to get a HS with good cooling performance so that it can keep the CPU cool with a fan running as slowly as feasible. Unfortunately, the price tag on a high performing HS will, because of higher production costs, often be higher than the average HS. Sometimes a little too high IMO, performance and price doesn't always go hand in hand. There are, off course, also heatsinks with a good performance/price ratio, such as the Zalman CNPS7000.

Digitizers
Posts: 11
Joined: Wed Oct 27, 2004 1:33 pm

Post by Digitizers » Mon Jan 10, 2005 10:45 am

funny, I have the Gigabyte 7N400 Pro2 Rev2. I just ordered a SI-97, but I'm selling the motherboard anyway. So we'll see whether it fits or not :D.

@fourfa

you should consider the Aerocool HT-101, I had this one as well (sold it). It perfectly fits on it even when you use dual fans.

burcakb
Posts: 1443
Joined: Tue Mar 09, 2004 9:05 am
Location: Turkey

Post by burcakb » Mon Jan 10, 2005 1:37 pm

$14 Spire/speeze falconrock. Exchanged the fan with the fan leftover from a Zalman 7000 mod. Took a bit of thinking to attach a frameless fan but.... Cools my hot Pally 2000+ (70W) nicely.

Digitizers
Posts: 11
Joined: Wed Oct 27, 2004 1:33 pm

Post by Digitizers » Thu Jan 13, 2005 11:28 am

My SI-97 heatsink just came in. I installed it on my Gigabyte GA-7N400 Pro2. Yes, the only motherboard that supposed to be incompatible for this heatsink. I don't have problems fitting it at all. The only thing you should mind is that you have to be absolutely sure that the clearance between the motherboard and PSU is bigger than 1.3mm(btw I'm not using the northbridge fan (passive)). I have pictures but I've no time posting them now.

rpsgc
Friend of SPCR
Posts: 1630
Joined: Tue Oct 05, 2004 1:59 am
Location: Portugal

Post by rpsgc » Sun Jan 30, 2005 11:22 am

Does the SLK-900A really have clip mounting? I don't have mounting holes on the MB and I really need a good HS/HSF for Socket A :?
davidstone28 wrote:The Thermaltake SilentBoost would be my 2nd choice (after the SI-97)
Is it really quiet?

mrzed
Patron of SPCR
Posts: 281
Joined: Wed Jun 25, 2003 4:01 pm
Location: Victoria, Canada

Post by mrzed » Sun Jan 30, 2005 1:00 pm

Yes the 900A really has clip mounting. It also works nicely on anything less than the hottest socket A CPU's with a low flow and fairly quiet fan.

I'm sure the si97 is better, but at least around here, it's twice the price too.

I'm currently running a 80mm antec fan pulled from a psu on mine, at 5v, from my understanding it's even better with a 92mm. Still, it cools my xp@1840 Mhz/1.6v nicely, and is inaudible under the other 5v fans and HD idle in my system.

It also fits almost any socket A mobo, as it has a very narrow base no bigger than the socket, and flares up at the top.

I wouldn't pay top dollar for it, as it is old tech compared to the heatpipe equipped sinks out now. But if you can get it at a discount like I did, it's still a solid buy.

rpsgc
Friend of SPCR
Posts: 1630
Joined: Tue Oct 05, 2004 1:59 am
Location: Portugal

Post by rpsgc » Sun Jan 30, 2005 1:27 pm

I can get it for 33€, same price as an Aerocool HT-101.

rpsgc
Friend of SPCR
Posts: 1630
Joined: Tue Oct 05, 2004 1:59 am
Location: Portugal

Post by rpsgc » Mon Feb 07, 2005 9:11 am

So... is it worth it?

Post Reply