Best Q9650 cooler ?

appletree · Post by **appletree** » Mon Jan 26, 2009 3:03 pm

I'll be building new system based on Q9650 soon. I already have the p182 case, Enermax MODU 525W and Noctua S-12 800 fans. I'd like to run the S-12 fans (as intake and exhaust fans) on 500 RPM (which is extremely quiet but unfortunately also at the cost of decreased performance) to ensure some airflow in the case. I also intend to use some passively cooled VGA like SAPPHIRE ULTIMATE HD 3870 therefore the ambient noise should be only from PSU and S-12 fans.

Now - is it possible to cool the Q9650 passively with such low airflow and also with added heat from VGA ? Or do I need active cooler - in which case is there some active cooler with noise below (or not above) of the ambient noise PSU + S-12 fans (assuming it will be in p182 which has some sound dumpening properties) ? Obviously I want the system to be as quiet as possible but I would still enjoy some mild overcklocking possibilities and peak CPU temp < 60-65C. (Yeah but in worst case I could live without OC)

I am considering following coolers:

Thermalright HR-01
Scythe NINJA Plus rev. B
Noctua NH-U12P

But I just don't know if running either of them fanless will give enough cooling performance or if running either of them with fan (on low RPM) will be quiet enough. Which one is the best ? If I forgot about some ultimate Q9650 cooler please make a suggestion. Thanks in advance.

tehfire · Post by **tehfire** » Mon Jan 26, 2009 5:05 pm

Given that you want to run your fans extremely slowly, I would go for the HR-01+. This will give you the best chance with a slow-spinning fan, and may even give you some headroom for overclocking.

If you really wanted to overclock, I would recommend the Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme. The fin spacing is tighter so it would need a faster fan to be effective (maybe around 800rpm minimum?), but it is second-to-none in terms of cooling performance.

Personally, I'd probably stick with the HR-01+ and be happy with whatever O/C I end up (3GHz quad-core is plenty for pretty much anything, anyways

).

Munters · Post by **Munters** » Tue Jan 27, 2009 7:05 am

I run a Q9550 OC @3,4 Ghz, with a Sapphire Ultimate 3870 (in a Solo case with a Modu82+, two slow 92mm Scythe intake fans and 1 slow 120 mm Scythe outtake fan).

I use the Scythe Mine CPU cooler, which is good enough to keep decent cpu temperatures. Without overclocking the cpu temperature is about 5 degrees lower.

I do use a slow fan on the cooler tough, just to be sure the air goes through the cooler, not around.

appletree · Post by **appletree** » Tue Jan 27, 2009 5:13 pm

Thank you guys. I think I'll stick with the HR-01 Plus. I'll experiment a little bit with NF-S12@500 RPM fans as what is their ideal placement in the case in order to get HR-01 running fanless. However if this ends up in poor performance I'd like to have a backup solution = mounting some 120mm fan on it. Is the reference Nexus fan (used by SPCR) undervolted to approx. 500RPM the best choice considering noise / performance ratio ? What about the Scythe S-FLEX 800 rpm (possibly undervolted to some lower RPM) ? Any other low RPM fan you could recommend ?

Btw, do I assume correctly that NF-S12 is not an optimal fan for HR-01+ since it is best used on areas with unrestricted air-flow ? I am just wondering if trying HR-01+ with NF-S12@500 RPM is pure nonsense or if it could actually help improve its cooling performance (since I am very satisfied with the low noise this fan produces). Any suggestions are appreciated.

tehfire · Post by **tehfire** » Tue Jan 27, 2009 6:45 pm

I would try the NF-S12 on it before buying another fan. Usually the S12 did poorly in high-restriction applications, but since the HR-01+ is relatively unrestricted, it's worth a try.

appletree · Post by **appletree** » Thu Jan 29, 2009 5:51 pm

Relying only on S12 seems risky to me (though I will definitely try it) and on the other hand I don't mind having one more fan just in case, so I've already ordered the cooler together with MX-2 and NF-P12-1300 (this is the fan they recommended me in the shop) According to SPCR on 5V @ 600 RPM it is effectively silent so on 5V it should be competitive with Nexus (though more expensive and perhaps with slight performance edge) I 'll order rest of the PC components after the heat-sink arrives and will perhaps get my self to write some temperature readings later on.

appletree · Post by **appletree** » Sat Mar 14, 2009 10:29 am

So I finally built my new system and I had some fitting problems with backplate of the HR-01 Plus with my P5Q Deluxe mobo. I got them resolved but until then I had to use AC Freezer 7 Pro as main sink.

I just wanted to ask how much C difference could it make if I would have used some CPU / heat sink cleaner like this

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Akasa-AK-TC-Tim ... B000BK7ATI

when switching from Pro 7 -> HR-01 Plus. Is it more than 1C ? I used just dry paper tissue to clean it. Temperatures under default clock / voltage never get above 53C per core with Nexus 120mm fan undervolted to 5V (non-PWM version) so I guess it is OK. However since I want to do some mild and silent overclocking and with summer coming soon every C counts. Also can lapping the heatsink and not lapping the CPU help ? (Q9650 is too expensive for the moment to make me experiment with CPU lapping)

I also got me Nexus 120mm PWM fan, but I found that under the lowest RPM my mobo will provide for this fan (sadly it is as high as 1000 RPM) it makes high pitched whining noise which is simply unbearable and nothing at all like the non-PWM Nexus fan. Therefore I was thinking to get some Scythe 1200 PWM fan - is this a good choice for CPU cooler ? Or any better recommendations ? I just need it to be as quiet as the Nexus non-PWM fan (or comparably quiet) and so that my mobo could control RPM. It should not go above 600 - 700 RPM at idle. (If it could be completely turned off at idle it would be best because my CPU is idling at 32C fanless - but its not a requirement)

I was also trying speedfan but I couldn't get it work, after doing some googling it seems like my mobo does not support it

Also my bios does not provide PWM / Voltage option - so it seems like quality PWM fan is the best choice for me if I want to get to my desired mild ~3.8 GHz overclock and still being quiet at idle. With opened case and 3.8GHz OC, nexus fan at ~1300 RPM temps looked stabilized at 55C max under full load. Afer closing the case my temps immediately started to raise until they reached 68C even when the Nexus fan started to spin even faster (1600 RPM) So based on these observations: do I assume correctly that buying fan-duct and some decent 1200 PWM fan could do the job of getting me safely and quietly on at least 3.8GHz ? (by safely I understand temps < 60 - 65C in summer)

ntavlas · Post by **ntavlas** » Sat Mar 14, 2009 11:54 am

I would stick to the nexus fan, it should be running at a nice ~550 rpm at 5 volts. Usually the cpu fan is a little less audible than the exhaust so even at 7 volts it might be quiet enough, giving you that extra headroom for overclocking. There might be some setting in the bios that will change the default speeds of the motherboard fan controller. I still think that the classic nexus will be quieter than any pwm fan, so the best solution in terms of noise would be using an analog fan controller (if you want the extra control). Zalman has some models that go down to 5 volts.

As for lapping, if the imprint on your heatsink looks uneven you might benefit a little. Switching to better thermal paste is more likely to help. I`d expect a 3 maybe 5 degree improvement depending on how good your current thermal paste is.

appletree · Post by **appletree** » Sun Mar 15, 2009 9:35 am

I forgot to mention that I would like the fan adjustment to be fully automated process not requiring my intervention thus I'll use fan control only as last resource. I also chekced my bios settings then double checked and then checked again - there is nothing except of Q-fan enabled / disbaled and if enabled then 3 options: silent, standard, turbo - that's it. Fan options on this mobo are pretty lame... (considering that even speedfan does not work on it) The TIM I used is MX-2 - different reviews show different results but this one should be on the top. Perhaps Tuniq TX-2 is couple of C better but sadly I couldn't find it in any shop here.

Also I am afraid Nexus at 7V does not provide sufficient headroom for OC ~ 3.8GHz - 4GHz where I am aiming. I am almost sure that to achieve this desired clock I need at least 1200 rpm fan so PWM is ideal solution. Now it might be true that Nexus is quieter than any PWM fan at the same rpm but considering that my Samsung hard drive is currently the loudest component anyway I think some decently quiet PWM (quieter than my HDD) could do the job. The question is whether or not some Scythe PWM is the right choice or if there is something better. (quieter) If high pitched noise is typical for most PWM fans than probably I should avoid them...

I was also thinking about PWM -> DC convertor like this:
http://www.nanoxia-europe.com/index.php ... 15&lang=en
It looks good but I can not find any review on this. Can anyone comment on this item ? Would PWMX in combo with silent Nexus fan work better than just some PWM fan straight from mobo ? Suprisingly it is cheaper than getting new fan control and one of the shops here has it in stock so it should be no problem to get this item if it is worth it.

Abula · Post by **Abula** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 7:29 pm

appletree wrote: Also I am afraid Nexus at 7V does not provide sufficient headroom for OC ~ 3.8GHz - 4GHz where I am aiming. I am almost sure that to achieve this desired clock I need at least 1200 rpm fan so PWM is ideal solution. Now it might be true that Nexus is quieter than any PWM fan at the same rpm but considering that my Samsung hard drive is currently the loudest component anyway I think some decently quiet PWM (quieter than my HDD) could do the job. The question is whether or not some Scythe PWM is the right choice or if there is something better. (quieter) If high pitched noise is typical for most PWM fans than probably I should avoid them...

You need to be a little lucky to reach 4.0, but expecting this high clocks and desiring a quiet setup will be hard, you probably will be able to achive this with watercooling with better success in both aspects.

Moon GT · Post by **Moon GT** » Thu Apr 02, 2009 1:39 am

appletree wrote: I was also thinking about PWM -> DC convertor like this:
http://www.nanoxia-europe.com/index.php ... 15&lang=en
It looks good but I can not find any review on this. Can anyone comment on this item ?

SPCR member PCY makes these:
http://www.paqt.co.uk/store/index.php?a ... roductId=5
I'll probably be getting one at some point. Why don't Scythe coolers come with 4 pin fans? OCZ Vendetta II does IIRC.