3-Prong HSF...

Cooling Processors quietly

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plonk420
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3-Prong HSF...

Post by plonk420 » Sun Jul 24, 2005 5:19 pm

are there any decent 3 prong HSFs one would recommend for a SFF Athy XP system?

i'm thinking of putting an Athy XP-M on a Soyo SY-K7VM333 v1.0 (microATX) i had laying around in a Aspire X-QPack. unfortunately it doesn't have the standard mounts of an ATX board... so i can't use my CNPS7000B-AlCu or SLK-947U unfortunately...

any ideas? meanwhile, i'll wade thru the two pages of reviews...

frostedflakes
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Post by frostedflakes » Sun Jul 24, 2005 5:35 pm

Maybe an Aerocool HT-101 Jr.? It would work very well if the fan happens to be parallel with the back of the case, as it would blow hot air from the CPU directly into the rear exhaust fan. You could even try ducting to the rear exhaust fan and get rid of the CPU fan.

http://www.directron.com/ht101jr.html

I have one in a family member's computer, and the included fan is kind of loud. But you could always undervolt it, or throw a quieter 80mm fan on there. Keeps a 2200+ decently cool in a pretty cramped case, though.
Last edited by frostedflakes on Sun Jul 24, 2005 5:37 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Tibors
Patron of SPCR
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Post by Tibors » Sun Jul 24, 2005 5:36 pm


plonk420
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Post by plonk420 » Mon Jul 25, 2005 10:40 am

i'll look into that one... the other one looks like it would be too big for the case... when i have the money, i think i might look into a passive psu, too, as well as a 6200 with HDTV out (unfortunately all 6200s with HDTV out are not passive)...

thanks for the replies!

plonk420
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Post by plonk420 » Thu Jul 28, 2005 1:07 am

i could just cry. it's 2mm, MAYBE 3mm too tall to fit in the case...!

back to square one... :(

scara
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Post by scara » Thu Jul 28, 2005 2:19 am

If you're looking for a Socket A heatsink that doesn't need mounting holes I don't think the ThermalRight SLK 900a can be beaten. It should be more than capable of cooling an XP-M with a quiet 80mm fan. The only problem would be finding one.

Clicky here for the SPCR 900U review - same HS, different mounting.

plonk420
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Post by plonk420 » Thu Jul 28, 2005 3:21 am

scara wrote:If you're looking for a Socket A heatsink that doesn't need mounting holes I don't think the ThermalRight SLK 900a can be beaten. It should be more than capable of cooling an XP-M with a quiet 80mm fan. The only problem would be finding one.
the problem is more that i can't use mounting holes ... and the height.

my latest attempt is the GIGABYTE Neon Cooler 7-Pro ... mainly was looking for silence on NewEgg. and it should clear with at least 5mm...

er ... now that i re-re-examine the specs, i'm REALLY hoping it's a total of 70mm, not 70mm+25............ :oops:

scara
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Post by scara » Thu Jul 28, 2005 4:28 am

plonk420 wrote:the problem is more that i can't use mounting holes ... and the height.
But if you can't use the mounting holes then you need a heatsink that doesn't need mounting holes right?

If that GigaByte fits at 70mm then why is the 900a too tall? From the specs I linked its 44mm high, add 25mm for a fan thats 69mm high. Remember that the stepping means that the overall height will be less than this. If you use a slim 80mm fan you would be looking at 40mm + 15mm giving just 55mm total height. This extra clearence would allow the fan to 'breathe' more easily and thus provide better cooling at a lower noise level.

btw, that Cooler 7-Pro probably won't be quiet, even on its lowest setting.

plonk420
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Post by plonk420 » Thu Jul 28, 2005 8:22 am

i know it won't be silent, but 21dba isn't all THAT loud is it?

as for the 900a, the breathing room doesn't really matter. the only thing in the way is a bar which doesn't block that much air.
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i would prefer to use the 92mm fan but i'm not sure how high the clips go above the fan. i guess they wouldn't go much more than 4-6mm...

scara
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Post by scara » Fri Jul 29, 2005 3:02 am

You're right, 21dba isn't all that loud, but that doesn't mean the fan on that cooler won't be loud when you're sat next to it.
The problem is that manufacturers can basically put out any figures they like when it comes to noise levels. There are no standards for testing so results can vary dramatically. We simply don't know if that 21dBa was recorded 4cm from the fan or 4m.
plonk420 wrote:i guess they wouldn't go much more than 4-6mm...
Right again, the clips come up 3 or 4mm from the fan (at the most). How much clearance is there between the top of the motherboard and the cross-bar? If its 80mm or more then the 900a + 92mm fan will fit.

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