Passively cooled Athlon X2?

el_mariachi · Post by **el_mariachi** » Fri Apr 21, 2006 10:07 pm

Is it possible? I'm thinking to get a Scythe Ninja and a good Antec case...

What say you?

Ackelind · Post by **Ackelind** » Sat Apr 22, 2006 1:51 am

If you use the P180 with both fans running in the upper back, it would be no problem at all. In the P180 review, the SPCR team managed to cool the hottest Intel processor passively, a processor which is way hotter than any X2 today.

Post by **NeilBlanchard** » Sat Apr 22, 2006 1:03 pm

Greetings & welcome to SPCR,

I have an X2 4200+ machine that is running passively -- with both cores running Folding@Home. The only fan near it is the S12 430 above it in the Evercase 4252, though there is a Scythe DF 92mm blowing on the HD. Currently, the CPU temp is just 48C!

Granted, the room temp is fairly cool right now, but I have an Scythe DF 120mm exhaust fan set to turn on above 50C or so -- the fastest it ever runs is ~900RPM

mbetea · Post by **mbetea** » Sat Apr 22, 2006 1:04 pm

Probably wouldn't even need the top fan on a p180. I ran a 4400+ passively with the top vent on the p180 blocked and a Yate Loon as my exhaust.

mai9 · Post by **mai9** » Sat Apr 29, 2006 5:00 pm

I run a X2 4200 with the ninja passively, one 120mm fan intake and two 82mm fans + the PSU fan for exhaust, the case was the cheapest (I didn't even buy it, it was taken from a friend). Anyway, the CPU temp is 36ÂºC

inti · Post by **inti** » Thu Sep 07, 2006 8:32 am

What are your voltages, clock speeds and case temperatures? What are the fan speeds of your exhaust fans

I had a single core Opteron with a passive Ninja and S12-430 and a 120mm case exhaust fan, both on 800-900 rpm. At 1.3V, 2300MHz, the typical CPU temperature was 42 degrees, maximum 48 degrees with Prime95.

Now I upgraded to an A64 4200+, same PC and settings otherwise, and the CPU temperature is ten degrees higher. I think I may have an unusually hot-running A64 (CPUID reports 105 degrees TDP), but still this is a cause for concern. Have I mounted my Ninja badly?

NyteOwl · Post by **NyteOwl** » Thu Sep 07, 2006 4:58 pm

At the suggestion of a friend I was looking at Antec's Overture II on-line today. It looks like it would make a nice project as I'm getting tired of tower style cases but have concerns about cooling an X2 (5000+/5200+) passively in it? The 5000+ is available as a 65W part but the 5200+ is 89W (basically a rebranded FX-60). I don't think a Ninja would fit in this case so are there any lower profile units with close to comparable cooling? The AeroCool DP102 looks promising (almost 2" shorter than the Ninja).

vitaminc · Post by **vitaminc** » Thu Sep 07, 2006 8:18 pm

Please list your ambien room temperature when posting because your CPU temp only is not helpful at all. No one cares if you can run your PD805 OC to 4.0GHz passively when you live in Alaska and have the computer outdoors. :p

inti · Post by **inti** » Fri Sep 08, 2006 3:21 am

Fair point, vitaminc

My ambient is 22-23 degrees C and relative humidity is in the 40-50% range.

After my posting above, I tried putting an Arctic Fan 12 (@ 1018 rpm) on the Scythe Ninja, and it dropped my CPU temperatures to 37 degrees idle, 44 degrees full load (two instances of Prime95 at 100% load). So maybe I do have the Scythe Ninja properly installed after all! CPU is on 1.25V and lightly overclocked to 2376 MHz.

I realise that this is a passive cooling thread. I think my experience shows that passive cooling the hottest X2 is possible (in particular if you undervolt it a little). But if you want to overclock it as well then some gentle active cooling is desirable, unless you are happy to have CPU temperatures over 55 degrees C (and probably more than that on a hot day).

There is a lot of variation between different X2 models, presumably to do with leakage currents and such. I think my 4200+ is one of the hottest with its 103/69W rating. See the sticky in the CPU subforum.

Brian · Post by **Brian** » Fri Sep 08, 2006 5:48 pm

Can you still call it passive cooling when it relies on airflow generated by other fans in the system?

It seems like a small distinction.

Anyway, it's hard to argue with results. There are lots of very, very quiet P180/Ninja builds out there. I say go for it, Mariachi.

spent · Post by **spent** » Sun Mar 04, 2007 11:38 pm

I want to build a system based around a P180, Scythe Ninja and Asus EN7600GT. Does anyone know if the 7600GT fits with the Ninja? Up or down? I see you have all three components VitaminC, but in different systems. If not I might have to go with their EN7600GS instead.

evitkus · Post by **evitkus** » Sun Sep 26, 2010 10:23 am

Use water cooler and you won't have a problem with hot devices

dhanson865 · Post by **dhanson865** » Sun Sep 26, 2010 11:40 am

vitaminc wrote:Please list your ambient room temperature when posting because your CPU temp only is not helpful at all. No one cares if you can run your PD805 OC to 4.0GHz passively when you live in Alaska and have the computer outdoors. :p

fwiw I was in Alaska this summer and no one had air conditioning in their residence. It was rather humid and warm on a summer day. I survived because I'm used to much higher temps in the southeast US but it still surprises me that they allow their equipment to run in such high humidity conditions.

The thing you have to remember about Alaska is the majority live on the coast (sea air is humid) and a big portion live in a rain forest

All the museums, offices, restaurants were likely air conditioned and most of the cars were but houses and boats up there commonly put up with heat in the summer.