I've recently been overhauling my computer - virtually everything new except my cooler, PSU and hardisk. I originally used my Zalman Alcu 7000A with my Athlon XP 2000+. Now I've migrated to an Athlon 64 3500+ and installed my old Zalman on it. Originally, the cooler was listed to work up to 3200 speeds (whether or not this was with 64 bit architecture I do not know). On Quietpc.com now, it says it is safe up to theorectical maximum of 4GHz (okay, with the 7000B model, but the A and B models are virtually the same AFAIK).
So, am I safe running the 3500 CPU with this cooler? I usually leave it in 'silent' mode too, although I probably would turn it up if playing a demanding game.
What sort of temperatures should I look for if there's no straight answer?
Zalman Alcu 7000A w/ Athlon 64 3500+ ?
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That upper limit you mention is for an Athlon XP 3200+, which is a very hot chip indeed. I have no figures handy, but a Barton definitely puts out more heat than a A64 of similar speed ratings. You should be fine... for my Barton, I keep an upper limit of ~65C under max load. For an A64 I think you would be hard-pressed to reach that temperature with a fanned heatsink, even the stock one.Tremor wrote:Originally, the cooler (Zalman 7000B) was listed to work up to 3200 speeds (whether or not this was with 64 bit architecture I do not know)
Just run CPUburn or similar and watch your temps. I'll venture a guess and predict the core temp won't exceed 55C... but the proof is in the eating: try and find out!