Quietest non-tower heatsink for Intel C2D?

Cooling Processors quietly

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valnar
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Quietest non-tower heatsink for Intel C2D?

Post by valnar » Sat Dec 29, 2007 8:53 am

Call it a personal preference, but I don't like the really tall towers. What's the next best thing?

I'll be buying a C2D E6750 and probably will not overclock. My initial research came up with a Thermalright SI-120 paired with a Scythe 120mm (800rpm) fan. Fan is 10.70dBA.

Is that enough to cool this processor under load? I plan on keeping it peaked at 100% for hours doing video encoding.

Motherboard with be ATX, P35 chipset. Any other good HSF recommendations?

-Robert

tehfire
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Post by tehfire » Sat Dec 29, 2007 10:21 am

Yes, the Thermalright will adequately cool your processor, especially if it's not overclocked. I have a Scythe Andy and it does a very good job of keeping my OC'd processor cool (E4400 @3.2GHz, 1.35v), but it has the hated push-pins and with the fan on top, it's basically just as tall as a tower heatsink.

walle
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Post by walle » Sat Dec 29, 2007 10:53 am

valnar wrote:...My initial research came up with a Thermalright SI-120 paired with a Scythe 120mm (800rpm) fan. Fan is 10.70dBA...
I guess the Thermalright SI-128 SE would be more suitable pared with a low rpm fan, well worth a look.

valnar
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Post by valnar » Sat Dec 29, 2007 11:08 am

What's the difference between the SI-128 SE vs the SI-128?

Robert

thejamppa
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Post by thejamppa » Sat Dec 29, 2007 11:47 am

128-SE has HR-01's kind holes in the fin's and base has been made differently ( according thermalright ). It works well. I have used one and it certainly is aweseome cooler.

dhanson865
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Post by dhanson865 » Sun Dec 30, 2007 7:20 am

Here are some quiet non tower heatsinks, lower values are better with the Scythe Andy leading the pack.

Heatsinks Compared at ~20 dBA@1m:

Code: Select all

Heatsink/Fan                             Noise Fan V  °C Rise °C/W MP Height Weight
Thermalright XP-90, Nexus 92      ($40)  20   12      22+     0.29    75/96  460  (360+fan)

Asus Triton 75, Nexus 120         ($45)  23    9      20      0.27    90/115 473* (350+fan)
Thermalright XP-120, Nexus 120    ($??)  20    9      26      0.33    63/88  493* (370+fan)
Thermalright SI-120, Nexus 120    ($??)  20    9      ??      0.??    90/115 523* (400+fan)
Thermalright SI-128, Nexus 120    ($45)  20    9      26      0.33    92/117 633* (510+fan)
Thermalright SI-128 SE, Nexus 120 ($60)  20    9      ??      0.??    92/117 633* (510+fan)
Scythe Andy with stock fan        ($45)  20    9      20      0.26   100/125 685  (???+fan)
Height is heatsink/combined height or if centered the fan doesn't add to height. For the ones with a / you will want an additional 25mm or greater clearance for airflow.

* http://www.nexustek.nl/120mmcasefan.htm lists the Nexus 120mm fan at 123g
http://www.nexustek.nl/92mm_real_silent_case_fan.htm lists 98.5g
http://www.nexustek.nl/80mmcasefan.htm lists 85g

Since I'm in the US I just grab sleeve bearing fans by Scythe or Yate Loon that are nearest the rpm of a Nexus and I usually do so buy buying a few at a time from sites that sell them around $2-6 each plus S&H.

120mm Nexus = 1000 RPM
92mm Nexus = 1300 RPM
80mm Nexus = 1500 RPM

chrispycrunch
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Post by chrispycrunch » Fri Jan 04, 2008 8:46 am

tehfire wrote:Yes, the Thermalright will adequately cool your processor, especially if it's not overclocked. I have a Scythe Andy and it does a very good job of keeping my OC'd processor cool (E4400 @3.2GHz, 1.35v), but it has the hated push-pins and with the fan on top, it's basically just as tall as a tower heatsink.
What's a push-pin, and what are the alternatives?
My stock intel fan is very quiet, and runs at about 800-1200RPM most of the time. However, I want to overclock, so i'm looking for an AM cooler that is easy to install. I don't want blood (literally) from sharp fins, nor do i want to break any motherboards in this process!

tehfire
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Post by tehfire » Fri Jan 04, 2008 9:30 am

The pushpins are the mounting system on most (if not all) stock Intel heatsinks. Unlike other sockets that one mounts the heatsink to a retention bracket of some kind, the push-pins connect directly into the motherboard. These are nice for simplicity, but quite a few people have had trouble either getting them fully installed, or even if they do correctly install it, they have noted sub-par performance.

You can go with a Thermalright heatsink, which comes with its own (and much better) retention system, or you can get the Scythe Andy and also buy the Thermalright LGA-775 to Socket 478 adapter. If you did the latter, this should do the trick, since you are doing away with the push-pins. I think the Thermalright is an easier option, but may be more expensive as the Scythe Andy is selling for $35 at Newegg right now and comes with a pretty good fan.

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