P4 cooling solution?

markanini · Post by **markanini** » Tue Jun 10, 2003 6:49 am

I have decided to get the Intel Pentium 2.8c after reading an article at tomshardware.com. They said the 2.8c was the most overclockable(in the c-series), this means that it runns the coolest when normally clocked.
What cooling solution can you recommend for this processor?

DeadBySundown · Post by **DeadBySundown** » Tue Jun 10, 2003 7:46 am

I've got a Zalman 7000Cu on my 2.66 and am very pleased with it. The 7000AlCu is also available now; $10US cheaper and about 300g lighter. Neither will fit on a few mainboards due to space limitations (they are large).

Colli1 · Post by **Colli1** » Tue Jun 10, 2003 8:27 am

I have a Verax P16Cu. Its quiet, but a bit expensive.

Post by **MikeC** » Tue Jun 10, 2003 8:52 am

None of the 2.8G P4s are cool running, really. Certainly not according to Intel specs, which list their "typical power" as 68-69W. My P4-2.8 is identified by WCPUID as a C1 core stepping, and it is hot. Ambient air temp in my room right now is ~22C. The case side is open. A Thermalright SLK900 HS has a Panaflo L going at 11V (fanmate1 at full). It's running folding @ home. Die temp is reported as 52C. Ten minutes of CPUBurn at we're at 60C -- probably will stabilize there. Close the case and temps jump 6-8C, even with both intake and exhaust Panaflos 80Ls at 12V on unrestricted vents. (It is a good airflow case.)

The Zalman 7000 or SLK900 with a Panaflo (L/M) are both good bets. But don't expect to be able to run any of these fans at min with a P4-2.8 unless you have really low case/ambient temps and great case airflow. Which normally means it won't be very quiet. Maybe creative ducting to get more outside air directly to the CPU will do you better.

markanini · Post by **markanini** » Tue Jun 10, 2003 8:59 am

Okay, I'm gonna put the 2.8c into a sonata, so airflow should be better than an average case. I will get the 7000 to cool it. How much noise will there be with this system? Maby I will have to underclock a bit to get the noise down.

Post by **Ralf Hutter** » Wed Jun 11, 2003 3:52 am

markanini wrote:.......Maby I will have to underclock a bit to get the noise down.

Make sure you read the "Underclockable MoBo" section so you can pick a P4 board that will actually allow you to underclock/undervolt before you decide which one to buy.

DeadBySundown · Post by **DeadBySundown** » Wed Jun 11, 2003 4:08 am

markanini wrote:Okay, I'm gonna put the 2.8c into a sonata, so airflow should be better than an average case. I will get the 7000 to cool it. How much noise will there be with this system? Maby I will have to underclock a bit to get the noise down.

The 7000 is listed by the manufacturer at 20 dB in silent mode (1350 RPM) and 25 dB in normal mode (2400 RPM). For reference purposes, 20 dB is commonly equated to "background noise level in a TV studio" and 30 dB as "noise level of a quiet bedroom at night". In both cases, it's definately quiet. In testing on my 2.66, I found my die temperature range to be 35-47C in quiet mode and 33-47C in normal mode. Since the extra RPM only seemed to change the low bound of the range by a couple of degrees, and I felt (after about an hour of listening) that the silent mode was indeed just a shade quieter than normal mode, I run in silent mode.

Bottom line, the 7000 should be one of the quietest things in the system. You'll likely have more noise from the power supply, case fans, hard drives, and video card fan. Happily, all of these can be addressed with the proper components as well.

Post by **MikeC** » Wed Jun 11, 2003 7:37 am

Bottom line, the 7000 should be one of the quietest things in the system. You'll likely have more noise from the power supply, case fans, hard drives, and video card fan.

That depends on the system, and also on whether his P4-2.8 can be run at 5V. Mine can't, and the 7000 at any setting is noisier than the Panaflo Ls at similar voltage settings. It is likely noisier than the M too. But if it is going in a Sonata, the 120mm fan may help keep temps down and the PSU & 120mm fan noise will swamp the 7000 fan at any setting below middle settings when the case is closed.

markanini · Post by **markanini** » Wed Jun 11, 2003 7:44 am

Ralf Hutter wrote:
markanini wrote:.......Maby I will have to underclock a bit to get the noise down.

Make sure you read the "Underclockable MoBo" section so you can pick a P4 board that will actually allow you to underclock/undervolt before you decide which one to buy.

The mb I'm getting for the 2.8c is a Asus P4P800. I should have undeclocking feeture. I think it also can control the fans automaticly so it wont overheat.

Post by **MikeC** » Wed Jun 11, 2003 8:11 am

The mb I'm getting for the 2.8c is a Asus P4P800. I should have undeclocking feeture. I think it also can control the fans automaticly so it wont overheat.

Underclocking but probably not undervolting -- Asus have not been good at the latter. Their standard practice seems to be to overvolt everything by a few percent probably to improve benchmark scores. Also, the Q-fan, last time I looked, could only drop the voltage by 1/3 and there is no way to set the trigger temp point. IE, it's not very useful unless you have a cool system.

Riffer · Post by **Riffer** » Wed Jun 11, 2003 8:25 am

Not much has changed in the past year as far as P4 heatsink leaders go - Alpha PAL 8942 or Swiftech MCX4000 + 80mm Panaflo L1A (no RPM sensing) or Vantec Stealth (RPM sensing) with the rheostat/potentiometer of your choice.

http://www.silentpcreview.com/modules.p ... =30&page=1

Likes the Thermalright & so do these guys:

http://www.overclockers.com/articles373/

note the edit - I originally had "thermaltake"

Post by **Ralf Hutter** » Thu Jun 12, 2003 9:46 am

MikeC wrote:
The mb I'm getting for the 2.8c is a Asus P4P800. I should have undeclocking feeture. I think it also can control the fans automaticly so it wont overheat.
Underclocking but probably not undervolting -- Asus have not been good at the latter. Their standard practice seems to be to overvolt everything by a few percent probably to improve benchmark scores.

MikeC - you're 100% correct. That's Asus' MO for better benchmarks. I'm not dissing Asus, that's just how they do it.

markanini - Just underclocking without undervolting really won't lower your temps too much. If you want more than 1-2°C drop in temps you'll need to undervolt too.

ez2remember · Post by **ez2remember** » Thu Jun 12, 2003 5:36 pm

Asus also overvolts the CPU too usually by 0.05. They supply more voltage than what is necessary making it even more stable from their POV. Seems to hold some truth.

Their boards are clearly designed for overclockers/overvolters.

No wonder we all know Asus as stable boards, but they are over heaters too or oven heaters more like

LOL. Damn them!

Enough ranting by me...

DryFire · Post by **DryFire** » Thu Jun 12, 2003 6:19 pm

Yeah ez2remember is 100% about Asus. actually one of thier banner ads is boasting how high of an fsb it can reach.

but also you have allot of options with their boards. (my 8rda+ also overvolts)

markanini · Post by **markanini** » Thu Jun 12, 2003 11:50 pm

Asus seems to be the best mb on the market cause they seem to put a lot of thought into their products. Making an motherboard with alot of features is easy. Making a motherboard with alot of features that works good must be a chalenge. Asus succeeds in doing this. The oposit to a Asus board is soltek i think. I had one once and i hated it. You get what you paid for with these boards, maby less.
So is there a better choice for me that a asus board when it comes to under volting/clocking fancontrol etc?

If the Zalman 7000cu really is efficient and silent maby it should be on a faq and/or recomended list on the website. What other choices ar there besides the 7000cu? Is buying a separate hs and fan worth the money? The artic cooling super silent seem to be a good buy if you are on a low budget, think it beats the reatail inte hsf? Not that i'm thinking about buying an arctis cooling hsf but someone else might want to know. And how about Thermal paste? Should I care which one i use?

Theres another product that zalman make that looks interesting. http://www.zalman.co.kr/english/product/cnps5700d.htm Wonder if it can cool a hot p4 more efficintly than a 7000 cu?

Maby i should install two casefans to get the temperature of the whole case down?

ez2remember · Post by **ez2remember** » Fri Jun 13, 2003 1:15 am

markanini wrote: Theres another product that zalman make that looks interesting. http://www.zalman.co.kr/english/product/cnps5700d.htm Wonder if it can cool a hot p4 more efficintly than a 7000 cu?

Maby i should install two casefans to get the temperature of the whole case down?

This is a old HSF and is no way near the league of top flight coolers listed on the recommended pages. The Zalman 7000Cu/Alcu both outranks their previous offering 6500Cu/AlCu by the reviews I have read and the CU version probably comes close to the SLK900U for cooling.

Either get the best coolers from the recommended list or the 7000Cu/Alcu are good alternatives. Only slight drawback is you can't change the fans unless you hack another 92mm fan on it yourself.