I'm looking for a quiet CPU cooler for a socket 462 MB, MSI KT3 Ultra-ARU MS-6380E.
http://www.msi.com/product/mb/KT3-Ultra--Ultra-ARU.html

I tried to install a Zalman CNPS7000B-AlCu which according to their web site will fit that particular MB if you trim the end of the clip.

However, the "white" (silver actually) clip support will not clear the three capacitors next to the MB power connector.

So now I'm looking for a different CPU cooler for this old board. Choices seem scarce nowadays for the 462 in general, and I need something that will work on this particular MB as well. Any suggestions?

Edited 2012-10-01 (Fixed broken link to MSI product page)

Thermalright SI-97A, Aerocool GT-1000 ( Wide Fin space like Ninja ) , Scythe Katana CU ( discontinued ) would probably be good if you find them. I personally know that Aerocool GT-1000 if you find it, is heavy but excellent cooler that has good compatibility.

The Thermalright SI-97A is a possibility if I can find one. The Aerocool GT-1000 at 790g is way too heavy. I would like to keep this in the 300g to 400g range (approx). What about the AeroCool HT-101jr ?

It fits but is all aluminium. I know 1000 GT is heavy, but Aerocool supplies a copper shimm to protect the core.

All-aluminum would be ok for the Athlon XP 2000+ that is on there. I just don't want to go too heavy.

Also, I want something with a large enough surface area on the bottom of the heatsink that it will completely cover all four of the little round rubber pads that are at each corner of the CPU. Some of these heatsinks just barely touch half of each of the pads.

The Nexus AXP-3200 is an interesting possibility:
http://www.nexustek.nl/AXP3200_skivetek ... cooler.htm

It has the bottom surface shaped/sized the way I would like it:


It has only a 70mm fan, but it's a Nexus, and if it is too loud it looks like an 80mm would be an easy mod. It's small, but at least it would clear the caps on the MB, some of which are only about 1CM from the CPU socket.

AXP-3200 had one of the best attachment in Socket-A coolers I've ever used. Its tough but solid. Yeah, 70x70x25 odd fan. Not 19 dB/A's but sound quality was good. Very dark, easily vanishes into background noise. 80mm Fan mod is rather easy to do and there are several ways other than the "duct tape" method.

If you can find such cooler: GlacialTech Silent Breeze III, that is the best budget cooler I have ever used. The 9 blade fan is practically inaudiable. Gold bladed cooler looks awesome and the copper base is flat and mirror polished.

Thanks for your suggestions. I've decided on the Nexus AXP-3200. I can get it from endpcnoise.com.

In case I decide to do the 80mm fan mod, what would be a good fan to put on there that would have sufficient airflow for this application? I have a variable speed fan controller to use with it. I just want to make sure I use something that has more than enough airflow at full voltage for the heatsink application.

Best for your application is the older Zalman flower cooler. (CNPS6500B-ALCU or -CU) The fins radiate at 45 degrees and clear everything around the processor. The fan mounts to the computer case so vibration is isolated and the weight is off the socket. Very quiet with the monster fan. Virtually any fan can be mounted to the bracket. Should be able to find one used, the heatsink will never wear out.

I am trying to get my hands on the support clips to mount a Zalman 7000B on a 462 board, my kit only came with the socket 775 parts. If you want to sell them, drop me a line. [/img]

Well, I finally got around to installing the Nexus AXP-3200 today, (I'll post some pics when I get a camera) and so far I am very pleased with the results. Installation was very easy and the system runs about the same temp as with the old cooler (actually just a tad cooler) and it is MUCH quieter.

The PSU is now the noisiest part of the system. It is a Fortron 400W FSP400-60PFN. It's a high quality PSU, but I've never been very happy with the noise it makes. I only bought it because it had the combined 3.3v + 5.0v rating that I thought I needed for this system. The system is a Athlon XP 2000+, 2 HDs, 1 optical drive, video card is a very basic, fanless ATI (Radeon 7000 IIRC). I want to find a suitable replacement PSU. (I might post another thread in the PSU forum.)

Just swap the fan. You probably need to solder the leads... or use the old twist & heatshrink method. Or run the new fan leads out from the PSU and feed it off 5V or a Zalman fanmate.

Which fan? A Nexus 80mm will do. The Scythe-NMB 80mm 1400rpm model should also work well-- theoretically, better bearings:
http://www.scythe-usa.com/product/acc/0 ... etail.html

Would any of these that I already have work?

1. Panaflo FBA08A12L
2. NMB 3110KL-04W-B19 0.13A "P54"
3. NMB 3110KL-04W-B66 0.34A "PS6"

Just wondering. If not I could certainly get one of those you mentioned. And I have a fan controller I could power it from so I wouldn't need to solder if I didn't want to.

The Panaflo would be a good choice, not sure about the others with out looking them up. The Panaflo has fancy fluid bearings so should last better than a sleeve bearing fan without the noise of ball bearings. Its full speed of ~1900rpm isn't high but it's not slow nor is it very noisy. Most Panaflo will start around 5v and run very quietly when under-volted. They were the SPCR reference fan for a long time in the early years!
If the PSU can vary the fan speed then I strongly suggest connecting the replacement fan to the original fan wires/connector in the PSU so it can continue to control the fan speed, speeding it up when needed.
If the PSU doesn't have fan speed control then just wire the Panaflo up to 12v or 7v depending on your noise preference and call it good!
I used one for sometime in a 300w Q-Technologies PSU to very good effect. Currently I have a Noctua 80mm swapped in to NeoHE430, works well with fan speeds <900 ~ 1250rpm.
Regards, Seb

I could certainly do that. But if the circuitry in the PSU is expecting certain fan RPMs at certain voltages based on the specs of the original fan, would swapping in a lower RPM fan still provide adequate airflow?

What I mean is, I'm not sure how "intelligent" the PSU's variable fan speed circuit is. I don't know if it is designed such that it just sets the fan voltage based on what it expects airflow to be of the original fan, or if it can set any voltage needed (up to 12V) to accomplish the desired cooling effect regardless of fan used.

Alternatively, so long as I choose a fan that, when running at full RPM, provides adequate airflow for the PSU while remaining reasonably quiet, I could wire it direct to 12V and simply run it at full RPM all the time.

Sorry this is getting off-topic for CPU cooling. I should probably be posting this in the PSU area of the site.

The fan controllers in FSB PSUs have never been great, they are always linear with little or no hysteresis, so directly connecting the fan -- whichever one you choose -- to a steady voltage is best. I doubt your system draws much power anyway, certainly not enough to demand max cooling for the PSU at any time. Even the Panaflo at 5V will probably provide enough airflow as long as you case/ system has decent overall flow.

Believe it or not, this system is still running strong.

It's been transplanted into a larger case. I'm going to be doing some mods to convert it to positive pressure - installing 2 filtered 120mm fans in front.

I did the Panaflow fan swap on the PSU, but I never did the fan swap on the Nexus AXP-3200 CPU cooler, and now I'm considering doing that. Any suggestions on how to do the 80mm swap on the AXP-3200?

That's a VIA chipset, right? There's a hack for lowering the idle temps, although I don't remember much of it so I can't do more for you than give you some links.

viewtopic.php?t=20903 (look for WPCREdit or WCPREdit)

viewtopic.php?t=11065

http://www.ocmodshop.com/via-chipset-id ... ture-hack/ (no pics anymore)

Yes, VIA KT333 chipset. Wow, this is amazing stuff. I just now went into the BIOS and found the HALT command detection thing and ENABLED it. I never knew this was there. I just consider myself extremely lucky to have not only a board which supports this, but also have a BIOS version already installed with the feature there. (I'm not sure I would have been willing to flash the BIOS had that been necessary, let alone HACK the BIOS.)

I'm not absolutely sure, because I don't know how to properly configure SpeedFan to work with this board (probably would need to get it added to the SpeedFan config database), but the sensor that I normally believe is the CPU temp has gone WAY down from its previous idle temp of around 43C to around 33C when completely idle. Not only that, but the other sensor (which I assume is the chipset) has dropped down also. This is sort of amazing!

I think I'm a bit more motivated to try other stuff with this system now. Thanks!

AFAIK, I didn't have to modify BIOS, or, at least I don't think I did that, because the procedure had to be repeated after reinstalling Windows.

Not that I remember much, it's been a while since I last used it..

viewtopic.php?t=20903

Take a look at the "via 3rd party" section.

I'm still amazed at how much an improvement this is.

The high point in the graph is playing Garden Defense. Then when I quit the game it drops off, eventually settling at 32c.