SPA04B4 WhisperRock IV NOT quiet at all....

jkrd101 · Post by **jkrd101** » Sat Apr 03, 2004 9:36 pm

I have browsed through some posts about the WhisperRock IV cooler and had high hopes, everybody said it was quiet, all the reviews including Toms Hardware said it was VERY quiet. So I took the plunge and bought 2 of these to cool my dual Athlon MP 2400's. I do not know if mine are defective, but they are very noisey for 80mm 2400rpm fans. There is barely any air noise which is good, but there is this constant motor whine noise.

My temperature readings from ASUS probe at idle are 41 degrees C/141 degrees F.

Here is a URL with links to reviews: http://www.spire-coolers.com/fcc.asp?ProdID=105

I have an A7M266-D motherboard with no hole mounts for CPU unfortunately, so Zalman 7000AlCu is not an option for me

Is it worth swapping out these fans and putting on Papst, Nexus, Zalman, etc?

Michael_qrt · Post by **Michael_qrt** » Sun Apr 04, 2004 1:05 am

Yes the fan on these has a bit of motor whine noise, have you tried undervolting the fan? I found that the stock fan isn't fantastic but you might get away with it undervolted, just check the temps to find the lowest noise level with adequate cooling.

If that fails you should replace the fans. I've found the heatsink on its own is really quite good, especially for the price but the stock fan is a bit lacking. The fan I'm currently using is a generic sleeve bearing fan I pulled from a cheap PSU undervolted to the lowest setting on a fanmate. The only noise I can hear from it is a slight airflow noise if I stick my ear right up to it. In any case its quieter than my loudest component which is a hardmounted spinpoint HD.

jkrd101 · Post by **jkrd101** » Sun Apr 04, 2004 5:41 am

Do you guys think I can safely cool my CPU with this heatsink, with a different low RPM fan (Papst, Panaflo, etc)?

IsaacKuo · Post by **IsaacKuo** » Sun Apr 04, 2004 6:54 am

Maybe "EVERYone" else that reviews hardware except for SPCR does so in high noise environments. When it comes to noise levels, the only ones I really trust are the ones here.

Edward Ng · Post by **Edward Ng** » Sun Apr 04, 2004 7:37 am

Hey, Jae...

WELCOME TO SPCR!!!

Anyway, to help you with your problem, I recommend replacing the fans on the sinks.

If you have a little extra cash, I'd say consider splurging on this.

But if you're tight on money, try this...

It may be only a few bucks different but I factor in you're purchasing two of them.

-Ed

alglove · Post by **alglove** » Sun Apr 04, 2004 8:19 am

Actually, my WhisperRock IV makes no such whining noise. It sounds to me like yours came from a bad lot.

Edward Ng · Post by **Edward Ng** » Sun Apr 04, 2004 8:23 am

And if money is really, really tight, might consider this...

But I haven't heard much about this fan, at least not as much as I've heard about the other two around here.

-Ed

jkrd101 · Post by **jkrd101** » Sun Apr 04, 2004 1:01 pm

Thanks Ed, as always excellent advice

. I am going to cancel the order for the Acoustifans becasue unfortunately no clean way of placing the thermistor for my Whisper heatsink. I will explore other options.

dasman · Post by **dasman** » Sun Apr 04, 2004 2:38 pm

I'm not sure that I'd put a thermally controlled fan (acoustifan) on a HS. If the diode is out in the case someplace, the fan would run slow when it shouldn't. If the diode is directly attached to the sink, I'd think it would be in the airflow and again slow down when it shouldn't. That's probably why they recommend against it on their website.

I have a couple 93mm acoustifan's as case fans, and I like them alot (didn't have good luck with the 120mm fixed speed version tho).

As for the nexus, I picked up 4 of those and found 2 unexceptably clicky at any voltage, but I love the 120mm version (go figure).

I have a Papst on one of my systems (P4 3.06 w/ SP94 HS, fan running 12v since it is a low flow fan) and can't hear it inside the case. The one think I like about the Papst is the ridiculously long MTBF -- I don't know, gives me a little comfort for a system running F@H 24/7

I also have a couple of the zalman's undervolted at the office that work fine (they're on P4 2.4's -- no OC).

Dave

Edward Ng · Post by **Edward Ng** » Sun Apr 04, 2004 5:39 pm

This is how I was able to mount my themistor, so as to be effective:

The one wedged under the sink is for the AF92CT that's mounted to the SP-94, and the one hanging near it belongs to the AF120CT acting as cause exhaust. The thermistor that's weged in there was done with very little force, to ensure that I don't lift the sink away from the chip in any way.

My idle temp is around 32C and my peak under several hours of Prime95 torture load is 50C; I run stock-volted P4/2.6C at 3.0.

It's a shame you can't do the same with your sinks, Jae, but maybe you can find a way to secure the thermistor to the side of the sink...

I would try taping it directly to the side of the sink, as close to the bottom (i.e. the edge of the side of the sink closest to the CPU/motherboard itself) as you can.

-Ed

bomba · Post by **bomba** » Mon Apr 05, 2004 6:28 am

Your cheapest alternative, which may be acceptable, is to undervolt the fan via speedfan, fanspeed, 5v mod, 7v mod, fixed resistor, fanmate, etc. Be sure to verify acceptable CPU temps while under load after mod. I believe AMD specifies 85 or 90C for the MP2400.

On a recent barton 2500+ build with Whisperock, stock fan & fanmate, I was able to conservatively dial down CPU fan RPM to ~1600, temps were <65C running CPUBurn and noise was reasonable, though not as quiet as my P42.8C/Zalman7000/Speedfan@30% setup. I would have preferred to use active fanspeed control via Speedfan or Fanspeed but fan speed control functionality was a no-go with the Shuttle MN31N mobo. Problem with a Whisperock + pricey fan swap is that you would be spending as much as a Zalman 7000, of course throttled down w/ the included fanmate; which would give you better results in stock form than a modded Whisperock.

hero · Post by **hero** » Mon Apr 05, 2004 7:24 am

I got the Whisperrock IV too based on recommendations and I agree that it is way too loud. I'm stuck, now, having to either clip off part of a CNPS7000A-CU's retention bar or getting a Thermalright and adding a Panaflo. Pretty much whichever one I find on sale sooner, I'll probably get.

asapin · Post by **asapin** » Tue Apr 06, 2004 9:42 am

Hey jkrd101,

I work at Spire and have a WhisperRock IV in my system at home. I don't have the motor whine you mention so you probably got a bad fan.

Fill out the following form: http://www.spirecooler.com/emailsupport.asp. If the fans are defective you can get them replaced for free.

Depending on shipping prices you can still swap out the fans and come in about the price of the Zalman I think. I might try the fan speed reduction first as the cheapest solution.

jkrd101 · Post by **jkrd101** » Tue Apr 06, 2004 2:26 pm

I work at Spire and have a WhisperRock IV in my system at home. I don't have the motor whine you mention so you probably got a bad fan.

Fill out the following form: http://www.spirecooler.com/emailsupport.asp. If the fans are defective you can get them replaced for free.

Depending on shipping prices you can still swap out the fans and come in about the price of the Zalman I think. I might try the fan speed reduction first as the cheapest solution.

Wow, its cool that someone from Spire keeps an eye on SPCR posts! I called the place I got it from for a replacement, which I should recieve shortly. I hope its becasue of bad fans (which can be damaged easily if dropped due to bad shipping, etc). Meanwhile I will also probably get a FanMate 1. I will let you guys know if the replacement fixed the problem, or if the FanMate quiets down the motor noise, thanks again for everyones help!