AMD stock cooler

Purren · Post by **Purren** » Thu Sep 21, 2006 5:46 am

Most reviews that compare some cooler to the amd cooler say it's really loud, and I agree that at max fan speed it really is terribly loud. I was thinking of buying a Zalman 9500 for my X2 4200+ but I was fiddling around in BIOS and found some settings for my cpu fan.

So I set it to silent and I can hardly hear it now. The temperature is kind of high, 35-40ish idle and 60ish during full load. I was wondering, will a Zalman make a difference in sound volume vs the undervolted stock fan?
And how big of a temperature diffrence will there be?

Thanks

DanW · Post by **DanW** » Thu Sep 21, 2006 6:29 am

those temperatures look fine to me. In fact pretty good. Defenitly not worth the extra cost of the Zalaman if you can't hear the stock cooler.

edit: or you could just go fora fan-less ninja, and you'd have a decent spare 120mm fan then...

vitaminc · Post by **vitaminc** » Thu Sep 21, 2006 6:59 am

iPod generation perhaps?

Stock cooler is still loud and it doesn't really cool things down at full load. From my experience, Zalman will be able to punch out much higher CFM at similar sound levels thus generally 5-10 degrees lower.

If you dont live in areas with hot/humid summers, stock coolers are fine if you can't hear it after undervolting.

autoboy · Post by **autoboy** » Thu Sep 21, 2006 7:58 am

Stock cooler may be fine for you. I've used it sometimes. While it is not SPCR quiet, with good fan control in a noisy environment, it can be ok. It is certainly better than my old pre SPCR computers.

Welcome to SPCR

Post by **MikeC** » Thu Sep 21, 2006 8:21 am

There are at least two different HSF included with AMD's retail CPUs. Neither are very quiet at full load, but with typical motherboard fan controllers set for minimum noise, they are actually quite good. Much better than the Intel stock coolers, which for years have been saddled with nasty ball-bearing Nidec fans that often sound worse run slower. We've been meaning to do a review of the stock AMD HSF for a while now...

Post by **Rusty075** » Thu Sep 21, 2006 8:28 am

The current crop of AMD coolers are not bad at all, so long as you have a motherboard with fan control. (and most of them do by now)

I built a system with an AM2 3500, and after enabling CnQ and Q-fan in the BIOS, and undervolting the CPU a couple notches, the fan alternates between being completely stopped and spinning at only a couple hundred RPM while at idle.

Have you tried undervolting your CPU yet? That's a simple way to get cooler and quieter without costing money or performance. (there's lots of info here in the forums if that's a new topic for you)

Depending on what other noisemakers you have in the system its completely possible that changing the stock CPU HSF for the Zalman won't make any difference at all in your noise. Sure, your temps will go down, but the temps are fine where they are now....getting them lower isn't going to help anything.

Try the "noise test". With the machine running, stop the CPU fan for a few seconds and see what the effect is on the overal system noise. If it's the same with the CPU fan stopped or spinning, then leave it as-is, and start working first on the other, noisier parts of the system.

Purren · Post by **Purren** » Thu Sep 21, 2006 9:18 am

Wow! Thanks for all of the response!

So I opened my P150 case up (Which, by the way, I bought after I read the review of it here on SPCR!) and stopped both the tricool fan and the cpu fan. None of the hardly made a difference in the audiolevel. I think the main noisegenerator in my computer at the moment is the harddrive, but the whole thing is hardly audible at all.

I don't think I'll switch to the Zalman 9500 since it can have any change in in sound level. I still think it would be somewhat cooler than the stock cooler, but like several of you point out, the temperatures are still within the range of what's acceptable.

Would be kind of cool if I could regulate the fan speed of the TriCool fan in the back of the case software-wise, so I could turn it up during gaming and other demanding work.

Thank you for all of your response!

vitaminc · Post by **vitaminc** » Thu Sep 21, 2006 9:37 am

Try using Speedfan to control your fan speed. It's a free software online. The hardware requirement is that your motherboard needs to support fan speed adjustments and your fans needs to be either 3 or 4pin.

Set your fan speed to be between the lowest possible % (without turning off)and the highest toleratable %.

Set your CPU temp monitoring to be between the highest tolerable and and 5 degrees about that.

So your fan will run at the lowest possible speed when your CPU temp is below the highest tolerable temperature, and it will kick in once you exceed that tempture, and it will run at full speed 5 degrees about that.

Purren · Post by **Purren** » Thu Sep 21, 2006 9:42 am

Thing is though, the tricool chassifan on the P150 is not connected to the motherboard, it's connected directly to the PSU. But maybe there's some kind of adapter I could buy?

vitaminc · Post by **vitaminc** » Thu Sep 21, 2006 11:30 am

Purren wrote:Thing is though, the tricool chassifan on the P150 is not connected to the motherboard, it's connected directly to the PSU. But maybe there's some kind of adapter I could buy?

http://www.mnpctech.com/3pinfanextension.html
Things like this at your local shop, or get a 3pin 120mm fan from Nexus or Scythe.

Tricool fan a 3 wire fan, so cut the wire shielding open, extend the red/black/yellow wires and put on the 3pin connector while taking out the voltage switch.

Purren · Post by **Purren** » Thu Sep 21, 2006 12:12 pm

Would this work? It only has two wires.

http://images.webhallen.com/boxshot.php ... &typ=large

vitaminc · Post by **vitaminc** » Thu Sep 21, 2006 12:21 pm

Purren wrote:Would this work? It only has two wires.

http://images.webhallen.com/boxshot.php ... &typ=large

no. you need 3 wires. the 4pin molex on the tricool will not be able to adjust voltage. you need to mod the tricool to 3pin. a red for +12, black for ground, and the middle yellow wire for the adjustable voltages.

easier to get a new fan i guess, but not too hard to save those tricools. :p

Purren · Post by **Purren** » Thu Sep 21, 2006 1:52 pm

Hm. I guess I'll go get some new fans then.

Thinking of a Nexus 120 and a 92 for the front. I've read here on SPCR that they're supposed to be real silent.

autoboy · Post by **autoboy** » Thu Sep 21, 2006 2:35 pm

Is the tricool set to low? Sounds like a dumb question but it is worth a look. I find the tricool on low quiet enough for most situations. A nexus is very quiet but does not push much air. I prefer the low speed yate loon fans. They are from the same manufacturer as the Nexus, but run a few hundred rpm higher than the Nexus for that extra little bit. They are louder at full speed but still very quiet with fan control. They can also be found for $5 instead of $15 like the Nexus.

Purren · Post by **Purren** » Thu Sep 21, 2006 2:47 pm

Yeah it's set to low, but it isn't the noise I'm complaining about, I'd just like to be able to turn the fanspeed up during gaming and what not to decrease the temperature in the box without actually opening it up everytime.

At low, from 1m away, I can hardly hear it.