Best available socket-A HSF? size matters

msim · Post by **msim** » Thu Jan 10, 2008 10:04 am

Hi all,

I was wondering what the consensus was on the best (by best i mean, best performing quiet hsf) for my old athlon XP.

It's running way hot right now with the stock HSF, and chances are the fan is going to die soon.

Unfortunately due to my stupid old case, the zalman CNPS7000B-AlCu is out, it's too big (i have an asus a7n8x-e deluxe in an old antec minitower) I'll need something a bit smaller.

I could get a new case (have been looking at the antec p182) but even still I think that my cpu socket might be too close to the edge to mount the CNPS7000B-AlCu?

The key word is "Available" as in, I can order, or pick it up locally. I'm having a hard time (in toronto, canada) finding socket A HSFs...

please advise,
m

sjoukew · Post by **sjoukew** » Thu Jan 10, 2008 10:19 am

Which athlon xp do you have, the difference heat generated between the cooler and hotter models is quite large.

msim · Post by **msim** » Thu Jan 10, 2008 10:33 am

I'm running an Athlon XP-M 2500+ processor... Running at 10.5 x 200 (2100MHz) due to heat.

I'd like to get the speed up, I know this chip has a fair amount of headroom.

m

Aris · Post by **Aris** » Thu Jan 10, 2008 1:05 pm

7000 ALCU is pretty small. Thats always my go to heatsink when space is at a premium. If i was you, id just trim off a little and make it fit, if its just barely too big.

Your not really going to find any quality quiet heatsinks smaller than that.

scdr · Post by **scdr** » Thu Jan 10, 2008 1:48 pm

Don't know that it is the best, but another option is the
Zalman CNPS3100.
(I would guess it may not be as good as the thermalright SI-97A and similar),
but Seedog found a place that still appears to have the 3100
viewtopic.php?t=45565&highlight=

Aris · Post by **Aris** » Thu Jan 10, 2008 2:00 pm

idunno if the 3100 is going to be any smaller though, which is his issue, and it definately wont be as effecient as a 7000 alcu.

psiu · Post by **psiu** » Thu Jan 10, 2008 2:45 pm

Swiftech MCX462-V?

I think it would fit and you can put a quiet 80 or 92mm fan on it. And on that note, I think I have one sitting around here somewhere...if you're interested let me know and I'll doublecheck. I think I have both brackets too...for either 80 or 92 fans.

psiu · Post by **psiu** » Thu Jan 10, 2008 3:06 pm

Also the P180/2 have some room at the top...most of the HSF's for socket-A should fit okay up there...I would 99% guarantee the 7000 would.

thejamppa · Post by **thejamppa** » Thu Jan 10, 2008 3:19 pm

Thermalright SI-97A, Glacialtech Silentbreeze III, Scythe Katana CU or Aerocool GT 1000 ( fin space is roughly same with Ninja and possibility to use dual 92mm configuration makes this one of my all time favourites which I have ever used ) are excellent coolers for Socket-A and you can change fan easily for all of them and you don't need holes near socket in any of them. Unlike in Zalman 7000.

msim · Post by **msim** » Thu Jan 10, 2008 4:57 pm

Where can I buy the Thermalright SI-97A?

No one seems to stock them anymore

m

Seedog · Post by **Seedog** » Tue Jan 15, 2008 7:41 pm

I searched for 1-2 hours total when it was first suggested to me and I couldn't find it anywhere.

Auriga · Post by **Auriga** » Tue Jan 15, 2008 11:37 pm

LAst I checked, seems like Sidewinder Computers still carries them, though they do seem to be out of stock at the moment.

http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/thsiforamdat.html

Thomas · Post by **Thomas** » Tue Jan 15, 2008 11:54 pm

My vote definately go for Scythe Katana. I dont know if there's room in your setup for that, but if there is, I highly doubt you can find any better.

I run it on a socket A Sempron 2800+ (dont know how it compares to your CPU, though). It's in a P180 with two Nexus', one for intake and one for exhaust, both approx. 600 rpm.

Most of the time, my CPU are around 43-45 deg. C. Very rarely, I can provoke it to touch 50 deg. C.

The Scythe fan which are included, are pretty quiet, and mine start reliable at 4,5 volt. The temps I mention, is at this voltage, and the corresponding RPM is approx 800 rpm. If you have a 3,5" disk, I'll claim you'll have a very, very hard time, hearing the Scythe fan at 800 RPM.

Before the Scythe, I had a Glacialtech Silentbreeze III. This is a reasonably good socket A cooler, but it's less efficient than the Katana. Even idle, it was close to 50 deg C most of the time. And the Glacial fan fan are also more noisy/intrusive.

If you end up with a Katana (no reason for copper at my opinion), then orientation is important. It works best, if it can push the hot air towards the exhaust fan.

Dont know about availability... and I think the second edition, Katana 2, aint for socket A.

Bugsi · Post by **Bugsi** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 5:26 pm

I recently needed a cooler for a socket A Athlon XP, and as an owner of a Thermalright SI-97A, that's what I wanted, but I couldn't find them anywhere any more.

I ultimately went with a SilenX iXtrema with an integrated 120mm fan. I got it from acousticpc.com. It came with mounting brackets for almost any CPU and came with its own hardware fan speed controller similar to the Zalman models.

I know SilenX has a bad rap here, but the product seems to work fine, has plenty of airflow and is relatively quiet. It is very similar to the Zalman CNPS8700 LED which I use in another computer with an Athon 64 X2 socket AM2.

AcousticPC gave me excellent service in four different orders so far, as long as you can get past their misspellings all over their website and in their emails, and if you can ignore the marketing hype accompanying products like the SilenX iX120.

The SilenX fins can also be bent if you need to fit it into a tight spot. I have no affinity with SilenX but I've used a number of their fans and coolers, and they'r'e completely satisfactory for my purposes. I've always purchased the lowest flow versions of the fans they sell.

The only real negative I have to say about the SilenX cooler is that it cost around $50 US, and like the Zalman 8700, it lights up with a blue LED. (Why must we light up our fans???)

http://www.acousticpc.com/silenx_ix_120 ... ooler.html

Seedog · Post by **Seedog** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 11:18 pm

Thomas wrote: Dont know about availability... and I think the second edition, Katana 2, aint for socket A.

The Scythe website for the Katana 2 lists Socket A as being compatible.

Seedog · Post by **Seedog** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 11:21 pm

Auriga wrote:LAst I checked, seems like Sidewinder Computers still carries them, though they do seem to be out of stock at the moment.

http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/thsiforamdat.html

It seems to me that they are permanently out of stock. I guess I can't say for sure but it has been two weeks since I first checked.

CallMeJoe · Post by **CallMeJoe** » Thu Jan 17, 2008 5:02 pm

Seedog wrote: The Scythe website for the Katana 2 lists Socket A as being compatible.

The site you link is actually for the SCKTN-1000; the Katana 2 is the SCKTN-2000 Unfortunately, SCKTN-2000 is not Socket A compatible.

Seedog · Post by **Seedog** » Thu Jan 17, 2008 8:33 pm

Ah, I see I misread the description. It says "Katana" 2 Heat Pipes CPU Cooler which I thought meant Katana 2 but they actually mean Katana with 2 heat pipes. Haha. So is the original Katana a decent product?