Question about AC Copper Silent 2

Gorsnak · Post by **Gorsnak** » Mon Dec 08, 2003 6:23 pm

So today my Arctic Cooling Copper Silent 2 (Rev 2) arrived from Frontier, to replace the stock AMD hsf. No more 5k rpm 60mm fan howl.

So far it seems to be working, keeping the cpu temp around 43-44C.

However, I have a question. The review of this product suggests that a mid-40's cpu temp should lead to a fan rpm well below 2k. Mine's been running at a constant 2300-2400rpm right since cold bootup. Now, don't get me wrong. Where before my hsf was the loudest thing in the box, it's now quieter than both the hdd and the psu, so really a few hundred rpm is largely meaningless at this stage. But I'm curious. Should I be able to see the temperature sensor? The review of the Super Silent 4 clearly shows a pair of wires leading down into the heatsink, but there's nothing like that on mine. Course, it's a different design, and the Copper Silent 2 review doesn't say anything on the matter.

Post by **Rusty075** » Mon Dec 08, 2003 6:42 pm

You should be able to see something wedged down between the fins near the center of the heatsink. Look at it edge-wise and you should see it, with the two wires going from it up to the hub.

As for the RPM's, you're right in the ballpark. You have to remember that the review system is on an open-air testbed, so the fan was pulling in air at the ambient temp. In your system the fan is pulling in air that's at the case temp, probably 8-10° warmer than ambient. That's where the extra RPM's come from. It has to work a little hard to keep the CPU at its target temp of 43-44°.

Mine runs at the same sorts of speeds now that its inside a case.

(by the way, what CPU is it running on? that will have an impact as well)

Gorsnak · Post by **Gorsnak** » Mon Dec 08, 2003 7:29 pm

CPU's a 2000+

I wasn't expecting the same temp/rpm as the review - matter of fact I was expecting an idle temp around 50 or even higher, precisely because of the higher case temp, etc. But the long and short of it is that there is most definitely not anything wedged down into the heatsink, and there has been absolutely no fan speed variation, not even directly upon bootup when the system was at room temp and the case was wide open.

I'm still perfectly happy with it, I must say. Extremely significant improvement at quite a reasonable price.

wsc · Post by **wsc** » Mon Dec 08, 2003 7:49 pm

That's really weird... my AC Super Silent Pro TC idles at such a low RPM that the sensors don't even read it. It's speed varies with load up to about 2000 RPM, but that's only when I peg the CPU with prime95 for a long time.

Post by **MikeC** » Mon Dec 08, 2003 8:22 pm

It may not be a TC (temp control) version. I think they have 2 versions -- TC & low noise. I agree with Rusty075 that the rpm reached in use is usually close to your 2300 rpm.

Gorsnak · Post by **Gorsnak** » Mon Dec 08, 2003 8:47 pm

Hmm. I shall go peruse the AC website, I guess. My box says "arctic cooling Copper Silent 2 Revision 2 Noise Reduced" which appears to be the same model designation as that in Russ's review.

As you can see, no wires off the fan after the fashion of the pictures in the review of the Super Silent 4, and you may take my word for it that there's nothing in between the fins out of sight, since I'm not inclined to dismount the hsf just to take a picture from that angle. If the fan speed is pretty much the same anyways, this ceases to be even a minor concern and more just a puzzle.

(hey cool...the shutter speed was fast enough to freeze the fan blades)

Gorsnak · Post by **Gorsnak** » Mon Dec 08, 2003 9:01 pm

Well, now we're making progress. The temp control version is in fact the Copper Silent 2 TC (Revision 2), and not the Copper Silent 2 (Revision 2) that I've got. Good lord. Arctic Cooling's marketing dept needs to hire a consultant who will inform them of the value of clarity and brevity in model names. So the reason mine isn't varying the fan speed is that the fan speed isn't variable. Fair enough.

The interesting thing is that the hsf as advertised by Frontier PC indicates that the model they're selling is thermally controlled. So, is it worth firing off a grumpy email to our friends at Frontier?

Post by **MikeC** » Mon Dec 08, 2003 9:13 pm

Totally right about the naming convention. AC aren't the only ones guilty of this kind of thing. It's rampant everywhere in the industry. My head spins sometimes keeping track of similar samples from umpteen companies.

My guess is someone made a typo along the way, left off the TC.... Well, the end result is about the same: A pretty quiet yet effective HSF, so...

At least you don't have the intermittent buzzing that sometimes happens with the TC version when you boot up from cold -- fan stops/starts for a couple minutes, making odd little noisies until the thing gets hot.

wsc · Post by **wsc** » Mon Dec 08, 2003 9:47 pm

Maybe it will come as little consolation, but have you tried cranking down the RPM with Speedfan?

Gorsnak · Post by **Gorsnak** » Mon Dec 08, 2003 9:53 pm

I'm currently not in the possession of any means of regulating the fan speed. I could probably whip up a voltage regulator out of spare parts at work, though I don't know that there's any point in it until I do something about my hard drive.

Post by **Ralf Hutter** » Tue Dec 09, 2003 5:37 am

Gorsnak wrote:I'm currently not in the possession of any means of regulating the fan speed. I could probably whip up a voltage regulator out of spare parts at work, though I don't know that there's any point in it until I do something about my hard drive.

The "Speedfan" solution that wsc put forth is a software app that controls the speed of fans plugged into the fan headers on your mobo. You can download it for free here.

SometimesWarrior · Post by **SometimesWarrior** » Tue Dec 09, 2003 2:49 pm

Gorsnak wrote:The interesting thing is that the hsf as advertised by Frontier PC indicates that the model they're selling is thermally controlled. So, is it worth firing off a grumpy email to our friends at Frontier?

It's worth a shot. They put the wrong specs on the Copper Silent 2 product page, after all. Maybe they'll refund your purchase or send you a replacement. A 5-minute email could win you a $30 prize!

Gorsnak · Post by **Gorsnak** » Wed Dec 10, 2003 3:32 pm

I guess I was too polite...didn't get a dang thing. Not even a few bucks store credit. Ah well, I did succeed in getting their product description changed, and all in all I might be happier with this hsf anyways, since it's perfectly possible to put in some fan speed regulation myself. I'm not limited to their specific setup regarding fan speed this way.

Anyways, on to the next project - sandwiching and suspending the hdd.