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The boy 4rm oz
06-10-2006, 10:54 AM
Hi i'm looking for a new CPU cooler for when i upgrade my system. I am thinking about getting either a Thermaltake or a Zalman solution. I really like the Thermaltake orbs and the new Zalman Fatal1ty FS-C77. I don't want anything overly loud. The orbs are around the 18db mark the the Zalman cooler is around 40db. Any suggestions would be great.
*Thanks*

nil8
06-10-2006, 01:09 PM
Zalman heatpipes are impressivly quiet. I have 2 of them running and they don't make more noise than my case fans.

The boy 4rm oz
06-11-2006, 09:20 AM
Thanks for that. What model do you use and can you recomend a good one?

AKA_RA
06-11-2006, 09:34 AM
I suggest looking around at hardware review sites for a cooler "round-up." if you dont know what i mean, its basically like a bunch of reviews all in one article, where they directly compare differant coolers and take into consideration things like cooling capability compared to how loud each one is. then they look at the cost of the units and how heavy they are. it seems like a lot of heatsinks these days are dangerously heavy if you plan on going to lans.
this should get you started.

http://www.madshrimps.be/?action=getarticle&articID=419

bartvandenberg
06-11-2006, 02:13 PM
Zalman all the way. i think its called a v-900 or something? best air cooler there is. the 700 is also good, but.. not quite as

The boy 4rm oz
06-11-2006, 11:09 PM
Thanks. Yeah i now what a round up is but most of them are from overseas and I cand get the recomender cooler over here without getting it shipped.

archmaille
06-11-2006, 11:46 PM
I have only one thing to say... Zalman CNPS9500 (http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=373500&prodlist=pricegrabber) it is much quieter and much cooler running than the Fata1ity, plus it's smaller and more likely to fit on all comps... I know the Fata1ity doesn't work with Corsair XMS Pro RAM because the RAM is too high.

why don't you want to get it shipped? I mean most big retailers don't charge horribly for overseas shipments... at least not that I know of. Are you looking for something that you can buy at a local shop?

Slug Toy
06-12-2006, 01:52 AM
i have two things to say.

1. zalmans are good.
2. the thermaltake golden/blue orbs are slightly better

ive read lots and lots of cooler reviews (im almost sick of them now) and about 95% of the time i see the blue orb coming out on top, about 2 or 3 degrees coller than anything else. zalman and thermaltake are about equal though.

one thing i DO like about thermaltake is the aluminum with copper core. contrary to popular belief, copper isnt perfect. it transmits heat good, but it doesnt dissipate it into air very well. the best way to go is the copper core to get the heat away, and aluminum to dissipate it. aluminum happens to be one of the best (if not THE best) metal for dissipating heat into air and water.

overall, the best theoretical heatsink would be a copper extrusion that is plated with a layer of aluminum, so the thermaltake orbs get my vote for coming closest.

nil8
06-12-2006, 08:26 AM
My video card is an ATI Radeon 9250 with a Zalman VF900-Cu on it. It's oc'ed about 80 mhz on the gpu and 50 mhz on the ram and runs without problems.

My proc is a P4 2.0 Ghz with a Zalman CNPS7000A-Cu. It's oc'ed to 2.4 ghz with no problems.

Silver dissapates heat better into air, but is expensive.

120 mm fans should be raised from the proc. Some people have tiny mobos.

Slug Toy
06-12-2006, 04:38 PM
ah, silver. you know, its debatable whether silver is best. i spent a lot of time looking at thermal constants, and its actually a teeny tiny bit worse than copper. it definitely moves heat well (althought its something like .3 joules/meter behind copper), but it looks like it doesnt get rid of the heat as well as aluminum.

i was actually going to mold a silver waterblock when i was taking jewelry, and thats why i looked into it. i was under the impression that silver was god, but i dont think like that anymore. its just not worth it anyways. why make a $100 silver heatsink when you can make a $5 copper one that performs equally?

just dont go using a solid aluminum heatsink... it doesnt move heat very well at all compared to copper.

The boy 4rm oz
06-13-2006, 03:21 AM
Thanks for all of your help. I do like the Thermaltake Golden and Blue Orbs. I can get the Golden Orb for $45 AUS and the Zalman CNPS9500 with blue LEDs for $84 AUS. Which one should I get?

nil8
06-13-2006, 09:45 AM
The decision is up to you. There are sites on the web that have the comparison of how they cool.

As for silver, I'll take your word on it for now and look into the matter further. I have a couple of old high school friends that are now metallurgists. I'll bug them about it, but if it is that close, then yea, it's useless. Wasting money.
Although, a silver plated heatsink would shine pretty well until it became tarnished.

Slug Toy
06-13-2006, 07:21 PM
I can get the Golden Orb for $45 AUS and the Zalman CNPS9500 with blue LEDs for $84 AUS. Which one should I get?

i stick to the orbs as my vote. thats a $40 difference, and for pretty much equal performance, id go cheaper.


I have a couple of old high school friends that are now metallurgists

i actually didnt figure any of that out through metallurgy. i belong to a couple chemistry info databases. even within professional things like that you get some variance on exact thermal conductivities... but copper was just consistently that .1-.3 better.

d_stilgar
06-14-2006, 01:38 AM
I have the Thermaltake 4 in 1 Beetle. It's pretty good. It matches my case too.

Omega
06-14-2006, 03:40 AM
I would say to get whichever one has heatpipes -- either the flower or the orb. The one with heatpipes will have a higher cooling capacity, and if the flower has heatpipes and is all copper, get that one.

Because, you know, the thermalconductivity of copper is higher than the thermalconductivity of aluminium, which means it can get the heat away quicker.

The boy 4rm oz
06-15-2006, 04:04 AM
I think i'll get the CNPS9500 LED.

archmaille
06-15-2006, 09:58 PM
I think i'll get the CNPS9500 LED.

You won't be disapointed.