AMD A6 5400K Black Edition HSF

[Allen]

Hey all,

I recently built my parents a new PC which included an AMD A6 5400K Black Edition, however the stock fan on the heatsink is a little loud. I am struggling to find info on this fan anywhere as I would prefer to just replace the fan, however if it has awkward fittings to the HS I may be better off just buying a new HSF.

Is it easy to just replace the fan, or should I get a new HSF? If so, can anyone recommend one that is very quiet (don't need to worry about cooling performance too much, it barely gets thrashed).

Cheers,

Allen

[scaryjim]

If it's like the stock ones on most AMD processors (see my APU review thread for two examples ), the fan is actually just a slim (15mm, I think?) 70mm fan with some small spacers which stop the heatsink clip from fouling the fan. It uses (afaict) self-tapping screws that just screw into the heatsink. Any 70mm fan should fit, although tbh if you've got a big enough case I'd go for a new cooler entirely - the aluminium blocks aren't brilliant at conducting and radiating heat, and a new fan will only help so much. Also I'm not sure how many PWM controlled 70mm fans you'll find. A new cooler will be a simpler solution all told, and since it's only a 65W APU you won't need a huge tower. What case is the PC in?

[Allen]

It's in a Coolermaster Elite 342 Black Micro ATX Case. There was a fair amount of room TBH, but as I said, they won't be using any real intensive programs which will cause the CPU to run very high, so cooling is not as big an issue as sound (they live in a quiet rural area, I imagine my PC down there would sound like an aircraft, lol).

[scaryjim]

Well, the AC Alpine 64 is a classic, of course, and very reasonably priced. Then I spotted the GlacialTech Igloo 5761, which looks kind of funky A quick search found a frostytech review of a version with a non-PWM fan, although the one shipping from ebuyer appears to have a PWM fan instead. The review found that for loads of 85W or less the cooler was actually both very effective and very quiet.

I don't think you could go far wrong with either of those

[shaithis]

A cheaper alternative may be to get a cheap 120mm PWM fan (like the AC F12 PWM) and a 70>120MM fan adapter.

[Allen]

Thanks, they both look good, but I'm a bit concerned about the size of the GlacialTech, will that fit OK in an mATX case?

Saying that, I have used Arctic Cooling HSF's before and been very happy with them, that Alpine 64 looks very nice for the price. Will probably get that one!

Thanks scaryjim!

[scaryjim]

No problem The GlacialTech uses a 92mm fan (same as the Alpine 64) and is ~ 90mm tall, so should be fine in that case. I just love the look of the thing Might have to get myself one at some point, just because

But as you say, AC are pretty reliable, and the Alpine's a bit of a classic for a standard top-down HSF. Even with delivery it's a bit of a no brainer, although it might be worth checking local suppliers to see if you can pick one up, or looking on Scan to see if you can put £20 together for free delivery