Heatsink/Cooler Advice

[amjedm]

I've just bought a Titan TTC-NK95H/S low profile heatpipe heat sink cooler and can't believe how small it is, I should have paid more attention to the dimensions (118 x 110 x 40 mm) when putting it on the shortlist

Back to the drawing board, I would like to spend under £30 and there is a height restriction - height of the cooler has to be under 110mm as the case I'm using is the Aerocool M40

Shortlist

Silverstone NT06 - £27.59

Scythe Big Shuriken - £28.19. Not a big fan of this cooler though

Thermalright SI-128 - £25.86. I'll have to mod it to mount the fan underneath as it will be too tall if the fan is on top


Last but not least, will be cooling an AMD X3 8450 CPU

Any advice/other suggestions (please)?

[Main]

Looking at the case pictures, there's that area of perforated steel above the area the CPU will be in that doesn't actually have anything above it. Thought of taking a dremel to it and getting yourself more room above the socket?

By the looks of it the taller of the heatsinks you've listed won't have much room to breathe anyway, so with your 95W CPU it's probably going to run quite hot regardless (although you haven't said what you use this for, so it will depend on how often you run it at full load). Have you considered a low-power CPU? It makes a lot more difference than you might think when you have limited space for the heatsink, like it did in my Shuttle when I shifted from an 89W chip to a 40W one.

[amjedm]

Looking at the case pictures, there's that area of perforated steel above the area the CPU will be in that doesn't actually have anything above it. Thought of taking a dremel to it and getting yourself more room above the socket?

By the looks of it the taller of the heatsinks you've listed won't have much room to breathe anyway, so with your 95W CPU it's probably going to run quite hot regardless (although you haven't said what you use this for, so it will depend on how often you run it at full load). Have you considered a low-power CPU? It makes a lot more difference than you might think when you have limited space for the heatsink, like it did in my Shuttle when I shifted from an 89W chip to a 40W one.

Most of that area has been cut but still not enough room for the taller heatsinks as they're blocked by the PSU

I only surf, office apps, no gaming/folding or taxing apps

[Main]

Well then your best bet will likely be the Silverstone, although it's probably worth having a look around for a review (if there are any).

The Sycthe looks rather wussy for a 95W chip, so it'll probably run hot with it even without full load, and would need to sound like a vacuum cleaner to deal with full load.

For the Thermalright, if you have to install the fan below the fin-stack to make it fit then the airflow will be obstructed due to the fan's location, so the cooler that looks like it has the most area won't be making good use of it. You'd also have to get a picture of the mounting mechanism beforehand because it might interfere with that idea making it impossible to do. So unless you think you can fit it in the standard configuration (fan on top) it probably isn't worth going for it.

Seeing as you need a fan too you've got the choice of getting something reasonably powerful and a fan controller so you can make it loud only when you need it, or simply getting a good quiet fan and bearing in mind that it will get hot (probably in the region of 60-70 C) when you load it up. Seeing as you aren't doing anything heavy on it a silent fan would probably be less fuss and do the job well enough for the purpose, but it's your call.

I think that's everything

[Pob255]

Have you actually tried out that titan cooler to see what it's like?
fitting a 120mm fan to it may be a little tricky but should be doable.

as the psu look like it only overhangs part of the cpu area you might be able to cut away a section and use an off set cooler like the old Akasa Evo
http://www.akasa.com.tw/update.php?t...model=AK-920-2
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/126791

Only issue her will be the fitting of the motherboard socket & cooler, because unlike 775 the rectangle of the am2/3 socket would only let you fit it in 1 direction/axis

Also add to your list the silverston nitrogen NT06-E 802mm before fan (fans are normally 25mm thick)
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Silve...oller-Not-inc)

[amjedm]

Have you actually tried out that titan cooler to see what it's like?
fitting a 120mm fan to it may be a little tricky but should be doable.

as the psu look like it only overhangs part of the cpu area you might be able to cut away a section and use an off set cooler like the old Akasa Evo
http://www.akasa.com.tw/update.php?t...model=AK-920-2
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/126791

Only issue her will be the fitting of the motherboard socket & cooler, because unlike 775 the rectangle of the am2/3 socket would only let you fit it in 1 direction/axis

Also add to your list the silverston nitrogen NT06-E 802mm before fan (fans are normally 25mm thick)
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Silve...oller-Not-inc)

That was the idea - to fit a 120mm fan to it and you're right it will be tricky but may be doable. If I install the Titan then I can't return it under the 7 day DSR

I don't know how I overlooked the NT06-E but it's now on the list , thank you

Will have a look at the Akasa one now.

[amjedm]

Another question

Would the Gigabyte G-Power BL Heat Pipe CPU Cooler offer as good or near enough cooling as the Thermalright SI-128?

I already have the Thermalright but no AM2 fittings and was thinking of trying out the Thermalright AM 2 Bolt Thru kit but Scan have the Gigabyte on Today Only for a third of the price of the Thermalright and they do look similar

[Hawker1986]

Ive got an NT06-E, and its a good little cooler, in my very packed SUGO its keeping my Q6600@3Ghz without any concerns even in the summer heat it doesnt hit more than 60 degrees. Admittedly ive modded it so the fan sits underneath but it just involved flipping the shroud over.

Hawker

[amjedm]

Ive got an NT06-E, and its a good little cooler, in my very packed SUGO its keeping my Q6600@3Ghz without any concerns even in the summer heat it doesnt hit more than 60 degrees. Admittedly ive modded it so the fan sits underneath but it just involved flipping the shroud over.

Hawker

I'm a bit of a cheapskate so going to try the Bolt Thru kit or the Gigabyte first but thank you for the advice

[Pob255]

Fan on that gigabyte is a 92mm one

[amjedm]

Fan on that gigabyte is a 92mm one

For some reason I thought it was a non standard fan (110mm)