CPU cooling for AMD Phenom

[pixie]

Hi building a better system for my son, and was wandering is the CPU fan that comes with the Phenom quad core black edition up to the job? or do I need to invest in a better one and if I do what would you recommend? please keep it as reasonably priced as possible. Thanks guys

[watercooled]

If you're not overclocking it should be fine. Not sure about noise though, some stock ones are noisy.

[toberemembered]

I recently bought an athlon II x3 450 and the stock cooler on that seems okay, i believe this is the same as phenom ones. It gets pretty noisy under full load but this is rare, im not overly impressed with it but it does the job. My impression is that compared to intel coolers it seems to have quite a small heatsink and small fan, I am still mulling over replacing it with a 3rd party one to allow for cooler/quieter cpu and potential for greater overclocking. TBH unless planning to overclock or build a 'silent' pc i wouldnt recommend spending more on a 3rd party one.

[watercooled]

Yeah - see how it goes and if you find the stock one is annoyingly loud you can always replace it.

[Rob_B]

I believe the X3s have standard coolers whereas the Phenoms use heatpipes (I've owned both)
For the Phenom it works ok, gets noisy under heavy load though & even £15 spent on an aftermarket HSF can works wonders but for everyday use it's ok to stick with the stock cooler.

[watercooled]

For an aftermarket cooler I'd probably recommend something like the AC Freezer 7, just make sure you get one that comes with AMD brackets, I'm not sure if all of them do.

[Pob255]

For an aftermarket cooler I'd probably recommend something like the AC Freezer 7, just make sure you get one that comes with AMD brackets, I'm not sure if all of them do.

The new version does, however I'd say go for a coolermaster Hyper 212+ you can get it for under £20 from play, amazon, scan or novatech
Being a 120mm fan cooler it is larger than the ACf7p so it will not fit in all cases, but it is a very good cooler for the cost and the fan is very quiet.

[toberemembered]

I believe the X3s have standard coolers whereas the Phenoms use heatpipes (I've owned both)
For the Phenom it works ok, gets noisy under heavy load though & even £15 spent on an aftermarket HSF can works wonders but for everyday use it's ok to stick with the stock cooler.

Thanks for putting me right, btw if you are after a freezer 7 pro then its only £13.50 at amazon at the moment. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Arctic-Cooli...5016621&sr=1-1

[Rob_B]

The 212 plus can be had for around £15, try Play Like Pob says though it's pretty BIG!

[Sputnik]

I've got an Arctic cooling unit here you could have for the cost of P&P plus a couple of quid donation for the Greyhound retirement fund.

The only thing is, It is the earlier type with the tensioning lever, and I couldn't fit it on my board because it hit the heatsink for the chipset on the board.

[pixie]

Thanks everyone seems most of you agree the AC 7 is the way to go. My son will over-clock his system he plays a lot of online games. He wants a system that can handle the latest ones. Ill look on Scan, Novatech and Amazon see which is the best deal. I dont have to pay delivery with Novatech I live near one so it might work out cheaper there. Thank you for help

[Domestic_Ginger]

I'm in the 212+ camp; as Pob has said before if your case is 20cm wide or greater it should fit.

Comparison, the stock PhenomII cooler with heatpipes is a AVC Z7U7414001.

[pixie]

I've got an Arctic cooling unit here you could have for the cost of P&P plus a couple of quid donation for the Greyhound retirement fund.

The only thing is, It is the earlier type with the tensioning lever, and I couldn't fit it on my board because it hit the heatsink for the chipset on the board.

Thanks for the offer its nice of you and tempting but I could have the same problem thanks anyway. We've got a retired Greyhound and I do donate they are lovely dogs.

[pixie]

I'm in the 212+ camp; as Pob has said before if your case is 20cm wide or greater it should fit.

Comparison, the stock PhenomII cooler with heatpipes is a AVC Z7U7414001.

Thanks for the link I will look at that and I didn't know the PhenomII cooler had heatpipes,thanks for that.

[Pob255]

What case are you getting/using?

Having had both the acf7p and hyper212+, the hyper212+ is much better and I'm still happly using it.
However if the hyper212+ wouldn't fit in my case I'd get the ACf7p instead (ok not quite true, room for a large cooler is a big priority to me and if the case couldn't fit one, then I wouldn't get that case for a gaming system in the first place.)

[pixie]

What case are you getting/using?

Having had both the acf7p and hyper212+, the hyper212+ is much better and I'm still happly using it.
However if the hyper212+ wouldn't fit in my case I'd get the ACf7p instead (ok not quite true, room for a large cooler is a big priority to me and if the case couldn't fit one, then I wouldn't get that case for a gaming system in the first place.)

The hyper212+ will fit that's not a problem still undecided though. There's not a lot of difference in price. My oldest son says that ACf7p is better and he always buys that make. I like hyper212+ because its quiet and does the job.