CPU cooler (Full Version)

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hajisaftar -> CPU cooler (11/1/2006 9:00:53)

Hi guys

I am making a new system for myself after my old system showing signs of age... It has been 4 years since the last time I build a system and I just wanted to check on this issue of cooling. There seems to be a fair amount of fuzz on the net about it.. this is my system

Abit AW9D Max
E6600 duo
WD Raptor 150G
1Gb PC64000
EVGA 7600Gs

i also hae a 520W PSU case. now the question is that the Duo processor ships with a fan from Intel. is this going to be enough for the CPU under moderate to heavy use? I dont do gaming, but I run fairlyheavy computer simulations and the CPU could be under constant full load for anything up to 2-3 days at a time.

I suppose I could patch it all up and just see for myself, but I would rather use the experience of others who fried their CPUs before me :-)

Thanks



Larry M. -> RE: CPU cooler (11/1/2006 10:25:46)

I'm running a similar custom-built dual-processor setup with 3GB ram and a GeForce 7800GS video card and 2 19' monitors.

My approach to cooling was purchase of a tower case with a side-mounted 3" intake fan. Room temperature in my office is 72 degrees fahrenheit (22.22 celsius); exhaust temperature measures 88 degrees fahrenheit (31.11 celsius) which I regard, unless a Forum member tells me otherwise, as highly satisfactory.

Hope this helps [8D]



Spooky -> RE: CPU cooler (11/1/2006 15:05:12)

The E6600 actually runs cooler and uses less power than previous processors.
Using the standard cooler would be fine and youll have room for overclocking before temp becomes an issue.
Check out the zalman range of air coolers as a next step.



BobbyDouglas -> RE: CPU cooler (11/1/2006 21:02:43)

quote:

The E6600 actually runs cooler and uses less power than previous processors.
Using the standard cooler would be fine and youll have room for overclocking before temp becomes an issue.

- Well said.

I see zero issues at all with you running the E6600 with the heatsink/fan that ships with it. If you plan to do heavy overclocking, then you will want to upgrade. If you want to do a minor overclock, you should be fine running stock.

If you are concerned about cooling, think about how your air will be flowing inside the case. The case & fans make more of a difference than the type of video card, PSU, etc... You can have the hottest video card around, and with proper logical airflow, it won't effect the CPU.

Here's a good read on overclocking the E6600 as well as a good tutorial on cable management (for better airflow).



hajisaftar -> RE: CPU cooler (11/2/2006 14:35:03)

Thanks guys

no, I won't be doing any overclocking, but as I said I will be running CPU at full load for anything up to a couple of days (I dont know if you are familiar with MATLAB or not, but thats basically what it will do most of the time).

The case I got is the Atrix 9001B3 Prescott ready gaming case. The sides and the top are mesh aluminium and it has a 3" side mount second fan, so technically it should have more air than it wants.

So I guess it looks like I dont need to fork out 50 bucks for a cooler just yet. Thanks for the replies. The case has a temp LCD display at the front for Hd, cpu and case temps. Hopefully I will get back here and report the temperatures to double check they are as they should. for now i am still waiting for the bits to arrive.




Spooky -> RE: CPU cooler (11/2/2006 14:39:51)

Good luck with it - the E6600 is a nice chip.
Feel free to overclock it, with all that free power, itd be a shame not to use it ;-)



hajisaftar -> RE: CPU cooler (11/2/2006 14:58:08)

Ok, OK

i would be lying if I said I wasn't even tempted to overclock the thing. But here is the thing, the last CPU I overclocked was a Pentium 90Mhz (remeber the good old days before MMX?).

My current system has a P4 Northwood on an Abit board and I went to see about pushing the gas pedal a bit, but I just found too many settings to mess with. I only managed to overclock the 1.8 to 1.9 before it wouldn't start, so I just reset it to default speed.

I know its off topic, but can anyone come up in 5 lines with a "dummies guide to overclocing?" In particular, when should I be changing the core voltage?? first, or last? and for that matter, does it need to go up or down? also I undrestand the difference between changing the multiplier and the FSB, but for some reason the BIOS on my current system (Abit TH7II board) doesn't let me change the multipler, and I think the rest of the system gets messed up once the FSB goes up a little. I tried fixing the RAMBUS and the AGP Bus clocks, but to no avail.

I also had a scare with the thing just not starting up, and so it was the culmination of these experiences that I decided just not to mess with things I don't undrestand! Plus on a student budget, I can't go round frying CPUs left right and centre.... but with your comments, it is becomming increasingly hard to resist the urge to overclock the beast.....



Spooky -> RE: CPU cooler (11/2/2006 18:48:32)

Yes I remember them ;-)
I clocked my 166mmx to 200, was more than happy with it......then......

Depends what the abit provides in the way of OS level overclocking. Many come with that type of application now (rather than going into the bios) The multipliers are locked, so thats out of the equation. For a small o/c up to about 1200fsb, I wouldnt worry about the voltages.



BobbyDouglas -> RE: CPU cooler (11/2/2006 21:20:54)

quote:

i also hae a 520W PSU case

- What's the model on the PSU? Is it one that came with the case?

Also, I've used MatLab before, and it didn't seem to take up much in resources. How are you planning to use it? Do you have it setup to constantly solve?

With your current hardware, you don't need a 520 watt PSU. Anything over 350 should be more than enough for your setup, assuming the PSU is quality. With PSUs, it is always better to go for quality over quantity.



Taz -> RE: CPU cooler (11/3/2006 3:32:32)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Spooky
Check out the zalman range of air coolers as a next step.


Preach on fluffy one, they are awesome.



hajisaftar -> RE: CPU cooler (11/3/2006 5:51:19)

Hi again

With all this free advice it makes me wonder whether I should have come here first before ordering the bits and bobs!

to answer some questions;

this is the case I have ordered ;

http://www.caseclosed.co.uk/review_xcase_atrix9001.htm

I dont essentially need 520W right now, but at some point in the future I might need. within the next few months we will have a Data Acquisition Card from National Instrument which is a 8 analog channel output, 32 input and 42 digital i/o card. I wasn't sure if the 350 PSU would take care of that, plus a couple of fans for extra air flow. But I take what you say on board. Please have a look at the case and tell me what you think of the PSU. if it is crap or just down right unsafe, then I will change it.

As for MATLAB, yes it is set to solve Genetic Aalgorithm optimization problems and these things are tearfully slow to terminate, and Matlab does push the CPU to 100% without a let up!

One more questions, someone said:

"assuming that the CPU is quality"

what do we exactly mean by that? is the E6600 a lottery ( could end up with a crap chip?!?!)



BobbyDouglas -> RE: CPU cooler (11/3/2006 11:43:02)

quote:

this is the case I have ordered ;

http://www.caseclosed.co.uk/review_xcase_atrix9001.htm

- That page doesn't provide a model for the PSU, so I can't really tell you if it is good or not. Systems on a low budget, I usually go with a cheap PSU. Anything over around $1000-$1500 I suggest a good PSU. It really comes down to what you want, and how much you have left to spend. One of the great things about a PSU is you can just head down to your local store and replace it. So keep that in mind when thinking about if you want to upgrade the PSU (assuming the one with your case is crap). Here's a good way to estimate what PSU you need to get based on your hardware: eXtreme Power Supply Calculator v2.0

Since you are saying that it will for sure be running constantly high loads for over 24 hours, a good PSU is highly suggested.

quote:

we will have a Data Acquisition Card from National Instrument which is a 8 analog channel output, 32 input and 42 digital i/o card

- Do you have a model # for this?

I've never heard of that card before, so I can really tell you if it will be fine with a 350 watt PSU.

If you end up needing/wanting a better PSU, are you leaning more towards spending $70ish, or more towards $100?

quote:

One more questions, someone said:

"assuming that the CPU is quality"

what do we exactly mean by that? is the E6600 a lottery ( could end up with a crap chip?!?!)

- CPU should have been PSU, I edited my post [8|]



hajisaftar -> RE: CPU cooler (11/3/2006 14:38:22)

mmhh ok this is the card

http://sine.ni.com/nips/cds/view/p/lang/en/nid/14136

its the NI PCI 6229

To be honest I really dont think it will use that much power, because it just drives an amplifier not much more.

As for the PSU, the budget is tight so I really don't want to be spending any money more than I really have to. the PSU doesn't have a model number it just says Atrix extreme power or something like that. But from the Abit bios I can monitor the power rails (12,5,3.5) and they fluctuate around (11.95, 5.12,3.43). I dont know if that good, bad or normal! (by the way this morning the bits arrived and its all together now). The case is much too flashy for my taste. there is God knows how many lights... and it only has one SATA power plug.

one more thing, the motheboard also has flashing lights on the back! what on earth is happening to PCs.. next thing you know the BIOS will sing "I can't get no satisfaction"





BobbyDouglas -> RE: CPU cooler (11/3/2006 15:54:33)

quote:

mmhh ok this is the card

http://sine.ni.com/nips/cds/view/p/lang/en/nid/14136

its the NI PCI 6229

- I looked over the data sheet and didn't see anything relating to power requirements. I'm not sure what is needed for that card.

quote:

As for the PSU, the budget is tight so I really don't want to be spending any money more than I really have to.

- Sounds good.

quote:

But from the Abit bios I can monitor the power rails (12,5,3.5) and they fluctuate around (11.95, 5.12,3.43). I dont know if that good, bad or normal!

- That's about normal, you will just about never have one that is exactly 12,5,and 3.5. One concern I have is how your PSU is going to handle under heavy loads for long periods of time. There is no easy way to measure that, except for doing actual tests.

Since you're on a pretty tight budget, you might be ok with what you have. If you decide you can swing another $75 later on, it might be a good idea to upgrade the PSU.

quote:

one more thing, the motheboard also has flashing lights on the back

- If the lights that are flashing are next to the input for the network cable, then it is the network connection causing the flash (which is normal).



hajisaftar -> RE: CPU cooler (11/5/2006 13:13:44)

Hi Bobby


lol! no the lights are not the LAN lights. This board has lights specifically for no purpose other than to flash. Then they are all around the edges behind the board (i.e. the underside) and not at the back. In fact you can even chage the flashing mode from the bios. I think its some feature for the avid gamers with clear perspex cases.....

ok some updates for you. I build the system with the stock cooler and "is it really that bad?" YES is the answer! with the stock cooler the CPU was running at 40C without any load what so ever (i.e. just in the BIOS. This was at stock voltage and frequency etc....

I then got a Arctic Cooler Freezer Pro 7 which is a "mini" ninja-format cooler and things are MUCH better. the cpu is running idle at 29 with ambient 24.

If I get time I will post some pics of my system...




BobbyDouglas -> RE: CPU cooler (11/5/2006 14:00:48)

40 is perfectly fine for the e6600. I have a feeling the temps you recorded on the Freezer Pro 7 are not correct.



hajisaftar -> RE: CPU cooler (11/5/2006 14:29:50)

mmhh well, I am using the Abit guru for the temperature measurement. if the AC pro temps are wrong, then shouldn't the other ones be wrong too? what would make the guru report a false temperature with the freezero pro and a correct one for the stock cooler?

may be i should add that the freezer pro is not the only change i made! I also added in total 5 fans to the case. two 8cm fans which blow "in" air from the fornt of the case and also cool down the hard disks. a 120mm fan on the side panel (the case has a mesh side) and it blows "in" directly on the board chipsets and the vga card. I then added a 80mm fan to the top of the case (case also has mesh top) and this one blows "out". I also added a blow "out" fan to the back of the case which throws out the air coming from the freezer pro. So, there are 8 fans running in the machine in total. Its not that noisy I have to say, but anyway when I was reading the reviews for the western digital raptor, everyone said its noisy as hell, so I figured if I had to live with the hard disk sounding like an ouzi automatic, I might as well stick in couple of more fans....




BobbyDouglas -> RE: CPU cooler (11/5/2006 16:26:01)

As long as you maintain the correct airflow, then the additional fans you added should be helping. You want to have the air pushed through all of your components and then out of the case. If you just have a ton of fans pushing air off the components, the inside of the case will still be very hot, which causes higher temps on your components.

quote:

mmhh well, I am using the Abit guru for the temperature measurement. if the AC pro temps are wrong, then shouldn't the other ones be wrong too? what would make the guru report a false temperature with the freezero pro and a correct one for the stock cooler?

- I don't know too much about why the reports are wrong, but I do know that often temp readings vary with CPUs/GPUs. Download the utility that Abit provides (pGuru or something like that), and see what that reports in terms of temps.



Taz -> RE: CPU cooler (11/5/2006 16:53:29)

You can get a decent powered and quality PSU for a decent price.

I cannot state enough how impressed I am with the Hiper Type-R Modular PSU I bought, High performance, safe and great bang for your buck.



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