Updated objective- looking for cpu cooler

[clidx]

after 3 years of hard work, my pentium 4 3ghz HT died. RIP cpu, you have served me faithfully (is there an emoticon for crying? just kidding)

anyway obviously I now need a new cpu. I have a GA-8I915G-MF mobo (just look at this, it's pitiful, no core or core 2, scratch that, nothing over P4 Extreme is supported! -note the N/A by the core 2 series!)

therefore core 2 is out of the question

And also if i don't get a core 2 then i'll have to go with a P4 Extreme which is a waste considering my cpu has died so now's a golden opportunity to get something that can run rainbow six vegas at more than 20fps average.

So t/f i could get a new motherboard. and take a big bite out of the bank account (not even my money, it's my parents )

cpu wise, I like what i see in the Q6600/Q6700 (quad, not extreme) but do i really need a quad core? i game quite a bit, when i can, i do the occasional video encoding (note the word occasional)(often pretty large files). i think i should get a dual core at least, probably when the d/c dies (if i get one) many common apps will be multithreaded but if i get a quad then it might die by the time most apps are multithreaded

but i think i should get a quad rather than dual because of small price difference, my ideal core 2 duo and the more affordable q6600 (i would post the q6700 results but the prices in the uk are almost double the q6600 for ~200mhz more -I think)

but if i get a new cpu i will have to upgrade my mobo, so i'm open to suggestions on that as well. i'm looking for something with at least 1 pci-e x16, 1 pci-e x1 (yes i have a pci-e x1 device ) and 3 pci ports. and with an 24-pin atx input from the psu. i don't need anything onboard like graphics, lan etc. i need at least 5 usb ports. quite a few sata/300 ports as well (i know you won't get many drives that use the whole bandwidth but i want to keep the motherboard alive in the long run; latest features without wanting a new board every so often) and minimum 1 ide port

I'm open to all suggestions, thanks

Edited September 3, 2007 by clidx

[nmX.Memnoch]

Well, since you're looking to purchase right now and are on somewhat of a budget my recommendation would be for an Asus P5B-E Plus paired with a Core 2 Quad Q6600. Ideally you'd want to find a P5B Deluxe, but there's more of a price premium for that board. Unfortunately, you're going to need new RAM as well since your current board is DDR and almost any new motherboard you get is going to want DDR2.

You are correct that there's a huge price difference between the Q6600 and Q6700.

[clidx]

RAM... i completely forgot about that... i suppose i'll have to get ddr2 ram.

at least my current ram was the cheapest i could find.

open to suggestions about ram now (don't need cpu suggestions anymore. not that i really needed it in the first place seeing as a Q6600 is my best choice anyway atm)

and i'm looking at price options, http://www.kikatek.com/product_info.php?products_id=18796 looks ok at £87, but it SHOULD turn up cheaper on other sites as i've seen the p5b deluxe for that price!

more price options would be nice as well, thanks nmX.Memnoch

[clidx]

Ok i've got a Q6600, P5b Deluxe (i found it unopened, unwanted, on ebay for £70 excl shipping so I say bargain!) and kingston hyperx 2gb ddr2 ram

it wasn't easy installing in the way that the quad wouldn't work in the p5b deluxe so in the end i slapped my P4 on (it worked! but it was as slow as a snail) and looked on asus' website and there was a bios update for q-core and it worked after that

but i have to say one thing, the stock cooler is horrible. i tried oc'ing a bit and got it up to 2. -something over 5- ghz and temps were going into mid to high 40s. and that's when it's idle. but I can't expect much from the stock cooler. so i've been looking at other coolers. i don't want to spend more than £30 and seeing as i have no case fans, i'll need an active cooler or passive + a case fan (the p5b deluxe came with a really small fan though). i've been looking at the zalman CNPS9500 AT and i like the prices but i've just got a new mobo, cpu and stick of RAM! if i could i would go for something that costs about £5 but i estimate for that price you'll get the quality of the stock fan so there's no point. and i don't like a led crammed in. sure it looks good but that's it (unless it has some superior purpose?) so could anyone recommend me the CNPS9500 AT or other cooler?

(no i did not slap on as much thermal paste as i could. there's probably only 1 or 2 mm of paste.)

thanks for all your help!

EDIT i may need a case fan if i get a passive cooler. i measured the distance between the screws and they were almost exactly 7cm!! i've never seen 70mm fans before! what should i do about that?

Edited September 3, 2007 by clidx

[Zxian]

ThermalRight Ultra120 Extreme. The only cooler you'll ever want from here on out.

I've got it on my Q6600 (also using the P5B Deluxe), and my load temps as measured by CoreTemp are 48C (the highest of the four readings). That's with a Scythe S-Flex E fan (the medium speed) at almost full speed (slightly reduced with a FanMate controller).

[clidx]

I like the temps on the ThermalRight Ultra120 Extreme and it will fit the mobo seeing as you're using it.

the prices are also decent as well, for Q6600 at 48 C load max (are you OC'ing?)

but the problem is the case fan. my 1/2 foot ruler claims that the distance between the screws for the case fan is 70mm. i now know that 70mm fans DO exist. do i need one of them or will a 120mm fan work (there is enough space around the screws to hold a 120mm fan, if there was any way to attach the fan to the screws that are 70mm apart, not 120mm) it's just that i have seen a lack of support in the 70mm fan area (*ahem* only the evercool fan). or would anyone recommend a 120mm to 70mm adapter?

[Zxian]

Those temps were with no overclock, but I did push it up to 2.8 the other night, and temperatures only rose a couple of degrees. The Ultra120 Extreme is definitely the best air cooler you can get today.

As for your case situation - get another case. That's really all I can say. If the case only has support for such a small fan, it simply won't be able to effectively move enough air to cool the entire system. You can find relatively cheap cases that will still support the Ultra120.

The main problem you'll probably run into is clearance. The ultra120 is HUGE. I couldn't fit it into the CoolerMaster RC330 case I had originally spec'ed out for my system. Just a word of warning.

[clidx]

I think i'm going to be bankrupt...

Any case suggestions or active coolers/smaller passive coolers? a small fan that goes right next to the cpu was included in my mobo so if there was a passive cooler there it'd be sort of cooled but it is such a small fan. but on the other hand it is really close to the cpu.

and also the stock cooler fell out of the motherboard and i rushed to turn the pc off (ahem pulled the plug). i don't understand, i pushed the 4 pins in til they clicked and turned them all anticlockwise until they wouldn't go, it was securely in and it wouldn't wiggle about. so now a cooler is even more urgent for me...

but there isn't any space around my current case so i won't be able to get a bigger case so i'll need to stick with an active cooler or small passive cooler

[Zxian]

The Scythe Ninja is second on my list. It's slightly smaller, and probably won't give you as many clearance troubles (it's also shorter). There's quite a bit of space around the CPU socket on the P5B Deluxe, so the Ninja should fit nicely.

[ripken204]

The Scythe Ninja is second on my list. It's slightly smaller, and probably won't give you as many clearance troubles (it's also shorter). There's quite a bit of space around the CPU socket on the P5B Deluxe, so the Ninja should fit nicely.

haha, slightly smaller

the ninja is a beast, especially the latest revision of it. i have the original on my opty and temps are usually under 30C which is just insane for an OCed processor.

[Zxian]

The Ninja is still smaller:

Ultra120 Dimensions: 63.5 × 132 × 160.5 mm

Ninja Dimensions: 110 x 110 x 150mm

It's the width that did me in from my old case with the Ultra120. Had i used the Ninja, it all would have fit. Oh well, the Antec900 is better than the CM RC330 anyways.

I pushed my Q6600 to 2.7GHz the other day, and load temps are 52C as measured by CoreTemp. I really can't complain about that...

[ripken204]

The Ninja is still smaller:

Ultra120 Dimensions: 63.5 × 132 × 160.5 mm

Ninja Dimensions: 110 x 110 x 150mm

It's the width that did me in from my old case with the Ultra120. Had i used the Ninja, it all would have fit. Oh well, the Antec900 is better than the CM RC330 anyways.

I pushed my Q6600 to 2.7GHz the other day, and load temps are 52C as measured by CoreTemp. I really can't complain about that...

both are great heatsinks nonetheless.

and only 2.7GHz lol

i havnt overclocked anything yet. the temps would just be insane and i dont want to risk it just yet. i'll be getting my water cooling parts any day now and then i can finally see what my Q6600 can do

[Zxian]

Yea yea... I know 2.7 is a pretty weak overclock, but I just wanted to try it out and see how the system performed. To be honest, for my day to day things, I can't tell the difference. The only place where I might notice an improvement is with Rosetta@Home.

[clidx]

I've been asking around and one of my friends let me have an arctic cooling freezer 7 pro for free!!! apparently he got a new cooler cos he pumped about another 1.5ghz into his cpu through overclocking and the freezer 7 pro wasn't keeping up so he got a pretty cheap water cooler

i like the freezer 7 pro, it's temps are good, better than the stock cooler, not as good as some passive coolers like the ultra 120 or scythe ninja but i'm not complaining, i got it for free!! i'm not planning on hardcore overclocking, i just do it for fun. but i'm kind of impatient. maybe i'll beat my (now dead) P4's 3ghz? i dont' know.

thanks for all your help anyway!

Umm lets see, to upgrade my pc it cost me... £400... better than buying a prebuilt pc!

next stop, a hdd to replace my maxtor. remind me never to buy a maxtor. though a new hdd WILL have to wait.

One last thing, i'm planning on selling my GA-8I915G-MF which comes with 2x512mb ddr ram, all 3 components are fully working and both are about 2-3 years old. how much do you think i should sell it for? i'm thinking £40 but i'm not sure as i got the motherboard for £40 (I think) or should i put it upt to £50 due to the ram?

Edited September 6, 2007 by clidx

[ripken204]

the arctic cooling freezer 7 pro is nowhere close to the top of the line air coolers but it is definatly better than stock. so go for it if it's free, just dont overclock alot if ur planning to.