could someone recommend a good heatsink/fan for the Asus A7V8X-X?

  • Thread starter Thread starter xy
  • Start date Start date
X

xy

Hi,

I'm looking to get a cpu heatsink/fan that does a really good job of
cooling and is reasonably quiet (or able to be turned down using a fan
speed adjuster).

I was looking at the Zalman CNPS7000 series, but the A7V8X-X is not
listed as compatible.

I still have the 4 screw posts in there from a previous 60mm zalman
heatsink/fan setup. So maybe I could just use these posts and get it
to work?

There's also the Volcano12 I've read up on at newegg.com Seems like
it cools well, but I would have to take my computer completely apart
and take those screw posts off since this one is more of a clip-on
type of thing.
 
Hi,

I'm looking to get a cpu heatsink/fan that does a really good job of
cooling and is reasonably quiet (or able to be turned down using a fan
speed adjuster).

I was looking at the Zalman CNPS7000 series, but the A7V8X-X is not
listed as compatible.

I still have the 4 screw posts in there from a previous 60mm zalman
heatsink/fan setup. So maybe I could just use these posts and get it
to work?

There's also the Volcano12 I've read up on at newegg.com Seems like
it cools well, but I would have to take my computer completely apart
and take those screw posts off since this one is more of a clip-on
type of thing.
Click to expand...

I don't have a recommendation for you, as it is a lot of work to
go around comparing all the options :-)

HSF vary in performance from about 0.25C/W to 0.50C/W. A hot
processor kicks out 60W, so the delta above case air temp will
be 15C for the best devices, and 30C for the lesser ones. The
Zalman 7000 is the best one I know of right now, but as
you point out, it is listed as incompatible on the Zalman
web site. In a 30C room, with 37C case air, the processor would
be at 52C for the good HSF and 67C for the others.

So, what I'm suggesting, is don't compare them on whether
they have a blue LED on them, or fancy heat pipes, look at
the numbers. You want low dBs and a low thetaR. There will
be a tradeoff between the two.

Some basic rules of thumb. If the heatsink fits within the outline
of the processor socket, it pretty well will be a 0.50C/W
type device, no matter what speed the fan runs at. The better
HSF are oversized, and each one will require you to judge
whether there is clearance from the HSF to adjacent components
like power caps, the DIMMs, the Northbridge heatsink etc.
It is not going to be a lot of fun shopping for a good
one.

Secondly, the devices need some mechanism to do their job. If
the fin area is large, then a simple quiet laminar flow over
the fins does the job. As the heatsink gets smaller, the designer
relies on turbulence to get more cooling. Turbulence can add to
the noise made by the fan, by resisting the flow of air, and
providing a backpressure to air flow.

In this example, you can have a 20dBA 0.333C/W solution with
a Vantec fan, and a 34dBA 0.226C/W (damn good) solution with
a Delta fan. The 34dBA will be audible. The profile of the
HSF is pretty good, and doesn't extend too far from the socket.

http://www.swiftnets.com/products/mcx462-V.asp

For other suggestions, look for review articles comparing the
Zalman 7000 HSF or the MCX462, to some other HSF. You might
find some leads on good candidates that way.

You can find some inspiration here:
http://silentpcreview.com/section12.html

Good luck in your search,

Paul
 
Hi,

I'm looking to get a cpu heatsink/fan that does a really good job of
cooling and is reasonably quiet (or able to be turned down using a fan
speed adjuster).

I was looking at the Zalman CNPS7000 series, but the A7V8X-X is not
listed as compatible.

I still have the 4 screw posts in there from a previous 60mm zalman
heatsink/fan setup. So maybe I could just use these posts and get it
to work?

There's also the Volcano12 I've read up on at newegg.com Seems like
it cools well, but I would have to take my computer completely apart
and take those screw posts off since this one is more of a clip-on
type of thing.
Click to expand...


ThermalRight SP-97. Great cooler.
http://www.thermalright.com/a_page/main_product_sp97.htm
 
Give a look at
http://www.thermalright.com
They might have a solution for your CPU.
I own a SLK-947U with a Panaflo M1A (90cm fan)
and the pair runs silent (for a Pentium 4 chip). The Intel CPU stays at
30 degress Centigrade.
I purchased both from Jab-tech.com

Good luck,
 
thanks for the insights, Paul

i'm going to print this out. it will take me some time to get my head
around what you are saying about "watts". but i immediately grasped
the idea of "delta".
 
Thanks Chris!

That thing looks killer.

I have a few quick follow-up questions if you don't mind:

1) It looks real heavy. Is there a danger of cracking my motherboard
from the weight? (I stand my towers vertical, so this would be pulling
down). Somebody on the review area of newegg.com was mentioning a
"backplate". Is this something that goes on the back of the mobo to
alleviate the stress?

2) There is no fan for this. Some people were talking about a 92mm
Vantec Stealth fan and a Panaflo 92mm U1a fan. I've only bought two
cpu fan/heatsink combos in my life, this is the first time for me
buying a separate fan. Not sure how it would connect to the heatsink,
etc. Any insights on this? Also, I like the idea of using one of
those Zalman Fanmate voltage regulators to get the fan speed down to
something reasonable. I'm guessing with a huge heatsink like the
SP-97 and 92mm fan, i could run the rpms at something much lower than
the 5400rpm blasts of a typical smaller setup.

3) I've seen this bracket thing that Zalman makes for some of their
fans:
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=35-118-204&depa=0

is that something i should be considering in this situation?
 
Hi,

The fan kit you referred to is for another zalman product that predated the
ZNPS7000 series (it was the 6000).
It had adequate capacity for small athlon's and is not viable for anything
above about 1600MHz. Nice and quiet though.

- Tim
 
Back
Top