Intel Core 2 Duo/Quad - Stock heatsink/fan

[DevilsPGD]

I'm eyeballing a Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600, and wondering if anyone has
any suggestions on a heat sink/fan combination.

My goal is quiet, within a reasonable budget. Water cooling is not an
option at this time.

The last time I build an Intel system with a stock heatsink/fan was a P4
2.8GHz, I was able to drop the temperature over 10C by switching over to
a Zalman copper 120mm fan kit, and in that same system the CPU fan was
able to shut down completely while the system was idle (I have a Antec
P180 case with fantastic airflow)

What's the situation with stock heatsink/fans from Intel these days,
same situation? Should I look for a third party solution, or is it not
worth the hassle?

 

[Noozer]

I'm eyeballing a Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600, and wondering if anyone has
any suggestions on a heat sink/fan combination.

I have a pair of Arctic Cooling sink on a couple of my rigs. They are "TC"
versions, meaning that they control their fan speed with a thermal sensor.
They didn't cost too much either, if I remember correctly.

My Opteron 165 defaults to 1.6Ghz and I'm running it at 2.4Ghz. The fan on
this cooler actually STOPS spinning when there isn't a load on the CPU.
Temps are always good.

My 2.6Ghz Northwood P4 is running at 3.1Ghz. The fan on that always spins,
but not very fast at all.

Both are dead quiet. They do speed up when there is a load on the CPU, but
even then I don't hear them.

Not sure if they make one for your CPU, but definately look for something
with built in thermal control.

 

[sndive]

I'm eyeballing a Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600, and wondering if anyone has
any suggestions on a heat sink/fan combination.

My goal is quiet, within a reasonable budget. Water cooling is not an
option at this time.

The last time I build an Intel system with a stock heatsink/fan was a P4
2.8GHz, I was able to drop the temperature over 10C by switching over to
a Zalman copper 120mm fan kit, and in that same system the CPU fan was
able to shut down completely while the system was idle (I have a Antec
P180 case with fantastic airflow)

What's the situation with stock heatsink/fans from Intel these days,
same situation? Should I look for a third party solution, or is it not
worth the hassle?

I used Asus Silentsquare and was pretty satisfied with the low noise/
temp.
There is a Silentsquare Pro these days which is $10-15 more
but the fanspeed is controllable off a front panel.
plain silentsquare looks better

 

[kony]

Not sure if they make one for your CPU, but definately look for something
with built in thermal control.

.... or if you get a motherboard with a thermal fan control
and reasonable settings in the bios to fine-tune it, that
will work with any heatsink (though still you'd need one
reasonably good with a large fan so that it can maintain
target temp without having excessive fan RPM -> noise).

 

[kony]

I'm eyeballing a Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600, and wondering if anyone has
any suggestions on a heat sink/fan combination.

My goal is quiet, within a reasonable budget. Water cooling is not an
option at this time.

The last time I build an Intel system with a stock heatsink/fan was a P4
2.8GHz, I was able to drop the temperature over 10C by switching over to
a Zalman copper 120mm fan kit, and in that same system the CPU fan was
able to shut down completely while the system was idle (I have a Antec
P180 case with fantastic airflow)

What's the situation with stock heatsink/fans from Intel these days,
same situation? Should I look for a third party solution, or is it not
worth the hassle?

Since you're probably getting the retail boxed CPU which
comes with the fan, might as well try it and see if you find
it acceptible. Pick a board having thermal fan control
feature so you can fine-tune any heatsink/fan you might
install.

 

[wasbit]

Because the core2duo (and thus presumably the quad) runs so relatively cool the standard Intel retail hsf does a good
job.

Bear with me as it is on topic.
I've been running for the past year a 43xx (can't remember the overclock) and a 63xx 1.8Ghz moderately overclocked to
2.43Ghz.

Folding at Home (Fah) is a distributed computing project for folding protiens to try to find cures for cancer.
http://folding.stanford.edu/
One instance of 'folding' can be run on each core of a duo or quad which runs the cpu at 100%.
Cpu temps reported with a variety of tools were 45-50 deg C or less in summer.

Arctic Cooling Freezer7 Pro might reduce cpu temp by 5deg C over the Intel if you have decent case airflow.
http://www.arctic-cooling.com/cpu1.php?p=4&disc=

 

[Pecos]

I'm eyeballing a Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600, and wondering if anyone has
any suggestions on a heat sink/fan combination.

My goal is quiet, within a reasonable budget. Water cooling is not an
option at this time.

The last time I build an Intel system with a stock heatsink/fan was a
P4 2.8GHz, I was able to drop the temperature over 10C by switching
over to a Zalman copper 120mm fan kit, and in that same system the CPU
fan was able to shut down completely while the system was idle (I have
a Antec P180 case with fantastic airflow)

What's the situation with stock heatsink/fans from Intel these days,
same situation? Should I look for a third party solution, or is it
not worth the hassle?

I can tell you about my Core 2 Duo E6400 experience with a stock
heatsink/fan.

The heatsink itself works well, but the white nylon prongs and black
pushpins are problematic. The pushpins are really push/pullpins. Pull
them all the way up and away from the nylon prongs before attempting to
install on the motherboard. Be careful to line up all eight nylon
prongs (2 for each pushpin x 4) with the holes on the motherboard.
Carefully guide them through the holes without putting undue pressure on
the motherboard. The pushpins should be turned clockwise in the
opposite direction of the arrow before attempting to push them into
place.

Do this with the motherboard removed so that you can support the
backside of the motherboard with something non-conductive and so that
you can visually verify that all eight of the nylon prongs have cleared
the motherboard. Push the pins into place and make sure that they have
fully extended into the down position. There is a flat portion on the
outer side of each prong that should be flush with the backside of the
motherboard. Carefully turn the pushpins in the direction of the arrow
with your hands or a screwdriver, hopefully locking them into place. Be
careful not to use too much downward force if you use a screwdriver.
The screwdriver can easily slip off the pushpin and damage the
motherboard.

I had bent one of the prongs on my stock cooler and unknown to me, only
75% of the heatsink was making contact with the CPU. Even so, the
temperatures were below the 70C shutdown temperature that I had set in
the BIOS. With the heatsink properly installed I was seeing sub 40C
temperatures with an ambient room temperature of 85F.

If I were to do it again, I would get the CPU without the stock
heatsink/fan (can you buy them that way? I never could determine from
the online sites if the CPU came with or without the stock heatsink/fan
combo) and find a heatsink with a better fastening system. There are
some interesting heatpipe heatsinks that I would like to try and should
be a quieter implementation

If you have to purchase the stock heatsink/fan with the CPU, it should
do fine with a Core 2 Duo if you install it properly - though you might
want to search for specific experiences with the Core 2 Quad.

 

[Paul]

I can tell you about my Core 2 Duo E6400 experience with a stock
heatsink/fan.

The heatsink itself works well, but the white nylon prongs and black
pushpins are problematic. The pushpins are really push/pullpins. Pull
them all the way up and away from the nylon prongs before attempting to
install on the motherboard. Be careful to line up all eight nylon
prongs (2 for each pushpin x 4) with the holes on the motherboard.
Carefully guide them through the holes without putting undue pressure on
the motherboard. The pushpins should be turned clockwise in the
opposite direction of the arrow before attempting to push them into
place.

Do this with the motherboard removed so that you can support the
backside of the motherboard with something non-conductive and so that
you can visually verify that all eight of the nylon prongs have cleared
the motherboard. Push the pins into place and make sure that they have
fully extended into the down position. There is a flat portion on the
outer side of each prong that should be flush with the backside of the
motherboard. Carefully turn the pushpins in the direction of the arrow
with your hands or a screwdriver, hopefully locking them into place. Be
careful not to use too much downward force if you use a screwdriver.
The screwdriver can easily slip off the pushpin and damage the
motherboard.

I had bent one of the prongs on my stock cooler and unknown to me, only
75% of the heatsink was making contact with the CPU. Even so, the
temperatures were below the 70C shutdown temperature that I had set in
the BIOS. With the heatsink properly installed I was seeing sub 40C
temperatures with an ambient room temperature of 85F.

If I were to do it again, I would get the CPU without the stock
heatsink/fan (can you buy them that way? I never could determine from
the online sites if the CPU came with or without the stock heatsink/fan
combo) and find a heatsink with a better fastening system. There are
some interesting heatpipe heatsinks that I would like to try and should
be a quieter implementation

If you have to purchase the stock heatsink/fan with the CPU, it should
do fine with a Core 2 Duo if you install it properly - though you might
want to search for specific experiences with the Core 2 Quad.

The Intel movie, about installing the retail heatsink/fan on an LGA775 processor,
is here. Real Oscar material... Runtime 7 minutes 32 seconds.

http://www.intel.com/cd/channel/reseller/asmo-na/eng/100617.htm

Paul

 

[DevilsPGD]

In message <[email protected]> Pecos

I can tell you about my Core 2 Duo E6400 experience with a stock
heatsink/fan.

Awesome!

I have a fair amount of experience with third party replacements, and
when I bought my current Core 2 Duo I automatically went with a third
party heatsink more out of habit then anything else.

However, shaving $70 off of the cost of a new motherboard/CPU purchase
is the difference between getting a fairly basic motherboard or a higher
end one.

The heatsink itself works well, but the white nylon prongs and black
pushpins are problematic. The pushpins are really push/pullpins. Pull
them all the way up and away from the nylon prongs before attempting to
install on the motherboard. Be careful to line up all eight nylon
prongs (2 for each pushpin x 4) with the holes on the motherboard.
Carefully guide them through the holes without putting undue pressure on
the motherboard. The pushpins should be turned clockwise in the
opposite direction of the arrow before attempting to push them into
place.

To be honest, I'm not so much worried about the installation as the
actual efficiency of the heatsink -- My vendor will install the CPU,
heatsink, fan, RAM, and RAM heatsink/fans at no charge if I request
(although I usually prefer to do everything myself, I'd rather spend the
20 minutes myself then wait 20 minutes in the store)

That being said, I'll keep your message in my notes as refer to it
before I attempt one of these beasts, so it certainly won't go to waste,
and I appreciate the insight.

I had bent one of the prongs on my stock cooler and unknown to me, only
75% of the heatsink was making contact with the CPU. Even so, the
temperatures were below the 70C shutdown temperature that I had set in
the BIOS. With the heatsink properly installed I was seeing sub 40C
temperatures with an ambient room temperature of 85F.

Ooops

I really need to purchase a decent thermometer, my current system
reports the CPU at 21C, motherboard at 40C, with an ambient room
temperature of 18C at idle -- That just sounds too low for the CPU, and
too high for the motherboard.

If I were to do it again, I would get the CPU without the stock
heatsink/fan (can you buy them that way? I never could determine from
the online sites if the CPU came with or without the stock heatsink/fan
combo) and find a heatsink with a better fastening system. There are
some interesting heatpipe heatsinks that I would like to try and should
be a quieter implementation

You may be able to buy OEM CPUs, but last time I looked you got a
substantially shorter warranty as well, and the cost difference was
negligible.

I've actually got a stock Core 2 Duo fan/heatsink kicking around already
from the last system I built, so regardless of whether the new CPU comes
with one or not, I've got options.

If you have to purchase the stock heatsink/fan with the CPU, it should
do fine with a Core 2 Duo if you install it properly - though you might
want to search for specific experiences with the Core 2 Quad.

My experience is limited to the Duo's so far as well. Looking forward
to getting a Quad though as I'm moving more and more toward
virtualization, so the extra horsepower might not go to waste.

Thanks for the info!

 

[~misfit~]

Somewhere on the interweb "DevilsPGD" typed:

I really need to purchase a decent thermometer, my current system
reports the CPU at 21C, motherboard at 40C, with an ambient room
temperature of 18C at idle -- That just sounds too low for the CPU,
and too high for the motherboard.

You get that a lot. Often the "motherboard" reading is actually northbridge
or southbridge. Quite different to a 'case' temp.

It is possible ot have the CPU within less than 10°C of ambient at idle with
good cooling and case venting.

 

[DevilsPGD]

In message <[email protected]> "~misfit~"

Somewhere on the interweb "DevilsPGD" typed:


You get that a lot. Often the "motherboard" reading is actually northbridge
or southbridge. Quite different to a 'case' temp.

It is possible ot have the CPU within less than 10°C of ambient at idle with
good cooling and case venting.

Sure, but 3C? That's lower then I'd consider realistic, even with
excellent cooling and case venting (both of which I have -- Thanks to
the Antec P180, I don't even have a power supply, nor drives, heating up
the motherboard compartment.

On the other hand, 3C + a 3C margin of error is realistic, both for the
idle CPU temperature and the likelyhood of an error in reading. I
pulled the case off and the base of the heatsink is only slightly warm
to the touch, so I'd hazard a guess that it's not far from being
correct. It goes from 21C up to 33C or so at full load (both cores),
which is also fairly realistic.

I am a little more concerned by the ~40C motherboard temperature -- I
realize that's probably taken within part of the chipset, but this
motherboard has heatpipes and a decent heatsink, so I'd have expected it
to be cooler. I'm planning on pulling the system out from under my desk
for a cleanout (I've got cats, despite filtering all intakes and using
positive pressure in one compartment, I still get a lot of fur and dust
inside), I'll see what I can find as far as motherboard/chipset/etc
temperatures.

I do have a couple video cards in there, it's possible I don't have
sufficient airflow around them and that the temperature sensor is near
the video cards, especially given that I am using positive pressure.

Is there a way to pull temperature from your average video card, or
should I be getting a thermometer?

 

[Pecos]

The Intel movie, about installing the retail heatsink/fan on an LGA775
processor, is here. Real Oscar material... Runtime 7 minutes 32
seconds.

http://www.intel.com/cd/channel/reseller/asmo-na/eng/100617.htm

Paul

Thanks for that Paul. The movie mentions that the slots on the pushpins
should be pointing away from the heatsink/fan (perpendicular to the
heatsink) and do not need to be turned during installation. The arrows
point to the direction that the pushpin has to be turned to *remove* the
heatsink/fan. I got that wrong and better fix my setup.

The one thing they failed to mention in the movie and my big problem was
that the pushpins needed to be fully pulled into the 'up' position before
installation. Trust me, the small nylon prongs won't fit into the
motherboard holes if the black pushpins are extendend into those prongs.

 

[~misfit~]

Somewhere on the interweb "DevilsPGD" typed:

In message <[email protected]> "~misfit~"


Sure, but 3C? That's lower then I'd consider realistic, even with
excellent cooling and case venting (both of which I have -- Thanks to
the Antec P180, I don't even have a power supply, nor drives, heating
up the motherboard compartment.

On the other hand, 3C + a 3C margin of error is realistic, both for
the idle CPU temperature and the likelyhood of an error in reading.

Yeah. You have to consider that all thermistors have a software layer where
the data output is turned into a number. There is (often) a correction
factor applied that may be a little off. That's why different proggies give
different readings. I think that a +/- 3°C margin for error is probably a
little ambitious. Probably more like +/- 5°C at least.

I
pulled the case off and the base of the heatsink is only slightly warm
to the touch, so I'd hazard a guess that it's not far from being
correct. It goes from 21C up to 33C or so at full load (both cores),
which is also fairly realistic.

I am a little more concerned by the ~40C motherboard temperature -- I
realize that's probably taken within part of the chipset, but this
motherboard has heatpipes and a decent heatsink, so I'd have expected
it to be cooler. I'm planning on pulling the system out from under
my desk for a cleanout (I've got cats, despite filtering all intakes
and using positive pressure in one compartment, I still get a lot of
fur and dust inside), I'll see what I can find as far as
motherboard/chipset/etc temperatures.

I do have a couple video cards in there, it's possible I don't have
sufficient airflow around them and that the temperature sensor is near
the video cards, especially given that I am using positive pressure.

Is there a way to pull temperature from your average video card, or
should I be getting a thermometer?

Try installing and running Speedfan and then, with any temps you don't
recognise being monitored on the 'charts' tab, run something graphics
intensive. See if the temps you've monitored go up. (Rinse and repeat using
different temps, sometimes Speedfan finds quite a few.) Some cards have
sensors that Speedfan finds, you might get lucky. Other than that maybe the
bard manufacturer has monitoring software? I've found that it depends on the
card manufacturer and the model of the card.

More expensive/feature-rich cards often have temps sensors. Some Leadtek
cards I've had (especially "VIVO" cards) have two, GPU and GPU edge. (For
some reason the 'edge' always read higher with mine, probably the correction
factor thing again, maybe combined with the fact that the 'edge' sensor was
probably a discrete sensor while the GPU sensor was probably an nVidia
on-die one.)

 

[sndive]

Since you're probably getting the retail boxed CPU which
comes with the fan, might as well try it and see if you find
it acceptible. Pick a board having thermal fan control
feature so you can fine-tune any heatsink/fan you might
install.

i just got an asus p5e and e2160 this morning:
the stock intel cooler can't keep the cpu temperature under 65C under
peak load with e2160. i dare not to think what temps
the op would see on q6600 (that will produce way, way more
heat under load).