E.T. said:
Hello everyone, I have been putting together a new computer simply to
play newer games. (my old computer is a now dying AMD 1.8xp) Basically
I need to know if there is a better cpu cooler for a Pentium 4 LGA775
3.8Ghz 570J. Above the intel stock cooler and somewhat lower than the
top of the line stuff. Will appreciate any advice
E.T.
If you're going to spend money on a cooler, get a good one.
If you try to be cheap, you'll end up with something which is
only a little better than the Intel cooler.
Tuniq Tower 120 P4 & K8 CPU Cooler - Retail $65
http://www.newegg.com/Product/CustratingReview.asp?item=N82E16835154001
ZALMAN CNPS 9700 NT 110mm 2 Ball Ultra Quiet CPU Cooler - Retail $70
(This version has a four pin fan connector, so should work with a
motherboard that uses PWM control on the fourth pin.)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/CustratingReview.asp?item=N82E16835118020
Big Typhoon CL-P0114 $50 (uses a slow fan for quiet operation)
(Don't get the latest version, which has a bad mounting method)
(This one uses an H-bracket to secure the cooler.)
http://www.svc.com/cl-p0114-14.html
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835106061
And some companies make great looking coolers, only to use
a bad clamping method. This is an example of cheesy clamping:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/CustratingReview.asp?item=N82E16835185037
And above all, before you buy one of these, find a good review site that
measures theta_R, the thermal resistance. Zalman specifies the performance
for at least some of their products. The values for the 9500 shown
on this page, should also apply to the 9700NT model. The numbers in question
are 0.12C/W and 0.16C/W. That tells you the temperature rise to expect,
depending on how fast the fan is running.
http://www.zalman.co.kr/eng/product/view.asp?idx=165&code=009
To work an example, say you own a 115W processor.
http://processorfinder.intel.com/details.aspx?sSpec=SL82U
Say the room temperature is 25C, and your well cooled computer case
runs at 32C case air temperature. With the Zalman heatsink running in
quiet mode, the expected CPU temp is: 32C + (0.16C/W * 115W) = 50.4C
If you turned the fan to full blast: 32C + (0.12C/W * 115W) = 45.8C
For the other heatsinks, you'd want to find some theta_R values, to
compare to the 0.16C/W type number. That is how you tell in advance,
how well they will cool your processor.
Paul