Zalman CNPS8000 V Athlon 64 3200+ skt 939 retail cooler

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danielmc1

Hi there

I have an Athlon 64 3200+ skt 939 running on it's retail cooler that
was included in it's box.I don't do any overclocking. I use the PC for
3D games (COD2, GTA SA etc) and the usual internet, office
applications etc and run on windows xp pro.

I want to make the base unit quieter and, starting with the cpu
cooling, I'm considering the Zalman CNPS8000 as it's not too big.

It quotes a noise level of 18 DB(A), though this doesn't really mean
much to me in practical terms - I want to know how quiet it will be
COMPARED to my current stock cooler.

Does anybody know the actual DB(A) rating for the normal stock
cooler??

Cheers

Dan
 
Hi there

I have an Athlon 64 3200+ skt 939 running on it's retail cooler that
was included in it's box.I don't do any overclocking. I use the PC for
3D games (COD2, GTA SA etc) and the usual internet, office
applications etc and run on windows xp pro.

I want to make the base unit quieter and, starting with the cpu
cooling, I'm considering the Zalman CNPS8000 as it's not too big.

It quotes a noise level of 18 DB(A), though this doesn't really mean
much to me in practical terms - I want to know how quiet it will be
COMPARED to my current stock cooler.

Does anybody know the actual DB(A) rating for the normal stock
cooler??

Cheers

Dan
Click to expand...

No two companies or individuals will measure sound the same way.
Using an "A weighted" sound meter, may falsely portray any "whiny"
sounds that peak at one frequency. The "A weighting" may say the
fan is quiet, when the noise peaks at that one frequency,

Your best bet, is to find a review of the Zalman product, where it
is measured using the same testbed, against the retail cooler. Then
you'd know how much quieter it is.

There are also a few comments here. But each person's threshold for
noise will be different.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/CustratingReview.asp?item=N82E16835118005

One way to select a cooler, is to find the largest collection of
fins that you can. Perhaps one of the tower coolers. Such a cooler
will not need much of a fan at all. If the tower takes a standard
80mm, 92mm, etc sized fan, you can then shop for a quiet fan to go
with your new purchase.

There are a number of selection criteria for coolers, and my personal
preference, is fasteners that use screws rather than clips. If you
have a large volume cooler, sometimes the clips can be almost
impossible to reach.

In some cases, it helps if you can assemble the cooler outside the
computer case, then slide both the motherboard and cooler into the
case. This is not easy, if you have a case with mechanical restrictions
to entry (crossbar that stiffens the case, right across the
motherboard opening).

Paul
 
Hi there

I have an Athlon 64 3200+ skt 939 running on it's retail cooler that
was included in it's box.I don't do any overclocking. I use the PC for
3D games (COD2, GTA SA etc) and the usual internet, office
applications etc and run on windows xp pro.

I want to make the base unit quieter and, starting with the cpu
cooling, I'm considering the Zalman CNPS8000 as it's not too big.

It quotes a noise level of 18 DB(A), though this doesn't really mean
much to me in practical terms - I want to know how quiet it will be
COMPARED to my current stock cooler.

Does anybody know the actual DB(A) rating for the normal stock
cooler??

Cheers

Dan
Click to expand...

the fans on stock coolers tend to small and spin fast (4-6000rpm) whereas
you can get a cheap 3rd party cooler with a bigger fan that spins around
1500-2000rpm - its the slower spin speed that makes it quieter but the fact
that its a bigger fan still means it shifts a decent amount of air. Zalman
make good kit and if you're happy to spend the big bucks then fine but you
dont have to spend a lot to get a decently quiet cooler - the spin speed is
the first indicator of whether a cooler is quiet.
 
Hi there

I have an Athlon 64 3200+ skt 939 running on it's retail cooler that
was included in it's box.I don't do any overclocking. I use the PC for
3D games (COD2, GTA SA etc) and the usual internet, office
applications etc and run on windows xp pro.

I want to make the base unit quieter and, starting with the cpu
cooling, I'm considering the Zalman CNPS8000 as it's not too big.

It quotes a noise level of 18 DB(A), though this doesn't really mean
much to me in practical terms - I want to know how quiet it will be
COMPARED to my current stock cooler.

Does anybody know the actual DB(A) rating for the normal stock
cooler??

Cheers

Dan
Click to expand...


Zalman uses deceptive noise ratings, that's what the stock
fan would've produced in free air, not what the finished
fan-sink product will produce in a system.

That doesn't mean it's not quieter though, they are pretty
quiet and will be quieter than the stock 3200+ sink. As for
how much of that noise escapes your case, that you can hear,
it depends on the case, as well as on whether your board has
a thermal fan control feature that allows you to set lower
fan RPM in response to lower temps... but then if you have
that feature you might find it does acceptibly even with the
stock 'sink, though the stock sink would be louder at any
given CPU temp.

To get to the point, that is a good choice for a replacement
heatsink but it is a bit expensive to buy for a 3200+ CPU,
today. IMO it would be more cost effective to get an Arctic
Cooling Freezer 64 Pro, there are a few pictures of it at
the following link and Newegg et al. sometimes put it on
sale for about $20.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835185125
or it's $22 here,

http://www.svc.com/acfzp64.html

For an A64, 3200+, you don't really need a high-end
heatsink, the CPU just doesn't put out that much heat to
need one, but you would still benefit from something with a
90+mm fan at very low RPM, and not one of those kludge
designs where the fan is much larger than the 'sink sitting
under it.

On the other hand, since you already have the stock sink too
there is something to be said for buying a 'sink that is
universal, that might be able to be mounted on your next
system /upgrade so you can reuse it at that point and then
put the stock sink back into service cooling the present
3200 CPU at that point in time.
 
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