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[RedDwarf]

I finally overclocked my 2500 XP to a 3200 using the heatsink that came with it, but I'm looking to keep the temperature low. What's the most efficient (and hopefully affordable) way to cool the chip down? No water solutions please.

 

[UtadaBarkley]

um, lots of fans....

 

[RedDwarf]

Well, I was hoping for a recommendation. *cough*

 

[Stryder]

the Spire range of coolers (whisperock, falconrock) IMO are the best solution, much quieter than the other coolers out there and on par with performance.

I used to use a Whisperock IV on my old AMD rig and was very happy with it.

 

[Burger]

Get one of those Volcano ones, and fit a Delta Black Label fan on it. That will keep it cool.

(It'll be louder than a jet engine however)

 

[DaCocoBrova]

*click*

Mine has a copper heatsink tho...

 

[rc213]

http://www.thermalright.com/

SLK-900/800U Series just make sure they fit on your board since they have to be bolted on the socket for a more secure grip.

 

[Wellington]

Does that fit on a Socket A slot?

You may want to tone it down back to 2500+. Fried one of them running it only at 2800+ levels. :/

 

[RedDwarf]

Excellent, I'll check all of those out. Wellington, I've never read of a problem overclocking the Barton 2500xp... that was a selling point for me. The feedback on Newegg has been nothing but positive on it. How hot was yours getting?

 

[Wellington]

Excellent, I'll check all of those out. Wellington, I've never read of a problem overclocking the Barton 2500xp... that was a selling point for me. The feedback on Newegg has been nothing but positive on it. How hot was yours getting?

Well, I'm telling you of one dude, I fried it at 2800 levels with stock cooling.

I recommend this for something cheap but good. http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=35-118-102&depa=0

 

[DaCocoBrova]

That's what you get for OC'ing an AMD chip (of all things) w/ stock cooling...

 

[Wellington]

That's what you get for OC'ing an AMD chip (of all things) w/ stock cooling...

Which is what Redwarf just did...

As long as it's not stock cooling I endorse OCing, but for now he should roll it back.

 

[Suerte]

I recommend blowing on it, heh

My fan is a noisy bitch but I don't mind, it keeps my Athlon reeeeally cool, at the moment my CPU temp is 40 C

 

[element]

Zalman CNPS7000A-CU

works great and almost no noise

 

[nubbe]

I'm using a Thermaltake Volcano 12

I overclocked my Barton 2500+ from 1,8GHz to 2,3GHz and my Idel tempature is 39c and load is around 42c

I didnt need to increase the voltage from 1,65v either to reach that speed, i still have much room to overclock but my PC3200 memory is holding me back

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=35-106-035&depa=1

 

[Hitokage]

EDIT:
Dammit, oxy... you beat me to it.

 

[element]

EDIT:
Dammit, oxy... you beat me to it.

best fan ive used.

 

[Neo_ZX]

You may want to tone it down back to 2500+. Fried one of them running it only at 2800+ levels

I assume you're talking about the regular Barton opposed to the Mobile, correct? Just for personal reference as I plan to get the Mobile as it ramps up to as high as 3400+ on air cooling. Most stick to 3200+ to play it safe or so I hear.

 

[Wellington]

Correct

 

[RedDwarf]

I bought the Thermaltake Volcano 12. It looks like it fits my needs well. Thanks for all the advice!

 

[Bauer Action Hour]

I had my Athlon 2500+ overclocked to 3200+ on stock cooling for ~20 months, though I did have 2 extra case fans.

However, w/ the pissy heat of NYC coming into full effect around late May, I was playing KOTOR and it started to crash randomly. It didn't do this when the air was cooler. I noticed my CPU was around 62 degrees Celsius using Asus Probe, which is insane.

Long story short, I got me a Thermalright SP-97 (fit on my a7n8x deluxe) and attached a 92mm Panaflow fan (it's pretty quiet). Since then I haven't cracked 50 and w/ the AC cranking it's under 40.

 

[Wellington]

I had my Athlon 2500+ overclocked to 3200+ on stock cooling for ~20 months, though I did have 2 extra case fans.

However, w/ the pissy heat of NYC coming into full effect around late May, I was playing KOTOR and it started to crash randomly. It didn't do this when the air was cooler. I noticed my CPU was around 62 degrees Celsius using Asus Probe, which is insane.

Long story short, I got me a Thermalright SP-97 (fit on my a7n8x deluxe) and attached a 92mm Panaflow fan (it's pretty quiet). Since then I haven't cracked 50 and w/ the AC cranking it's under 40.

Wow, awesome. I have the same chip and mobo, maybe I'll do the same. My one case side fan is pretty loud so I want to unplug it, but nowadays with heavy usage and pissy NYC air it's at around 55-57C.

I was going to wait about a month and give myself time to redesign the whole airflow within my system, but no time like the present eh?

 

[Diablos]

Don't waste your money on the Zalman CPU coolers and all the other expensive ones. They are a pain in the ass to install. Cheaper alternatives are out there that work just as well:

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=35-151-111&depa=0

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=35-186-104&depa=0

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=35-106-602&depa=0

These all have a copper base.

You can also do what I did, get the Kingwin KCU-7025 heatsink/fan:

Ditch the noisy fan that comes with the Kingwin, and buy a 70mm to 80mm fan adapter:
http://www.svc.com/fa7080-yellow.html

Then buy a vantec stealth 80mm fan (or in my case a 24db LED fan that pushes 34cfm) and use the black screws from your Athlon XP stock fan to attach the Vantec to the 70 to 80mm fan adapter. Works perfectly.

 

[Diablos]

You know, I just thought of something. What if power supplies came with a mini air conditioner (its not like it would have to be powerful enough to cool a room, just an ATX case) built into the fan unit? A constant flow of cool air would keep EVERYTHING very cool, especially if you also have a good heatsink/fan and case fans.

Just a thought passed on from one geek to anotha.

 

[Neo_ZX]

I was deceived by how small that Zalman thing looked compared to how big it actually is. I was really considering getting it after my Athlon 2100+ was hitting 70°+ but then I discovered what the real problem was - The stock heat paste/pad MELTED OFF.

It was so bad that it almost oozed off the CPU onto the socket. It took an hour to scrape that shit off the heatsink and core. I gave up on the actual CPU surface, but after some Artic Silver 3 and a good cleaning of the HSF I'm down to an amazing 28-32° CPU die on a cool day. The CPU socket is always 5-10° more though. Don't know which is more accurate.

 

[Diablos]

The socket is always gonna be a little cooler than the core.

But still, you get 32C on a cool day? Where do you live?? I am using Ceramique, and I know it doesn't cool as well. My 2400+ CPU idles at about 48-50C. Full load is like 52-56C.

Yeah, those thermal pads are no good. I had the same problem. Using the bottom of a plastic knife with a thin lint free cloth wrapped outside of it, I carefully removed it from the CPU. It took a while though.

 

[Felidae_Khrall]

You know, I just thought of something. What if power supplies came with a mini air conditioner (its not like it would have to be powerful enough to cool a room, just an ATX case) built into the fan unit? A constant flow of cool air would keep EVERYTHING very cool, especially if you also have a good heatsink/fan and case fans.

Just a thought passed on from one geek to anotha.

Mine needs this badly. the case overheats alot

 

[element]

Zalman = no noise = GOD LIKE!!

 

[Wellington]

You know, I just thought of something. What if power supplies came with a mini air conditioner (its not like it would have to be powerful enough to cool a room, just an ATX case) built into the fan unit? A constant flow of cool air would keep EVERYTHING very cool, especially if you also have a good heatsink/fan and case fans.

Just a thought passed on from one geek to anotha.

The problem with that is the humidity that isn't at it's dew point within the PC. In an air conditioner, say you want to cool your air to 70F, the air is cooled to 60 to get moisture out, and then heated up to 70 and spat back out. Where's all that water going to go? I wouldn't trust myself to empty out a container every now and again.

 

[Diablos]

I'm just talking about a teeny tiny unit that makes a small amount of cool air, and has a 40 or 60mm fan in front of it that blows cool air into the case... I don't know if it would have to work like a traditional AC setup.

 

[Wellington]

I'm just talking about a teeny tiny unit that makes a small amount of cool air, and has a 40 or 60mm fan in front of it that blows cool air into the case... I don't know if it would have to work like a traditional AC setup.

Efficiency would be so low with a unit that small that you'd be wasting almost all of the energy you put in.

 

[MrPing1000]

blow on it (really hard)

 

[Teknopathetic]

Err, I don't have that exact same Zalman, but I'm using one of the cheaper ones, and I didn't find it any harder to install than any other heatsink.

I'd say pick up that Zalman. I'm loving mine.

 

[Neo_ZX]

But still, you get 32C on a cool day? Where do you live?? I am using Ceramique, and I know it doesn't cool as well. My 2400+ CPU idles at about 48-50C. Full load is like 52-56C

I live in Toronto (no it's not ice cold here. It can get very hot for your information) and my HSF is stock AMD and only aluminum. I was suprised too considering I never got anything under 45° before. Must be that Artic Silver. I use Motherboard monitor and have never changed my settings.

 

[golem]

go liquid