recommend good hsf

[zCypher]

I recently went from an E5200 system to an unlocked X3 455. I was never able to overclock my E5200 but it ran relatively cool, never really exceeded 60c.

I was able to OC the X3 455 from 3.3 to 3.6 using a tool that came with the driver cd, but it rebooted only a few seconds later. Back to stock 3.3, there's no crash. Prime95'd it for a whole day and no problems at stock, BUT, HWMonitor reports a max temp of 91c (!!!!).


right now it's at 51 to 52c, I have firefox with 6 tabs (flash video playing in one), and a few other programs running that shouldn't be doing much (steam and messenger). I'm ok with 50, but jumping to 90 under load does not sound ok to me.

I've been wanting a crazy noctua for a while but the Hyper 212 at $25-30 seems like a really good deal. What do you recommend to be able to keep this thing cool even with a little OC?

Thanks.

 

[BoomerD]

Lots of folks seem to be very happy with the Hyper 212+...and it's on sale at Newegg for $19.99 with free shipping.

From this morning's email:

Your Price: $19.99
With Promo Code
EMCJHHA55

Discount good through 12/30

 

[lsv]

Lots of folks seem to be very happy with the Hyper 212+...and it's on sale at Newegg for $19.99 with free shipping.

From this morning's email:


Discount good through 12/30

+1 for the 212+, it's cheap and great. I put one in my brother in law's case to cool his Athlon 64 5200+, it stays at 42~c load.

 

[deimos3428]

+1 for the 212+. You can get better, but probably not better value.

 

[T_Yamamoto]

+1 for the 212+

 

[zCypher]

Wow ok, awesome! Worth getting the 212 EVO over the older 212? At Newegg Canada the EVO is $36.99 with free shipping, but that's actually cheaper than their 212 Plus. However, the regular 212 Plus I can find at other sites for $24.99 with $5.99 shipping.

The one concern I had was the back plate the cooler seems to require? My case does not have an open motherboard tray, so will this be an issue for me? I have this Cooler Master case http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16811119137

 

[lsv]

Wow ok, awesome! Worth getting the 212 EVO over the older 212? At Newegg Canada the EVO is $36.99 with free shipping, but that's actually cheaper than their 212 Plus. However, the regular 212 Plus I can find at other sites for $24.99 with $5.99 shipping.

The one concern I had was the back plate the cooler seems to require? My case does not have an open motherboard tray, so will this be an issue for me? I have this Cooler Master case http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16811119137

You'll have to take out the motherboard completely, install the HSF and then put it back. Not really a big deal unless you're changing HSF's all the time. Just remember where everything is plugged into or take a picture, that's what I do.

 

[Binky]

Corsair A50 may be a better deal than the 212.


$10AR at amazon (Prime 2-day shipping)
http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Air-Pe.../dp/B003IT6RDE

$16AR at newegg (shoprunner 2-day shipping)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835181012

The A70 is also on amazon for $24AR.

 

[GoStumpy]

I have the A70, bought it for $20 after rebate.. Awesome cooler. i3-2100 is at 46C running Prime95... With only 1 of the fans attached...

 

[lehtv]

A50/A70 is quite a bit more noisy than 212+. 1600-2000RPM at 26-31.5 dBA, versus 600-2000 RPM at 13-32 dBA. EVO is even better, the advertised noise at 600RPM is 9dBA due to the better fan.

 

[zCypher]

The A50 is going to cost over $50 ($27.99 + shipping/handling+tax)
I'm in Canada, so I can't always find the same deals here. So far the 212 still looking like a deal.

The fan that comes on it is a standard kind that can be changed anyway right?

 

[lehtv]

You won't want to change the fan on the 212+, it has a decent fan and replacing it would cost extra (so it'd make more sense to buy a better cooler to begin with).

 

[GoStumpy]

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16835103099

CM 212 EVO $37 free shipping...




OR


http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835181011

Corsair A70 (what I have) $47 - $15MIR = $32 free shipping...

 

[zCypher]

I actually just ordered the 212 evo for $36.99 with free shipping
I really appreciate everyone's input, can't wait to get it!

 

[zCypher]

Received and installed the 212 evo. Running Prime95 right now it's at 66c, max temp so far 67c. So that's 24-25c cooler than the stock cooler. Idle's almost at the same temp though which I found strange. The minimum it has run at so far according to HWMonitor is 48c. The BIOS has always reported lower temps though (27c upon first boot with 212).

 

[lehtv]

Idle's almost at the same temp though which I found strange.

What RPM is the fan on idle? Are you sure you applied the thermal paste properly?

(27c upon first boot with 212).

Could've been because it didn't have time to heat up properly. Check BIOS after checking HWmonitor?

 

[zCypher]

Sorry, I meant to say the POST screen said 27c (for a fraction of a second before it disappears). When actually inside the BIOS and it's been running for a while, it says 33c. 33 sounds like a good number to me.

For the thermal compound I put a dot in the middle of the cpu before putting on the heatsink. Just a little bigger than a grain of rice, but not much.

 

[zCypher]

Holy crap. I disabled the 4th core, now HWMonitor says 17c idle. I have Prime95 running and so far the temp still says only 26c. Is that even possible?

 

[GoStumpy]

Screenshot?

It's possible if your room is sub 15C....

 

[pederson_76]

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I think a lot of times the temp sensors give goofy readings with unlocked cores.

 

[zCypher]

I set everything back to normal settings, then it would not post for some reason. Cleared CMOS and started over. Be back in a few mins with some screen shots with the chip at completely stock and default settings idle vs load.

 

[zCypher]

Everything stock at idle, pic showing CPUID HWMonitor & CPU-Z and the OC tool "TOVERCLOCKER" that came with the motherboard driver cd:

http://s1081.photobucket.com/albums/j350/marcbyron84/?action=view&current=X3cpuidstockidle.jpg

Here is the exact same configuration + under load using Prime95:

http://s1081.photobucket.com/albums/j350/marcbyron84/?action=view&current=X3cpuidstockprime95.jpg

Here is a phone screenshot of the BIOS screen, obviously representative of "idle" but I think more accurate than 13c!!

http://s1081.photobucket.com/albums/j350/marcbyron84/?action=view&current=BIOStemp.jpg

 

[pederson_76]

Yeah that looks much better, looks like you have cool & quiet on btw.
My 555 BE at 1.325v w/stock heatsink runs about 26 on idle and up to about 40 under load.

 

[GoStumpy]

Wow! I am at a loss ATM, never seen HWMonitor have temps that low... TBH, I've seen weird low temperatures like that in Speed-fan, which is one of many reasons I stopped using it...


-edit-

A quick google search found:

Quote from [H] user SicKlown42012

Thuban's core sensors read about 10-15c too low. It's a known issue. As long as you keep the reading under 60c, you will not run into thermal issues.

 

[zCypher]

I don't live in a freezer, it's perfectly cozy and warm in here. I don't see how the temps could actually be that low (HWMonitor's readings). Anyway, when I have all 4 cores enabled it idles at 48c and runs around 67c under the same Prime95 load. I'm not sure I trust its readings at all anymore, so I'm not really sure what to make of it. Enabling a core = 40c+ more??

I noticed if I put my hand on top of the case (cpu is directly under that, and it's just mesh) - at idle, it's cool no heat at all. Under load, I can distinctly feel the heat with my hand but it's not super hot.

Any suggestions for specific settings to try? I'm kinda hesitant after it not posting (with normal settings!).