Stock fan on my Phenom X4 955 CPU is too loud, suggestions?

[Ime]

tl;dr version: Need a new CPU heatsink/fan for my AMD Phenom X4 955 (AM3 Socket), stock is way too loud now. Budget is $50.

Long version:

So, I upgraded my video card recently to an XFX 6950 with an aftermarket cooler and now it's quiet, which makes the wife happy. Now she's complaining the stock CPU fan on my AMD Phenom X4 955 is too loud under load. Before that the noise was drowned out by my jet engine ATI 4890's stock fan.

After buying a $275 video card, I'm hesitant to spend a ton more on my CPU fan/heatsink.

Does anyone have any suggestions for a quiet HSF combo for around $50?

Second question is: Does anyone have links to a good guide for replacing a stock HSF for someone like me who's never done it before?

Thanks in advance!

 

[ensign_lee]

If your case has room in it, I think this would fit the bill pretty well. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835103065

I'm running mine 24/7 in my bedroom and don't even notice the fan when I'm sleeping.

You are going to have to break you computer back down though. :/ To mount the fan, there is installation involved under the mobo.

 

[Ime]

I'm thinking about upping my budget to $75 and getting one of these two, what do you folks think?

CoolIT SYSTEMS ECO-R120 Advanced Liquid Cooling (ALC)

CORSAIR CWCH50-1 High Performance CPU Cooler

 

[veri745]

I can tell you that I don't on plan trying liquid cooling my CPU again after trying it once. Too much of a hassle.

Air coolers like that Hyper 212 are cheap, work well, and are easy to install and remove.

 

[magomago]

don't waste your time spending 75 dollars

Scythe Mugen 2 in a push/pull setup.

I just got it and set it up, and its absolutely incredible. Its sooooo quiet, and at idle these fans spin so low (~300rpm) that I have to turn off the warning in my BIOS. Haven't measured speeds when I game, but I can't hear it. Even 24/7 of Prime95 does nothing and the highest temp I've seen on any core is 54degC using CoreTemp.

even if you OC and unlock the other cores its perfectly great and quiet.

let me add, I just built a setup using the 212+ for a friend, and this shit gets loud when you try to play a game. Maybe the heatsink is great, but the fan is next to garbage IMO. Even at idle a single fan is noticably louder than a push pull on a mugen2. That mugen2 was also a recent build for my own pc...so this is all recent (<2 weeks as of this post) information

 

[deimos3428]

H50 is a great cooling solution, but mine had a low-volume high-frequency buzz emanating from the pump which drove me nuts. Hyper 212+ is quiet, affordable and cools nearly as well.

My advice for replacing the HSF:

Take your time. The hardest part for me was removing the original HSF from the 955, you have to ease it off carefully but it can be stuck on pretty tight. If you work slowly and carefully, you're less likely to break something.

Personally I found installing the brackets for both the H50 and the 212+ a bit too tricky with the motherboard in the case, largely due to my own inexperience. I ended up removing the motherboard from the case and holding it in my lap to do so. After that it was pretty easy to get the cooler on the bracket. The instructions are well written.

 

[Ime]

Water cooling may not be a good idea, the place I'd mount the radiator would partially block the PSU fan.

This is my computer here on newegg, you can see the space I have to work with:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16883229119

The side case fan restricts the height of a CPU HSF, and the radiator from a water cooler would partially block the PSU fan.

Any suggestions on an AM3 socket CPU HSF that would fit that case, the side is is certain to get in the way of some of them.

 

[Ime]

Sorry for posting twice in a row, but I wanted to update with my decision.

My research has basically lead me to this: ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro Rev.2 92mm Fluid Dynamic CPU Cooler

It appears to be quiet, and easy to install without having to remove the motherboard.

I'm not overclocking so I don't need high-end cooling, just something quieter than the stock cooler.

 

[birthdaymonkey]

Water cooling may not be a good idea, the place I'd mount the radiator would partially block the PSU fan.

This is my computer here on newegg, you can see the space I have to work with:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16883229119

The side case fan restricts the height of a CPU HSF, and the radiator from a water cooler would partially block the PSU fan.

Any suggestions on an AM3 socket CPU HSF that would fit that case, the side is is certain to get in the way of some of them.

I bought a Noctua U9B-SE2 recently for my OCed 940BE.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...ctua%20u9b-se2

It's a little above your original budget, but it's damn quiet and low profile compared to full size tower coolers. Nevertheless, it's more than adequate to keep my CPU cool in a cramped case. I like it a lot.

 

[tincart]

My research has basically lead me to this: ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro Rev.2 92mm Fluid Dynamic CPU Cooler

It appears to be quiet, and easy to install without having to remove the motherboard.

I'm not overclocking so I don't need high-end cooling, just something quieter than the stock cooler.

I have an Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 which appears to be almost identical to the Freezer 7. It is extremely quiet and cools better than the stock heat sink. At 25C ambient my Phenom II 955 idles at around 32C and gets to around 45-50C under load. Even at max speed the fan is barely audible.

Installation is quite easy, though I would recommend taking off the thermal gunk they pre-apply to the base and using some good TIM.

 

[sandorski]

No need to spend more than $30.

 

[nyker96]

One of the best: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835185142

 

[GaiaHunter]

On my Phenom II X2 555BE (unlocked to 4 cores) I used a Xigmatek Gaia S1283 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...aia%201283 with Artic MX3 thermal paste.

It reduced the temperature by some 14-15ºC over the stock cooler (the X2 555 stock cooler is really crappy) at max fan speed (you shouldn't notice the noise over the game sounds). At minimum fan speed temperatures rise a bit but it is really quiet.

It was easy to install, although to my surprise (since the older s1283 models didn't) it replaces the clip method.

Mine is installed in cross-flow. Actually I haven't checked if you can do top-bottom.

You will need a slot screwdriver to apply pressure on the retention clip of your stock AMD fan.

 

[GaiaHunter]

Sorry DP.

 

[Jovec]

On my Phenom II X2 555BE (unlocked to 4 cores) I used a Xigmatek Gaia S1283

I'd use a cooler named after my nick too...

On a more serious note, a cooler with a 120mm fan should be cooler than a 92mm fan (fan quality aside), although my old Freezer 7 Pro 92mm fan was quiet. You might also consider buying a replacement fan for your new cooler, like a Scythe GT-14/15, to further reduce noise, but that's going to add another ~$20 to the cost.

You probably also want to consider if you want to a hsf mount that uses the stock AMD clip system or a bolt-through mount. Bolt-throughs provide more mounting pressure and stability but will probably require to you remove the motherboard to install the hsf.

 

[GundamF91]

I say go with Hyper 212. I have the HyperTX2, it works great on my AthlonII X4.

Also I have water cooling on my Penryn, it's working great if you keep it maintained.

 

[GundamF91]

By the way, if you quiet the CPU fan down, your wife will probably complain about your case fan next. So be thinking about which case you want.

..

after that...do something about the power supply fan too!

 

[tweakboy]

If your case has room in it, I think this would fit the bill pretty well. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835103065

I'm running mine 24/7 in my bedroom and don't even notice the fan when I'm sleeping.

You are going to have to break you computer back down though. :/ To mount the fan, there is installation involved under the mobo.

Good one, but we dont know how technical he is to do that.