good way to cool my cpu?

[yanks111]

Currently, i have a Vlcano 6cu on my Amd Xp 1600+, and it is not doing its job very well, idling around 45c with no overclock.

In the meantime, i am wanting to buy an Ax-7, but before I do that I want to have good airflow in my case.

Currently I have a fan in the front, 1 in back and 1 on the side blowing onto pci slots. My case is the Chieftec Dragon.

I am going to buy a few mmore case fans, but to increase the effectiveness of my hsf, I had an idea to drill a hole and put a 120mm fan onto my side panel to blow onto the volcano6, for better airflow.

However, i don't know which fan to get.

I want a good noise/cfm ratio, and brand does not matter.

[Tismedt]

That temp is pretty high but not unheard of. What are your room & case temps? What thermal compound did you use? What are you using to monitor temps?
If you are doing mods I suggest a 120 blow hole in the top. The chieftec dragon has slots for 2 front and 2 rear fans correct. Put 80mm fans in those slots front in back out and if there is a spot for it a 80mm on the side door have it blowing in. That is what most ppl here are doing. Also the AX-7 is a great hs and will drop those temps into the mid 30's or lower depending on room/case temps.

[yanks111]

The reason my temps are so high lately is because of how hot its been in Connecticut.

JUst for info, i'm using MBM 5 to monitor my temperatures. Case temp is at 27c.

Would putting the 120 on the side help me as much as I hope it will? Because it could be another month before I could get the ax-7.

[RoadWarrior]

I say do this...

Get 6cu, lap sides, stick cut up old 486 or pentium heatsinks on lapped sides, stick a 80mm sunon on top of the whole thing, decide if you want to forget about the ax-7. ;)

Road Warrior

[willlangford]

After you get your case done, don't get an AX-7, get an SLK-800. They are much better. And you better get a Delta...LOL

Will

[Skiing Squirrel]

SLK's are much better, but very expensive. Try roadwarrior's idea, and if that doesnt work go with the ax-7. Also try ducting.

[lazerin]

Yo yanks111! Kewl avatar. I just bought black hawk down on dvd last night. Kick ass movie!

I agree with all the suggestions that have been put forth so far. The ax-7 is a very nice heatsink and is just slightly below par to the slk800 but at almost half the price, who cares?!

[yanks111]

Yes Black Hawk Down is one of my favorite movies.

Anyway, on the idea of sticking on more heatsinks, how would someone go about doing this? Soldering? Or a mixture of AS3 and Artic Silver Epoxy?

Hmmm, now thinking of it, a comp store near me called PCW computers (it took them a week to figure out what was wrong with my friends comp, when all it needed was a new video card, lol) has some dented (minor) up heatsinks for like 10 bucks. Knowing the knowledge there, I could probably pick up a couple for cheap.

And yet the Ax-7 for only $25 dollars is one of the best, and it comes already usable with an 80mm fan.

Edit: Hehe RoadWarrior I just noticed one of your computers has a Volcano 6cu also, what kind of temps are you getting with it?

[RoadWarrior]

They aren't too terrible really for this sink, I've got a 5% overvolt for stability at present (PSU trouble new one tomorrow) and running at 1690, I get about 43 idle, 49 load, with an ambient of around 25. I did lap it and rub zinc oxide paste into the base after chemigcally cleaning it, then put it on with the zinc oxide paste (regular white heatsink goop).

However, because I want to shoot for 1800 or so, I'm getting an AX7 with my new PSU. I was going to mod the 6CU as I suggested above if my PSU had been okay, to see how far I could get, but had the money and had to order a PSU anyhow, so .... :D

Road Warrior

[drewthomas14]

im getting the same case as you i think. do you have the full tower one with the 92mm fan above the psu(thats the one im getting). im going to put two 120mm blow holes on top and have two 120mm fans on the side panel(one over the cpu and one over the expansion slots). also im going to fill every place the case already has to put fans