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Choosing cooling

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ziphnor2

New Member
Joined
Jul 17, 2003
Hi,

I just bought a Soltek 75-FRN2-L board, a Barton 2500+ and 2x512 MB CL2.5 PC3200 memory + a very cheap Creative GF4 Ti4600 gfx card.

Now im trying to choose which cooling i should buy, i would really like to run the barton at 10x200 or 11x200, but i would really prefer to keep my machine quiet as well(ive already got a case with Noise Control Magic shield, which actually works wonders).
My first idea was to buy a Thermalright SLK-800A heatsink and then put a 26db Papst on it with either a voltage control or a temperature control. But then again, i've heard that the GF4's in general make alot of noise, so might also want to replace the fan there or similar, driving the price up near the range of cheap water cooling solutions which can cool CPU + GPU + northbridge.

I had my eye on this(its in danish but still...): http://www.watercooling.dk/shop/productinfo.asp?id=678
Its pretty cheap, seems to have lots of copper bits(always good ;) and has one favorable review.
Here is its install guide(english):
http://www.morgen.dk/images/coolriver.pdf

I was just wondering if this wouldnt be more efficient as well as quiet compared the alternative given above(btw, i know nothing about watercooling :) ?

Any feedback appreciated.
 
If you wanted the best, quiet cooling then go water cooling. If you wanted to go air then I'd suggest either the slk900 or the 800, preferrably the 900 so you can strap a huge fan on it that will get good static pressure and still stay quiet (low rpm's). If you do go with the 800 you can get a smartfan 2 which is fully adjustable for your listening preference.
 
I dont think the 900 fits on the soltek board, it doesnt have holes at the base of the socket.

I would prefer the watercooling (it looks like more fun anyway ;) but i dont want to buy some complete crap..

Thanks.
 
If you want the most OC and quiet WC kits are the way to go, they are quieter then my system by far, my dang box sounds like a airliner taking off when I power it up. I like the dangerden.com kits myself the Maze3 CPU block rocks. however becareful not all kits are worth it, and going cheap is not the best idea. if you want a decent kit be ready to spend nothing under $150USD for a kit, and that will only include the CPU waterblock, however I think you will be really happy with a Water cooled system.
Just remember they only keep the cpu as cool as the ambiant room temp. so if you live in a place where your room stays at 90F then maybe a WC kit with a peltier.
-L_P
 
If you're planning on watercooling I would strongly urge you NOT to buy a kit. Read around the watercooling forum and other watercooling sites. Find out as much as possible, and then put your system together. Not only will this get you a better watercooling system, you will also attain much knowledge about watercooling which will help you out in the long run should any problems arise with your system.
 
Like L said though a good watercooling system can be had for about 150 USD, but if you want to make some stuff yourself (if you have the proper tools and such) then it can be quite inexpensive.
 
I will probably find some more info on watercooling, but even that pretty cheap kit is a bit expensive for me, if i have to pay more than that i will probably be forced to use aircooling.

Perhaps if i read more about watercooling i will better be able to decide if that kit is ok or not.

Any sites in particular that are good to read about watercooling?

Thanks for all the tips.
 
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