So, I need something Cool and Quiet.

I am building a new machine in the near future. I plan on using the AMD 2500+ CPU /w a quiet air cooling solution. I am considering the Zalman CNPS3100+.

http://www.pcabusers.com/reviews/zalman/p1.html

Has anyone had any experience with this solution? Does any use a quite solution that works well and costs under $60?

My choice of mobo's are:
Asus A7N8X Deluxe 2.0
Abit NF7-S v2
...i am however open to change ...

i guess with a heatsink like the zalman its not possible to overclock (alot).. so maybe you should not stick with a board like the abit.. which is the overclockers nf2 choice
maybe you could save some money there and by the MSI
here its cheaper than the other 2 and maybe you've then enough money to spend it on a slk 900 with a quite fan

E_tron, you might like this for your HSF.

slk 900
with panfalo or papst fan

Definitely a cheap and quiet solution.

1Time said:

E_tron, you might like this for your HSF.

Click to expand...

as far as HSF's go the SLK and similar knock offs aren't the quietest. there's alot of reasons why. some argue they create backpressure clogging the fan making it noisier, like if you run it and leave it facing up on the floor. others say it's the sound of air going through the fins. i'm not qualified to give a definitive answer but i can say that people that want quiet usually opt for a zalman thermalright's AX7 or the alpha pal. in my opinion if your system is so quiet that the sound of air wooshing through the HSF fins or the sound of the fan getting clogged is audible then you're prolly beating a dead horse. i use a slk800a. i love it. one of the top performers reguardless of fan choice and is cheaper then anything that can put out similar performance like the switftech MCW5000 or whatever swiftech heatsink is. i'm not good with model names.

zalman sinks are fine for overclocking. with new AMD's you can get a nice OC on about any cooling except maybe a volcano. even those have exceptions though. for people that want extreme performance and extreme silence then zalman is the ticket. they emphasize quality in everything they make and it really shows in my opinion.

if you want extreme cooling and you're willing to sacrifice some silence, meaning you're computer would sound about average, then i would look at the thermalright slk's, the slk7 is a steal for $20 and like .04 *C/W higher, or the swiftech that has all the long pins sticking up. i think it's the MCW 5000. with either the slk or the swifty you'll need to buy a fan seperate unless the place you order from lets you bundle like www.directron.com, www.sidewindercomputer.com and the many others. so unless it offers a fan for a bundled price factor in a few dollars more for one.

hope it helped.

E_tron said:

I am building a new machine in the near future. I plan on using the AMD 2500+ CPU /w a quiet air cooling solution. I am considering the Zalman CNPS3100+.

http://www.pcabusers.com/reviews/zalman/p1.html

Has anyone had any experience with this solution? Does any use a quite solution that works well and costs under $60?

Click to expand...

not that Zalman, this Zalman.
Works much, much better then Zalman's earlier stuff, like you've got linked. It is also very quiet. It can be essentially silent and still perform adequately for a minor overclock.

I like the Zalman 7000-alcu too. But those things are huge! Remind me of a dinner plate.

I've had good success at quiet, sufficient cooling with the Thermalright SK-7 and a Panaflo-Hi fan. You might even consider 5V-ing or 7V-ing the fan if you find it too loud, but with the fluid bearings, I can scarcely hear it with a case closed about it. For additional cooling at low noise, you might consider an 80mm, 92mm, or 120mm suckhole (intake) drilled in the side of the case above the HSF, with a fan running at very low speed. This provides fresh air to the HSF, allowing you to run the heatsink fan at lower speeds.

In an air-conditioned room, I've been running an XP-2200+ (the research computer in my signature) at stock speeds with this combination (at 5V), and I haven't had any trouble whatsoever. I also run my PIII-Tualatin (post-processing computer in my sig) with this combination at 7V, also very quiet and with no problems whatsoever.

I hope this helps somewhat. Oh, and the price at SVC.com on the SK-7 has dropped to $15.99 lately.

Good luck, and have fun! -- Paul

Why dont you get the new swifty mcx462-v with like a 92mm vantec stealth. That should be dead silent. Considering that heatsink is huge the 92mm stealth fan should be abloe to keep your CPU cool.