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Best way to cool my new i7 pc.

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obaki

New Member
Joined
Apr 11, 2009
Please go easy on me as I am new to all of this. I have taken some interest in learning about cooling and the different methods . I am looking to build a kick *** system and cannot decide how to go about my cooling. I have been debating back and forth for air/water and keep reading lots of conflicting advice. I will obviously want to overclock my i7 (nothing crazy though).

Here are my specs so far:

Case: will depend on what cooling method I use.
PS: Corsair TX750W 750W
MB: GIGABYTE GA-EX58-UD5
CPU: I7 920
GPU: ATI 4890
HDD: Western Digital Caviar Black 640GB
Mem: OCZ 3X2GB DDR3-1600
 
I think you are right. I might just look for the right case so that when I do get the guts to start watercooling it won't be too difficult to change.
 
I was expecting Prolimatech to beat Thermalright since it was supposedly designed by former Thermalright engineers but the one review I read doesn't put it above TRUE Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme.

So what's the deal with Prolimatech vs. Thermalright?


_____________________
Intel i7 920 [211] BCLK x 19 = 4.0 GHz @ [1.4000] CPU Voltage & [1.35000] QPI/DRAM Uncore Voltage, Batch 3836A394
3 x 1GB G.SKIL DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) [DDR3-1691MHz] 10-10-10-24 @ 1.64 DRAM Bus Voltage
ASUS P6T Deluxe v.1 [LGA 1366 Intel X58] BIOS 1102
Thermalright Ultra-120 eXtreme 1366 RT with 120mm Scythe S-Flex F fan
ASUS EAH4850 TOP Radeon HD 4850 512MB @ 680 MHz GPU & 2100 MHz Memory
Antec nine hundred case, two front 120mm fans, one back 120mm Fan, one top 200mm fan
Corsair CMPSU-750TX 750W
 
Last edited:
I did a search for articles on it.

http://enthusiast.hardocp.com/article.html?art=MTYxNCwxLCxoZW50aGlzdWFzdA==

That's about all I could come up with, but I'll admit to not looking very hard. I don't follow hardocp much, but if they're testing is solid, it looks like its giving the TRUE a run for its money. If it cools as well as a TRUE, and I don't have to lap the hell out of the base like a TRUE, that's a win in and of itself.
 
I don't think they had two fans on the Prolimetech when they tested them out. I think they only use the fan provided to do the testing. The TRUE on the i7 needs a second fan for it to be super effective, well at least mine did anyway. They should be taking down Thermalright sooner than later though. It is just a waiting game till it happens.
 
...yeah but right now Thermalright still appears to beat it...
 
...yeah but right now Thermalright still appears to beat it...

umm not according to the revew at benchmark....
http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.p...k=view&id=285&Itemid=62&limit=1&limitstart=14
mega is 1c better but i mean its 1c... thats as a stock kit as they say...
then with a high output fan its 2-3c better then the TRUE...
http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.p...k=view&id=285&Itemid=62&limit=1&limitstart=15
22.85c for mega vs 25.1c for TRUE, thats rise above amb...
 
So are we now recommending Prolimatech over Thermalright?
 
Lets call it a tie right now until we get some more Prolimatech comparisons. It's only fair that way lol.
 
So are we now recommending Prolimatech over Thermalright?

if you want the best but TRUE is a still a top cooler... there are many to suggest the right one is not always the one most suggested to people. i could have gotten the U-120 before they made the true but i didnt. i opted for good cooling with less noise, so i got then ninja. if i were to buy agian i would be getting the Mugen 2 or the HR01-plus. Mugen 2 would be my first choice give it has much more surface area then the HR-01 plus. Not only that but the Plus has 6HP vs 5HP on the mugen 2. mugen 2 looks more like the right balance for what im after... if you can say 2 more heatpipes can drop load temps with good fans 2c. then it shouldnt be that big of a differnce from 5 to 6 but the more surface area on the fins should balance that out. to where both would be equal cooling wise in a near passive setup. sure would like to see a head to head of the Ninija vs HR-01 plus vs Mugen 2.
 
but you personally would get (link please) Mugen 2. Why would you get it over Thermalright, cost?

right i would, for many reasons, cost is just one. Mugen 2, is $31.99 at newegg for starters, it has 5 heatpipes. Not only that the amount of surface area compared to a TRUE or even HR-01 Plus is huge. Fin spacing appears from the pics to be wider. which is better for lower cfm fans and for near passive cooling, which is what im after. i use to be about pure cooling but got tired of loud fans... besides the mugen 2 and hr-01 plus the only new hs that kinda has my eye is the Baram but it looks more like it is tring to compete with the TRUE. which goes back to focusing on high speed fans.. The mugen 2 also from the pics appears as a better cooler then the ninja i have(the first one they released with SK478 clips). though the ninja has 6HP vs 5 agian, the mugen 2 appears to have more fin area then the ninja i have. still nothing for me is set in stone as to which one to get, yes im looking. However im also still considering getting back into WC for the i7 setup. i guess my main point is there is no right answer, everyone has different tastes. They need to do research around what their tastes are...
 
The noise is acceptable on the Thermalright so it really just comes down to cost vs. performance.

Could I do this with the Mugen 2 or not, that's what it comes down to:



_____________________
Intel i7 920 [211] BCLK x 19 = 4.0 GHz @ [1.4000] CPU Voltage & [1.35000] QPI/DRAM Uncore Voltage, Batch 3836A394
3 x 1GB G.SKIL DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) [DDR3-1691MHz] 10-10-10-24 @ 1.64 DRAM Bus Voltage
ASUS P6T Deluxe v.1 [LGA 1366 Intel X58] BIOS 1102
Thermalright Ultra-120 eXtreme 1366 RT with 120mm Scythe S-Flex F fan
ASUS EAH4850 TOP Radeon HD 4850 512MB @ 680 MHz GPU & 2100 MHz Memory
Antec nine hundred case, two front 120mm fans, one back 120mm Fan, one top 200mm fan
Corsair CMPSU-750TX 750W
 
The noise is acceptable on the Thermalright so it really just comes down to cost vs. performance.

Could I do this with the Mugen 2 or not, that's what it comes down to:
_____________________
Intel i7 920 [211] BCLK x 19 = 4.0 GHz @ [1.4000] CPU Voltage & [1.35000] QPI/DRAM Uncore Voltage, Batch 3836A394
3 x 1GB G.SKIL DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) [DDR3-1691MHz] 10-10-10-24 @ 1.64 DRAM Bus Voltage
ASUS P6T Deluxe v.1 [LGA 1366 Intel X58] BIOS 1102
Thermalright Ultra-120 eXtreme 1366 RT with 120mm Scythe S-Flex F fan
ASUS EAH4850 TOP Radeon HD 4850 512MB @ 680 MHz GPU & 2100 MHz Memory
Antec nine hundred case, two front 120mm fans, one back 120mm Fan, one top 200mm fan
Corsair CMPSU-750TX 750W

well i dont know the exact performance of the mugen 2, im going off of looks mainly. i have been searching for some "good" sites with reviews of it vs other higher end hs's. since i dont know exactly how yours is setup and not knowing how the mugen 2 stacks up. giving a exact answer would be impossible at this point. for me though going off looks, the mugen 2 should be a stepup cooling wise. since the fin spacing is tighter vs the ninja should respond even more when i have my denki's on med thru the LL A10B's(A10B is a case) fan controller.

*edit*
this is my setup on the of the ninja, keep in mind though the pic is of the ip35-pro board. gene is in this case now, back fan pushes air in, top/rear blows out.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v733/Evilsizer/ocforums/case.jpg
 
We've seen things that look good before.

Only way to tell is same setup tested with Thermalright vs. other. Until next generation of Prolimatech comes out, it would appear that Thermalright is still our choice. They know it, which is why they priced them sky high, and still they selli what they manage to make.
 
well thats true C6 but Scythe isnt like zalman or cooler master for HS's. the Scythe ninja is still a good HS IMO for those wanting near passive air cooling.
 
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