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Air Cooling, what should I buy?

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PhatKirby

Member
Joined
Aug 22, 2001
Location
Southern California
I'm building a new computer soon and need some advice on the heatsink/fan.
I was originally thinking of the Zalman 9900 but someone said that it is overpriced, underperforms and is an overall bad buy. I will ultimately be overclocking my core i7 920 so I will need something that performs well. Noise level, I guess as long as it doesn't out-scream my antec nine hundred two it should be fine. Anything over $80 I'd consider over my budget for this particular part.

I've already had several suggested: TRUE, Noctua.
Are these better than the Zalman? Anywhere I can find a review/comparisons?

Ty in advance.
 
Sunbeam CCTF gets my vote from now on. Review and linky. :D

Edit: forgot the 1366 adapter.

Also from frosty, top 10 heatsinks for intel and Amd by thermals and by sound levels. Sunbeam is top in thermals on intel and Amd :D. Here.
 
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LOL ....... I'm certain chancecoats works for Sunbeam that coolers been plugged about 20 times so far :)

I my opinion it would be the best buy mainly because it performs almost as well as the true and here its around £15 cheaper ....... good bang for bucks :)
 
After reading reviews on the Cooler Master V8, Zalman 9900, Sunbeam, Noctua, TRUE, Xigmatek (both the normal and dark knight version) on frostytech, I am utterly confused. If you look at their charts comparing temperatures and noise levels, I have a feeling that they are omitting certain points of data. The same coolers do not show on each list at the same positions and this makes comparisons very sketchy at best.

If anyone knows of any other reliable sites that can show some charts that are a bit easier to use for comparisons, I'm all ears. I've looked at tomshardware but their review is rather old and doesn't cover some of the newer ones.

All opinions would be appreciated, and here is a list of mine:
Please keep in mind, these opinions are from what I gather from the reviews and not actual experience with them. This is why I'm asking for opinions from people with experience as well.

Cooler Master V8
This thing looks cool but when the fan isn't running at high speeds performance drops more drastically than others.

Zalman 9900
Looks unique, but you can't replace the fan if it breaks. And from what I remember reading, it's somewhat loud for the performance compared to a few others. I've read several reviews on this one as this was the original fan I was going to get. One particular review noticed that this particular heatsink/fan is designed to work WITH the airflow in the case which apparently is not how the typical heatsink/fan review is done. They are typically done just with motherboard out in the open, no case, for simplicity's sake. This causes even more inconsistencies when collecting data about this particular product.

Xigmatek HDT-S1283
This thing seems good but the contact between the heatsink and the cpu got only good ratings. It wasn't as smooth as some of the others and from what I understand, the smoother, the better contacts. The better contacts the better heat dissipation.

The Dark Knight version of the xigmatek is nickel plated. How does this improve or worsen heat transfer? Anyone having issues about the nickel plating peeling off with use?


TRUE
The TRUE is expensive and requires further research on what fan to use. It seems that its performance is dependent solely on the fan that you end up getting to go with it, which opens up a whole new can of beans altogether. Plus, where the heck would you find one of these things anyways? I think microcenter has it which it is selling as the FrozenCPU.com Ultra 120 extreme for 95 bucks and apparently a weak fan (from what I can see from the specs).

The Sunbeam is loud at stock speeds unless you get an optional fan controller. Does a good job cooling apparently, but having to manually control the processor fan speed is a turn off.

The Noctua is relatively quiet and performs well but again, the heatsink part that touches the processor are not as smooth as some of the other options. I'm not exactly sure how much this actually matters.


Is there a consolidated review/comparison chart that takes into consideration noise, performance, and design somewhere?

What are your guys' opinions on what to use? Maybe I'm being just too picky about it.
 
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TRUE
The TRUE is expensive and requires further research on what fan to use. It seems that its performance is dependent solely on the fan that you end up getting to go with it, which opens up a whole new can of beans altogether. Plus, where the heck would you find one of these things anyways?Link link I think microcenter has it which it is selling as the FrozenCPU.com Ultra 120 extreme for 95 bucks and apparently a weak fan (from what I can see from the specs).
For a fan to go with it my choice would be a Scythe S-Flex F, not cheap but a good fan. You could add a Yate Loon medium or high speed for $5 for jab-tech if you get it there and get good performance.

You know my feelings on the rest from your other posts, I like the Noctua.
 
Not saying that I've decided to get a TRUE, but should I want one, what is a reputable online retailer that I can buy just the heatsink? I guess I can buy a fan off newegg or something. I'd go for the heatsink + fan combo if there are documented good results by a known reviewer.
 
What are the differences between the Xigmatek HDT and the Xigmatek Dark Knight? They essentially look the same. The Dark Knight apparently has a black nickel plating. What does this do to heat transfer?

Also, if I buy an aftermarket fan for the TRUE, are there fans that can be automatically controlled? I'd rather not have to worry about the cpu fan speed every time I change what I'm doing.
 
The heat transfer of either is the same. Some people might like the darker HS for the look of thir build. Thats why they made it.

You can use the CPU mobo fan connector for your CPU HS. Look at the mobo manual/mobo. It's probably a 4 pin PWM type. Could be a 3 pin standard. Buy the fan that has the appropriate type connector. You can then set your Bios to work with CPU temps/fan speeds.
 
Not saying that I've decided to get a TRUE, but should I want one, what is a reputable online retailer that I can buy just the heatsink? I guess I can buy a fan off newegg or something. I'd go for the heatsink + fan combo if there are documented good results by a known reviewer.

Phatkirby,

Get a used TRUE on Ebay like I did. You can save considerable that way and it's not something that wears out so there is little risk. One reason you see so much variation on performance in the reviews is they don't account for different variables. With the TRUE there are two main ones: 1. The fan. The TRUE has densely packed plates and benefits more than most from a high flow/high static pressure (think 32 or 32mm thick) fans. 2. the "trueness" (no pun intended) of the heatsink base. The TRUE has a notorioulsy convex shape to the base that prevents good contact with the cpu heatspreader. Used as it is from the factory a TRUE is no better thant many of the other tall tower 120mm coolers like the Sunbeam heatpipe core contact. But when you lap the base of the TRUE and make it flat it begins to seperate from the pack. And if you add a hard pushing fan to it with a puller on the backside then it is simply the best.
 
And I take it with the popularity of the TRUE, it outperforms the Xigmatek HDT and Dark Knight?

Some reviews show the TRUE winning by 1-3C, some show it even, some show the Xigmatek's winning by 1-3C. So really, they're all neck and neck with each other depending on the test setup.

If you're not looking for extreme cooling on high overclocks then you can do well with the Xigmateks. However, if you're looking to crank the clock frequencies and really up the voltage, the TRUE (along with its mods) will definitely pull ahead - but this is at a level where every degree counts. So really depends on your priorities.

Also, if you're not looking to spend that much money nor time, then the Xigmateks are definitely your best bet.

Hope that helps. :)
 
And I take it with the popularity of the TRUE, it outperforms the Xigmatek HDT and Dark Knight?
These two coolers will perform comparably with a TRUE that is not lapped and has a weak fan system and they are cheaper than the TRUE at retail prices to boot. But when you put a high flow, high static pressure fan on a lapped TRUE it will leave them behind, especially at the extreme end of air-based overclocking. The TRUE just seems to have the ability to absorb BTU's at the margins of air overclocking that other big tower coolers don't. If you are content with easy, modest overclocking and don't won't to put in the work of lapping then get a Sunbeam direct contact HP jobber or a Xigmatek. They will do ya.
 
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LOL ....... I'm certain chancecoats works for Sunbeam that coolers been plugged about 20 times so far :)

I my opinion it would be the best buy mainly because it performs almost as well as the true and here its around £15 cheaper ....... good bang for bucks :)

Haha! I am just preeching what I think is the best bang/buck. :p


After reading reviews on the Cooler Master V8, Zalman 9900, Sunbeam, Noctua, TRUE, Xigmatek (both the normal and dark knight version) on frostytech, I am utterly confused. If you look at their charts comparing temperatures and noise levels, I have a feeling that they are omitting certain points of data. The same coolers do not show on each list at the same positions and this makes comparisons very sketchy at best.

If anyone knows of any other reliable sites that can show some charts that are a bit easier to use for comparisons, I'm all ears. I've looked at tomshardware but their review is rather old and doesn't cover some of the newer ones.

All opinions would be appreciated, and here is a list of mine:
Please keep in mind, these opinions are from what I gather from the reviews and not actual experience with them. This is why I'm asking for opinions from people with experience as well.

Cooler Master V8
This thing looks cool but when the fan isn't running at high speeds performance drops more drastically than others.

Zalman 9900
Looks unique, but you can't replace the fan if it breaks. And from what I remember reading, it's somewhat loud for the performance compared to a few others. I've read several reviews on this one as this was the original fan I was going to get. One particular review noticed that this particular heatsink/fan is designed to work WITH the airflow in the case which apparently is not how the typical heatsink/fan review is done. They are typically done just with motherboard out in the open, no case, for simplicity's sake. This causes even more inconsistencies when collecting data about this particular product.

Xigmatek HDT-S1283
This thing seems good but the contact between the heatsink and the cpu got only good ratings. It wasn't as smooth as some of the others and from what I understand, the smoother, the better contacts. The better contacts the better heat dissipation.

The Dark Knight version of the xigmatek is nickel plated. How does this improve or worsen heat transfer? Anyone having issues about the nickel plating peeling off with use?


TRUE
The TRUE is expensive and requires further research on what fan to use. It seems that its performance is dependent solely on the fan that you end up getting to go with it, which opens up a whole new can of beans altogether. Plus, where the heck would you find one of these things anyways? I think microcenter has it which it is selling as the FrozenCPU.com Ultra 120 extreme for 95 bucks and apparently a weak fan (from what I can see from the specs).

The Sunbeam is loud at stock speeds unless you get an optional fan controller. Does a good job cooling apparently, but having to manually control the processor fan speed is a turn off.

The Noctua is relatively quiet and performs well but again, the heatsink part that touches the processor are not as smooth as some of the other options. I'm not exactly sure how much this actually matters.


Is there a consolidated review/comparison chart that takes into consideration noise, performance, and design somewhere?

What are your guys' opinions on what to use? Maybe I'm being just too picky about it.

They do come in different places for each test because you have to take into account different setups, different tests and the fact that each cooler didn't come out the same day. The fact that they were reviewed multiple times over a period of say a year just gives you a chance to average each test and see which really is the best cooler. And Just to let you know, the sunbeam is by no means loud. In the review I posted, at top fan speed, the fan is just about half way out of 100+ fans. And lowest it is top five I believe. When you take into account the psu fan and other fans in your computer, it is hard to get utter silence unless going passive ( and you still have a fan to move air over those). So how much does 51.db really count?
 
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