- Joined
- Jun 11, 2005
- Location
- Chicago, IL
A XP-90 is just a heatsink, a piece of "metal", or aluminum, it dissipates heat by having a fan blow over it. The fan is the thing that makes the noise, all the heatsink does is more or less "draw" heat from the CPU, and the fan blows it away pretty much. The XP-90 and XP-90C both fit the use of 90mm or 92mm fans, while the XP-120 is something that can fit a 120mm fan.
90mm fans are generally louder then 120mm fans. 120mm fans don't need to spin as fast as 90mm fans to move a certain amount of air. If your comparing the XP-90 to the XP-120, the XP-120 would be a much better choice, it'll be quieter and perform better, but then it's more expensive and larger to install.
Other recommendations would be the Thermaltake Big Typhoon, Thermaltake Sonic Tower, or the Scythe Ninja. Those are all the "larger" heatsinks, since the Sonic Tower is pretty big and requires a certain amount of clearance. All the heatsinks mentioned would more or less perform about the same, all are 120mm and probably vary in cooling by 1-3C.
Most reviews I've seen show the X-Fi series to be really good, I haven't seen any review that says its worse then the Audigy 2 series. A sound card can't be "bad" for games, especially if the X-Fi is a much newer line of cards then the Audigy 2 series. You don't necessarily need a 5.1 or 7.1 system to support the X-Fi, just get the one that's based at $100, a few people here have made reviews on their personal experiences with the X-Fi, and it's all been pretty positive.
90mm fans are generally louder then 120mm fans. 120mm fans don't need to spin as fast as 90mm fans to move a certain amount of air. If your comparing the XP-90 to the XP-120, the XP-120 would be a much better choice, it'll be quieter and perform better, but then it's more expensive and larger to install.
Other recommendations would be the Thermaltake Big Typhoon, Thermaltake Sonic Tower, or the Scythe Ninja. Those are all the "larger" heatsinks, since the Sonic Tower is pretty big and requires a certain amount of clearance. All the heatsinks mentioned would more or less perform about the same, all are 120mm and probably vary in cooling by 1-3C.
Most reviews I've seen show the X-Fi series to be really good, I haven't seen any review that says its worse then the Audigy 2 series. A sound card can't be "bad" for games, especially if the X-Fi is a much newer line of cards then the Audigy 2 series. You don't necessarily need a 5.1 or 7.1 system to support the X-Fi, just get the one that's based at $100, a few people here have made reviews on their personal experiences with the X-Fi, and it's all been pretty positive.
