Which of these cooling options

[elcid79]

Old Style Corsair H60 - 39.99
New H60i - 76
Zalman CNPS9900MAX-R CPU Cooler Red LED - 58.00


Will the Zalman fit properly in a Zalman Z9 plus case?

Cheers,

J

 

[ninjacore]

I would get a TRUE 140 (or 120 if you're worried about space) or even a 212+ or EVO before I would get any of those.

The price/performance on all the coolers you listed is just not up to snuff.

For the sizing question, I have a similarly sized Antec 300 case and I fit the 140mm tall Thermalright Spirit 140 in there. I'm not sure how tall the Zalman is, but if it's around that size, you should be fine.

 

[doyll]

Have read of Archon installed in Z9 so True or True Spirit 140 should fit no problem

 

[elcid79]

I went with the Evo 212... It was about $30 shipped, so a really good deal.
Cheaper than the h60. Gonna have to mail that back though.. I was concerned about the Liquid to be honest.

 

[doyll]

212 are not bad for cheap coolers.

 

[elcid79]

glad to hear it, I do have a question though, the bottom plate of the cooler, it looks like it has machine marks on it, would it be beneficial to polish that up by hand? A little superfine grit sandpaper like 1000grit and you could make it look like glass, would that help with the thermal conductivity, or will the transfer paste negate any benefit?

 

[Knufire]

It's called lapping the heatsink. You don't want to do it on HDT (Heatpipe direct touch) coolers like the 212 as the walls of the heatpipes are very thin and it's pressurized, popping that will seriously inhibit the cooling ability of the heatsink.

On other coolers where the heatpipes are just soldered into a metal slug that is the base, lapping that is fine.

 

[Conumdrum]

glad to hear it, I do have a question though, the bottom plate of the cooler, it looks like it has machine marks on it, would it be beneficial to polish that up by hand? A little superfine grit sandpaper like 1000grit and you could make it look like glass, would that help with the thermal conductivity, or will the transfer paste negate any benefit?

Machine marks are normal. Unless you post good pics of the machine marks we can't be sure if it's a manu defect or just your perception since your new at it.

Just use sandpaper. It don't work like that. You need a sheet of a VERY VERY flat surface, lots of sandpaper, water, and the proper teqnique to LAP. LAP the heatsink to perfectly flat. It's a art, not a science.

It's not that easy and many many times done wrong and needlesly, ruining heatsinks.

Your welcome to read up on the full issue in Google and I'm sure hundreds of YouTube posts.

Machining marks on my 212 Hyper were there. It perfectly worked and temps are good. I Know what to look for. Been at this a LONGGG Time.

So unless you know what your looking at, don't worry so much..... Or post good pics and let the experts decide.

 

[elcid79]

If there is one thing that I am actually good at is polishing brass, have done that far to many times (military school), I would certainly be capable of getting this as nearly perfect as possible. But the true question, is it really worth the effort. haha.

 

[elcid79]

Is the thermal paste that comes with the 212 decent?

 

[Knufire]

It's not bad stuff. Works plenty well, no need to buy aftermarket stuff unless you really need the 1-2C improvement.

 

[Conumdrum]

If there is one thing that I am actually good at is polishing brass, have done that far to many times (military school), I would certainly be capable of getting this as nearly perfect as possible. But the true question, is it really worth the effort. haha.

Polishing the brass doorknob isn't the same. Come on man.

 

[elcid79]

I am not talking about door knobs, I am talking about taking a highly textured piece of shaped brass, bending and polishing until its glassy smooth, IE no texture... it took weeks of polishing, perfectly flat, pefectly smooth. A pre-shaped, allready flat part will be a cakewalk.... But again, why spend hours on something that doesn't really matter. (and I didn't use sandpaper back then, just my hands and brass / blue magic.. Haha.

 

[doyll]

I wouldn't do anything but use the 212. The heatpipes are thin after being ground flat. And if you sand/polish through it's dead.... only a paper weight. The pipe that looses it's seal does nothing so the area the pipe covers on cpu get no cooling.

 

[Conumdrum]

It's not brass. We ain't in the military, There is no bending. You might want to read up on it.

And post pics of the issue. Otherwise, it's your stuff. Have fun.

 

[elcid79]

Yeah, when you explained the design of it I decided not to mess with it. I don't want to make it too thin, or worse turn it into a paperweight. Mine has not come in yet, I just saw some photos...

 

[S_I_N]

leave it be you'll just ruin it and have a 30$ paper weight. Its designed to be as it is lol