FOP32-1 Vs. Volcano II ? Same price, I need 1 of them :-)

[Bartman]

I looked at the FOP38 and the WBK38 and all those, but I decided that I just don't want the noise of the Delta fans.

I will be running a T-Bird 900, hopefully @ 1064 (8x133) on an ABit KT7A.

The Alphas are a little too bit expensive for me, especially the pep66t. (noise more important then cash though...)

So I have narrowed it down to the FOP32 and the VolcanoII.

They have simular cooling, and the db's are 36db/31.5db respectivly.

I am leaning towards the Volcano II because of the quite, yet, 36cfm fan.

Someone who has used these fans please comment... I really want to get 1050Mhz+, but definatly need to keep the Db below 40!

I will be using Arctic Thermal grease, hopefully that 2-3*C will help me out

Also a friend is giving me an extra case fan (80mm sunon) to go with the one I already have, and the PS I am getting is the Enermax330 with the extra 92mm exhaust fan. I already have a Slotfan installed under my V770u, soon to be a GF2MX. Not a high CFM case, but it's better then nothing...

When I get some more $$$, I'll get a 120mm intake with filter, and a 92mm blowhole... That would start moving some air. Of course I will be buying the quitest fans I can find (panaflos most likly) as the machine will be right next to my bed.

When upgrading to the 120mm fan, I will buy/build a Baybus, so I can turn them off at night.

Ideas, Comments?

Thanks alot guys... Placing order for new system this week!

-Bartman

 

[Hoot]

I have and used an FOP-32E for a while. It was a very good value, but even with two case fans, I wanted a little more cooling. With my 600 Duron at 1000, 1.85V, The FOP-32E provided a case to core temp delta of about 14 deg at idle and 19 deg at full load.
I recommend it for a starter HSF. It may be all you ever want. I have no experience with the Volcano.

Hoot

 

[AKDUDE]

Im using the FOP32 on a TBIRD900@1050 right now.
I idle around 34 and max around 39 or so.
Not really what I was shooting for, I was kinda hoping I could get down into the twentys.
On my older fan (no name?) at 900mhz I was running around 26 idle and 37 max. I think the front side bus being so high is whats giving me trouble.
I was thinking of doing the 80mm fan mod for the FOP32. I have a sunon 80mm case fan I can use, but ive been lazy and have not bothered.
AKDUDE

 

[Bartman]

AKDUDE (Mar 12, 2001 03:08 p.m.):
Im using the FOP32 on a TBIRD900@1050 right now.
I idle around 34 and max around 39 or so.
Not really what I was shooting for, I was kinda hoping I could get down into the twentys.
On my older fan (no name?) at 900mhz I was running around 26 idle and 37 max. I think the front side bus being so high is whats giving me trouble.
I was thinking of doing the 80mm fan mod for the FOP32. I have a sunon 80mm case fan I can use, but ive been lazy and have not bothered.
AKDUDE

What kind of case cooling do you have?

If I can get to 900@1050 stable, thats really all I'm shooting for.

I would expect a max temp of about 42* running that speed, and I would be very happy with the 39^. Why do you feel thats a high temp?

I have no experiance with AMD chips... I have only owned 2 Celerons..
a non OC 466 and a 566@952 w/1.55v.

-Bartman

 

[tweak]

I think the FOP 32-1 is better, and they are not the same price. The Volcano II is $12 and the FOP32-1 is $18. Check www>CoolerChips.com

 

[AKDUDE]

The Fan on the FOP 32 really seems to put out more air than the Volcano 2. I had a chance yesterday to play with both of them, and you could tell the fop 32 was stronger.

The reason I am thinking I should have better temps is because I used to idle around 27 or so. Now I idle much higher. I guess its my chip, for some reason the average overclock is really making it hotter. Also before I was running a 100mhz fsb, now its 150. I think that has alot to do with it.

AKDUDE

 

[Nagorak]

Volcano II is so-so. What I would suggest you do is buy the FOP32 along with a Sunon 80mm 3pin fan (so you get RPM monitoring), and do the FOP hack to attach it. That way you'll get nearly the performance of the FOP38, but with less noise than the basic FOP. I *think* the FOP hack will also work on the GlobalWin WBK38, which is newer and will give you better performance overall. However, I have not verified this myself so I cannot tell you for sure.

Either way, the hack is definitely the way to go!

 

[Bartman]

AKDUDE (Mar 12, 2001 08:24 p.m.):
The Fan on the FOP 32 really seems to put out more air than the Volcano 2. I had a chance yesterday to play with both of them, and you could tell the fop 32 was stronger.

The reason I am thinking I should have better temps is because I used to idle around 27 or so. Now I idle much higher. I guess its my chip, for some reason the average overclock is really making it hotter. Also before I was running a 100mhz fsb, now its 150. I think that has alot to do with it.

AKDUDE

My overclock goal is to max out my 256mb Crucial pc133 Cas2 ram. It should hold CAS2 up to 136-138 fsb? I will run it in CAS2 as fast asa it will go, then bring up the multiplier until she wont load. Hopefully this will get me in the 1080 range. However, I will be VERY happy with 8x133 = 1064Mhz.

I assume you are running 1.85V on that T900@1050?

Thanks for the input... The FOP32-1 was my first choice when I first started doing research on the subject... I think I will revisit that opinion. My biggest problem is the lack of consencous in O/C HS tests... one says brand A is better, the other says B is better and the third says they are the same! Very frustrating... But thats the boat everyone is in right now I guess.

-Bartman

 

[Bartman]

Nagorak (Mar 12, 2001 08:35 p.m.):
Volcano II is so-so. What I would suggest you do is buy the FOP32 along with a Sunon 80mm 3pin fan (so you get RPM monitoring), and do the FOP hack to attach it. That way you'll get nearly the performance of the FOP38, but with less noise than the basic FOP. I *think* the FOP hack will also work on the GlobalWin WBK38, which is newer and will give you better performance overall. However, I have not verified this myself so I cannot tell you for sure.

Either way, the hack is definitely the way to go!

I think that may be the best answer...

The Sunon 80mm 30cfm 3-pin fan is $9.95, but the thing I like is it's only 28db! Will 30cfm be enough to provide good cooling?

I am running a Sunon 30 cfm, 28db 4 pin fan in the front of my case now, and I can definatly handle that little bit of noise.

Thanks for the idea... Only thing I need to think of now is this:

That now puts me in the $40 range, which is close to the Alpha Pal3065 with the YS tech fan. 27cfm / 35db for $42.48

So now the question is:

FOP32-1 w/ 30 cfm @ 28db
or
Pal3065 w/ 27 cfm @ 35db

If you can tell me which one will cool better, I'll figure out If I want the extra noise or not... Is it possible to do the 80mm hack on an Alpha? I'm guessing no because of the casing...

-Bartman

 

[Hoot]

Now that's a whole new comparison. As nicely as the FOP-32 performed for me, I like the design philosophy behind the PAL a lot more. Namely, it is set up with the fan sucking air off of the HS as opposed to the FOP blowing air down into the HS and subsequently having that heat carrying air wash out at the bottom of the HS onto your mainboard in the area where the RAM, Vcore regulator Northbridge and PLL Clock generator reside. These are items I do not want heated any more than they already generate. That is my personal opinion.

Hoot

 

[FRANK]

One thing to keep in mind when shooting for specific temps, is the temp probe you are using. From what I understand, most of the resident motherboard probes are very inaccurate, as much as 10C. Whatever you end up with I would keep an eye on the readings more for stability than the lowest temps that you may not be able to achieve any how.

 

[Nagorak]

Bartman (Mar 12, 2001 09:08 p.m.):
I think that may be the best answer...

The Sunon 80mm 30cfm 3-pin fan is $9.95, but the thing I like is it's only 28db! Will 30cfm be enough to provide good cooling?

I am running a Sunon 30 cfm, 28db 4 pin fan in the front of my case now, and I can definatly handle that little bit of noise.

Thanks for the idea... Only thing I need to think of now is this:

That now puts me in the $40 range, which is close to the Alpha Pal3065 with the YS tech fan. 27cfm / 35db for $42.48

So now the question is:

FOP32-1 w/ 30 cfm @ 28db
or
Pal3065 w/ 27 cfm @ 35db

If you can tell me which one will cool better, I'll figure out If I want the extra noise or not... Is it possible to do the 80mm hack on an Alpha? I'm guessing no because of the casing...

-Bartman

Actually, there are four different varieties of Sunon fans. Check here at 2Cooltek.
http://2cooltek.safeshopper.com/6/cat6.htm?691

As you can see there is a Sunon Quiet Fan (the one you are talking about) which is 30 cfm at 28 dbls. Then there is the standard Sunon Fan, 36 CFM at 32 dbls (almost as much as the LOUD DELTA 60 mm!!!). Finally there is the Sunon High Output fan, which will totally blow the Delta away: 42 cfm at 36 dbls.

Also the FOP32 is only $20, so even with the Sunon fan, you're looking at about $28, still far less than the Alpha. And with an 80mm fan it should be both quieter and more effective. Just make sure you lap the bottom first, as the heatsink machining leaves it rather rough.

 

[Torch]

My God ... All these opinons on the Volcano II ... How many of you have actually used the damned thing??? Looks like one guy got to feel how much air it moved. And of course That's ALL you need to have a complete opinion of the product, right?

Advice to people looking for HSF advice: Unless the post indicates that the person has ACTUALLY USED the product in question, you can pretty much disregard it as CHEAP TALK.

The Volcano II is a very good cooler, is pretty quiet, and it's at an amazing price point. I love mine. At $12.50, it's worth checking out. The HS is nice, and will take pretty much any fan you want to put on it if your not happy with the stock fan (which would be kinda odd, cuz there's not a goddamned thing wrong with it).

 

[AKDUDE]

Gee whiz, no need to flame me, I was the one that only "felt" a Volcano 2. The reason I made the comment that I did is that ThermalTake Rated the fan at 36 cfm! The one I played with was in no way in hell putting out that much air. I was excited about the Volcano because of the high CFMs and low DBas they advertised. Come to find out, there was a error in the specs that ThermalTake put out to everyone.

So, to sum it up, I was dissapointed in the Volcano, because it was not what it was advertised to be. Is it a good HSF? Probably so, I think its the best HSF that Thermaltake makes for the Socket A.
AKDUDE