Replaced stock Intel HSF w/ Thermalright XP-120 on an Asus P4P800 - good stuff!!!
I replaced my stock Intel HSF with a Thermalright XP-120 and the results are awesome(CPU temp is 8ºC cooler under full load).
Stock setup was an Intel HSF with AS3 thermal compound and an intake with an 80mm fan.
Throw an 39.6CFM 80mm fan on top of this(currently on side of case) and this was the previous setup.
The duct was purchased at a local hardware store...
It was the perfect fit as it tapered down from the fan diameter to the HSF diameter in the proper distance between the two.
This initially helped me quite a bit but I wanted a better HSF setup so I ordered a Thermalright XP-120 with an 120mm Panaflo medium speed fan(86.5 CFM).
Here are some pics of the stock Intel HSF and the Panaflo/Thermalright HSF combo...
I spent the better part of three hours last night lapping the base of the XP-120 with a kit from easypckit.com. The base was a bit off... took most of the time to get a flat surface, after that about 30 minutes was spent getting a nice shine. I wore out the rougher grits of sandpaper getting the base flat.
Here is a pic of it installed minus the 120mm Panaflo...
I used AS5 on this installation. Prepped each surface using 3M automotive adhesive remover(this stuff is the bomb) and then wiped down with alcohol. Smeared AS5 onto each surface and then wiped with a cloth to fill in any microscopic pits, scratches, etc. Then put about 3/4 a BB onto the heatsink and installed the XP-120. Curious if it made good coverage, I pulled the XP-120 to check and all was good so I wiped the surfaces with a cloth, threw on another 3/4 blob and mounted the XP-120.
The XP-120 came with a tube of Thermalright's thermal compound and the lapping kit from easypckits.com came with a tube of ceramique but everything I've read states that AS5 is the goods so that is what I used.
The Panaflo 120mm seems mammoth if you're just used to using 80mm fans. This one in particular vibrates a little so I put some small foam tape on it before mounting on the heat sink. Kind of annoying so I might look for another fan in the same noise/CFM range.
This does sit a little above the NB heat sink, but there was another 1" or so between the top of the stock NB sink and the XP-120.
Benchmarks show this running a full 8º cooler under full load than my previous setup and this is before I've opened the intake to the same size as the 120mm so I think I can consider my time well spent.
Idle temps are roughly the same - my CPU idle is 27ºC and my case ambient dropped from 30ºC to 28ºC... maybe due to the 45 additional CFM of the CPU fan moving more air around the case?
Pretty happy with these air cooled results. Time to get my MOSFET sinks cut to size and installed and then see how much further I can OC this rig.
This is the 3M Automotive Adhesive Remover I was talking about - great stuff for general adhesive removal...
somegeek
I replaced my stock Intel HSF with a Thermalright XP-120 and the results are awesome(CPU temp is 8ºC cooler under full load).
Stock setup was an Intel HSF with AS3 thermal compound and an intake with an 80mm fan.
Throw an 39.6CFM 80mm fan on top of this(currently on side of case) and this was the previous setup.
The duct was purchased at a local hardware store...
It was the perfect fit as it tapered down from the fan diameter to the HSF diameter in the proper distance between the two.
This initially helped me quite a bit but I wanted a better HSF setup so I ordered a Thermalright XP-120 with an 120mm Panaflo medium speed fan(86.5 CFM).
Here are some pics of the stock Intel HSF and the Panaflo/Thermalright HSF combo...
I spent the better part of three hours last night lapping the base of the XP-120 with a kit from easypckit.com. The base was a bit off... took most of the time to get a flat surface, after that about 30 minutes was spent getting a nice shine. I wore out the rougher grits of sandpaper getting the base flat.
Here is a pic of it installed minus the 120mm Panaflo...
I used AS5 on this installation. Prepped each surface using 3M automotive adhesive remover(this stuff is the bomb) and then wiped down with alcohol. Smeared AS5 onto each surface and then wiped with a cloth to fill in any microscopic pits, scratches, etc. Then put about 3/4 a BB onto the heatsink and installed the XP-120. Curious if it made good coverage, I pulled the XP-120 to check and all was good so I wiped the surfaces with a cloth, threw on another 3/4 blob and mounted the XP-120.
The XP-120 came with a tube of Thermalright's thermal compound and the lapping kit from easypckits.com came with a tube of ceramique but everything I've read states that AS5 is the goods so that is what I used.
The Panaflo 120mm seems mammoth if you're just used to using 80mm fans. This one in particular vibrates a little so I put some small foam tape on it before mounting on the heat sink. Kind of annoying so I might look for another fan in the same noise/CFM range.
This does sit a little above the NB heat sink, but there was another 1" or so between the top of the stock NB sink and the XP-120.
Benchmarks show this running a full 8º cooler under full load than my previous setup and this is before I've opened the intake to the same size as the 120mm so I think I can consider my time well spent.
Idle temps are roughly the same - my CPU idle is 27ºC and my case ambient dropped from 30ºC to 28ºC... maybe due to the 45 additional CFM of the CPU fan moving more air around the case?
Pretty happy with these air cooled results. Time to get my MOSFET sinks cut to size and installed and then see how much further I can OC this rig.
This is the 3M Automotive Adhesive Remover I was talking about - great stuff for general adhesive removal...
somegeek
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