Heatsink for DFI Expert & Opty 165

[firengine16]

I am upgrading my processor and heatsink along with my case. Here is what I have now:
Lanparty UT SLI-DR Expert (BIOS 04/06/2006)
AMD64 3000+ winnie @ 2574 on air
EVGA 7900GT KO 256MB @ 570/1700
OCZ PC4000 (DDR500) Gold GX 2GB (2 x 1GB)
4 X Hitachi 80 gig SATA RAID0 16K stripe
OCZ 600w GameXStream
GIGABYTE GH-PDU21-MF CPU Cooler
Evercool VC-RE

and here is what I am upgrading to:
Lanparty UT SLI-DR Expert (BIOS 04/06/2006)
Opteron 165
EVGA 7900GT KO 256MB @ 570/1700
OCZ PC4000 (DDR500) Gold GX 2GB (2 x 1GB)
4 X Hitachi 80 gig SATA RAID0 16K stripe
OCZ 600w GameXStream
CPU Cooler ???
Evercool VC-RE
Cooler master stacker case

I am unsure what CPU cooler to go with I was looking at the:
Zalman 9500 or Scythe Ninja?
Any Opinions?

[Serra]

Between those two coolers only, the Ninja wins hands down.

Edit: To be more specific, unlike the 9500 the Ninja is arguably one of the top 3 STOCK air coolers you can get for most applications... where as the 9500 is a clearly lower standard of air cooling (we're not talking by a LOT here... but at XtremeSystems every degree counts).

[firengine16]

The only reason why I put those 2 was I have saw them on Expert boards and know they work if anyone has a better cooler since I am going dual core and will be overclocking let me know

[Navig]

Nice looking system.

Of course there's a lot of important thoughts esp case layout. Choices: tower style (better cross flow) vs standard style (better motherboard cooling, but needs case side intakes).

Also, noise tolerance.

My recent roundup of some big heatsinks. (http://forum.abit-usa.com/showthread.php?t=103462)

Remember, all my testing was done on a horizontal bench rig.


My summary: With a low flow fan, the Ninja is an awesome solution.

The TTBT is also awesome, but can be significantly improved with a stronger fan.

Out of the box, the Tuniq Tower is an incredible balance of performance plus has its own rheostat, but good luck finding one.

A lot of folks put the 9500 hi up there, but it will be louder because of its 92mm fan.

Finally, the new Thermalright HR series also seem to be right up there, if not at the top.


navig