ADVICE : Cooler for E6400

[cheguevara]

Hi , i'm very new here .

I have an E6400 (stock cooling ) and i want to upgrade this cooler to gain more performance from the cpu and to make him more silent . When i use the cpu at standard clock ( 2133 Mhz 266 x 8 ) i want to make him dead-silent . When i OC de cpu at 3400 -3500 mhz i don't care about de noise from the cooler (but stay as cold as possible ) and stable obvious . Which of the following coolers should i chose , or you recommend me something else .

1.Noctua NH-U12F : http://www.noctua.at/main.php?show=productview&products_id=6&lng=en
2.Scythe Infinity @ 2 x Noctua 120 mm
3.Alphacool Cool Answer II : http://www.alphacool.de/product_info.php/info/p4694_KOM-Alphacool-Cool-Answer.html

What cooler can you recomand me ?
What is your point of view ?

Thanks a lot,
Che.

*this printscreen is on the stock cooler @ 70 C \ 157 F grades IDLE

[Bail_w]

Thermalright Ultima 90
http://jab-tech.com/Thermalright-Ultima-90-pr-3852.html

with the new mounting tool, this should be compareable to Thermalright Ultra 120 extreme and it is cheaper.

[cheguevara]

Thermalright Ultima 90
http://jab-tech.com/Thermalright-Ultima-90-pr-3852.html

with the new mounting tool, this should be compareable to Thermalright Ultra 120 extreme and it is cheaper.

Ok , i'm searching , but i don't known if i can find it in Romania :(

[CERO]

Get a Thermalright Ultra-120, if u dont care to mod abit get the Extreme, since the mount could abit loose, mine wasnt that loose tho, but it worth it IMO. If it is out of your budget, get a Tuniq Tower, it got a fan already included, and are cheaper priced then Thermalrights, altho here in the Netherlands, dont know if it is the same case as for romania.

[p47]

for air cooling, infinity is the best (for me).. you can add up to 4 fans in this hsf

[dab420]

Of your choices, the Noctua NH-U12F is a fantastic Air cooler, however involved the installation may be.

I would also recommend the SunbeamTech Tuniq Tower 120, if you can find one in your area. Fantastic cooler, and slightly easier to install than the Noctua.

[ineedaname]

one more vote for the ultima 90

try here:
http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/

They might ship to romania, just ask them.

[Savuti]

If you can find ways around the quirky mounting of the TR Ultra 120 Ex, then it along with Enzotech Ultra X, TR Ultra 120 and Tuniq would be some of the good hsf units to consider for your 6400. Especially should you decide to move into quad cores later on, which the TR Ultra X followed by the Enzo and Tuniq will give you some oc headroom.

Depending on your budget it's probably prudent to go for one of the top 3 air coolers now, factoring in performance with quad cores, rather than skimp and go for an average one then later find out that it's not adequate.

[Spawne32]

for air cooling, thermalright ultra 120 extreme is the best (for me).. you can add up to 2 fans in this hsf

fixed for accuracy lol :D

[cheguevara]

I don't find any cooler than the cooler mentioned in first post ( Noctua NH-U12F , Scythe Infinity , Alphacool Cool Answer II and Ultima 90 - no stock anywhere in Romania :( ) . The Alpha Cool Answer II is not ok ? It is not a silent cooler ( i can mount a Noctua 120 mm to make his real silent )?

Regards,
Che.

[cheguevara]

Any ideas ?
Nobody talk about the Alphacool Cool Answer II ! It is ok ? In my opinion it is better then many air coolers .

[ea6gka]

i have an infinity spare and could ship it to you if you like :D

[cheguevara]

i have an infinity spare and could ship it to you if you like :D

No thanks , i can buy it from Romania at a good price . Any ideas about de water cooling kit ?

[ea6gka]

any kit is not worth the money imho , a careful selection of components is always better.

[sir_tiger]

Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 pro.... http://www.driverheaven.net/reviews/Arctic%20Cooling%20Freezer%207%20Pro/

[sir_tiger]

No thanks , i can buy it from Romania at a good price . Any ideas about de water cooling kit ?

There are basically three "levels" of case cooling:
Air Cooling (Fans)
Water Cooling
Peltier/Phase Change Cooling (VERY expensive and high end cooling)
(could cost upwards of $1000 dollars and can keep the CPU at sub-zero temperatures. It's intended for VERY high end overclockers)


The other two, however, are much more affordable and realistic.
Water cooling is more expensive and exotic than air cooling. It is basically the use of pumps and radiators to cool your system more effectively than air cooling. For more info ....

Well, there are a lot of questions about case and cooling and there are a lot of good threads out there that answer these questions. I'm going to put them together so you guys don't need to search for them. Also going to write some guides, hope it will help you all. :)


Note: If you have good guides, please post on here. If you have questions please post threads in the forum or PM me. Let's try to keep this thread as technical as possible. Thank you. :)

Table of Contents

Heatsinks & Thermalpaste

Best Choices for Heatsink (http://www.amdforums.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=1146755#post1146755)

AX7 compatibility (http://www.amdforums.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=1146758#post1146758)

Thermalright SLK 900U & SLK 800U compatibility

Thermalright HS Roundup (http://www.amdforums.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=1190360#post1190360)

Swiftech MCX462+ Reivew (http://www.amdforums.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=1183639#post1183639)

65 Socket A Coolers Benchmarking

CPU coolers compared (http://www.amdforums.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=1258883#post1258883) (Old).

Thermal Compound Test (http://www.amdforums.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=1326304#post1326304)

Volcano 9 review by AMDMB.com forum user (http://www.amdforums.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=1455283#post1455283)

Heatsink and Thermal paste installation

How to install a Socket A-based Heatsink (http://www.amdforums.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=1309309#post1309309)

video guide for applying thermal compound (http://www.amdforums.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=1559235#post1559235)

Artic Silver Applying Method (http://www.amdforums.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=1173127#post1173127)

Alternate method of removing thermal paste (http://www.amdforums.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=1328476#post1328476)

AX7 Installation Guide (http://www.amdforums.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=1158553#post1158553)

Installation guide for Thermaltake AX-7, SK-5/SK-6/SK-6AB (http://www.amdforums.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=1261524#post1261524)

Mjollnir's Heatsink Lapping Guide (http://forums.pcper.com/showthread.php?t=317732)

Heatsink Lapping Guide

More Heatsink Lapping Guides

Fans related

80mm fan roundup review

80mm Fan choices (http://www.amdforums.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=1146796#post1146796)

Le'ts hear those case fans! (http://www.amdforums.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=1246814#post1246814)

Taking care of cheap molex connectors (http://www.amdforums.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=1431465#post1431465)

12 to 7 fan mod guides (http://www.amdforums.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=1389116#post1389116)

12 to 7 or 5 volt fan converter (http://www.amdforums.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=1241606#post1241606)

DIY Fan Regulators (http://www.amdforums.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=1373332#post1373332)

Fan Placement Study (http://forums.amdmb.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=2452061#post2452061)