HR-03 Plus: 92mm Tornado or 120mm Silverstone

[Retro]

Any opinions on which fan to use?
I'm setting up an HR-03 Plus on an Evga 8800 GTS 640mb. I have a 92mm Vantec Tornado kicking around but I also bought a 120mm Silverstone FM122.
The Tornado puts out a claimed 119cfm@about 52dba:eek: the Silverstone 107cfm@42dba. Either fan can be run at lower rpm to lessen the noise of course, but I am wondering if a 120mm fan is effective on the HR-03 Plus due to its bigger dead zone and substantial overhang from the coolers sides.

[LuckyNV]

it doesn't take much airflow for the HR-03 to perform well, and the Tornado undervolts awfully with huge motor noise.

something like a YL 5V is more than enough, no joke.

[Jodiuh]

I'm spinning a fairly quiet SFLEX 120 @ 1200RPM (claimed 50CFM/25DB) and it'll load around 60C while gaming in ambient of 26C.

EDIT: That's a GTX OCed a little bit too. I wouldn't stick either of those up there, hehe.

[Retro]

The HR-03+ has been shown to provide good temperature reductions with quiet fans. But the results are even more dramatic with a high cfm fan. This is from a review of the HR-03+ comparing various fans and the Tornado blows them away:rolleyes:
However, the noise would be an issue so any more suggestions/comments on your results with a 120mm fan would be helpful:cool:

[Vapor]

Which Coolink fan? I know NZXT fans are low RPM....but which Coolink was that?

[Retro]

Which Coolink fan? I know NZXT fans are low RPM....but which Coolink was that?
Not sure which one, here is the link to the review:www.ocia.net/reviews/thermalrighthr03plus

[enz660]

The HR-03+ has been shown to provide good temperature reductions with quiet fans. But the results are even more dramatic with a high cfm fan. This is from a review of the HR-03+ comparing various fans and the Tornado blows them away:rolleyes:
However, the noise would be an issue so any more suggestions/comments on your results with a 120mm fan would be helpful:cool:

yes, but does that higher cfm fan equal in an overclock increase as opposed to the low cfm fan?

[Retro]

yes, but does that higher cfm fan equal in an overclock increase as opposed to the low cfm fan?
Good question.
The review does not compare overclock results between the different fans used, only their results with an 8800GTX and the TRHR-03+/Tornado combo.

[Vapor]

35.5CFM 92mm fan...comes pretty close to a 114CFM fan....hmmm ;)

[Retro]

Still looking for opinions on the merits of using a 120mm fan. I am steering away from the 92mm Tornado as it was very loud on a heatsink I had it mounted on a couple years ago. I plan on mounting the HR-03+ under the ram so perhaps the "overhang" of a 120mm fan will help to cool the ramsinks as well:cool:

[Vapor]

Definitely go for the 120mm.

[Retro]

Definitely go for the 120mm.
Thanks for the fast reply Vapor:)
Been enjoying reading your posts. I am going to try the Silverstone 107cfm I bought.
Just have to finish lapping my Thermalright coral: Ultra 120EX, HR-03+,HR-05,HR-05SLI; and the E6850. Then get this baby put together. I'm letting my hand heal today from the cuts I got from the damn fins on the HR-03+:rolleyes:
I intend to post my results once it's finished:cool:

[Jodiuh]

That larger high CFM fan will have the advantage of hitting quite a bit of the board's other components provided you mount on top. Good choice!

[[cTx] Nooc]

well I just installed a hr-03 plus on my 8800 gts as well, thought i might share with you

I'm idling at 45C and load no more than 60C using a zalman 92mm fan at 1700rpms from Petra's. it's kinda loud for my tastes, but I don't have a case, soo....

[Retro]

That larger high CFM fan will have the advantage of hitting quite a bit of the board's other components provided you mount on top. Good choice!
Thanks, more airflow should help:cool:

well I just installed a hr-03 plus on my 8800 gts as well, thought i might share with you

I'm idling at 45C and load no more than 60C using a zalman 92mm fan at 1700rpms from Petra's. it's kinda loud for my tastes, but I don't have a case, soo....
No case? Plan on getting one or just running it open-air?
Good temps on your 8800GTS. With the stock cooler and fan speed set to 100% I am at 50C idle and load goes up into the low 80's.

[Jodiuh]

...kinda loud for my tastes, but I don't have a case, soo....
Why not throttle the fan down to 1200RPM? Nothing wrong w/ 65C. :D

[Retro]

Update:
I removed the stock heatsink from my 8800GTS and installed my TR HR-03+. I decided to lap it first before I put it on the card. I was able to increase my oc from 648/1512/1026 to 675/1728/1026. At about he same ambient room temp. of 20C, my idle dropped from 50C to 40C. The load temps are the most beneficial, down from the high 70's to low fifties . I really cleaned the ram chips well with iso alcohol and then lightly buffed them with 1500 grit, cleaning them again with alcohol. I bought some Thermaltake copper ramsinks (would have liked Enzotech but hard to get here) and used the stock thermal tape. They are stuck on there solid, no problems. Slapped myself for even considering the Tornado fan, and put on a 120mm FM 121 (not the 122). Mounts great using the stock heatsink clips:cool:

[amitz]

Update:
I lapped the HR-03+ base and installed it on my 8800GTS. I was able to increase my oc from 648/1512/1026 to 675/1728/1026. At about he same ambient room temp. of 20C, my idle dropped from 50C to 40C. The load temps are the most beneficial, down from the low 80's to low fifties

The higher temps you wrote were with the stock cooling or with the HR-03 unlapped? :eek:

[Retro]

The higher temps you wrote were with the stock cooling or with the HR-03 unlapped? :eek:
I should have made that more clear-will try to edit that:p:
The original higher temps I recorded were with the stock Nvidia heatsink. I did have the fan set for 100% with RivaTuner, and the card was overclocked to 648/1512/1026. The stock factory applied thermal paste was way overdone and sloppy as well. I decided to lap the HR-03+ before I installed it to make sure it was flat and making good contact. I did not try it unlapped, but I think it would have performed just as well.
The cooling performance of the HR-03+ is a vast improvement over the stock cooler, 10C off my idle temps and at least 25C off load temps:cool:

[amitz]

Impressive!

Now I think buying this monster is kinda must-do.:clap:

[bcmac46]

EVGA 8800 GTS currently running with Nexus 92mm. Virtually silent. Idle temp at 45C (stock settings - no OC yet). Temp barely changes playing COD2. Haven't really load tested this setup beyond that. Case (P180) is open at the moment.

Getting ready to install Ultra-120 Extreme with Noctua 120 mm though current CPU (e6750 no OC) temp is 22C with Arctic Freezer Pro 7.

[IKIKUINTHENUTZ]

Getting ready to install Ultra-120 Extreme with Noctua 120 mm though current CPU (e6750 no OC) temp is 22C with Arctic Freezer Pro 7.

Out of topic but

I wouldnt use that grossly inefficiant pressure fan on any heatsink no matter tower or not, ok for cases but not for heatsinks.

[Jodiuh]

Iwtf's right...

An effective choice for a case fan, but the questions raised about its pressure make us hesitate to recommend it for use on a heatsink. (http://www.silentpcreview.com/article63-page2.html)
-SPCR on the Noctua NF-S12-1200

Perhaps one of the SFLEX instead? I have 7 E's and they've all been great.

[Darkatom]

How much artctic silver 5 should be applied to the card ? Are you still suppose to put a line down the middle?