Cooler advice

[Coffee29]

I need some heat sink recommendations for my rig, which is presently running on the stock intel hsf. I would like to keep the price around 30-40$ and I want one that fits my antec 900 with side fan installed. Noise is not an issue...I want the best cooling possible in this price range.

My rig:
Gigabyte DS3
E4300 @ 2.4Ghz
8800gts
zalman passive blue flower north bridge cooler
antec 900 case

I have considered the scythe ninja (36$ at jabtech) and the arctic freezer 7 pro (35$ at newegg). Will the scythe ninja fit and is it better than the arctic pro? Or is there a better cooler that I am not considering? Thanks for the help in advance...

[Spanki]

In that price range, there are a few worth mentioning...

Arctic Cooling Freezer Pro - can be found for ~$20
Cooler Master Hyper Tx - can be found for ~$25
Scythe Mine - can be found for ~$29
Scythe Ninja - can be found for ~$35 (I think you found about the best price on these)
Thermaltake Big Typhoon - can be found for ~$38 (? the VX version has faster fan + controller and costs about ~$45)

...note that the above prices are estimates and do not include shipping (or taxes, if applicable). Also note that the highest price is not necessarily the best cooler. For example, the Scythe Mine may well cool better than the Ninja if you replace the stock fan with a higher speed one, but then again, it may be easier to mount a second fan on the Ninja (the Ninja has widely spaced fins, designed to get the most out of low-speed/quiet fans but doesn't take full advantage of higher speed fans relative to more tightly packed fin coolers).

If you look at this thread (http://forumz.tomshardware.com/hardware/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=239044&highlight=), I made lists of the best prices (with links) I could find on most of the above a week or so ago.

I'm afraid that I can't specifically comment on whether any of those would fit your mb, case and various other clearance issues.

[Coffee29]

Thank you for your response! I am really considering the scythe mine now, I like its looks, price, and it seems to have gotten good reviews. Also I like that it is not as heavy (compared to more expensive coolers like the TT120 and TU120.

What after market fan would you recommend for the scythe mine?

[Spanki]

Personally, I'd probably stick with the default 100mm 1500rpm fan, but if you want to juice up the speed for more cooling (at the expense of silence), I'd probably go with one of the medium speed (~2000rpm) fans from this review (http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=137832) and put it on a fan controller.

Something like the Sharkoon 2000 and/or that Papst 4412 look like nice performers on a heatsink (see the final chart - "All Stars, Cooling a Processor, adjusted db"). The Panaflo U1A could drop temps further, but it's a fair amount louder and doesn't cool as well at the lower speeds than those other two. Also note that, depending on the amount of heat your cpu is generating and the heatsink in use, there is always 'some' point of dimenishing returns, where (for example) a fan spinning at 3000rpm may not cool any better than one spinning at 2500 or even 2000. At some point, the heat just isn't reaching the fins fast enough. Of course the only way to find that spot is by testing each cooler at each cpu heat generation level.

Here's another thread (http://forumz.tomshardware.com/hardware/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=239445&highlight=) you might be interested in if you're thinking about going with the Mine (some more thoughts about it, some more links, etc.).

[Chewbenator]

If noise is not an issue get the fastest 120mm you can find :P The bracket that holds the fan on this cooler makes it easy to replace the fan. Then if you decide later that silence is more important the stock fan that comes with it is absolutely silent, had to stick my finger in there to see if it was moving at all!

[Coffee29]

thanks both of you for being so helpful! Spanki those links are a great help. The only problem I have run into is that some guy (or girl) on Newegg wrote in a Scythe mine review that it does not fit the DS3. My board is the DS3 and I am assuming this person does not know what they are talking about, however the review did concern me. Does anyone know, does the scythe mine fit the Gigabyte DS3 rev 1.3?

Also, the tuniq tower is just barely out of the price range that I wanted to hit and if it really made the difference I could get it, however the weight really scares me. I read that some users have killed their MB's with that kind of weight. With price vs performance as a consideration and assuming the scythe mine does fit my board would I be better off going with the tuniq or the scythe. My present OC is 2.4, however I would like headroom for a 2.8 or 3.0 OC later. Thanks again.

Oh one more question that may sound silly, I have a 4 pin fan connector on my MB. Many of these HSF's are 3 pin. I understand that I will not be able to use EIST and such with the 3 pin but will a 3 pin hook up to my 4 pin connector or do I hook it to some other connector on my DS3?

[Chewbenator]

Actually I forgot to mention the BTF90, I have both the MINE and BTF90 and the latter outperforms the MINE. Right now you can get the BTF90 for $33 with mail in rebate at newegg, probably the reason I didn't mention it was I don't like dealing with rebates. If I remember correctly the BTF90 had roughly a 5 degree advantage. With a 3.2Ghz e6400 the MINE ran at about 50C full TAT load, while the BTF ran at around 44C TAT full load. These are unlapped stock heatsinks, the BTF90 definitely had the better finish and it was copper through and through.

I have the DS3 Rev1 and the MINE definitely fits, it is just a bit hard to get the Intel plastic pins to stick down. Advantage the BTF90 has is the bolt through mounting. Disadvantage is I don't know the performance with a higher powered fan on the MINE and the BTF's fan is irreplaceable except with some intensive modding.

More edit: The 3pin connector that the MINE uses can go on the 4pin connector on the DS3, it disables EIST, but overclocking you would probably want that disabled anyway.

edit: I can post some pictures of both if you would like.

[Spanki]

Yeah, I started to mention the BTF90 but... same deal on reabates and.. well... it's a butterfly :). Aesthetics aside, it has gotten good reviews.

[Chewbenator]

Hey I like the butterfly, and its more of a moth anyway!

[Coffee29]

hmm well I guess at this point I'm torn between the scythe mine and the Tuniq Tower. As far as the BTF90, I wish the fan was interchangeable and I hate rebates.

The Scythe Mine seems like a solid option, but I would consider the Tuniq Tower . Is the weight of the Tuniq really an issue for my DS3? and is it really that much better than the Scythe mine?

EDIT- After reading that Hexus review the Scythe Mine sounds like the best choice...

[Coffee29]

Ack on the egg there are two different mines---

SCMN-1100
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185037

SCMN-1000
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185023

Which is better?

[Chewbenator]

I suppose the 1100 is a newer revision, but from the screen shots cannot tell any noticeable difference. Well, one seems to be newer and the other has free shipping, but is out of stock.

Only very slight differences I found were the 1100 doesn't come with 3/4 pin power connector, but has some sort of black thing around the screws that hold the fan in place.

Really doesn't look like it will matter unless you want free shipping, but then again newegg probably gave it that because a new revision came out, so they might not get them in stock again.

[Coffee29]

thanks again for the info...I think i am going to order the scythe mine in the morning. I'll let you know how it goes.

EDIT- The Scythe Mine is in the mail. Ill take some photos of my setup and the cooler after install and Ill probably do some benchmarks with the intel stock and the scythe to compare. Afterwards Ill post this info on this thread.

[Spanki]

Cool... looking forward to seeing your results.

[Coffee29]

I have my scythe mine installed!!! I'll get the pics to you prob tomorrow. I have done a little testing and I am seeing an 8 degree Celsius drop under load with the stock scythe fan. I am now wanting to buy an aftermarket fan and need some advice...
I need a fan that offers the best performance/price. Noise is no concern at all. I want a fan that will bring my scythe mine to its full potential, but cost is an issue. If you guys have the time please suggest some fans that are the best price for performance and reliability.

BTW I am at 41-42 DTS at a 2.7Ghz OC under orthos cpu stress load.

[Spanki]

I know you say that noise is not an issue (and for all I know, you may be deaf, so it may really not be an issue), but is it really worth 2-3 times as much noise for 2-3C reducition in temps? I'm not trying to talk you out of trying some faster fans, but it's something to think about. At some point (depending on the input cpu temperature, ambient air temperature and efficiency of that heatsink), more air-flow will stop giving better results.

Having said that, I don't know if that point is 2-3C better temps from where you are now, or 5-7C better, but the noise level is definately going to go up by a larger factor than that, either way.

So, with the above in mind, and again based on this review (http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=137832), I'd say that the sweet spot would be a ~2000rpm fan on a fan controller. The ~2400rpm and higher fans don't really perform as well at the mid-lower speeds, so you might end up stuck with more cfm/noise than you need or can use effectively.

Another idea that would be interesting to try (assuming you have enough room to do it) would be to zip-tie two lower speed fans (like Scythe S-Flex E or F) to the front/back of the heatsink for a 3-fan setup :). Ideally these new ones would rotate the oposite direction that the 100mm fan does... of course doing this would add another 200g+ weight to the thing.

[Spanki]

Here's a couple more fan review links...

120mm Fan Roundup: 17 Fans Compared (http://www.madshrimps.be/?action=getarticle&articID=421) - includes recordings you can listen to and usage on a heatsink at various voltages.

120mm Fan Roundup (http://www.madshrimps.be/?action=getarticle&articID=391) - there may be a few in here not included in the previous link, above.

Four 120mm Fans Compared (http://www.madshrimps.be/?action=getarticle&articID=516) - this one covers the Sharkoon Silent Eagle 2000 I mentioned earlier (it's expensive and hard to find (http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=49&products_id=20832) on this side of the pond, but nice noise/performance ratio)

[Spanki]

..another option would be to go with the higher speed Scythe Kaze-Jyu 100mm fan (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185026) (it's a 2000rpm version of the fan that's on your sink now).

BTW, just be careful that you're looking at 25mm thick fans (and not 32mm or 38mm) if you are looking for something to go in that bracket.

Also, it's worth mentioning that... you started out wanting a $30-$40 range HSF... and you ended up with one in that range, with maybe a few bucks left over to try a faster fan... but if you end up spending ~$20 to get some new fan shipped to you, you might have been better off just getting a Tuniq Tower 120 to start with :) (unless you consider spreading the cost out over time to have some value, or the weight difference between the two heatsinks, etc).

[Coffee29]

The weight of the Tuniq and the thermalright did concern me. Also with either of those towers I would have had to remove the side panel fan in my Antec 900. I may just stick with the stock fan for now anyway though because my DTS readings are 6 degrees better now even at a 2.7Ghz OC compared to my previous 2.4Ghz OC.

I should get some pics in today.

Is there a way to check and/or change fan speed RPM? Is it in the bios of my DS3 or do I have to use a program like speedfan? If it is in the bios, do you know what it is under?

[Spanki]

I'm not familiar with that mb/BIOS, but you may be able to set up some form of control there (likely not one specific speed, but something based on temperature that would auto change the fan up and down as needed).

I personally prefer to use something like SpeedFan and just set the fan to a specific speed (although it allows that kind of auto adjustment as well).

[Coffee29]

Its been awhile and I wanted to thank spanki and chewbenator for all of the advice you gave. I ended up sticking with the default fan and I have had my system at 3.0 Ghz for awhile now. I run a 37DTS under Orthos load with this set up and I think my e4300 still wants to go higher. However, 3.0 ghz is enough of a 24/7 OC for me at this point. I may purchase a mid range fan sometime, but not likely for awhile. Also, I take this computer to work 2 nights a week and the weight of the scyth mne (and the way it is distributed) doesn't seem to pull on my motherboard hardly at all.

Thanks again, I love this hsf.