Hot XP 2100+

[InfiniteThought]

This is my system:

AMD Athlon XP 2100+
ASUS A7V333
512MB DDR2700
Leadtek A250 GeForce4Ti4400

I use a Zalman CNPS6000-Cu Pure Copper CPU Cooler with the fan mounted perpendicular to the head sink fins, so air blows directly across the fins.



The CPU runs at between 55-60 degrees on normal load and well over 60 under heavy load.

The MB temp is fairly cool at 33 degrees.

The Voltage of the CPU core fluctuates between 1.8 and 1.85 volts. The +12v fluctuates between 13v and 14v.

I've tried using the heat sink paste that Zalman gives and I've tried using a Zinc Oxide compound, I've tried putting on a thin coat of paste and a thick coat and everything in-between, temp stays constant.

I've also used a large copper heat sink with a fan that sounds like a hover craft stays the same temperature. I've tried modding my case, leaving the case open, temp stays the same. To date I've fried one Athlon XP trying to mod my cooling system. Everything I do, the temp stays the same. I've spend hours thinking ways to cool the processor and many more hours trying different heat sinks and paste compounds. Nothing changes.

I'm pulling out my hair seeing that guys are getting their Athlon XP's significantly cooler than mine.

I'm willing to try anything, that's not too expensive or drastic, no hoover craft fans and no water cooling. I don't want the noise and I don't want to spend a lot of money.

Any help is appreciated.

[amd_man2005]

Get the Thermaltake Volcano 7+ or my fav. Kingwin KCU-7025 Theyre both all copper with a fan that mounts directly on top.

[Darthtanion]

Though I don't push everyone to the Volcano 7+ HSF, I will say in as blunt a fashion as possible one thing...

Zalman CPU coolers SUCK!

I have had the opportunity to test several of their cooling solutions for the processor and they have all offered sub-par performance. And while the voltage that you have set is higher than default by a goodly margin, it is not out of line for the procesor that you're using. And it goes without saying that the higher the voltage, the more heat that will be produced (and have to be dissipated).

A few coolers to look at for quality cooling are the Volcano 7+, Cooler Master X-Dream, X-Dream SE and Volcano 11 (review coming very soon). All of these coolers have fans that can be on the loud side, but all also have adjustable fan speed settings so that you can customize the amount of cooling required and the amount of noise produced. Also, all of them (with the possible exception of the V11) are very reasonably priced.

[Wiggo]

There should be a law against sellin' heatsinks like that.

[FLaCo]

Ya, anything but those.... I'll perfer Retail HSF than that...:hammer:

[InfiniteThought]

Update:




I tried using the heat sink that came with the Cooler Master Job I first bought, pictured above. The fan that Cooler Master gave me sounds like a hover craft, so I used the Zalman fan, mounted as close to the heat sink as I could. Seems to be a better setup, the temp is hanging out around 49 with the case open and 55 with the case closed. The Zalman fan isn't as good as the Cooler Master because it doesn't mount right on the heat sink and blow tons of air through the fins, but it's signifigantly quieter, 8-12dB.

I’ll see how the Cooler Master fan does. I need to fix my Cooler Master fan (I modified it to slow it down, didn't give it enough voltage to get the fan going though) see if it does any better, I don't remember it doing any better than around 50 C, that was in the summer, maybe it will do better, we'll see.

I’m thinking about adding a blow hole out the top, what’s the best way to do this. What’s the best fan? What do you guys recommend.

Does anyone think I'd be a good candidate for that Artic Silver 3 compound? I wanted to get some opinions before I bought some.

Thanks.

[theyneverknew]

I'd say everyone is a good candidate for AS3 :hammer: If youre gonna spend the money on a good heatsink, you might as well spend the $6 to get the best performance you can out of ur hsf. Just my :2cents:

[Wiggo]

A Volcano 7+ I've found to be the best as only low to medium speed is needed and won't sound like a hovercraft till ya switch it to full speed but that speed isn't required. On this XP2600+ @2.26GHz with a room temp of 23C my case temp is 28C while my CPU (which because I run SETI 24/7 is always runnin' at 100% load) is 41C on medium speed (I really need to find time and fit my case fans in).

[InfiniteThought]

My power supply is really hot, I wonder if it's a big contribution.

Okay:

How much better is the Volcano 7+, which is so highly praised by everyone on this board, compared to the Cooler Master I already have.

[Wiggo]

This is about the biggest and best HSF comparison around, http://www.dansdata.com/coolercomp.htm, and most of the ones that do better than the 7+ here cost around double the price and sound like jet engines.