Quieter - not necessarily cooler :cool:

sassora · 12 Sep 2010 at 14:54

Hi,

I am looking to get a new heatsink/fan for my CPU. I currently have a OCZ Vendetta on an Intel LGA775 socket. I am most interested in finding a quieter setup rather than a cooler one.

I have searched and come up with the SilenX iXtrema Effizio EFZ-120HA4. Although it seems to do a very good job of being quiet it runs about about 3 degrees hotter than some of the more effective heatsink/fan combinations.

Does this seem like a good choice and if so where can I get it? I live in the UK and don't see anywhere that stocks it. Do you have any other suggestions?

Thanks

R

cmndr_andi · 12 Sep 2010 at 15:09

Hi there,

May I ask what CPU you are running and what your budget is?

If you have a high budget (~£53) you could go for something amazing like the Thermalright HR-02 (here is a review) - that will passively cool even i7 chips, so a s775 one should be A-OK.

If your budget is more modest, then the Akasa Nero S is a great bit of kit with rather quiet 120mm fan.

sassora · 12 Sep 2010 at 15:26

I have an Intel Core 2 Quad Q940 Quad Core Processor (2.66GHz, 12MB Cache, 1333MHz)

Would the Akasa do just as well for this?

iBSOD · 12 Sep 2010 at 15:35

For £13 you could get a dead silent Arctic Colooling Freezer 64 Pro. Or if you want a better one, the Arctic Cooling Freezer XTREME.

Orcvader · 12 Sep 2010 at 17:01

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-005-PL&groupid=701&catid=57&subcat=1395
Makes no noise at all... Just make sure you have a few case fans for some airflow.

sassora · 12 Sep 2010 at 17:28

Thanks for your suggestions. The Prolimatech Megahalems Rev B CPU Cooler seems to be efficient as cooling but also pretty much silent. The price makes this good value too.

Cheers,

R

cmndr_andi · 12 Sep 2010 at 19:06

The Akasa has a fan and is smaller heatsink - so it will not be silent (unlike the Thermalright HR-02), but the fan is a good one (akasa apache) so it will be relatively quiet. How quiet it is for you depends on how noisy your other components are like the graphics card fan, PSU fan and HDD, as well as the ambient noise in your area.

The prolimatech is a great cooler - but it is designed to be run with at least one 120mm fan (which doesn't come with it, and must be bought separately). The tests you will have seen for it will almost always include a fan. I hear that it can cool a quad-core CPU passively rather well - but the evidence for this is pretty thin on the ground.