Cooling - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

JeremyS · 03-19-2005, 09:42 AM

I'm done adding things onto my computer right now, so I'm thinking about buying cooling products ( CPU cooler, and VGA cooler )

So far I'm looking at http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...186-114&depa=0

and http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...186-126&depa=0 maybe??

Any suggestions? and how hard would be installing these things? I completely built my computer myself, but I've never installed a VGA cooler.

grumpyolddude · 03-19-2005, 12:50 PM

I recently changed my CPU cooler to this one: http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...106-037&depa=0

Reasonable price, REALLY cool and extremely quiet (compared to the AMD OE unit I replaced). In my mid-tower case, I had to unbolt the power supply and slide it out of the way while I installed the heatsink. This only took a minute and made the whole job quite easy. (Bought mine at Micro Center, but price was comparable)

arch13 · 03-19-2005, 03:09 PM

Jeremy, I recently gave some heartfelt advice in another cooling thread that may be of great help to you.
Have you ever wanted to use watercooling to get rid of the fan noise entirely? Then read on!

Quote:

Alternativley, you may want to attempt the ever popular "water-cooling" method of controlling CPU temperature. This is far easier than the geeks at best buy will tell you. After all, they want your computer to break.
Fill your bathtub with water, It will need to reach the top of the tub. Make sure it's luke warm.
Run an extension cord from your room to the bathroom, and plug a 6 plug strip into the extension cord. Don't use those funny bathroom electrical plugs. Those weird switches in the middle impeed the flow of power and will prevent you from letting your system run well.
Plug your computer compnents into the extension cord and set up the monitor and keyboard at the edge of the tub.
Open the sides of your computer to make sure it can be cooled at a quicker pace.
Now strip and get in the tub. We use lukewarm water to prevent any joystick problems from occuring.
Once your computer has started up, reach over the edge of the tub and firmly grasp it with both hands.
Open your legs and firmly place the computer between them.
Welcome to the world of water-cooling!

JeremyS · 03-19-2005, 10:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by arch13

Jeremy, I recently gave some heartfelt advice in another cooling thread that may be of great help to you.
Have you ever wanted to use watercooling to get rid of the fan noise entirely? Then read on!

I tried this and it didnt work!!! I can pick up radio stations in my head now though.

jonjon42 · 03-20-2005, 06:12 PM

koolance offers rather nice water cooling solutions, they have one tack on thing called the exos (I think). I've used some of their products in building a couple of boxes, and they do rather nicely. (none of them are currently my box however, but I haven't recieved a complaint yet.) They have cpu, gpu, northbridge, and hard drive coolers.
they are also, easy to install, which is always nice. The major con is the price tag. ($$$$$)

also, don't worry too much about the contact paste stuff. I can tell you that I never seen any difference between some of the cheaper stuff, and the "quality" artic sliver stuff.

NeoRete · 03-20-2005, 10:24 PM

The VGA cooler looks nice - I placed a CoolerMaster on my ATI 9800 Pro and reduced the whine from the stock fan and dropped about 5C in my case (it really did a nice job of exhausting heat out the back from the GPU). Swapping for the VGA cooler is a little bit tricky, but probably no more than placing a new heatsink on a CPU. Any advise I can offer is to use 100% pure acetone to clean the video card processor after removing the stock fan - from what I've seen, ATI uses a thermal resin which is fairly hard to remove otherwise.

skaven · 03-22-2005, 12:02 AM

I installed an Innovatek watercooling setup in my rig a year or so ago and I haven't looked back. Watercooling is definitely the way to go if you're really serious about getting your system quiet.

crafty · 03-22-2005, 11:13 AM

Or if you want to overclock...

Honestly water cooling is overkill for a regular PC user. There are many other ways to keep your computer cool and quiet.

Here are my silent cooling recommendations:

1) The NV Silencer will keep your graphics card quiet.
2) Zalman HSF for your processor. ($40-$50 on Newegg)
3) Get a Power Supply which is efficient / fanless. Never buy cheapo PSU's though, this is the one component that can ruin everything else. Here's a good Zalman, but if you plan on upgrading your PC soon an ATXv2.0 PSU is recommended.
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...103-213&depa=0
4) as far as case cooling goes, you want to bring air in through the front bottom of your case and blow it out the back right below your power supply. 80-90mm ball bearing fans (the cheapest ones) are going to be loud. 120mm fans are much quieter. You could buy 2 decent 120mm fans (front&back) and as long as you aren't running a hot processor (Prescott) you should be fine.

If you aren't worried about silent, then just make sure the ambient temp in your case isn't more than a couple of degrees above room temperature (w/ fans blowing in the front and out the back). Unless you are overclocking you should *not* need to change the cooling on your vid card / processor. If you have a proper fan setup make sure you keep your cables (IDE, floppy, power, etc) tucked nice and neat so the air can flow through your case easily.

Here are some nice case fans if you need some: http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=849207
Keep in mind that these fans are not quiet, but they are cheap. I bought 15 of them (they drop to $0.99 per fan w/ free shipping) and put an extra fan in each of 5 cases.

e-mail me brent at woodle dot org if you have any other questions...

P-Naughty · 03-22-2005, 10:28 PM

I have jumped over to water cooling. I got tired of my PC sounding like a jet engine at take off when I booted it up. Personally, I like it a lot more. I use the Zalman Resarator and love it. Easy to set up, easy to maintain, and easy to use.

The only problem I have right now is that an air bubble formed in the pump when I took it home with me over the Christmas break. It makes this rattling noise. I have instruction on how to fix it, but it involves unscrewing the bottom of it. Me and my ex-defensive lineman roommate couldn't get the thing off while trying to remove it at the same time. I could find something long and narrow that would reach the bottom, push down on both the valves while moving the reservoir around, and hope they would come out. However, I can't see down in it and work at the same time...

JeremyS · 03-23-2005, 01:04 AM

I'm too scared to do watercooling. Can't afford to buy anything if I mess something up.

03-19-2005, 09:42 AM	#1 (permalink)
JeremyS Crazy	Cooling I'm done adding things onto my computer right now, so I'm thinking about buying cooling products ( CPU cooler, and VGA cooler ) So far I'm looking at http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...186-114&depa=0 and http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...186-126&depa=0 maybe?? Any suggestions? and how hard would be installing these things? I completely built my computer myself, but I've never installed a VGA cooler. Last edited by JeremyS; 03-19-2005 at 09:45 AM..

03-20-2005, 06:12 PM	#5 (permalink)
jonjon42 Psycho Location: inside my own mind	koolance offers rather nice water cooling solutions, they have one tack on thing called the exos (I think). I've used some of their products in building a couple of boxes, and they do rather nicely. (none of them are currently my box however, but I haven't recieved a complaint yet.) They have cpu, gpu, northbridge, and hard drive coolers. they are also, easy to install, which is always nice. The major con is the price tag. ($$$$$) also, don't worry too much about the contact paste stuff. I can tell you that I never seen any difference between some of the cheaper stuff, and the "quality" artic sliver stuff. __________________ A damn dirty hippie without the dirty part.... Last edited by jonjon42; 03-20-2005 at 06:15 PM..

03-20-2005, 10:24 PM	#6 (permalink)
NeoRete Crazy Location: Cape Cod	The VGA cooler looks nice - I placed a CoolerMaster on my ATI 9800 Pro and reduced the whine from the stock fan and dropped about 5C in my case (it really did a nice job of exhausting heat out the back from the GPU). Swapping for the VGA cooler is a little bit tricky, but probably no more than placing a new heatsink on a CPU. Any advise I can offer is to use 100% pure acetone to clean the video card processor after removing the stock fan - from what I've seen, ATI uses a thermal resin which is fairly hard to remove otherwise. __________________ Charlie was a chemist but Charlie is nomore, what Charlie thought was H2O was H2SO4

03-22-2005, 11:13 AM	#8 (permalink)
crafty Tilted Location: Omaha, NE	Or if you want to overclock... Honestly water cooling is overkill for a regular PC user. There are many other ways to keep your computer cool and quiet. Here are my silent cooling recommendations: 1) The NV Silencer will keep your graphics card quiet. 2) Zalman HSF for your processor. ($40-$50 on Newegg) 3) Get a Power Supply which is efficient / fanless. Never buy cheapo PSU's though, this is the one component that can ruin everything else. Here's a good Zalman, but if you plan on upgrading your PC soon an ATXv2.0 PSU is recommended. http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...103-213&depa=0 4) as far as case cooling goes, you want to bring air in through the front bottom of your case and blow it out the back right below your power supply. 80-90mm ball bearing fans (the cheapest ones) are going to be loud. 120mm fans are much quieter. You could buy 2 decent 120mm fans (front&back) and as long as you aren't running a hot processor (Prescott) you should be fine. If you aren't worried about silent, then just make sure the ambient temp in your case isn't more than a couple of degrees above room temperature (w/ fans blowing in the front and out the back). Unless you are overclocking you should not need to change the cooling on your vid card / processor. If you have a proper fan setup make sure you keep your cables (IDE, floppy, power, etc) tucked nice and neat so the air can flow through your case easily. Here are some nice case fans if you need some: http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=849207 Keep in mind that these fans are not quiet, but they are cheap. I bought 15 of them (they drop to $0.99 per fan w/ free shipping) and put an extra fan in each of 5 cases. e-mail me brent at woodle dot org if you have any other questions... Last edited by crafty; 03-22-2005 at 11:57 AM..

03-22-2005, 10:28 PM	#9 (permalink)
P-Naughty Crazy Location: Georgia Southern University	I have jumped over to water cooling. I got tired of my PC sounding like a jet engine at take off when I booted it up. Personally, I like it a lot more. I use the Zalman Resarator and love it. Easy to set up, easy to maintain, and easy to use. The only problem I have right now is that an air bubble formed in the pump when I took it home with me over the Christmas break. It makes this rattling noise. I have instruction on how to fix it, but it involves unscrewing the bottom of it. Me and my ex-defensive lineman roommate couldn't get the thing off while trying to remove it at the same time. I could find something long and narrow that would reach the bottom, push down on both the valves while moving the reservoir around, and hope they would come out. However, I can't see down in it and work at the same time... __________________ I will not walk so that a child may live! - Master Shake

03-19-2005, 12:50 PM	#2 (permalink)
grumpyolddude Deliberately unfocused Location: Amazon.com and CDBaby	I recently changed my CPU cooler to this one: http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...106-037&depa=0 Reasonable price, REALLY cool and extremely quiet (compared to the AMD OE unit I replaced). In my mid-tower case, I had to unbolt the power supply and slide it out of the way while I installed the heatsink. This only took a minute and made the whole job quite easy. (Bought mine at Micro Center, but price was comparable)

03-22-2005, 12:02 AM	#7 (permalink)
skaven Insane Location: Austin, TX	I installed an Innovatek watercooling setup in my rig a year or so ago and I haven't looked back. Watercooling is definitely the way to go if you're really serious about getting your system quiet.

03-23-2005, 01:04 AM	#10 (permalink)
JeremyS Crazy	I'm too scared to do watercooling. Can't afford to buy anything if I mess something up.