hey, everyone, im putting together a system with a 965p ds3, e6400, two gigs of either ocz platinum or xms2 (dont know yet, any input would be appreciated, which is better? plan to overclock) and in an antec 900 case.

id like to know whats the best cooler for overclocking? i havent overclocked before but plan to learn and unleash this e6400 beast 8)
i wouldnt want to spend a lot unless its REALLY worth it...
thanks

Thermaltake ultra-120 extreme is the best air cooler but its also damn expensive.

I second that...it is quite expensive(considering you have to buy a fan also), but it gives the performance of water cooling, without the muss and fuss. GL

I second that...it is quite expensive(considering you have to buy a fan also), but it gives the performance of water cooling, without the muss and fuss. GL

yeah i just got my 120 extreme yesterday, damn expensive $112 with a scytche fan but i guess its like 30% cheaper in the US.
been thinking about lapping both heatsink and cpu for some evil overclocking, i also got myself some shin etsu x23 just waiting for the hardware i want ''bearlake x38 and the Q6600 for $266''

when i think about it i could have got a thermaltake water case cheaper lol

Just get the THermalright Ultra-120. The extreme is just the u-120 with 2 extra heatpipes. It gives about 1-2C better temps over the plain u-120 for $15 more. The u-120 is about $48 on newegg.

Yes, those heatsinks might be the best but unless you plan on doing extreme overclocking, really are unnecessary.

If you plan on doing some mild overclocking & want easy installation, then either the Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro (which I have) or the Cooler Master Hyper TX. Both are inexpensive (under 30 bucks with shipping) and damn good.

The ACF7 Pro dropped my temps by around 15-17 deg C from the stock Intel cooler. Oh, I'm also using an E6400 with the DS3 mobo.

I'd get the Corsair XMS over the OCZ. Better timings.

Just get the THermalright Ultra-120. The extreme is just the u-120 with 2 extra heatpipes. It gives about 1-2C better temps over the plain u-120 for $15 more. The u-120 is about $48 on newegg.

i see alot more difference than 1-2c in temps
http://www.anandtech.com/showdoc.aspx?i=2943&p=4 thats like 5-7c

Just a question, but why are you getting the e6400 instead of the e 6420? They should be the same price....

Anyways, if you want a decent performer, you can get an Arctic cooling freezer pro 7 for $22 w/ free shipping at eWiz.com:

http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=FAN-AC7PRO

not the best, but good performer for the price.

8O

Just get the THermalright Ultra-120. The extreme is just the u-120 with 2 extra heatpipes. It gives about 1-2C better temps over the plain u-120 for $15 more. The u-120 is about $48 on newegg.

i see alot more difference than 1-2c in temps
http://www.anandtech.com/showdoc.aspx?i=2943&p=4 thats like 5-7c

Ok 1-3C
-----------120/120+
Stock-------27/26
3.73GHz---36/33
3.83GHz---37/34
3.90GHz---37/35

Where is your 5-7C comming from?

Just get the THermalright Ultra-120. The extreme is just the u-120 with 2 extra heatpipes. It gives about 1-2C better temps over the plain u-120 for $15 more. The u-120 is about $48 on newegg.

i see alot more difference than 1-2c in temps
http://www.anandtech.com/showdoc.aspx?i=2943&p=4 thats like 5-7c

Ok 1-3C
-----------120/120+
Stock-------27/26
3.73GHz---36/33
3.83GHz---37/34
3.90GHz---37/35

Where is your 5-7C comming from?Load....you're quoting idle temps.....bullaRh is correct.

U're right.. Sorry about that. I REALLY should not have passed up the coffee this morning. Son of a !@#!@. Daydreaming all day or somethin.

Ok my bad. the U-120 is still a good cooler. dang it. haha.

Happens to everyone.

To the OP though... get teh e6420 over the e6400. It's the Conroe core as opposed to the Allendale... it gives you 4MB L3 Cache instead of 2MB. Unless you are getting a great deal on the e6400 or already have it. Newegg has a $1 difference between the two.

Still didn't have that coffee yet, huh?

alright thanks a lot guys, i appreciate the input, i think im going to go with the ultra 120, this is a really noob question, but just as jay2tall, ive had no coffee

does the ultra 120 need a fan as well?

and yeah i think ill get that e6420 too, anything is going to be a great upgrade from this ancient piece of HP crap
happy overclocking to all

Yeah, it needs a fan. They cool well enough, that a quiet 120mm fan still provides great cooling, but for max overclocking...you'll want something a little stronger. If you're building an HTPC, and have a very good flowing case...and not overclocking, then you might get away without using a fan. GL

Here's the fan that Anandtech uses in their reviews....it' very highly rated.

Scythe S-FLEX SFF21F

No company makes better air coolers than Thermalright.
Not for CPU's,GXF cards,RAM or even coolers for MB heatpipes.
They give the same basic cooling as a watercooled system in a proper case on air.

I have built a few systems with their coolers with AMD Optrons OC'ed 50 % in Coolermaster cases that run only 2C over room temps.

PC Power & Cooling PSU's and Silverstone FM-121 fans are used and nothing needs a voltage boost.

The Silverstone fans do the same work even on LOW speed settings (full speed is 110QFM).