Cooling all over

Planning to get a midrange box soon. I dont have much experience with different cooling systems so I could use some advice.

CPU is e4300, I plan to OC later to 2.4 or 2.66ghz, case is the Lian Li PC-7A Plus II or maybe the Antec P180. GPU is the eVGA 7900GS.

Since my system is relatively low-heat, my priority is noise reduction while still maintaining cool temps.

My current choice for the CPU cooler is the ZALMAN 9700 for $58 at Newegg or the Sunbeam Tuniq Tower at Xioxide.com for $52. If the Zalman 9500 LED goes down in price, then I will go for that.

The Lian Li case has mounts for two 120mm fans. I plan to replace these fans later. My current choice is two of the Silverstone FM121 120mm manual controlled fans, which cost $16 apiece. An alternate choice is two of the Noctua NF-S12-120 fans for $20 each at Xoxide.com .

For the GPU Im going for the Zalman VF-900 for $37 at the egg.


If anyone has any experience with these products please write in.

I'll second that.

The fan on the Tuniq is dead silent. When the fan is turned down to 1000-1200rpm I cant hear it, at full speed (2000rpm) its louder, but still pretty quiet. The fans that come with the PC-7 are pretty quiet too. I have them hooked up to my psu directly through the 3 pin to moltex converters that come with the case, so there always running at full speed. If I put my headphones on (nothing playing, there just on my head) the noise will be completely drowned out.

If you want a quiet psu get an Enermax Liberty, just like the other fans in my case I can barly hear it. The modular cabling is nice too.

If those two hdds are both 7200rpm there shouldnt be buch of a difference between them, noise wise. I would get the Seagate drive since it has more storage space, although i do perfer Western Digital drives...

Probably should have asked this sooner, but which arctic cooling hsf are you talking about?

In the end it doesnt really matter, the Tuniq Tower is in the top 10 best aircoolers, the others being (in no order) the Coolermaster GeminII, the Thermalright Ultra 120, Thermalright Ultra 120+, Scythe Infinity, Asus Silent Knight, Zalman 9700, Thermaltake Big Typhoon, and common sence tells me to add the IFX-14 as well, since its pretty much just two Ultra 120's stuck together with larger heatpipes. I know im missing one, but, eh.

Im assuming your talking about the Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro, since its the best cooler Arctic Cooling has to offer, and while its a powerful cooler, the Tuniq Tower is better, simple as that. If you use a Tuniq you'll get lower temps then if you used a ACF7P.

Well, if you decide to oc a little higher later on down the road you'll have some more room. With a Tuniq you can hit alteast 3.2ghz stable on an E4300, thats not going to be nearly as easy on an ACF7P. Plus, lower cpu temps means a longer life span.

The 9700 is a pretty good cooler, although not as good as the Tuniq. There generally overpriced, but it seems they've been getting cheaper lately. Cant comment on how loud they are.

Between the 9700 and the Tuniq get the Tuniq. Between the ACF7P and the Tuniq, get the Tuniq.

The only thing I dont like about the Tuniq Tower are (or maybe is...) the mounting screws that come with it. At first I thought the screws were one peice, but after the head of one popped off (the manual for the Tuniq is avalible on there site, you'll understand what flew off after you see the screws.) and flew across my room one day while I was cleaning my computer I learned that the head is just glued to the shaft part. My ghetto fix was just to super glue the peices back together, but the glue hardened before I could push the head back on all the way. So know I need a new screw. Instead of ordering a replacment from Tuniq im going to use machine screws and wingnuts, a much better mounting system.

My advice to you, if you get a Tuniq take the mounting bracket in with you to a hardware store and get some better quality screws, its a cheap mod, dont worry (4 wingnuts and 4 machine screws should only cost a buck or two.).

Oh, and make sure the machine screws are atleast 1 1/2" long.

I think Ill go for the ACF7 Pro. Its really easy to install, you dont even have to take out your mobo it installs just like the stock cooling.

Its also cheaper. I dont need a massive tuniq tower in my case, Id rather stick with simplicity.

Idk I mounted a Pentium D stock HSF a couple months ago and it was impossibly easy. You were probably doing something wrong.
So my friend replaced that stock HSF with an ACF7P without even removing his mobo. He said it was real easy.

idk

Their HSF is supposed to be quite good as well. Problem is that it costs like $65. Also Xoxide has the ACF7P for $25

Its still kinda $$PRICEY$$



Its seems kinda against the whole point of going with the whole Noctua thing for quiet and buying two ROARING CHeetahs. Are they really that loud? How are they overall

Yea, that 9500 makes a lot of noise. Im still going for the noctuas though.
My primary choice for hd is a WD and my secondary is a Seagate.
Thanks a lot for the tip on quieting the dvd burner.

Hmm, what cases, HSFs and fans do you use?

The Cheetahs sound like a plane taking off when they start up but after that they are okay. They are totally worth the noise though.