CPU HeatSink + Fan

My stock HSF is quite loud and not all that cool.


I am going to buy a new one.. anything within $50

i am thinking about this:
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...118-115&depa=0

but then i saw this:
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProduc...118-114&depa=0

I don't know which one is better. Which one should i get?

Also my mother board is on the list of 'Compatible when Zalman Northbridge is installed'

I have an Abit AS8
here is the list for the first HSF:
http://www.zalman.co.kr/product/cool...MBlist_eng.htm

The list is the same for the other HSF.. The only difference i can see between them is that one is pure coper(First one) and the other one is Coper and Aluminum(2nd One)...

Here are the links from the home page of Zalman.. maybe that will give you something to compare them..
i am not very intelligent and i wouldn't understand what all the stuff are but maybe on someone smart here would tell me which one to get
http://www.zalman.co.kr/eng/product/...x=146&code=009
http://www.zalman.co.kr/eng/product/...45&code=005009
Also What is the northbridge they are talkin about.. Could any of you find me a link? Thanks..

BTW can overheating of the CPU cause a performance lose?

I would get the first one, the one with all copper, they are better suiting for the job. Aluminum doesnt cool much. My video card came with a aluminum heatsink, i removed it and now using a copper heatsink. It makes a lot of difference in the temperature. Overheating can cause performance lose that is a fact and thats why we cool down the processor. I would also recommend you get a good thermal paste. Search on newegg for Arctic silver. You need to put thermal paste between the CPU and the heatsink. Do not skip this step as it is very important.

im pretty sure the thermal paste comes with the HSF...

Do i have to take off the whole motherboard to install the HSF?

I dont think you will have to remove your board from the case, but you will have to be carefull not to knock out any connections while you are working on it. So make sure everything is right.

What do you mean by make sure everything is right..?

Is this the northbridge they were talking about?:
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProduc...118-214&depa=0

Its nothing to worry about. I was just saying that when you install the heatsink be carefull not to bend any pins or transistors or break something on the board.

I have the second one... it's a beauty. Either one will do the job, so it's really a matter of preference. Keep in mind that they are very big and will not fit in a mini case (I don't know which size case you have, but it barely fit in my full size case). And you WILL have to remove the motherboard to install it, because it comes with a support that goes underneath the CPU to hold up this massive beast.

It is very quiet and has a controller that you can use to turn up the fan if you want while gaming.

Trust me, you'll love it.

I need a recommendation on a fan/heatsink. I got this standard green 2800+ rated fan on an aluminum heat sink and my asus board i guess restarts at temp problems.

I get random restarts on my computer during times of various processing; lots of downloading, video editing, emulating the particular demanding games through MAME where games demand 1.4ghz or more for normal gameplay.

I just have a 2000+ but am looking at a 3000+ or similar AMD CPU closer to an actual 2.0 ghz clock down the road soon.

I recommend any Zalman heatsink/fan that will support the proc you're using. Thermaltake also makes some good stuff, but Zalman is top of the line and decently priced as well.

Although, you should really look at your power consumption and make sure your PSU supports your system (and is not failing). Overloading your PSU can cause reboots as well.

How about this thing? http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...0396&CatId=499

It seems to come with everything needed and is only $100. Not too sure on how good it is though. ;)

I'm fairly certain he wanted something air-cooled.

Thanks guys getting it Thursday(april 21st) hopefully i will put it on and get a noticble change.

Will write again ones i get it installed

Well the heat-sink fan combo I got was only $10 where i got it from but the guy knew the fan/heatsink combo that I had; a generic thin green AMD-certified fan with the very thin and high-numbered small fan blades. The heatsink is all aluminum. No copper anywhere.

The one I got has a decent fan and a copper base unlike the one that's currently running. He said that additionally the fan I had would wear out over time as it was a really bad make; since I've had it for over year he said I could be lucky.(I've had it for over 2 years).

I also got another PSU. The one I have I modified. ...This PSU has taken a few short outs and is over 2 years old. During one of the short outs one of the power rails died, so I took the dead rail's plugs and put them on the live rail's power to get my 4 plugs back. A skilled friend said it would work decently and the guy at the shop gave me the run down on the old transistor setup in older PSUs and the trans setup in newer ones.

So I'm going to see if putting a fresh and better PSU in along with a better fan/heatsink combo will do the trick.

My question is the heatsink switch. What is the process here? Turn the computer off and wait 20 minutes before removing the heatsink? Will there be any excess residue I need to deal with?

I want to tend to my heatsink/fan for sure because back when my current combo was fairly new my BIOS alone(during POST stages) was reporting 140 degress F on the AMD 2000+ Athlon.

There is no definite downtime for how long you should wait to switch it out, but I'd give it at least 5 - 10 minutes just so it's cool enough to touch. When I switched mine out I don't even know if I waited that long, but my computer had only been up for about a half hour when I turned it off to do the switch.

There will be some of the old thermal paste on the processor, so you'll want to get some good electronic wipes (I got some from the emissions guys here where I work). Just go to Radio Shack or something and ask for wipes that work well with cleaning contacts and whatnot. Also, don't forget to put some thermal paste back on there before placing the new heatsink. And only use a small dab... a little bit goes a LONG way. The Zalman should come with some, but I recommend Arctic Silver 5.

And 140F isn't bad... my 3.4GHz P4 runs at about 160F without any major load... and that's with the Zalman. They say with the P4, you should be under 170F. I didn't look at the AMD specs, but I'm sure it's about the same.

AMD 2000+ recommended was 0-90 celcius. Guys in the google groups were saying 40-45 degress celcius average, 55 pushing the high end(I searched out archived similar discussions).

After I swapped out all this stuff last night my BIOS said 38 degress celcius.

That's awesome. You'll now agree that Zalman rules, right? ;)

WOW GUYS THIS THING OWNS!!!

My computer temperature was betwee 140-160 on a P4 3.4Ghz
Now that i got the HSF installed it doesnt go above 120, even after 2hr of hardcore gaming!!!


I cant believe this thing.! I love it.. i actualy feel an improvement in my PC speed, too.