Heatsink recommendations?

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1

I have been out of the heatsink world for a little while and need some recommendations for a new one as the one I have has an extremely loud fan. It cools just fine but I would like something much quieter.


The one I have now is a stock AMD x4 955, which like I said works fine but has a loud fan. Replacing the fan itself is not an option as the heatsink is a tad to small to fit a regular 80mm fan.


The new one needs to have a quiet fan and I NEED this heatsink to be very low profile and as small as I can get because the case I have this in is very tight in both height, width and length. This is for my HTPC so it doesn't need to be high performance but doesn't hurt. Also it needs to look good because it will be seen every second of every day.


If someone out there has a lot of knowledge in this area and recommend a few then I would be very grateful. It is hard to find all the good heatsinks on one site to look at.


I understand that these requirements are the exact opposite of what people here usually go for but it doesn't hurt to ask.


Thanks and look forward to hearing from you all

2

Thermaltake Duorb CPU Cooler. Look good. not tall. also cools your ram to. http://www.amazon.com/Thermaltake-CL-P0464-DuOrb-CPU-Cooler/dp/B0019R4QVM

3

Hmm...well I don't know if it'll be low profile enough, but check out the Noctua NH-C14. It's performance is great, and it can be considered low profile, but it's still a pretty beefy cooler. Check it out just to see if it will fit.


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608020&Tpk=NH-C14


If it's too big, you could always try removing one of the fans and maybe reversing the airflow direction on the other. Also, if you think the fans are too loud at full speed, you can use a restricter that comes with the heatsink to slow the fans down a little and make them quieter.

4

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835106150


i was looking at this a while ago.... only issue is with ram dimms that have coolers on em (like fans... think dominator GT series) as the heat sink is low to the motherboard.

5

ztrain said:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835106150


i was looking at this a while ago.... only issue is with ram dimms that have coolers on em (like fans... think dominator GT series) as the heat sink is low to the motherboard.

The Frio isn't exactly low profile though.

6

Not trying to post jack, but what would be a cooler that would fit into an antec900 and cool a core i5 2500k to the point I could reach 4ghz

7

the frio should fit in an antec 900, its about the size of a 212+ isn't it?, my 212+ fits in my antec 900

8

ThermalRight, Noctua, Zalman.


Nuff said.

9

Thanks everyone. I am leaning towards either the Noctua or one of the Thermalright ones. Thermalright has the look I want but the Noctua specs are pretty impressive. I really am grateful to everyone who took the time to respond and for this great site.


Side note- why are a lot of them nickel plating over copper? Is this beneficial somehow as opposed to just exposed copper? Seems a shame to cover copper or am I the only one who likes the look of copper?

10

ThermalRight heatsinks are mostly performing better than Noctuas, but they are way more expensive and most of them don't come with fans. You will need to buy fans seperated. I like that, because I can put my OWN fans on my OWN heatsink :)

11

eastexas said:

Thanks everyone. I am leaning towards either the Noctua or one of the Thermalright ones. Thermalright has the look I want but the Noctua specs are pretty impressive. I really am grateful to everyone who took the time to respond and for this great site.


Side note- why are a lot of them nickel plating over copper? Is this beneficial somehow as opposed to just exposed copper? Seems a shame to cover copper or am I the only one who likes the look of copper?

If I remember correctly, I think just pure copper will degrade over time. I don't remember if that has something to do with the thermal paste or if it's just due to oxidation, but the nickel plating is there to protect the copper.

12

@RuffeDK- Thanks I didn't realize that.


@Vortex- Thanks for the answer.


Wish this site had a THANK button.

13

RuffeDK said:

ThermalRight heatsinks are mostly performing better than Noctuas, but they are way more expensive and most of them don't come with fans. You will need to buy fans seperated. I like that, because I can put my OWN fans on my OWN heatsink :)

Which ThermalRight heatsink are you talking about? I know the Silver Arrow is pretty comparable to the NH-D14, but from the research I've done on them, the NH-D14 seems to help overclocking slightly more.

14

I was actually leaning towards the AXP-140RT. I know it isn't the fanciest looking one but there is just something about its simplicity I like. Remember this is just going in one of my HTPC units so overclocking and such are not issues. Plus it already has a lot of the look I have now but hopefully better performance and quieter. Also being able to swap whatever fan I want to use on it is encouraging to achieve the performance to sound ratio I am after.


Never heard of this company before but I like what they are doing if they live up to their claims.


Thanks again everyone. I can always count on the members of this site to lead me in the right direction.

15

Lol, it seems like Thermalright always tries to copy Noctua designs and make them better. It should be a good heatsink. Same design as the NH-C14.

16

^ bitch please, don't come say that TR is rippin' off Noctuas low profile heasinks. TR made LP-heatsinks before Noctua was founded.