Morning All - Been a while since I've posted here, lurking mostly. Anyhow, I'm working on building a new system, and looks like I've got myself a "Energy efficient AMD Athlon™ 64 dual-core processor 4400+, Rev G, 65nm" (some of that info is not relevant here, but ya know). Anyhow, I'm not going to do water cooling so that's out of the picture, but what CPU Coolers are you guys running? I need something, (who doesn't?) that's quiet and cools well. I've searched the web a few times, and can't find anything really recent in regards to a good roundup or comparison. Any suggestions are most welcome. Thanks!
Frankly, I suggest to try the stock cooler to see if it suits your needs. The one shipped with my x64 proc is pretty silent. Otherwise, Zalman got a few very good coolers balanced on the noise and cooling factors.
Zalman USA CNPS9700 NT or the Cu (Copper) - I have this cooler on my 4800 and it works very good. Dissipates heat to the fins and the fan blows towards the rear of the case (where your exhaust fan would be)
Thank you everyone for your answers. Kain and Sevendust, I'll probably go ahead and try out the stock HSF. Thanks. Bear I was looking at that one too, but not sure about the size/clearance issue, thanks! ivanolo - Wow, who knew they had a link like that. Thanks!
if you got room, slap a 80mm>120mm adaptor on the stock cooler and run a bigger fan (if the stock one doesnt do it for you). as said, the stock one is pretty nice
Word. My C2D is overclocked from 2.1 to 3.0 ghz and is currently idling at 36 degrees with my Zalman.