Cooling advice/criticism plz

[Rapier21]

Thermalright SLK-800
http://www.thermalright.com/slk800.html

CoolPC 80/120mm Fan Adapter
http://www.coolpc.com.au/shop/index.html?prod=92
Here in the US, case modding retailers seem to believe that modders enjoy getting their wallets raped, and charge $18+ for a #$!$!#&* plastic box shaped like a trapezoid...

Vantec Stealth 120mm Fan
http://vantecusa.com/stealth_fan.html
<a class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://www.modthebox.com/review60_1.html" target=blank>http://www.modthebox.com/review60_1.html
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XMP Anodized Blue shims
http://www.mikhailtech.com/articles/other/3dcoolxpshim/

This will be used to cool a xp2200+ which is not going to be overclocked. This is part of a silent HTPC project, so low noise with good cooling is the objective. Comments? Is this too much heatsink? Or not enough fan?

~Rapier21

 

[dannybin1742]

one word....... WATER

 

[svidanag]

I don't think that the fan adapter will fit on the Thermalright SLK-800, it uses these funky clips. Look at the Hardocp review for a good picture.

 

[mechBgon]

I would suggest an Alpha PAL8045 with a low-noise 80mm fan. The 120mm Vantec Stealth puts out 28dB, which is not bad but nowhere close to some of the quietest 80mm fans. The ducted design of the Alpha will make good use of airflow, so you could probably use a 19dB 26cfm Papst from Plycon, maybe even the 12dB 19cfm model. Considering the stock AMD heatsink only has a 24cfm fan, this ought to get the job done ok on a PAL8045. I would skip the shim.

$39 + $20 = $59, not cheap but cheaper than the 120mm funnel plan.

edit: I guess I should add "provided your motherboard is compatible with the Alpha." The fit list is here: link

 

[Rapier21]

Yeah...that's a negatory on the Alpha... :-/ Which makes me feel a little better since I just ordered the Thermalright ax7. :-/ :: wonders if that will fit my motherboard :: Isn't it great to think of these things after one buys something?

But I was talking to other people at various places, and determined that the funnel things are bad since they cause a lot of turbulence and stalling of air, esp at high flow rates. So I was thinking of ways of directly mounting it on, except that in the center of the fan in front of the motor is a large cone of little or no airflow, and the motor on a 120mm fan is quite large. Then I thought, why not offset the fan, and have the motor off to one corner, then put a curved duct thing from the part of the fan thats not over the heatsink to bring in air from the two sides that are not flush with the fan. Here, I made a quick drawing in paint (no dissing the paint skills, heh) to hopefully better illustrate it.

In theory it should work; the corner where the fan is screwed to will be the warmest, but with a nice 60 cfm 120mm, it shouldn't be too much of a problem, I hope. (the fan is some weird one my friend found at frys, claims 84 cfm, 32 dba at 2200 rpm.. I'm thinking I could lower the voltage it gets with a rheostat or some resistors).

Am I on crack? Or will it work? Anybody have any experience with this kind of thing or heard of anyone who has?

~Rapier21

EDIT: Oh, and watercooling in a mini atx case results in badness occuring. Otherwise I'd do it. Actually, no I wouldn't, its still too expensive.

 

[mechBgon]

There's a user-compiled AX-7 fit list here and the good news is, not many boards have an issue with the AX-7

You can ground the fan's ground wire to the +5V line from your power supply (the red one on a typical 4-pin plug) in order to run the fan at 12V - 5V = 7V, for a simple and free speed/noise reduction.

 

[kparis]

check out the zalman FB123,

its a fan bracket which mounts over the pci cards and extends onto the psu, you can then fit a 120mm fan on it and cool your cpu well...

i have this setup but with a zalman flower heatsink... which from what i've been told isnt as good as the thermalright so you should be ok. also if your motherboard has a heatsink/fan combo you can replace this with a regular heatsink and the fan (on the bracket) will cool them both...

its a pretty good design.

www.zalman.co.kr/english/

regs
kurt