Coolers for FX60, ATI X1900XTX & ATI X1900 Crossfire?

[Randolphjo]

I'm about ready to assemble my Crossfire system and the only area left to address is cooling. I want to run air only and could use some recommendations on CPU coolers and video card coolers. My system specs are listed in the pull-down on the left. I've read so many posts across the 'Net that I'm close to making my final purchases but would like some opinions. I will be overclocking - strictly on air.

1. AMD FX-60 processor. I first bought a Zalman CNPS7000B-AlCu cooler for this processor but after reading some more, I also bought a Zalman CNPS9500 LED, which I plan to use instead. Am I good there or is there a better way to go?

2. ATI Radeon X1900 Crossfire Edition Master Card. I haven't found a cooler yet that I know beats the stock cooler ATI ships on this card. Since I'm going to be running a dual-card Crossfire setup, I'm concerned that I will run into space constraints if I use an aftermarket cooler for this card.

3. ATI Radeon X1900XT X PCIe 512MB. Same concerns as above.

This is my dream system build I have been planning for quite awhile and now it's about to become a reality for me. I have all of the components except a decision on the CPU and video cards air-cooling.

The Antec P180B case allows for up to 5 case fans and is designed for good airflow but the computer will be in a hot area and I will need the best air-cooling I can get. I've come this far and want to get the best air coolers for the CPU and video cards. I'd appreciate any and all air cooling recommendations I could get for the above.

Thanks, and first post here.

 

[zekrahminator]

Welcome to TPU .
1. That CPU cooler will help overclocking very nicely. Have fun with it, there is nothing better for overclocking short of liquid cooling. I'll find the TPU review if you want it.
2. Before I (we) can reccomend a cooler, we need to know space constraints. To know this, I (we) need to know the motherboard model, so that I (we) can look at the space between PCIE x16 slots. Then, I (we) would probably reccomend the Arctic Cooling Accelero X2 or the Zalman VF900Cu. Either one will work wonderfully, but the Zalman will work better if you have space problems.
3. Motherboard manufacterors take care of this issue for you .

Well I understand what you mean by "I've been planning this system for quite a while". I used to use Darth Flatulence as my main computer, and it didn't quite hold up too well in games. I was planning since July 2005 what kind of computer I wanted, and I finally got Aegis all built (see specs) in February 2006. So I hope you have fun with this build. And remember the spacers/risers/standoffs .

 

[POGE]

Big typhoon for cpu, for graphics use the stock cooler, but lap it. You cant really get anything better than the stock x1900 cooler IMO. If you want silence though, the stock x1900 cooler is not for you.

 

[Azn Tr14dZ]

Yeah, for the FX-60, I would go with the Big Typhoon. The Zalman CNPS7000 and CNPS9500 aren't bad, but the Big Typhoon performs better and you can even add your own 120mm fan if you want more CFM or LED lights. I have it myself and it dropped my Pentium D 820's temps by a lot.

For the X1900XTX and CFE, I would stay with stock. The others like Zalman VF900-Cu/LED and Arctic Cooling Accelero X2 don't really give better performance, just less noise. The stock ATI Cooler exhausts air from the back, so if you can stand the noise, stick with stock.

Have fun with that CrossFire/FX-60 setup!

 

[trog100]

the stock 1900 cooler works okay and isnt noisy as long as u dont play silly games like modding the fan to run 100%..

the 9500 zalman cooler is also perfectly okay for the cpu.. with two 1900s good case cooling is important.. even exhausting out of the back the entire card gets hot and lots of heat gets radiated into the case..

trog

 

[Randolphjo]

Hi all and thanks for the welcome and all suggestions. Much appreciated!

As far as noise goes, I should have mentioned from the start that low noise is very important with this computer build. This computer will reside in a small bedroom and will run 24/7. The noise factor is what’s making all of the cooling choices difficult for me to make. If it weren’t for that then the CPU cooler wouldn’t be difficult to choose.

The motherboard I’ll be using is the one listed in my drop down system spec list. It’s the Asus A8R32-MVP Deluxe with the ATI CrossFire Xpress 3200/ULI M1575 chipset. It is my understanding that I will lose access to 2 of the 3 x PCI slots when I install the two stock ATI 1900 series cards. That’s a poor design for a Crossfire board in my opinion. I don’t know if I could use two after-market VGA coolers in about the same space as the stock ATI cards will take up. I was hoping that someone might already know that for sure so I would know what my limited Video Card cooling options really are.

For the CPU cooling, I think I will go with the Zalman CNPS9500 CPU Cooler. I read about a mod to change the fan to a quieter 92mm one and saw a picture of a 9500 that someone replaced the stock fan with a 120 mm fan – but they didn’t specify how they did it. If I could do the 120 mm fan mod on the Zalman CNPS9500 CPU Cooler, that would give me plenty of quiet airflow and cool some of the other motherboard components in the process. Unfortunately, the heatsink on the Zalman CNPS9500 CPU Cooler I received is not very flat. I will have to lap the 9500 heatsink base before installing it. I’ll use the stock Zalman 9500 fan for now and look into the quiet fan mod (hopefully the 120mm fan). I will be using Arctic Silver 5 thermal compound between the processor and heatsink.

I already know I will not be happy with the noise from the stock ATI video card coolers, but I do want to exhaust the heat generated by the video cards outside of the case. This is the primary area where I’m at a loss. I need two quiet video cards coolers that will exhaust heat outside the case and will fit in the dual-card space that’s available. I can take the two stock ATI VGA coolers and lap them as suggested to get by for the short term. I was hoping that would not be necessary and that I could find a more permanent solution from the start. The two suggestions I keep seeing for cooling these two video cards are the Arctic Cooling Accelero X2 or the Zalman VF900Cu. I’ve read that the weight of the Zalman VF900Cu could be problematic. What’s stopping me from selecting the after-market video card coolers now is that I don’t know if I have enough space on the board for other than stock cooling solutions. Of course quiet and efficient cooling have to stay in the mix.

The case I selected for this build, the Antec P180B, is a good choice in terms of good airflow, cooling and low noise. The power supply resides in its own isolated chamber in the bottom of the case so I won’t have to contend with the PS heat inside the main chamber. Additionally, the case is designed for and will have four 120mm and 1 80mm speed controlled case fans. I also have an Evercool 5.25" drive bay speed adjustable fan that will intake up to 100cfm of air from the front of the case but I won’t run it that high due to noise and a build up of air pressure inside the case (more than I can exhaust). All of the fans are speed controlled so I can tweak in a good airflow balance and of course all cables and wires will be dressed up for optimum airflow. Now...about those very quiet and cool video card coolers....???

JR

PS: Nothing against bling-bling and show, but they are not my thing. I’m more into subtle raw power and quiet efficiency.

PSS: I'm not going to run this rig O/C'ed all of the time. Just every once in a while, I'll be putting the pedal to the metal.

 

[zekrahminator]

Good news. Both aftermarket coolers will fit on your card, it's just a personal preference of Arctic Cooling or Zalman. Weight should be of no concern, and I'm betting that in a tight crossfire setup, the Zalman VF900Cu will do a bit better. And the best part is, even using aftermarket cooling, you only lose 1 PCI slot and 1 PCIe slot. That leaves you with 2 PCI slots to stick in fancy things like exhaust fans (I think you'll need one, considering all the heat those X1900XTX's will be putting out). Well, good luck with your build ! Any more questions?

 

[Randolphjo]

You are the Master. I am not worthy.

Seriously, thank you very much for your help. I have been stuck on this point for far too long and now I'll price the coolers and order them right now. I'm going to go for the Zalman VF900Cu's. Is there a merchant that supports this board or these forums that I can buy from? If so, I will.

BTW, I happen to have a case blower around here somewhere. It worked very well last rig I used it in. Thank you again, and I'll be back when I get into more trouble on this build. No kidding...

 

[trog100]

i have a zalman 9500 cpu cooler.. just one 1900 card with the stock cooler.. a near silent psu.. a fanless mobo..

none of the above cause a noise problem directly.. in 2d mode when silence matters most the ati card cooler runs at 27% and is near inaudible.. so is the zalman cpu cooler and psu fan.. my mobo is really silent cos its fanless..

playing obivion the ati fan starts to whine a bit but not much and dsont really matter while playing a game.. the 9500 cpu cooler starts to become audible as well.. nothing bothersome thow..

but whatever i do i cant get rid of the gentle but noticable 3 120mm case fan whooshing noise.. even thow the fans are all slowed right down to around 1000 rpm and running at 8 volts..

whatever u do especially useing none stock card fans.. u dont shift 400 watts of case heat out of the case silently.. it aint possible..

i think the the only effective way to achieve near silent 2d running would be to switch the bulk of the case fans off and only have them running during gaming 3d mode..

trog