Intel stock HSF's = crap?

[Darren S]

Just checking if this is the norm, guys. Having been firmly in the AMD camp for nearly a decade and a half, are the retail boxed Intel heat-sink and fans usually poor in terms of performance?

I've been tinkering with the i7 which has a stock clock of 2.8Ghz. I only just got it to 3.2Ghz when I was getting CPU temp alerts from BIOS aplenty. Checked them myself and they were between 79C and 83C while doing pretty much nothing.

I've dropped it back to the 2.8Ghz default and all is well again. Are the HSFs just crap? :S

Cheers,
D.

 

[Clio_Matt]

Yeah terrible. Always worth it to go third party cpu cooling

 

[Krispwee]

Yep mine was poor.

Finally pulled my finger out and ordered an Arctic Cooling one for my Core2Quad (pretty sure they do similar for an i7). Got all the best reviews and best buys for ages. Made a big, big difference especially with noise. Don't forget the Thermal paste though!

 

[Darren85]

I always used to use Zalman fans in any custom build (depending on space), if your looking to OC the Intel, the standard fans are absolute rubbish!

 

[Gareth]

Another vote for Zalman, I had artic cooling prior and whilst it was much better than the standard HSF the Zalman is in a different league.

 

[Slinkey]

Intel stock are pretty bad but that seems a little bit off. Have you tried re-seating it?

Dont bother with zalman these days, they are overpriced for what you get. The Thermalriight ultra 120 is dam good, or the prolimatech Megahalem, which is probably the best. Both cost a bit but are very good.

 

[Darren S]

Might have another look at the Zalmans - I last used them as a replacement HSF for my 4870 some while back.

I've had Akasa ones before and they've been good too. I definitely need a replacement - the genuine Inte LGA1366 one on coolingshop.co.uk is only £6.99 - cheap s**t!!!

Just deciding between the one at £35 or £46....

http://www.thecoolingshop.com/cPath/Intel-LGA1366-Nehalem_491/filter_brand_8.html

D.

 

[conneh]

It's not that they are bad, they are just designed to be ran at stock.

I got an ACF 7 on my E6300 @ 3.2Ghz, seems ok.

 

[Griff]

You want to be looking to the higher end coolers like the Noctua UP12, Zalman CNPS10X Extreme, Titan Fenrir Evo or Tuniq Tower 120.

No point going for your average mediocre HSF when you've spent a sizeable amount on decent components.

 

[H182]

I have a titan fenrir v2 and it does the job well, the paste that comes with it was a bit shat though. Not too badly priced either.

 

[rogueneo]

i have a thermaltake heatsink that you can whack big fans on if you want it

http://www.thermaltake.com/product_...01388&cid=C_00000010&name=ISGC-200&ov=n&ovid=

 

[Darren S]

I have a titan fenrir v2 and it does the job well, the paste that comes with it was a bit shat though. Not too badly priced either.

I've been looking at that one too m8. Looks like they have them in at SCAN, so I might bob over and get one tomorrow.

D.

 

[Magic Johnson]

Tuniq Tower's ftw.

 

[rogueneo]

ebuyer.com is pretty good

 

[Darren S]

Went picking up a Noctua HSF in the end. Their TIM seems to get some very high ratings, so I'm assuming their HSFs are just as good too.

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Noct...AMD-S1366-1156-775-AM2-AM2plus-AM3-HTPC-Ready

I'll be fitting it tomorrow, so I'll let you know how things go.

Cheers for all the suggestions!

D.

 

[Griff]

Wrong one.. This is the one you wanted - http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Noct...ooler-Intel-755i7i5-and-AMD-AM2-3-Compatiable

The one you've bought is smaller and designed for HTPC's or MATX cases.

Stick "Noctua U12P SE2" into Google and look at all the rave reviews.

 

[bigmouk]

Be interested to hear your temps Darren, my i7 is running stock with a Noctua and runs around 39-41 deg across all the cores when idle.

 

[Darren S]

Wrong one.. This is the one you wanted - http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Noct...ooler-Intel-755i7i5-and-AMD-AM2-3-Compatiable

The one you've bought is smaller and designed for HTPC's or MATX cases.

Stick "Noctua U12P SE2" into Google and look at all the rave reviews.

Ah well, it's close enough I guess!

I have to say that the build quality of the Noctua product, together with the accessories provided and the fitting instructions are nothing short of exceptional. So long as it keeps it cool during OC'ing - I think these guys will be my standard HSF of choice.

Be interested to hear your temps Darren, my i7 is running stock with a Noctua and runs around 39-41 deg across all the cores when idle.

It's been on for over an hour now, Moz. Installed a few things, moved some RAID items over etc - nothing too CPU demanding at all really. But it seems cool enough for now...

D.

 

[bigmouk]

Let me know what coretemp gives you across all 4 cores. It might be worth reseating my heatsink looking at your initial temps. Do you use the 'pea sized' blob in the middle of the cpu method with your paste?

 

[Darren S]

Let me know what coretemp gives you across all 4 cores. It might be worth reseating my heatsink looking at your initial temps. Do you use the 'pea sized' blob in the middle of the cpu method with your paste?

Will do. I've just come off an hour of L4D2 and going straight to the Asus Probe again, it's showing 32C and it's pretty warm in this room now - lol. I've made the first step in OC'ing it - up to 3.2Ghz and its been fine. The stock HSF was absolutely shite - either that or the miserly blob of TIM they put on the copper plate was waaaay too little.

I've never been a fan of the 'blob' method since way back in the day to my 2nd AMD CPU that simply overheated within about 30secs of firing up. I put more thermal paste on there and everything was fine. Even the Noctua instructions said to put a very small blob on the centre of the CPU. I tend to put more on, but spread it out with a non-conductive implement - a small plastic knife is perfect imo. I put a thin spread on and leave about a quarter-inch gap all round from the edges to allow for the 'squish' when the HSF clamps down on it. I must have swapped the CPU in about 20 machines over the years and its always worked for me.

D.