[Blitz6804]

I am presently cooling my CPU with a Noctua NH-C12P, which I bought because it supposedly beats a Thermalright SI-128 by a good margin. It does not, beating my lapped SI-128 by maybe a degree. It may not be fair comparing lapped to not lapped, but I digress.

The Prolimatech Megahalems can be gotten at FrozenCPU for $89 shipped after adding the AM2+ mounting kit and a pair of 38mm fans. I would be cooling it with a pair of Scythe Ultra Kaze 3000 RPM fans throttled down as noise/temps require.

There is no doubt that I will reduce temperatures, the question is however, how much am I to suspect and would it be enough to justify the cost?

 

[bucdan]

if you are oc'ed, maybe, but overall IMO id stick with what you have. i dont think the difference would be too great to be worth 89 bucks, but i mean, if you have the cash, go for it.

 

[Blitz6804]

I am currently capped at 3450 MHz. Attempts to run 3600 MHz cause me to breach my thermal limit of 62º C.

 

[Drivr3g]

Well if you sell the Noctua it will reduce the cost.
I'm not sure how well it would work with your chip but on mine it keeps it at 26c idle which is awesome for me. So if your not happy with your current cooler get the Mega and be happy.

 

[Blitz6804]

My concern with tower coolers (and why I have used blow down coolers for a while) are MOSFET temperatures. I do not know how your MOSFETs are, but I have to say, a 26º C idle is outstanding. (I idle at 33º C core / 23º C CPU in a 23º C ambient.) For the record, SMP folding gets me to 47º C core; S&M brings me up in the mid-50s.

 

[Gizmo]

I've heard S&M is hot, but why would that affect your computer at all?

Who went there?

 

[bucdan]

well just sell your old cooler and pay the difference. you should be able to get it done

 

[ZealotKi11er]

Well my Megahalems brought down my CPU temps from 65C to 55C form S1238. Both were suing Kaze 3000 Push/Pull. Also the Kaze at full blast is quieter then it was in my S1238. Also don't forget air cooling goes so far.

 

[Blitz6804]

Gizmo: S&M is a stressing program. The FPU portion of that test will get your CPU hotter than ANYTHING else on the market. It beats Orthos and OCCT v3 by a few degrees. I am almost willing to bet it beats Linpack too, even though I have not tried it yet. It also can crash otherwise Orthos-stable rigs.

bucdan: Think I can get enough from both the SI-128 and the NH-C12P to cover it outright?

 

[Blitz6804]

For the record, at 3570 MHz @ 1.376 V, I am getting up to 59º C in S&M's FPU. This is in a 72.0º F / 22.2º C ambient.

Case temperature appears to be 23.2º C if you believe the thermal probe.

 

[DesertRat]

So, you can get 2 120x38 fans, the mounting bracket, and the cooler for that? not bad

Since you'll be selling your 2 current coolers to recoup the cost I'd say go for it. W/ the push-pull 120x38s it will be just bout the best cooling solution short of water or more extreme methods.

Also, if your case has decent airflow the VRMs should be cooled fine.

 

[Blitz6804]

No, it is the cooler, the fan clips needed to mount two fans, and the AM2 mounting bracket. I am reusing the fans I have.

 

[DesertRat]

Quote:

Originally Posted by blitz6804 No, it is the cooler, the fan clips needed to mount two fans, and the AM2 mounting bracket. I am reusing the fans I have.

so you have 2 Scythe Ultra Kazes now?

 

[Blitz6804]

Four actually; two on air intake, one on air exhaust, one on my SI-128. All four are running at 1350 RPM, as this is the best balance to performance and temperature. If I went megahalems, I would move the exhaust Ultra Kaze to the cooler for push/pull and mount a Scythe S-Flex in exhaust. Or, if the temperature is good enough, just use one fan as a push and forget about the pull.