Discussion Forums > Technology

i5 Heatsink

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Natheria:
Ok, so I'm finally going to chuck the stock fan on my i5 750 soon and I've been looking around on Newegg for a nice heatsink.

These are the three I've been looking at.
Zalman NT
Zalman Performa
CoolerMaster Hyper TX3

I guess my basic question is what your thoughts are and whether anyone thinks it's worth paying more for one of the Zalmans over the cheaper CoolerMaster, since I've never had much experience with after market coolers before.

xShadow:
This is the one I'm using for my i5.
(as suggested by another person)
It's wonderful. It lowered the idling temperatures a bit, but the biggest difference is that putting it under full load the temperatures still don't get that much higher.


... Beware though. I've ranted about this in another thread, but CPU fans for the i5 motherboard are FUCKING HARD TO INSTALL, mainly because Intel decided to get all creative and ditch screws. You'll probably need to take your graphics card out just to be able to get it in "easily". Then, try to not rock your case around too much, because (since this is a CPU fan that "hangs out"), due to Intel's shitty mounting system, it could get loose eventually (this shouldn't really happen if you're careful when you move your computer around).

But none of that is really the fan's problem. It's an excellent CPU fan and I'd recommend it. I'm just forewarning you of the troubles with installing it; you don't really have a choice anyway, if you want acceptable temperatures. Make sure to get some thermal paste, too.

As for the ones you're looking at... I haven't had any personal experience with any of those, so I can't say much. >_>;


Edit: By the way, I have no actual clue if Intel is the one to blame for the mounting system. I just know it sucks.

Edit2: Another btw, you have to install the fan correctly for it to make any difference. ie if it is even a little loose, it'll be like one step above having no cooler at all. I think that goes with any CPU fan though. It's just hard to tell with this mounting system whether something is installed quite right or not.

blubart:
my only real advice regarding what kind of heatsink to buy: never buy one with the fan somehow embedded into the design (like the Zalman NT you posted).
first it's a matter of quality - guess which of the two fans has the better quality/price ratio: the custom fan build into a single Zalman model with a rather limited production number or the standardized fan found on every second model produced in the millions?
second it's a matter of interchangeability - your fan starts to scratch? or it's not quiet enough? or you want your CPU to be even cooler - thus add another fan for a push/pull setup? no problem with the standard model, with the custom design you can search for a new heatsink.

and if you have the choice: go for the heatsink with the bigger fan (120mm+). the bigger the fan the slower (quieter) it can work moving the same amount of air. you have to make sure the thing fits in your case though :P

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