Misc. Ramblings

Electronics, like most people, hate a lot of heat. Heat reduces, sometime substantially, the expected life of electronic components. In fact, given enough heat, almost any electronic component will immediately fail.

As you may remember, I've been searching for a new CPU fan/heatsink. This is because of the extremely high temperature readings I got from the very first time I booted SWMBO new PC (Pentium 4 2.8E Prescott Core) and the related incessant CPU fan noise.

It was not unusual for Intel's CPU monitor utility, which displays temperature and voltage levels of the motherboard (in addition to fan rpm), to be constantly going off because the CPU was exceeding the maximum default temperature of 68°C. I was getting peaks exceeding 72°C (about 162°F). Even at idle (the CPU, not me) the utility typically reported 59°C (about 138°F). Compare this to the previous generation of Intel CPUs running at about 30 to 40°C.

I first tried adding more fans to my Antec SLK-2650-BQE case, which came with a 120mm rear fan (not to mention the PSU fan). I installed an 80mm fan in the side panel duct, and an 80mm front fan. While the over temperature warnings ended, they were still in the mid-to-high 60° and the stock Intel CPU fan still made an awful racket because it was spinning as fast as its little blades could go.

Hence, rather than waiting for the CPU to expire in a puff of smoke, or my eardrums to burst from the fan whine, I decided to purchase a new CPU fan/heat sink.

I mentioned before that it came down to two different models: ThermalRight XP120 and Zalman CNPS7700-AlCu. In the end, I ordered a Zalman but the smaller brother of the 7700 - the Zalman CNPS7000B-AlCu. I got this one because it didn't exceed the weight limit of 450 grams for Intel motherboards and because I could get it from Amazon.com (which is a Better Business Bureau member in good standing).

In order to install the new fan I, of course, had to remove the old one. I would like to note here that sharp metal objects and delicate motherboards and CPUs do not a good match make. Not that I had any problems mind you ;). In any case, the old fan and heatsink eventually came off. I then used rubbing alcohol to remove the excess thermal grease from the CPU. Most sources warn that you should wear gloves when coming in contact with the grease so consider yourself notified.

While the new fan is much larger than the Intel OEM one, it doesn't have any problems fitting on the Intel D865GBF-L motherboard. But be aware that the outside edge of the heatsink comes awfully close to the bottom of the power supply and may be a problem in smaller cases. I'm glad I got the smaller fan because I'm not sure I would have been able to fit the larger and heavier Zalman 7700.

Fitting problems aside, getting the new fan screwed down onto the bracket was harder than it should have been. You have to tighten down two screws. Each is situated at the opposite and extreme ends of what can be imagined as a lever. As you try to tighten the first screw down, the other end rises. It rises so much it is impossible to get the opposite screw started unless you are pressing down on it. Hard. Simultaneously, the whole assembly slides around on the thin film of thermal grease. Eventually, I got both screws started (it helps to have three hands) and was able to tighten things down and closed the case up without causing injury to the motherboard, CPU, case, or myself.

Everything booted up fine so I guess nothing was damaged. I was, however, disappointed that under idle, there was no difference in CPU temperature as compared to the stock Intel fan. I had seen other reviews in which idle temps went down by five or more degrees. But I did not find any difference at all.

However, and this makes be happy, there was a big difference under load. As mentioned earlier, using the stock Intel fan, I would get constant over heating warnings when the CPU temp went over 68°C. This occurred when running simple, relatively low-intensity applications like Word.

Except for one alarm, when first booting, the temp has not risen above about 62°C (about 143°F), even when running multiple applications like displaying a DVD ("Animal House"), while listening to an AAC (Joss Stone), and editing a document in Word. I don't know why I got that first alarm but I hope I don't get any more.

Not that everything is perfect, though. The Zalman is running at about 2,700 RPM. This creates noise. Less noise than the little Intel fan spinning at the same or higher speeds, but noise nonetheless. Fortunately, this is not a MPC that needs to be silent because it's sitting in your living room. But the noise is still something you should think about if your environment requires silence or if you are particularly sensitive to noise.

If you are, you are on your own. Perhaps the larger Zalman will work/fit. Maybe not. If not, other than going to water cooling, I can't suggest an answer to how to keep your Intel Prescott core CPU running cool and fans quiet.

Aloha!