some recommendations please

[torrac]

Hello all, I want to do some OCing to my rig (who here doesn't though ), but before I just in and start doing that I want to make sure that I am adequately cooled.

Ive got a Coolermaster Stacker 830 case that has about 125mm of clearance between the inside of the side panel and the cpu. So that does kind of limit the size of the cpu cooler that I can go with. The inside panel has 4x120mm fans, 120mm fan in the top of the case and one more 120mm fan behind the cpu. PSU has 120mm fan inside the case and a standard sized exhaust fan on the back of it. Case also has 2x90mm intake fans on the front.

mobo is Gigabyt GA-X48-DQ6 with stock copper silent pipe still on it

video is 4870 X2

memory is Corsair dominator 8500 w/heatsinks that double the ram height

cpu cooler is a Gigabyte g-power pro which I'm looking at changing

For the cpu cooler I'm thinking of either the Zalman CNPS8700 or Thermalright's XP-90C

I'm thinking about the Thermaltake Extreme Spirit II N/B cooler or the Thermalright HR-05 SLI/IFX N/B cooler

I've got no idea about the S/B cooler other than I will need one.

Are the options that I'm thinking about good or does anyone have some better suggestions? I'm looking for good cooling recommendations, but they don't have to be ones with which I'll be able to set speed records with. In the end, I'm looking forward to doing minimal to average amounts of OCing.

Thanks.

[JackyBoy]

This isn't specific air cooling advice, as i jumped straight to water, but it looks like good products your going for after looking at some reviews. Ive heard the ThermalRight Ultra is a good cpu cooler, but you would have to check the height of it.

But what do you want your pc to be like? Do you want better cooling and a better overclock at the expense of a noisy computer? or do you want it as quiet as possible then overclock just as much as it will allow?

For the nb and sb you could just go for a passive ones as by the sound of things your going to have some pretty good airflow going through your case so you could go for something like these

Thermalright HR-05 IFX SLI

or

Thermalright HR-05 IFX

(yes i know its overclockers but it was the easiest place to find them )

but these would cool them down adequately and silently.

Hoped this information has helped

[torrac]

If the noise from the fans got too loud, I would do the same thing that I do in my car when the engine starts to make strange noises, just turn the speakers up louder.

Na, when it comes to the noise end of things, I'm pretty tolerant. A moderate amount of noise doesn't bother me too much. As far as some of the taller cpu coolers go, a lot of them ar out of my height limitation and they push 140mm +.

[k4p84]

I used thermalright for all my air cooling.

Personal favorite CPU cooler been the IFX 14

For chipsets, the thermalright ones do fine, though make sure you actively cool them.

ED

[torrac]

I picked the following items for my chip coolers. Hopefully they will all work satisfactorily for me.

CPU Zalman CNPS8700 NT

N/B Thermalright HR-05-SLI with a scythe 80mm fan

S/B Thermaltake Extreme Spirit II

Ram The cooler and heatsinks that come with the Corsair Dominator 8500

I know cooling the S/B isn't really required, but since everything else is being cooled, no reason to let the S/B get jealous!

Thanks for the tips

[k4p84]

southbridge is important, especially in sli.

i've always believed, if its gets hot it needs cooling and if i can cool it better than factory, do so

ED

[Nick R]

The TRUE is a great air cooler but if you can't get a hold of one then the OCZ Vendetta 2 is just as good.

[Rastalovich]

Originally Posted by name='Nick R'

The TRUE is a great air cooler but if you can't get a hold of one then the OCZ Vendetta 2 is just as good.

I`d gout out on a limb and say the OCZ Vendetta 2 is probably the best air one for me atm.

The fan and it`s arrangement is pretty quiet, I wouldn`t say silent, but it does out-perform a scythe ninja in one of my setups atleast.

With these things tho, u need to be sure it`ll fit.