A good low profile cpu fan

[sorethumbs]

I've got an Arctic freezer pro with my Q6600 chip at the moment, just putting everything into a new case but the current cooler is just a tad too tall (i think freezer pro's are about 12.5cms high. I know this fan does a good job but can anyone recommend a good cooling, quiet as poss, reasonably priced socket 775 heatsink & fan that will be no taller than about 10.5 cms tall when fitted.

I know i really need to look at low profile ones (like http://www.arctic.ac/en/p/cooling/cpu/1 ... -7-lp.html)
and don't want to spend out too much, so recommendations gratefully received

ta
phil

[tony_park]

Hi,

take a look at http://www.quietpc.com/uk - they have a good range, and their support via their forums is excellent for any questions you may want to ask.

Tony

ps, I don't work for them, just been very impressed with their performance over the past 5 years of having an htpc and using them for a number of components

[cw-kid]

I'd probably use one of these

http://www.quietpc.com/gb-en-gbp/produc ... g/shuriken

[STC]

I just love these if your budget can go that far. Huge lump of copper and big fan blades that spin slow.
http://www.zalman.com/ENG/product/Produ ... sp?idx=311
I have three and they have never let me down.

[richard1980]

I don't know if you can get away with this, but I run my E6500 with just the stock heatsink; the fan is disconnected, but I have a Nexus Real Silent 120mm fan blowing on it. It doesn't keep the CPU as cool as it could be, but then again, it's completely silent.

[EmirOfGroofunkistan]

one vote against the Shuriken - the cooler seems to be nice and quiet, but the MB bracket is horrible. I had a tight spot to get it in and couldn't get my fingers under the heatsink and above the pins enough to push them down. Horrible experience. I'd pay twice as much for anything with a decent bracket (I now prefer the ones that mount under the MB).

[newfiend]

I have one of these and they work great.. Love Zalman products.. Well built stuff http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... -_-Product

Sent from my WP7 using Board Express

[sorethumbs]

Thanks fellas a few good options to look at. The Shuriken has good reviews but looks fiddly and its quite big i'm a bit worried about it interfering with other bits like ram as i have some corsair sticks with spreaders on. Think i'll try a zalman one

[StumpyBloke]

I don't know if you can get away with this, but I run my E6500 with just the stock heatsink; the fan is disconnected, but I have a Nexus Real Silent 120mm fan blowing on it. It doesn't keep the CPU as cool as it could be, but then again, it's completely silent.

Really?? Brave man!! . What temp does the CPU get to under load?

[sorethumbs]

Silly question no doubt but my cpu fan pin header on motherboard is 4 pin and all the Zalman coolers i have looked at come with 3 pin connector - so where do i plug it in

[STC]

There should be destructions with it? You plug the 3 pin plug into the 4 pin header omitting one pin. The plastic lugs will guide you.

[sorethumbs]

After googling while that question was out there i came to that conclusion (thanks!)

[STC]

No worries! Then test a bit. Play around with fan speed settings in the bios, whilst checking load temps. You should be able to get it running relatively slowly and quietly.

[sorethumbs]

Haven't bought the fan yet, also I'm currently trying to get hold of an Asus board, had an atx one before and i really like Asus. Matx one needed this time to go in my '80's midi system case'
Oh and i need a new dvb-s2 card
and new graphics card..................

[tony_park]

Haven't bought the fan yet, also I'm currently trying to get hold of an Asus board, had an atx one before and i really like Asus. Matx one needed this time to go in my '80's midi system case'
Oh and i need a new dvb-s2 card
and new graphics card..................

sounds like the costs are mounting up!

[holidayboy]

I've had the odd Zalman cooler that came with a 4 pin connector.

I'm not sure why they keep using the 3 pin stuff - you always get one of those "fan mate" speed control doohickeys too.

Why not just let the motherboard do the speed control (most boards have software to tweak speeds anyway don't they)?

[STC]

The fan mate is a well built rheostat, so I used mine on a PCI slot blower

[sorethumbs]

It was my confusion, the 3 pin fits the 4 pin header
My usual shopping place has the Zalman CNPS7000C-CU, CNPS7500-CU LED or CNPS8700-LED
All look pretty similar to me i'll prob get cheapest one, i have a Gigabyte GA-G31M-ES2L only a cheap board but it has CPU smart fan control which according to the manual 'allows the CPU fan to run at different speed according to the CPU temperature. You can adjust the fan speed with EasyTune based on system requirements. If disabled, CPU fan runs at full speed.
So i'm guessing if i let the bios control the fan speed according to temperature i wouldn't need the fan mate controller, alternatively if i disabled the smart fan control (and CPU fan would then run at full speed) and used the controller i would have manual control myself?
Would i be right in assuming you wouldn't have the bios control the speed according to temperature AND use the fanmate at same time??
Oh i've got my green badge - i'm a well happy cub scout now!

[STC]

I would only bother with the LED versions if you want to have lit up innards. For a HTPC I doubt you would want this. Unless you provide a set of shades for every viewer The light can seep out of the closed case and be very annoying.

[STC]

And yes run without the fan mate at the lowest possible speed threshold in the bios. The bios will speed the fan up when needed.