Gigabyte 890gpa-ud3h Replace Cooler

[wanner]

Hi,

I have an gigabyte 890gpa-ud3h with a phenom II X4 945 and I want to replace the stockcooler since it is way too noisy for my taste.

I have my eyes on an Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 Pro
But I am concerned that the replacement will not fit.
My case is a Fractal Design Define R2 ( http://www.fractal-design.com/?view=product&category=2&prod=32 )

Do you think it will fit? Or does anyone know of a better option for my motherboard?

Thanks!

[Dark Mantis]

Looking at them both I wouldn't think you will have any trouble.

[wanner]

What about the choice of cooler? Do you have any experience of it? Or do you have any other recommendation?

[Dark Mantis]

Well there are much better coolers on the market but oviously a lot depends on your other hardware and your budget. Give me some more details and I might have a better idea.

[wanner]

Gigabyte 890GPA-UD3H,
Phenom 2 X4 945,
Fractal Design Tesla 550W 80+,
Corsair 4GB (2x2048MB) 1600MHz XMS3,
Gigabyte Geforce 460 GTX 1GB OC

I dont want to spend too much on a new cooler, but I can spend a little more than the Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 Pro.

Mainly I want to lower the noise that the stock cooler makes under load.

[Dark Mantis]

The thiong is you can go for totally silent like the superb Thor's Hammer that has no fans or for something like the Arctic Cooler Freezer Extreme which is quiet or the Noctua NH series which are quiet and efficient. Check them all out here: http://www.candccentral.co.uk/CPU-Heatsinks-And-Fans.html

[wanner]

The thiong is you can go for totally silent like the superb Thor's Hammer that has no fans or for something like the Arctic Cooler Freezer Extreme which is quiet or the Noctua NH series which are quiet and efficient. Check them all out here: http://www.candccentral.co.uk/CPU-Heatsinks-And-Fans.html

Thanks for your tips, I checked them out, and i almost ordered the Arctic Cooler Freezer Extreme. But then I decided to go cheap and ordered the Arctic Cooling Freezer Pro 7 Rev.2.  Have some questions about the installation though, which way should i face it?

[Dark Mantis]

You will need to take into account which way the general airflow through the case is. Usually it is in at the front and out at the back and/or top. Just make sure that you keep it in the same direction so that you don't get any dead air spots.

[wanner]

You will need to take into account which way the general airflow through the case is. Usually it is in at the front and out at the back and/or top. Just make sure that you keep it in the same direction so that you don't get any dead air spots.

The airflow is from the front/bottom to the back/top.

Unfortunately i was not able to install my cooler in the correct direction which would be with the fan to the front. Instead I had to mount it with the fan pointing down in the case.

After some time in windows doing simple things (winamp, surfing the web etc) HWMonitor reports these results:


What do you think? Is the result acceptable? Havent been able to try it during heavy load yet.

[absic]

Hi,

looking at the temps from the CPU I would say that they seem OK and are cooler than those you get with the stock cooler.

The best advice I can offer is to keep an eye on the Temps when you start putting a heavy load on the CPU. As long as they don't go above 62°C then you are OK.

Another thing to consider, if you are really concerned about high temps and not overclocking would be slightly pulling the voltage back on the CPU. This can have a dramatic effect on the amount of heat being produced.

[wanner]

Hi,

looking at the temps from the CPU I would say that they seem OK and are cooler than those you get with the stock cooler.

The best advice I can offer is to keep an eye on the Temps when you start putting a heavy load on the CPU. As long as they don't go above 62°C then you are OK.

Another thing to consider, if you are really concerned about high temps and not overclocking would be slightly pulling the voltage back on the CPU. This can have a dramatic effect on the amount of heat being produced.

Thanks for your reply! I think i will install another case fan which takes air from the side of the case which should improve the airflow some. Im glad to hear everything seems ok. Id rather not go through the hassle trying to exchange the cooler for one that would fit in the correct direction.

Which temps should i be monitoring? The 4 core temps under the CPU?

[Dark Mantis]

AS absic sid your tempos look fine at the moment and yes to your question about which temps to check on. The CPU core temps are the most important and will always be higher than the surrounding components. Generally looks good.

[absic]

Yes, if you look at the max  column in your picture they show as 34°C (92°F) these are the ones you need to watch. If they go over 62°C then you are at the upper limit for the CPU and that's not good.

Are you Overclocking or intending to?

[wanner]

Yes, if you look at the max  column in your picture they show as 34°C (92°F) these are the ones you need to watch. If they go over 62°C then you are at the upper limit for the CPU and that's not good.

Are you Overclocking or intending to?

Not overclocking and not intending to at the moment . I was well aware buying this cooler that if I intend to overclock in the future i will probably have to buy a new cooler.

I will invest in 2 additional case fans which will hopefully improve the airflow in the case.

[absic]

if you are not planning on O/C'ing at the moment I would recommend pulling the voltage back a little on the CPU. Do you know how to do that?

Stress Testing the CPU: To be honest you don't really need to do that, trust me, I've done enough testing with AMD CPU's and you won't gain much from doing that.