air coolers for mobo

[wiggywinger]

Hi there,
I have had a GA-EP35-DS3L motherboard for over a year now with very little problems in an Apevia X-Plorer case.(NB:- this was my first self build).
I am now upgrading to a Thermaltake VH9000SWS Mid tower to hopefully get a bit more cooling around my components.
I am also planning to buy a Zalman CNPS7500-ALCU cooler which will hopefully help to keep the northbridge and southbridge cool aswell as my cpu.
My question is,if you can help,will this cooler fit my motherboard?
And if not could you recomend an aftermarket cooler that will clear the components on this motherboard.

Thank you in advance

[Dark Mantis]

Hi and welcome to the Gigabyte Forum.
The Zalman cooler should fit your system fine but it isn't the best or quietest on the market. I would suggest you look at the Noctua range as they are very good and practically silent.

http://www.candccentral.co.uk/Noctua-CPU-Coolers.html

[wiggywinger]

Thanks for your speedy reply,
Yes, those coolers look fantastic but they are a bit over my budget at the moment.
I was hoping to find one around the £20 mark.
I have read so many reviews and you start to get confused with all the different ones available lol.
How about the Artic Freezer Rev 2?..or also ive heard good things about the Gigabyte coolers.
I may slightly overclock my core 2 duo E6600 to no more than about 3 from 2.4 and maybe experiment some slight overclocking using the Bios tools on my mobo.
The fan mate on the Zalman is what attracted me so I could vary the rpm and thus the noise if not needed.

Thanks again for your reply

[Dark Mantis]

The problem being with the Zalman is that if you are going to overclock at all you can forget the fan speed controller as you are going to be having it at max  all the time. It might be a better idea to stick with the stock cooler for now and not overclock and then save up for a good cooler which will do the job properly and quietly and last you for years which will enable you to OC properly and safely.

[wiggywinger]

Thanks again Dark Mantis.
I think I should of explained more on my first thread but I wasnt sure if I was on the right board for my intensions.
So here goes...
my current set up is as follows:-
aperia X-plorer case
No name 500w PSU (faulty)
Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS3L mobo
Core 2 Duo E6600 CPU (with stock cooler which has a broken pin)
Asus EAH 4830 GPU
4 x 512 no name Memory sticks
2 x Sata DVD/RW Drives
2 x 300GB sata H/D

So, I have bought my Thermaltake X-aser case and a Corsair TX 600w PSU.
I am now waiting to get a cheapish CPU cooler to replace the stock till the next leg of my upgrade which will be after the new year.

I am not sure whether to get a Quad core for this mobo and 4GB of decent memory or to buy a new motherboard bundle of either an i3 or i5 which will cost between £230 and £300 .

I will then either go water cooled or get a decent air cooler like the one you suggested

So really im looking for a budget cooler which is better than stock to play around with and learn the basics of overclocking till the new year.

I reakon it would cost nearly as much to go Quad and get decent 4GB of DDR2 for my board than it would to get a i3,i5 or a phenom 6 core bundle wit DDR3 memory.

Later next year I may upgrade to series 5 GPU possibbly in crossfire, hence why ive bought the Corsair TX600.

Hope this explains a bit better why I only want a sub £20 cooler at the mo.

Cheers for you input Dark Mantis

[Dark Mantis]

Yes the more information the better. Now I understand your stance I can offer better advice. If you are just after a cheap cooler for now to do the job that one should be fine. As you say you can upgrade later.
I wopuldn't wasrte any more money on your old board get a new i5 kit and it will last you better. Your only problem if you are lokking at dual GPUs is the PSU isn't big enough. It is good quality but woul;d need to have a bigger power output especially for the startup current. These GPUs take some power.

[wiggywinger]

Sorry my PSU is a TX650 not 600w.
I think this will do me for a while as the crossfire is not on my important list till after ive upgraded everything else,I may not get crossfire at all as i'm only a casual gamer though I do like to download the most recent demo's to 'check them out'.
Anyway, just a decent ati 5 series would prob do me, but I bought the PSU with the option of crossfire if needed.
Back to the CPU cooler though, I am looking for the best 'performance per pound' for about £20 or under
The Zalman CNPS7500
Zalman CNPS8700 LED
Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro Rev. 2
Gigabyte G-Power II
are the ones that I have shortlisted, but if anyone has any others through experience which they could recommend,please do.

As for my forthcoming mobo bundle upgrade, i've shortlisted these:-

http://www.cclonline.com/product-info.asp?product_id=50358&tid=frooct


http://www.overclock.co.uk/product/Intel-Core-i3-530-CPU---Corsair-4GB-DDR3-1333MHz-RAM---Gigabyte-H55-Motherboard-Bundle_34763.html

http://www.awd-it.co.uk/scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=7785&product=Intel+i3+530+%40+3%2E65GHz+%2D+Gigabyte+GA%2DH55M%2DS2H+%2D+4GB+DDR3+1333MHz+Memory+Overclocked+Bundle+BU016OC

http://www.eclipsecomputers.com/product.aspx?code=MB-P55I5764GB

Again please leave your comments/recommendations as im really not sure which way to go yet

Cheers

[Dark Mantis]

I can't comment on the AMD platform choice, absic would be the best one to ask there, but of the others although I prefer the i5 over the i3 processsor I think that the AWD-IT  option would be my choice. However that is personal  and others may think differently.

To be fair any of those coolers would be fine.

[Lucky23]

I would get a bigger cooler if you plan on overclocking. I was recommended a Scythe Mugen2 and it works great and not very expensive. Temps are usually around 56-57c on prime95 100% load on my E8500 OC'd @ 4.03ghz

http://www.xsreviews.co.uk/reviews/cpu-coolers/scythe-mugen-2/

Also whats your ram speed?

[Dark Mantis]

I would get a bigger cooler if you plan on overclocking. I was recommended a Scythe Mugen2 and it works great and not very expensive. Temps are usually around 56-57c on prime95 100% load on my E8500 OC'd @ 4.03ghz

http://www.xsreviews.co.uk/reviews/cpu-coolers/scythe-mugen-2/

Also whats your ram speed?

Actually Lucky if you read back you will find we have already discussed the cooler issue and this is just a temporary HSF. But the cooler you suggest is a very good one and worthy of consideration.