Stock Heatsinks - Intel

[Sharif]

What do you guys think of stock heatsinks... my experience with my first build, the intel heatsink that came with my cpu is working pretty well but struggling... I don't know if it came with any thermal compound (I don't remember applying any) but after I put the heatsink in place, I had to take out again to make sure I positioned it right and saw that there was gunk on the bottom of it and it got some on the cpu... i am guessing THAT is the thermal compound.. anyways, when would you say someone should consider getting a third party heatsink?

[ComputerNut]

The stock heatsink is supposed to be fine for the intel CPU. if you intend to overclock, you might have to look for something larger and more effective for cooling. The gunk on the bottom is a thermal pad that intel applies to the h/s. Ive heard though that removing that pad, and applying thermal paste/grease voids the warranty.

HTH,
CN

[Sharif]

Wow... it voids warranty? That's wack. So what is healthy for a CPU? Mine runs around 55-60 celcius all the time, and mobo at 40 max so far.

[Staren]

Sounds about right for the new Presscott core P4s. The older ones ran cooler, but that sounds pretty good as long as it don't jump much over 60.

[Sharif]

I've seen it go all the way up to about 70-75 when I am playing flight sim...

[ric449]

What cooling does your case have? That temperature shouldn't cause damage, since it is a Prescott after all, but its probably best to be on the safe side of things.

[Staren]

Ya, if you've got spaces for fans that you arn't using, I'd use them. As ric449 said, it might not be doing any major problems, but you probobly extend the life of your parts if you got a bit more air flow going.

[Sharif]

I am definetly going to be replacing the plastic air duct with a ball fan, and put two in the front since there is only space for one in the back. In the case it has holes for a 80MM fan but then there are holes after that seems like for bigger fans... can anyone guess the size?

[Staren]

The vast majoraty of cases use either 80mm or 120mm fans. There are 90mm fans but they arn't that common. The nice thing about the 120mm fans is that they move more air with fewer turns so they can be turned down a little to make them quieter.

[Sharif]

Maybe I should just take a ruler and measure lol... it looks like its 90MM

[Stuey]

I'm under the impression that CPU warranties were pretty short anyways. I replaced my stock cooler with a Zalman Al/Cu cooler and there's not much difference. There's not too much improvement in terms of fan noise but there are some other improvements depending on the user. A larger fan allows you to quiet the system slightly. Certain heat sinks are easier to clean than the stock intel cooler. My system temps are usually around 45-55 degrees C. With dust accumulated on the cpu heatsink, my temps are 65C or higher.

Bottom line, if you have some cash to spend for an upgrade, a 3rd party CPU cooler usually provides improvements of some kind. If you do not care about noise, there are better heatsinks than what Intel provides, BUT, Intel heatsinks are guaranteed to be sufficient for their processors. Unless you overclock or tax your system to extents greater than the average user, you won't need a different CP fan.

More details about your concerns and cooling arrangement will allow greater detailed suggestions.

[Sharif]

Well check my sig.. you see what I am running... and you have to clean the heatsink!!!?? How?

[ComputerNut]

Originally Posted by Sharif Well check my sig.. you see what I am running... and you have to clean the heatsink!!!?? How?

If you mean cleaning the gunk off the CPU + heatsink, youll need ispropyl alcohol (i think 15% concentration is the level you want for this). this will help remove most of the gunk off the cpu and heatsink. just use a soft brush (ie, toothbrush), and gently scrub off the gunk on the cpu and heatsink. for the CPU I recommend leaving the CPU in its socket for this as not to damage any pins, just make sure the alcohol doesnt leak to the mobo or something.

HTH,
CN

[Stuey]

Well that's for the thermal grease. I clean off the dust that accumulates on the fins of the fan and the heatsink fins with a q-tip. I don't know if I can recommend this because there might be a chance of static damage. But depending on where you keep your tower, lots of dust can accumulate and hinder the dissipation of heat from the heatsink. The dust acts like an insulator and decreases the effective surface area of the heatsink, and this leads to less cooling.

You said your stock cooler was struggling so I didn't know if you meant it was too loud and struggling or the temps were too high. Your temps seem alright so if it aint broke or annoying, there's no need to fix it.

[Sharif]

I think the stock cooler is OK... it keeps it at a average of 50-55 during normal use.. but it easily goes to freakin 70's when I do gaming... this is probably because there is only ONE case fan!

So I got a question, if there is not enough room behind the case fan in the back, does it effect the cooling inside or is the back fan just a exhaust?

[Staren]

The rear fans push air out. That's pretty much all they are for, to get the hot air out and away. What I consider good clearince to a wall or whatever is the length of the power plug. If you have enough space to reach behind the case and pull out the power plug without moving the case you're good. You just don't want it right up on a wall or the back of a desk. Also if you have your tower in one of those computer desk cabinets go get a saw and cut the back out of that area. Those things trap heat like you wouldn't believe.

[Sharif]

Yea on the back of my desk where my tower would go there is this stupid block half way down that would block fan output.. that is the reason I got my case outside of my desk... and put my subwoofer where the case is to be lol.