Computers & Electronics

Which new processor runs cool and comes with a near-silent fan?

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  • Nov 12th, 2010 2:40 pm
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Oct 24, 2001
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Which new processor runs cool and comes with a near-silent fan?

I can afford a nice, speedy upgrade for everyday computing and a few games like WoW. I want speed, but don't want to spend a fortune. Most importantly, I want QUIET!! Short of getting an aftermarket cooler - any of the new AMD/Intel chips come with a REALLY good heatsink and quiet fan?

Thanks. :)
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Nov 27, 2004
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BlueMax wrote: I can afford a nice, speedy upgrade for everyday computing and a few games like WoW. I want speed, but don't want to spend a fortune. Most importantly, I want QUIET!! Short of getting an aftermarket cooler - any of the new AMD/Intel chips come with a REALLY good heatsink and quiet fan?

Thanks. :)

Aftermarket is the way to go. Get a Coolermaster 212+ for $20 and use Speedfan to control your fan speeds.
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A good HSF is only part of the solution - you also need a case with good air flow to keep the inside temps down, so the CPU fan can spin slower.

The coolermaster 212+ is great for the price.
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Went with an Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro Rev.2 - makes my Q6600 processor nearly silent! I can't hear it at all unless the room is totally silent. Good $30 cooler!
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Recently bought a AMD 3core that only uses 45W from NCIX, put on a Coolermaster 212+ for about $25, set the motherboard up so that it spins at a very low RPM and the sucker is pretty much silent as the CPU barely puts out much heat.
I probably could have put a passive heat sink on.. but it cost a lot more and the weight of it was a factor.
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Riffer wrote: Best advice

That's what I went with, 2xsilent 120mm in, 2x120mm out and a fanless CPU cooler.

That would've worked well with the Antec 900 I just sold off. I was tempted to blow the wad and buy a whole new i5 rig, but I got my hands on a nearly-free Q6600 quad-core processor which runs dandy in my secondary box, an old Acer desktop. The Acer hs/f is effective but as loud as a turbine! So for a lousy $30 on a quiet cooler, this mediocre rig has become a pretty darned fine machine! I'll hang on to this baby until it feels "too slow". By then, the new AM3+ stuff should be out.
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BlueMax wrote: That would've worked well with the Antec 900 I just sold off. I was tempted to blow the wad and buy a whole new i5 rig, but I got my hands on a nearly-free Q6600 quad-core processor which runs dandy in my secondary box, an old Acer desktop. The Acer hs/f is effective but as loud as a turbine! So for a lousy $30 on a quiet cooler, this mediocre rig has become a pretty darned fine machine! I'll hang on to this baby until it feels "too slow". By then, the new AM3+ stuff should be out.
It is partly the HSF. It is mostly the design of cooling solution.

I had a Gateway Q6600 and the CPU fan was mostly silent - I think it was the Intel HSF too. (Rare for a stock solution.)

The key was the case side had perforations and there was a cylinder from the HSF to these side perforations. So the HSF was pulling cool outside air to cool the CPU. (Pretty smart and cheap solution.)
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Busybuyer888 wrote: It is partly the HSF. It is mostly the design of cooling solution.

I had a Gateway Q6600 and the CPU fan was mostly silent - I think it was the Intel HSF too. (Rare for a stock solution.)

The key was the case side had perforations and there was a cylinder from the HSF to these side perforations. So the HSF was pulling cool outside air to cool the CPU. (Pretty smart and cheap solution.)

That got me thinking... this Acer was dead silent when using the Core2Duo 1.8GHz it came with (and BIOS recognized.) It was noisy with the Pentium Dual-Core 2.7 it *didn't* properly recognize in the BIOS.

The BIOS recognized this Q6600 right away. I should try the stock HS/F again, and save this fancier one I just bought for my NEXT build.


Thanks for puttin' the idea in my head. :)
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Go buy an Intel Core i3 CPU. Those are 32nm based so they draw less power and put out less heat. Pair it with pretty much any aftermarket heatpipe-based cooler, and you're set.

No consumer CPU comes with a silent HSF (at least not one which remains silent at load) so don't keep your hopes high.
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Oversized Rooster wrote: Go buy an Intel Core i3 CPU. Those are 32nm based so they draw less power and put out less heat. Pair it with pretty much any aftermarket heatpipe-based cooler, and you're set.

No consumer CPU comes with a silent HSF (at least not one which remains silent at load) so don't keep your hopes high.

I'll remember that for my next build. The i3 got Anandtech's best results in WoW as well. I hate the Intel retail box coolers... the clips never seem to actually grab those little holes! At least aftermarket coolers have a bottom bracket!

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