Are the newer AMD heat sinks effective or should i go with a separate liquid cooling. Corsair sells liquid cooling at around $60. I leave the side of my case open to let heat escape, extra fan is not much an issue either
If you have a good fan setup leaving the side of the case open actually hurts your cooling. Air flow needs pressure. When the case closed the fans turn the inside of the case into a wind tunnel. With the case open that pressure is greatly reduced and thus so is the air flow across your components.
Tomshardware has shown that the cheaper entry level sealed liquid cooling systems, like the $60 Corsair you mentioned, are no more effective than good quality air coolers. But I personally would not stick with the stock heat sink.
Here is the highest rated AMD socket heatsink and fan system on Newegg: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118019
This is assuming your board and processor are within the last 3~4 years. Also need to look at the dimensions and see if it will fit in your case.
I do disagree with Tomshardware on the point of the sealed liquid cooling systems. I personally bought a Corsair cooler, and I simply cannot make the CPU overheat using utilities such as Prime95 and other similar processor stressing software. In fact, it doesn't even get close to the danger zone for my CPU. I will attest that it is the best CPU cooler I've ever owned, bar none. In the past I swore by Zalman coolers, and still love their products, but even they can't touch the cooling power I've experienced with the Corsair sealed liquid cooler.
Which version did you buy Vol?
Either way I'll need to get 2 new fans for the front and back
What's your case make and model Gilby?
lol, no clue. I got this thing about 6 years ago. I don't see stickers anywhere. There is a spot in the front for a 120mm fan, and I could go up to a 92mm fan it looks like in the back.
what you think of this one
Rosewell is Newegg's own Chinese import brand. For the most part, I do not recommend them. I own a 7-port hub of theirs that got good reviews. But over the past 2 years there have been very few Rosewell products that did.
If you're looking for a new one I would recommend this from Cooler Master in that price range: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119233
It's not so much as looking for a new one but for air flow and cooling a new one might work better
This is the cooler I bought for my current rig when I built it. It's not a push-pull configuration (a fan on either side of the radiator). Rather, it's a single fan configuration, and it's simply flawless. As for the case, it's a shame Newegg doesn't carry this NZXT case any longer. I've used it in a couple builds (one for my home server, and one for a client), and for the price, it's a great case. I paid the same price as the HAF that B linked when I built my server in 2010. You could probably find it for a lot less these days, if you can find it.
Another thing you can do is take a look at this page on Newegg. It's cases sorted by best rating. There are a lot of cases there in that same price range (50-70 bones) that have a 5-egg rating and more than 1000 raters. Of particular note on that page are the Antec 300, which is always very highly rated, and for good reason. Solid case with solid features... $60. Also, the Cooler Master Centurion is 5 eggs with more than 2500 raters... $55. The Cooler Master HAF 912 that B linked is also 5 eggs with nearly 1000 raters. Basically, there are quite a few really good cases out there in that price range, if you take the time and look. I've not built a system with any of the cases on that page, but many of them were always on my short list when choosing a case for a build.
p.s. A quick Google search yielded a result on Tiger Direct for the NZXT case I discussed. It's available there for $45. I will give one minor warning if you do choose this case. You will want SATA cables with a right angle end (such as this one) for your hard drives. Hard drives sit sideways in the case, so the connections face the side of the case. There isn't a lot of room between the back of the hard drive and the side plate for the case, so you'll want the right angle on one end. As I said, it's minor, but could be a pain if you're not prepared for that. Aside from that small issue, it's great case.
This is the case I have with the exception that mine is the blue model. With it, I use the CPU fan that comes with the CPU and it works flawlessly. I have found that as I get older, I like the cases bigger so I don't have to work so hard to put it together. It is on the pricey side but well worth it. I especially like the hot-swappable drive setup. As you can see it comes with just a few fans.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811517011
I'm with you Az. I detailed my current build a while back when I put it together. I started the thread on 30 Oct 2010. The case I used is even more expensive than yours, which is not my usual M.O., but I decided that I wasn't going to skimp on this one. However, this case is also quite big, and its design makes for a very clean build. If anyone else is curious about the components I used, I listed everything in that thread.
I like bacon.
My next case will be a HAF X, I listed the 912 for Gilby simply as an alternative to the Rosewell case he inquired about.
