E6600 and 8800GTX cooling solutions

[Robert]

My 8800GTX is running hotter than I'd like, as is my E6600, I recently rebuilt my PC into a better ventilated case and that helped a lot, but I'm looking to lower the temperatures down even more, judging from other posts Arctic Silver Thermal Paste seems to be the prime choice for the CPU, but how about heatsink/fan/etc for either/or?

This is the processor I have, and this is the particular 8800GTX I have, I tried searching for 8800 cooler and it came up with results for heatsinks which specifications indicated that it needed to have a particular kind of fan, and searching for the kind mentioned came up with none that I could see which were compatible with 8800GTX.

Moving my rig from my shitty case into this better ventilated one dropped my temperatures from 80C+ on the 8800GTX to 72C (playing COD4), and judging by posts on tomshardware and various other PC guru websites suggest that my CPU is running hotter than ideal and I'm just looking for aftermarket cooling for both my card and my CPU. Preferably sold on newegg, this is one of my first builds so if anyone could simply list the components I need I would greatly appreciate it, thanks.

[Grandcross]

Thermalright Ultra-120 CPU Cooling Heatsink paired up with 1 or 2 Scythe S-FLEX SFF21F should lower CPU temperatures a fair bit while being reasonably silent. As for your 8800GTX, I would just use Rivatuner to adjust its fan speed (Nvidia has a utility that can adjust fanspeed, but it looses it's settings every time you reboot). A PCI slot cooler could help lower your temps as well.

[Avanarius]

you can put the fan up to 80% on the gtx/gts and still not be able to hear it depending on the room and drop the temps as much as 10c

[Cephius]

On a side note, those cards run hot by design, they can take sustained temperatures of 90C before things start to get dangerous. Of course you don't want them to get that high.. but if its running around 80 under load its not really at risk.

[levish]

If you decide to go with a different GPU heatsink the Thermalright HR-03 Plus is the best choice (under most circumstances) for the 8800GTX.

Just be aware that it's reccomended to run a fan on it and that it can be a 3 Slot Cooler with a fan on top and possibly interfere with your cpu heatsink if you mount it on the reverse.

The Accelero S1 + Turbo module or whatever 120mm fan zip tied etc to it is a good choice as well.

[mootsfox]

HR-03 Plus, and Ultra 120 Extreme. Both made by Thermalright.

[Cujo]

I really like the Tuniq 120 Heatsink and fan. I use it for my E6850 and my temps are 21c idle and 35c under heavy load. My CPU is also overclocked to 3.85ghz.

As for my 8800GTX cooling, I never had a problem with temps, even with it overclocked. Good case ventilation is usually enough to keep temps at a nice level. Using a Coolermaster Stacker 830 case right now and I love it.

[Grandcross]

I have that same case. Its very good for ventilation.

[mootsfox]

The tuniq is pretty good. I use that and a custom bolt-through mounting system. Keeps my Q6600 cool at 1.65v, although I only do 3.3ghz @ 1.35v for 24/7 operation.

[Rags]

On my old system I had an issue with overheating. I had a 120mm fan on the back of the case. There was one on the side of the case and then one in the front. Not to mention the CPU fan or G.C fan. For some odd reason the case would get very warm to the touch.

Now I have rebuild my system with the same gear the OP is using. I have a fan on the back of the case at 120mm as well as one in the front. . I have a pci fan. The only question I have is should I go with one of the fans you guys were mentioning or should I go water cooling. Is there a noticeable difference. Also are the fans for the mem and the H.D a plus. Or are they not really needed?

[Avanarius]

You will need to put a lot of money out to get an average liquid cooling system ($100 just isn't going to cut it). Even then the temperatures in the system depend entirely on the ambient air temperature. Even with liquid you can't have a cpu temperature lower then ambient room temperature unless you're using peltier cooling or something equivilant. Liquid cooling sees it's full potential at full load on the cpu as the difference between idle and load would only be 5-6 degrees celsius.

All in all, besides the risks associated with water cooling, the more money you put out the better temperatures you will see.

I can give way more details then that if you want too, I'm fairly experienced with water cooling.

[mootsfox]

Memory and HDD cooling is mostly a gimmick. A case with decent airflow will have no problems. This is amusing that you are not an extreme overclocker or running 2.4v through your RAM for any reason.

Water cooling...

If you have the time and like to tinker with things, and about $350, go for it. Otherwise, I'd go with high end air, which can get close to water results without the hassle. I don't see much of a point for water unless you want to use TEC(s), which can give you very nice load temps (single digits or under).

[Rags]

Well I am not looking to spend 350 bucks on water cooling for my CPU. Especially if I am not going to see any real difference. I am just cautious about how I am going to keep my system cooler then my previous one. Thats why I mentioned fans and there placements.

My last system got hot no matter what I was doing. Which is odd considering the room temp wasn't to bad. An I did have a couple fans circulating the air in my PC. The case would just get very warm.

I was checking out some CPU fans. But I am not to sure what to get. They all seem to have a decent rating. An they all seem big and heavy. This is my mobo if you guys can pin point me to to best, and least noisiest. XFX NFORCE 680I LT with a Intel Core 2 Quad 2.40GHz Socket 775 Processor!

[mootsfox]

Well, the Q6600, depending on your revision is rated at 95 to 105W TDP. It won't necessary put out that much heat all the time, but it can, especially if you overclock.

I think I already mentioned this, but I use a semi-lapped (semi because I'm lazy) Tuniq Tower with a Blue Thermaltake Thunderblade (40-90CFM) and a homemade bolt through mounting system in favor of the shitty stock, and because I didn't have the right backplate. Theres a lot of good choices out there for you, I could give you a list if you want... Just remember to stay away from Zalman unless it's on clearance.

[Epical]

I'm a Zalman advocate, so when I get home from work I'll link you to their awesome GPU/CPU coolers (even when running CoD4, my X1950XT only got up to ~73). But yes, AS5 is the first step to proper cooling... you'd be surprised what good thermal paste can do.

[Rags]

So hook me up with a list and those links. :D

[mootsfox]

I'm a Zalman advocate, so when I get home from work I'll link you to their awesome GPU/CPU coolers (even when running CoD4, my X1950XT only got up to ~73). But yes, AS5 is the first step to proper cooling... you'd be surprised what good thermal paste can do.

73C are you serious? You spent money on an after market cooler and those are your load temps? You're doing it wrong dude.

This is the cooler you want for your 8800GTX
http://www.svc.com/hr-03plus.html

This is what I use for my quad core
http://www.svc.com/tuniq.html

[Rags]

IS the SVC big. From the pictures it doesn't look like it. An will I really need to add a cooler to my G.C ?

[Epical]

Intel CPU coolers
GPU coolers

Love Zalman. <3

73C are you serious? You spent money on an after market cooler and those are your load temps? You're doing it wrong dude.

How am I doing it wrong? My card runs hot by nature, and CoD4 with near max settings at 1680x1050 doesn't exactly equate to a brisk jog in the park.

[mootsfox]

IS the SVC big. From the pictures it doesn't look like it. An will I really need to add a cooler to my G.C ?

It's big, and no you don't, but I thought you wanted a CPU cooler as well.

Back when I had an R580 core, it would get into the low 80C's during heavy gaming sessions on the stock cooler. I put a Tidewater on it ($50 water VGA cooling from Thermaltake) and it brought it down to 55C when gaming. 73C is hot for aftermarket cooling.

I'll need some proof before I can believe that Zalman is worth their price.