I'm about to order all of the parts for my new PC. But I don't know what CPU Cooling device to order. I've read that the device that comes with the Core 2 Duos is ineffective/doesn't work as well as others. I've consulted some who say that the Artic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro is the best. I've also heard that some Zalman Products are good. I don't know which is best, or what to order, if anything (as in using the included cooler with the Core 2 Duo). Of course, whatever I order (if anything again), it has to be Socket 775 and must fit in This Case.
The Arctic Cooling Freezer series are regarded as some of the best coolers around, I have an old Freezer 4 running in my old desktop and it's simply great. They're quiet and very efficient with the cooling, I hear good things about Zalman but I've read that they can be louder than you expect.
The stock cooler is fine if you're going to be running at stock speeds or a little overclocking. If not, the stock cooler is fine. It's fairly quiet and cools well. Having said that, best would depend on what you're looking at for price. The Arctic Cooling Freezers are excellent performers, not to mention very inexpensive---especially at the small price they have. The Scythe Ninja is another good one as the Tuniq Tower 120. However, the Tower along with some Thermalright and Thermaltake units, use a 120mm fan, which are rather large, and can make the installation somewhat of a bear depending on the particular cooler. Are you looking at air cooling or are you considering water cooling? What noise level are you comfortable with?
I have a Pentium 4 in a Vaio notebook right now. It always gets to 171F (77C) and stays there. I guess that's pretty hot, so whatever cooling method it's using must not be working that overly great. I've seen performance decreases because of how hot it gets (after a few consecutive hours of use) and I don't want to get stuck with that on a new desktop. Noise isn't a major concern. I highly doubt it would be louder than my current laptop is now, so it wouldn't have to be completely silent. I usually have surround sound on, so I probably wouldn't be able to hear it anyway. I've read the reviews about the Freezer 7 Pro...The "This is the best thing ever!" sort of reviews greatly outnumber the "It didn't do anything and was a pain to install" ones. My biggest concern is it fitting in the case. It looks so huge I don't know if it will collide with something else or what might be possible, much less if I can get it to face the correct direction. I also want to prolong the life and performance of the processor, so if buying the Freezer 7 Pro would help with that, I don't have any problem buying it. And on one last note, would it be very easy to install? I haven't ever put one in before either.
