Hey everybody, I've ordered an Arctic-cooling Silercer-64 Ultra heatsink/fan and I can adjust the speed of the fan. I've only got to cool a Winchester 3000+ proc so do you think I can turn it down to 1000 RPM and enjoy the silent performance but only get 18 CFM. Or should I pump it up to 2500 RPM endure some more noise but get 46 CFM? I'm sure it's safer to go with more airflow but I'm obviously into the whole "silent PC" thing. Thanks.
I'm not up with winchester temps so your best bet and safest would be to do it slowly. Leave the fan on full speed and record the temp. Then turn down the rpm in steps and watch the temps. If it goes too high (around 40c for idle) then put it up. You should also check the temps with lower rpm under load aswell.
Off-hand, I can't picture that heatsink, but you might want to see about getting a fan adapter for a larger fan. I'd be able to run at a slower speed, while pushing more air than what you currently have (depending on what speed and the size of the fan)
Well Congrats on choosing a VERY good heatsink, the Artic Freezer 64 Range are fantastic - as long as you have an ambient case temperature between 20-30Celcius you should have no problem running your fan @ 1000RPM and keeping max temperatures below 50C. EASILY! I have the Artic Freezer 64 (Non Ultra) - no fan adjustment and mine runs at a constant 1860RPM (Max RPM i've seen it go) and thats with a 600Mhz overclock (2.0Ghz -> 2.6Ghz) and my temps don't go above 54C - ever (max ambient case temperature of 30C depending on weather). As for your CFM query 18CFM is NOT a problem as long as you have a set of good case fans (that have equal CFM settings) - Intake at front - Out take at back So feel free to go ahead and shut it down to 1000RPM, however.. there really isn't any need the Artic Freezer 64 is INCREDIBLY silent as a cooler, if you have any noise coming from your case it will be from your graphics cards heatsink/case fans/psu. I recommend: Vantec Silent Stealth Fans (60mm/80mm/92mm/120mm) ( no case really needs more than 2 fans as long as they are reasonably powerful - even in large cases. If your looking for silence, i suggest Acoustic matting for example: Akasa Acoustic Matting deadens vibration of fans / hard drives / case in general. P.S if you find the 2500RPM setting loud, it's not the Heatsink&Fan it's your case vibrating or something else such as graphics card.. I have the Artic Cooler Freezer 64 which is the same as the Ultra except you have a fan controller, and the Freezer 64 @ 2500RPM makes a total max noise of 1 Sone (nothing at all..)
