Experience with Gigabyte motherboards?

Thanks.

Well I finally got to playing around in the BIOS and did a slight overclock (from stock 2.80 to 3.54GHz). Things ran stable though I did find that my ZALMAN CNPS9500 AT CPU cooler isn't up to the task Temps ran around 59-60c idle

However I'm still on my break-in period with the Artic Silver 5 thermo compound so temps may get lower once the compound settles. Doesn't matter though cause I'm still going to replace the Zalman with this NH-C12P SE14 cooler. It’s a little pricey but has great reviews; and I love the styling and concept.




Outside of that, even at stock speeds, this thing os pretty fast. I'm loving it

Dave I've already re-applied the compound per the instructions on page 4 & 5 of Artic silver’s PDF instructions for my processor. I did this before attempting an overclock because I thought the idle temps were high then. And those temps quoted were at overclocked speeds. At stock I'm running around 45c idle.



I'm going to re-orient the cooler and see if that helps lower the temp further.

As for the Noctura, yeah, that’s the one I’m going for. However I’ll have to put up with the Zalman for another month. At that time I’ll be able to get it along with a new power supply :)

I’ll keep you guys posted on the temps once I re-orient the CPU cooler.

Thanks.

You know, I've seen this at Microcenter where I bought my parts but never really gave it a look. I’ll do some research and see if it's something I might try.

Though to be honest, I'm pretty much set on that Noctura. I'm really not planning on going super overclock with my system; I doubt that I'll try to push 4gig. With that said, I'm not looking for any kind of water cooling system. Plus I really like the styling of the Noctura, and from the reviews I’ve read, it works. So that's what I'm planning on getting. However it doesn't hurt to look at other solutions, so thanks

BTW re-orienting the cooler lowed the temps across the board by 2c but it's early. We'll see what happens during the next few days.

I'm out for now. Later.

Hi dave sorry for getting back to you so late. The fan speeds are correctly set in the BIOS. As to the CPU fan itself, it's a PVM fan, meaning the speeds are controlled by the motherboard in relation to heat. It's just like the fan that comes with the stock CPU cooler.

One other thing that I didn't mention is that I like to keep my case fans running at medium settings because I don't like fan noise; which is also the reason I like PVM fans on my coolers. Point being is that I don't run my fans at max settings. I suppose I could lower my temps a little further if I did, but....

Right now I'm currently running around 42c idle at stock. For comparisons I ran my Q6600 (stock 2.4 to 2.9 OC) at around 53c idle for 2.5 years without issue; and from my understanding, the i7’s run hotter so….

At any rate I'm not going to obsess if I can't get mid to low 30's at this point in time because I know there's a lot of variables associated with CPU cooling. Once the Artic Silver cures then we'll see what the temps are like afterwards.

Suggestions and help always welcome :)

Thanks.

Update on CPU Cooler

OK, so I got the Noctua NH-C12P SE14 in. Got it installed and thus far…. Results are mixed. Overall it’s about 3c degrees cooler than my old ZALMAN CNPS9500 AT. With the Zalman I was averaging 75c load, 45c idle on my overclocked 930, the SE14 is averaging 72c load, 42c idle. Hmmm.

Where it excels is in noise. This thing is quiet, even with the processor running at full load. This of course is due to its large 140mm 1200 RPM constant speed fan. Even at its full 1200 RPM speed, this thing is quiet. If I want "quieter", at the cost of higher temps, I can use one of the two voltage adapters to lower the RPMs but I don’t need them as this thing is quiet enough.

As to fit/clearance…. There’s no issues using it on a GA-X58A-UD5 MB. There was however a clearance issue with my Corsair Dominator RAM. Depending on orientation the cooler will hang over the first stick. Reorienting the cooler took care of that issue. To be honest this was a concern going in as posted here - Noctua NH-C12P SE14 CPU Cooler, GA-X58A-UD5, and Corsair Dominator RAM fit

At any rate, reorienting the cooler leaves clearance for the sticks without having to remove the heatsink from the first stick. Here's the Suggested orientation of the NH-C12P



Although this thing is big, it’s surprisingly light, even with the fan attached.

BTW the cooler comes with Noctua’s NT-H1-1 thermo compound which actually outperforms Arctic Silver 5, though not by any wide margins. My own unscientific tests show both giving about the same results. However it’s been noted that Noctua’s paste settles quickly whereas Arctic’s paste takes a few days to settle. Hmmm….

So….did I get what I expected with this cooler? To be honest, the book is still open. I’ll give it a few more days as the NT-H1 thermo paste settles in. Yeah, I know I just said it settles quickly, but I also said "Hmmm..."

What I DO like about it is the low profile and low noise. With the fan running at full speed, this baby is quiet. I’m running four 120mm fans in my Antec P182 case. Two S-FLEX SFF21E’s, top and rear (20dBA), one Enermax Magma (18 dBA) front, and a stock Antec Fan in the lower mid chamber (had to replace a faulty Enermax Magma). With the combination the fan noise is more like a low running whoosh sound… like an AC in the background.

Also with the SE14’s fan blowing down it provides cooling to the board’s components. Cool.

With that said… if you’re going anywhere near a 4gig overclock, this cooler isn’t for you (or me). This is more for the light to medium (3.5ish gig) overclockers where noise is a factor. That’s me.

To be honest I kind of expected more (Review), but....

Next up...Power Supply