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Yankton · Posted: Tue Oct 07, 2008 4:02 am Post subject: cooling question

For those of you quads. I have a dell 530 on the way with the q6600 (got the computer for $430). Has anyone else used one of these for shrubbing? I know that cpu runs a bit hot, I'm wondering if stock cooling is adequate if it shrubs 24/7 or if i should be eyeballing some aftermarket cooling, and if anyone else has done this, what cooling system would they recommend for this?

Confused

sangamon · Squire Joined: 06 Oct 2008 Posts: 9 Location: Belgium

Intel stock coolers are pretty good these days. Only if you're going to overclock and/or are worried about noise i would look too aftermarket coolers.

if you go aftermarket, the Scythe Mine Rev.B is a good choice. however check the size and room you have available first, because since it's a dell it might be a hassle to replace the cooler
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Yankton · Posted: Tue Oct 07, 2008 4:50 am Post subject:

Not worried about the noise and I have no plans to overclock it. Dell usually locks overclocking out of their bios (which you can still get around). Got a good deal on it so I was just planning on putting it on a shelf and letting it shrub all day long. I'll leave it and see how it goes while stock then.

Much appreciated!

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Sir Furry Mark · Posted: Tue Oct 07, 2008 5:11 am Post subject:

I have a Dell Q6600 (XPS420) running at stock speed (2.4GHz) and it is really, really quiet. Additional cooling is only needed if you are taking them above 3GHz. I have a colleague who has one at 3.4GHz on air and another at 3.8GHz with water cooling.

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Yankton · Posted: Tue Oct 07, 2008 5:56 am Post subject:

I'll have to poke at the bios when it shows up. Dell usually disables the normal ways to overclock a cpu. Not overly concerned about this one though. Would like to get one more like it to replace the amd box I have and then one final one which I will hand build with an external cooling tower and all the fun toys. I'll have to poke around in another couple of months and see if I can find another similar tower in that price range. No bells and whistles, but it doesn't need them for this.

ohiomike · Prince Joined: 20 May 2007 Posts: 858 Location: Sometimes

The Dell case designs are pretty good for cooling (fans push air through a duct directly over the CPU cooler before the air cools the rest of the case. I think you will also find that an aftermarket cooler cannot be used without fab work (non-standard cooler mounting). As a PS, the Dell cases are also "bass-ackwards", ie- they open from the right side instead of the left side like a standard case (means that a standard MB can't be used in a Dell case).
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