Cooler for Q6600

zilog_jones

I've just bought a Q6600 on eBay, hopefully it'll arrive OK next week but I'll need a heatsink/fan for it. Any recommendations? I will be overclocking and would like something quiet enough. Could I get something decent enough for about €40?

RoyalMarine

if i were you, id try get a v8 cooler.

i have one, and it keeps everything whisper quite and extremly cold!

Deano12345

RoyalMarineComm wrote: »

if i were you, id try get a v8 cooler.

i have one, and it keeps everything whisper quite and extremly cold!

I'd say the Scythe Mugen II.It beats the CMV8 (not that the V8 is a bad cooler) in any test I have seen,and is also a lot cheaper.Heres a link to it's performance :

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/coolers/display/scythe-mugen-2_8.html

(For anyone who doesn't know,the Theromolab Baram is a very good cooler,will beat the TRUE,usually)

And heres the product link on Komplett :

http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.aspx?sku=503435

zilog_jones

Thanks for the replies. V8 is too expensive for me and the Mugen 2 looks good but I don't think it will fit in my case - I only have about 13cm clearance above the CPU

What about the Scythe Ninja Mini? I guess I won't be able to get anything super quiet with the limited space I have.

Also, currently the case (Gigabyte Triton) has an intake hood thing over the CPU, which goes against the fan position of most coolers these days. Would it be best to remove this hood and block the intake? There's a 120mm fan on the front and back of the case.

Deano12345

zilog_jones wrote: »

Thanks for the replies. V8 is too expensive for me and the Mugen 2 looks good but I don't think it will fit in my case - I only have about 13cm clearance above the CPU

What about the Scythe Ninja Mini? I guess I won't be able to get anything super quiet with the limited space I have.

Also, currently the case (Gigabyte Triton) has an intake hood thing over the CPU, which goes against the fan position of most coolers these days. Would it be best to remove this hood and block the intake? There's a 120mm fan on the front and back of the case.

Is it a sort of ducting ? Take it off anyway.

The mini Ninja is good.If you could save up though the Corsair H50 (at around €70) is probably the best cooling option for a smaller case.

zilog_jones

Deano12345 wrote: »

Is it a sort of ducting ? Take it off anyway.

Yeah there's a picture here: http://www.cowcotland.com/articles/134-4/gigabyte-triton.html
I was just wondering if it would be worth blocking up the duct opening on the side of the case as well - would that be any better for airflow? Then again there's the same kind of vent for the graphics card further down, and I've seen other cases where the side panel is mostly covered by grating so I'm not sure.

The mini Ninja is good.If you could save up though the Corsair H50 (at around €70) is probably the best cooling option for a smaller case.

I've gone for the Ninja Mini, thanks. Don't want to spend too much on this ancient PC! H50 looks very nice though...

cherryghost

i personally like the ocz vendetta 2. really cheap and exceptional performance for the price

zilog_jones

I received the Scythe Ninja Mini today, it's a bit louder than the stock cooler that was on my E6300 but it's obviously a lot better at cooling - I think the motherboard power cables being so close to the fan aren't helping with the noise (everything's a lot more cramped in there now ).

I can only get the Q6600 stable up to 2.7 GHz (300 FSB, 1.25V, 1:1 RAM) which is a bit disappointing. Overvolting doesn't seem to improve things at all - went up to 1.45V with no improvements. I guess it's a motherboard limitation (MSI 975X Platinum) - I had my E6300 at 2.6GHz (370 FSB) but the lower power and lower multiplier probably helped. I've seen some other talk that the 975X isn't a great chipset for overclocking.

RoyalMarine

jesus that q6600 should easily hit 3.2 with out any problems. 3.4-3.6 with a few tweaks.

have you researched to see what the mobo can do with that chip?

Deano12345

Your right,the chipsets limiting you there

IrishGrimReaper

What revision Q6600 is it? I heard there was a first one that was a terrible OC'er. I can't recall the stepping number exactly but Im pretty sure it's B2, but I know the good ones are G0.

Use CPU-Z to find out which you have.

uberpixie

IrishGrimReaper wrote: »

What revision Q6600 is it? I heard there was a first one that was a terrible OC'er. I can't recall the stepping number exactly but Im pretty sure it's B2, but I know the good ones are G0.

Use CPU-Z to find out which you have.

B3 not B2.

Have a B3 revision myself and it hits 3.0ghz no problem, never bothered going higher due to heat which is the big issue with B3s.

I would agree with Damo and say it's the chipset or motherboard causing the issue.

If I remember the MSI Platinum 975X series were fast @ stock but woeful at overclocking. Nice stable boards otherwise.

zilog_jones

It's a G0. It still seems fine at 300 FSB even with SpeedStep and all the other crap turned back on, and most programs are saying it's only running at about 1.19V under load (1.22 idle), but if I go up to 310 (at 1.45V) it becomes unstable (Windows starts fine but sometimes resets/BSODs and stress testing software crashes in the first few seconds).

I've noticed under full load some thermal sensor ("AUX" according to SpeedFan) goes up around 60 degrees, I think it could be the northbridge as it gets very hot and there's just a crappy passive heatsink on it. Maybe a better cooler will help?

Deano12345

zilog_jones wrote: »

It's a G0. It still seems fine at 300 FSB even with SpeedStep and all the other crap turned back on, and most programs are saying it's only running at about 1.19V under load (1.22 idle), but if I go up to 310 (at 1.45V) it becomes unstable (Windows starts fine but sometimes resets/BSODs and stress testing software crashes in the first few seconds).

I've noticed under full load some thermal sensor ("AUX" according to SpeedFan) goes up around 60 degrees, I think it could be the northbridge as it gets very hot and there's just a crappy passive heatsink on it. Maybe a better cooler will help?

Zip tie a small fan to the NB for a cheap fix