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I would like to upgrade my Athlon X2 5000+ to a Phenom II X6 1090T with my Crosshair II Formula motherboard (CPU is supported, I verified it).

I currently mount an ASUS Arctic Ice cooler which goes fine for my 85W CPU. I wonder if I have to change my cooler for supporting this new 125W 6-core CPU.

I would like a great modding cooler, possibly with a fancy look. But I don't want to buy another cooler if mine is fine for this CPU.

I own an NVidia-branded case with green-glowing fans inside (7 silent fans + CPU and PSU fans), so green would be a great colour (rather than the blue of my current cooler).

I found Cooler Master V8 cooler which seems to support additional (how many?) 12mm fans, for which I can use my fancy green fans. Do you have other ideas?

My questions are

  1. Is my current fan good for the new CPU? I don't think I'll stress the CPU too much because I abandoned SETI@Home after it burned me two PSUs (and I also have 3 video cards!!!!!!!!! 9 parallel executions :| too bad), but I'm a hard gamer
  2. What CPU cooler would you suggest me to buy?
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usr-local-ΕΨΗΕΛΩΝ
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2 Answers2

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Most new CPU's come with an appropriate heatsink and fan. I would suggest testing your current cooler against whatever comes with your new CPU. Whichever heatsink keeps your CPU colder is the one you use.

MBraedley
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  • Sorry but the new CPU comes with an old-style (and noisy) fan I don't like. I threw my 5000+'s fan because when I was on the phone once with my PC turned on my fried asked me at a point "are you still drying your hair?". I would like to use a modding cooler either like mine (if it's suitable) or a new one ;) that was my question – usr-local-ΕΨΗΕΛΩΝ Dec 10 '10 at 20:16
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    I would still do a comparison between the two. If you're only running a few degrees hotter with your old fan, you should still be fine. – MBraedley Dec 10 '10 at 21:14
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It's probably a good idea to replace the heatsink/fan when you replace the CPU, even not considering thermal issues. After all, fans are moving parts, and wear does affect them. Plus, as @MBraedley points out, the new CPU is probably going to come with a suitable heatsink anyway.

Billy ONeal
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  • I can only accept 1 answer, but I would have also accepted the other one for the second comment. You're right, fans should be replaced after several years to keep cooling efficient and durable. But also, I should not care about the degrees if just a few – usr-local-ΕΨΗΕΛΩΝ Dec 11 '10 at 13:58