The CNPS9500 still has a 92mm fan (meaning it isn't small), and isn't exactly cheap at $40. It is also an old design that doesn't cool as well. The NH-U12P will give much better performance and is very quiet.



Don't bother, the NH-U12P comes with a tube of high quality TIM. Buying another tube would just be a waste of money. I also wouldn't bother with buying remover - some qtips/cloth balls and some isopropyl rubbing alcohol will get the job done just fine.

As for applying the TIM, just squeeze out a small, pea size drop on the CPU and put the HSF on - it will spread itself out. You actually get slightly better performance with the NT-H1 (the paste that comes with the NH-U12P) using the drop method than the spread method UD described.



You will need to remove your motherboard to install the NH-U12P. If you aren't comfortable with that, there are coolers that just use the push pins.

While you got your PC open, blow it out. Especially if you got a pet.

Never underestimate how much hair and dust can get in your box. I can't tell you how many times I had a student with thermal shutdowns on their R61 and all I did to fix it was blow half of their cat out of the fan.

I blow out the case fans on my computer at least once every 2 weeks. I've got a windowed case so I keep it nice. I just never take out the mobo.

And you won me back on the NH-U12P, Kllrnohj, but now it's out of stock. :/

The CNPS9500 also comes with its own thermal compound, is cheaper, is in stock, and cools very well (5 eggs and 754 reviews don't lie).



You're going to go through a lot of cotton balls that way



You might get better coverage around the center that way, but what about the edges?



Push pins are a PITA to install properly; just take the mobo out & screw it on like a real man

I've never ordered from Tiger Direct before, but they're 2nd best, right?
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4244282&CatId=1588

I found a couple of reviews of the NH-U12P successfully using my motherboard (Asus P5W DH Deluxe) and one with the CNPS9500 having trouble on it, so I'm more apt for the NH-U12P.

Newegg ratings don't mean a thing. The CNPS9500 isn't a bad cooler, its just not a very good value. There are better coolers for $40 if the $60 for the NH-U12P is too expensive - but really, we are talking $20 here. You've never been one to recommend penny pinching in your build recommendations, why are you starting now?



Yeah, like, 2? Maybe 3?



http://hardocp.com/article/2009/04/07/thermal_paste_shootout_q209/3

The NT-H1 does better with just the drop than with the spread, but it varies by compound. It doesn't vary by much, granted, but still.



Removing the mobo is more a PITA than the push pins if you already have it installed



Tiger Direct is OK. I'm not a fan, but I've never had any problems with them. I still recommend the NH-U12P unless you are really short on cash - no reason to skimp on the HSF unless you really need to. Just make sure you OC the crap out of your CPU, and the HSF will easily pay for itself

On the coverage note, if my understanding is correct of the setup of processors these days, the actual used part that gets hot is a thin line down the middle of the processor and so at most two tiny parts of the edges need to be cooled so I don't think that that is to important.

Also, an interesting note along these lines it that there is a very good reason for only using a small portion of the chip size for the processing, it can take multiple clock cycles for the electrical impulse sent by something to something else that is the a distance away equal to the width of a processor chip. That was told to me by a person who works with chip fabs and has a very good knowledge of the things surrounding them such as the equipment used in them.

Okay, I just ordered the NH-U12P.

I was under the impression that he was strapped for cash :/



The part that gets hot is the die of the processor, which is very small and lies underneath the heatspreader, so in effect you are using 2 heatsinks to cool your proc

Haha, well, I wasn't going to bring this up, but I am really strapped for cash. My mom, however, wanted me to buy her a USB wireless adapter, and while I was doing that, she gave me her credit card and said I could put my HSF on it, too.

Hehe parents' credit card ftw

Very nice, Foamy3. What's your ETA on the heatsink?

Tuesday. I've never ordered TigerDirect before, though, so I'm not sure how reliable their estimates are.

Nope, its actually a small square in the center. It wasn't that long ago that CPUs didn't have the IHS (internal heat spreader - the block of metal that surrounds the die that the HSF makes contact with). Some people remove the IHS to get better cooling. Also, by cooling the entire surface of the CPU you increase the thermal conductivity of the system and the HSF is more effective, so even though the heat source is in the center, it still makes sense to cool the entire surface of the IHS.



Again, no. The reason it is small is because it is cheaper. The smaller the die, the more can be crammed onto a single wafer, the larger the margins (and the smaller the chance of a defect). If Intel could make a profit off a die as large as the chip, they would be all over it. If anything, they could fit a huge cache in all that space.

Do you like restating my posts, but in more detail?



So you're saying the only reason to make the product smaller is to increase profit margins and not to benefit consumers? Madness.

That may not be the reason they did it, but nevertheless it is an interesting factoid that I think is pretty neat.

I was clarifying that it wasn't a "thin line down the middle" but rather a small rectangle in the middle. If you don't want your posts restated, state them better



Performance and power usage don't depend upon the size of the die, so smaller really doesn't benefit the consumers. Well, unless you consider "affordable" to benefit the consumer

Somebody was asleep during CPU design

Care to clarify that?

Smaller process size -> smaller transistors -> faster, more efficient switching times and less power used.