So I got a new 4600+ (see the deals forum) today and installed it. The ASRock's happy, only minor snafu was that I put the sound jacks in wrong when I replaced the mainboard (needed to remove it because I figured I'd go with the stock sink instead of my old Zalman 7000AlCu.
The 4600+ stock cooler is significantly larger than the one which came with my 3200+, and has four heatpipes, but still has a dinky little fan.
This concerns me.
I'm getting (at idle) temperatures in the low-mid 40s (42 to about 48).
to make matters worse, the fan's hideously loud and thermally controlled. It's spinning at 5444 RPM now, and it's gone higher.
I recall the 3200+ stock fan was *so* ample and *so* quiet I honestly found myself asking if I had wasted my money buying the Zalman. But this fan is absurdly bad.
Ambient temperature is 28c (per digital thermometer) but gets as high as low 30s.
Case temperature 37c (per SpeedFan)
CPU and 'AUX' temperatures 43/42 (are those two sensors on the two cores?)
HD temperature 34c
'Core' temperatue 43c
No, I can't enable cool-and-quiet because I run Windows 2000, and apparently the AMD Cool-and-quiet driver doesn't work on X2s under 2000.
I'm hesitant to try the Zalman and see if it's ample because the warranty leaflet expressly says "if you go with an aftermarket heatsink, you forfeit the warranty" but it honestly should NOT be this loud.
Is it the high RPMs or is it likely there's something fouling the sink or enforcing a whistle? The fan seems too small to be so loud.