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Home: Video University Forums: Tech Q & A:
Are stock CPU fans really that bad?

RustyB
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Sep 1, 2008, 7:23 PM

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Are stock CPU fans really that bad?	Can't Post

I've been stockpiling parts for a while to piece together a new PC, and within the next couple of months I hope to be able to buy the CPU...probably one of those Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 thingies...hopefully the price will finally fall enough that I can afford one before 2010. Laugh

On my previous (and first) home-assembled PC, I bought an aftermarket CPU fan, since the AMD chip didn't come with one. The Intel one comes with a fan, however. If I'm using this for editing HDV video, and NOT overclocking (I don't play computer video games), do I really need an aftermarket fan? Is my processor going to catch on fire because the fan the manufacturer put in the box is inadequate? Are the plastic plug-in attachment points really going to tweak my motherboard or cause the fan to fall off? Shocked

I read all those NewEgg user reviews, which get me overly paranoid about this sort of thing, until I remember that most of these guys are serious gamers or perhaps just gear-heads...kinda the way we are with video gear. Laugh

So maybe I should just use the stock Intel fan and never think twice?

Thanks!

Faith Poison Wedding Films Blog
Intergalactic Award-Winning Epic-Cinematic Wedding New-Doc Style Indie Bridal Movies on Hi-Definition Blu-Ray Disc

ariton
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Sep 2, 2008, 12:11 AM

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Re: [RustyB] Are stock CPU fans really that bad? [In reply to]	Can't Post

RustyB

If gamers take seriosly the hardware, you should also if you plan to use your PC for video. Since you are planing to make proffit and you don't want any downtime. I used to build in the past workstations and low end servers. As per experience not all the motherboards are supporting video easy. The bigest problem comes when you buy a capture card later and find out that it is not compatible with the motherboard. You have to plan ahead.
I buy my hardware also from newegg

ASUS motherboards are good ones.
Intel processors with fan in one package (Do not buy aftermarket fans since you my have issues latter with overheating or the fan gets loose).
Crucial memory (if possible with ECC support)
36GB or 76GB SATA 10.000 RPM Western Digital (or SEGATE) as a system Hard Drive. Those RPM'S make big diference when you open or work on video editing programs.
1TB SATA for video drives
ATI video cards (PCIe)
Sound Card with at least 24bit support
PC Case with 500watt power supply and bigger fans since they are more quiet (80mm to 120mm).
DVD-RW Optical drive

I hope this helps, If you need more info let me know.
Arber
Ariton Video productions

RustyB
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Sep 2, 2008, 2:30 AM

Post #3 of 10 (797 views)
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Re: [ariton] Are stock CPU fans really that bad? [In reply to]	Can't Post

Thanks man! That is very much a lot of help, to hear from someone who knows what they're talking about. I'm not a computer wiz so building a computer is a total crapshoot for me...kinda just like buy a bunch of stuff on NewEgg...plug it all in...and cross my fingers. It was a miracle my first/only build actually worked...after some help from VU'ers to work out some bugs...it turned out to be a great DV editing machine that I've made a buggyload of wedding videos on.

My current system has an Asus motherboard (I think it's called A8N-SLI?). The chipset fan died so I replaced it with a big blue heatsink thingy, but otherwise has worked well.

Again, no expert, but now I won't take chances on buying anything BUT Seagate hard drives. I thought I had failures, but they strangely all turned out to be failures of the cheap SATA cables that came with my Lian Li case.

The cheap 500 watt power supply in my current system failed last week, so I replaced it with the 430 watt Thermaltake I had hoarded for my next computer. It is WAY quieter and doesn't have a silly internal blue light or fan speed knob, and Thermaltake seems to have a good rep, so I bought an identical one for my next PC. My next PC will have 3 hard drives (one system/2 video drives), an LG SATA BDR burner, an LG IDE DVD-R burner (just to fill the extra drive bay Laugh

), a cheap memory card reader, a 1394 card (I capture via firewire..so capture cards aren't a huge issue), a wireless card to connect to my router, no sound card...on-board audio works fine for my 2-channel stereo videos, and a $35 ATI video card which looks pretty good to me. Hopefully 430W will do.

Instead of another ASUS motherboard, I bought a Gigabyte brand one, which has some decent reviews. With the low price of memory, I'm going to go ahead and put in 8GB of a good rated brand, in the hopes I'll have the cash to upgrade to Windows Vista. I use Sony Vegas, so maybe the 8GB will do good for editing HDV in Vista.

Anyways, I guess that's what I wanted to hear...use the Intel provided fan since aftermarket fans might be more likely to fail. My thinking is that if you are not overclocking, than the provided fan should be plenty good...I don't think Intel would want the liability of having processors fail because of inadequate coolers.

Thanks!!!

Faith Poison Wedding Films Blog
Intergalactic Award-Winning Epic-Cinematic Wedding New-Doc Style Indie Bridal Movies on Hi-Definition Blu-Ray Disc

ariton
User

Sep 2, 2008, 4:36 AM

Post #4 of 10 (791 views)
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Re: [RustyB] Are stock CPU fans really that bad? [In reply to]	Can't Post

So far an Intel fan never failed on me. I also use a thin layer of ARCTIC5 paste on top of the processor for better connection with the fan (But I think that my be an overkill). Just make sure the case has couple of fans to circulate the air inside the case.

Arber

Timothy Harry
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Sep 2, 2008, 10:12 AM

Post #5 of 10 (780 views)
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Re: [RustyB] Are stock CPU fans really that bad? [In reply to]	Can't Post

Actually the stock intel fan is pretty decent, I noticed no problems on the 20+ machines I built in my last day job that ran 24/7.....in my server farm, it was a different story. I ended up putting a Titan Vanessa in my servers because of the close proximity of the 8 computers in the rack. It lowered the temps of the processors back to room temperature. How my servers were clustered together was a abnormal situation. as a single edit computer with adequate airflow, the stock intel fan will be sufficient.

Everyone really made fun of me for putting a butterfly shaped fan in my servers, (Imagine a military manufacturing company, where every management employee had their concealed carry permit, and the testosterone was free flowing) but the fans and heatsinks really worked well. It was 2 years ago when they were bought, but I got em at newegg.

Tim Harry

Bandwagon Media
Dallas, TX

Timothy Harry
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Sep 2, 2008, 10:15 AM

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Re: [RustyB] Are stock CPU fans really that bad? [In reply to]	Can't Post

Forgot to mention that with intel if you want the supreme stability, and preferential treatment from intel in case of problems, combine an intel board with an intel chip. They were designed by the same company, and really are the best choice. The couple of times I bought an ASUS, ABIT MSI or other board, I was not as happy with them stability wise. I never had trouble with my intel boards, and I always paired with Kingston RAM....no real reason, but I just stuck with what worked for me.

Tim Harry

Bandwagon Media
Dallas, TX

(This post was edited by Timothy Harry on Sep 2, 2008, 10:16 AM)

RustyB
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Sep 2, 2008, 12:21 PM

Post #7 of 10 (769 views)
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Re: [Timothy Harry] Are stock CPU fans really that bad? [In reply to]	Can't Post

In Reply To

...as a single edit computer with adequate airflow, the stock intel fan will be sufficient....

Cool, that's one more item I can scratch out of my big NewEgg wish list. Laugh

I'll use the stock fan with some Arctic goop on it.

Faith Poison Wedding Films Blog
Intergalactic Award-Winning Epic-Cinematic Wedding New-Doc Style Indie Bridal Movies on Hi-Definition Blu-Ray Disc

Timothy Harry
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Sep 2, 2008, 12:40 PM

Post #8 of 10 (766 views)
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Re: [RustyB] Are stock CPU fans really that bad? [In reply to]	Can't Post

artic silver definitely makes good goop....the stock intel fan will come with goop already on it, but if you take 100% pure denatured alcohol (Shiner Bock, Lonestar, and Bud dont work, neither does vodka....but everclear might do the trick) and rub it over the factory goop it comes right off.

Tim Harry

Bandwagon Media
Dallas, TX

fr0gm@n
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Sep 2, 2008, 3:12 PM

Post #9 of 10 (759 views)
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Re: [RustyB] Are stock CPU fans really that bad? [In reply to]	Can't Post

I've built a few computers for editing and always used the stock Intel or even AMD fan. If you are going to overclock then worry about it. Remember on Newegg most of those leaving comments are extreme gamers trying to be cheapos and squeeze more performance from the CPU than it was released to handle. I have my old AMD system OC'ed a tiny bit and still use the stock fan. I have that same motherboard in the AMD system that you have and my chipset fan died too. I did research and learned it was a defect and they replaced the fan when it failed. I didn't trust the replacement so like you I got a big lit up chipset fan that is going fine now.

Don't worry about the stock fans especially on Intel....they will do the trick. You will like the Thermaltake stuff you bought. That is some good quality stuff. I have a Thermaltake small form factor case and that thing is awesome with its build. I think I got a Thermaltake power supply in my little machine too.

Instead of doing 3 internal drives have you considered an internal OS drive and then eSATA data/video drives. eSATA is the same speed as internal SATA drives and gives you the option of portability between systems like USB (though not normally hot swappable.) All my machines from here on will only have an internal OS drive and all projects on external drives. That way I can edit on my fast machine then when completed move the drive to my "not as fast" machine and let it churn away on encoding for DVD and HD while I continue working on the fast machine with my next project. I haven't figured out why everyone is all about stocking a bunch of internal drives for working since it ties you to only that computer for productivity. I have 3 computers capable of working on video editing and encoding. Being able to plug a drive into any of them and work is great. I don't do RAIDs either. Some have kick butt 4 drive super fast RAID0 setups....why....we are doing simple HD here. Native HDV has the same data stream as DV so why do you need a RAID. I upconvert my HDV footage to Canopus HQ (similar to Cineform) for easier editing. It takes about 30+ gb per hour of footage. I have one eSATA drive that holds the project. I have a 3 camera wedding that will edit with no frame drops in multicam. Why do I need a RAID that is going to puke on my and lose data? I guess if you are working in uncompressed a RAID is necessary or working with more than 3 streams of data. If you are working with uncompressed you probably aren't an event editor Wink

. Sometimes I think people setup the big fast RAID so they can brag about it and throw acronyms around. I had a RAID twice....both times they got flaky on my and I un-RAIDED the drives. My performance was no worse and the drives are still plugging away for me. RAIDs are overhyped for our line of work...unless you are working on biiiiggg projects.

Just my input on the system...take it or leave it for what it's worth. If someone wants to argue about the pro's and cons of a RAID in our line of work they can but the RAID is overkill for 90% of Event Producers...even in HD and it will be hard to convince me otherwise cause I am working smoothly and easily without it.

Why does a gorilla have big nostrils.......cause it has big fingers.

frog blog

RustyB
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Sep 2, 2008, 3:54 PM

Post #10 of 10 (755 views)
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Re: [fr0gm@n] Are stock CPU fans really that bad? [In reply to]	Can't Post

In Reply To

....Instead of doing 3 internal drives have you considered an internal OS drive and then eSATA data/video drives. ....

My days of working on 2 projects at a time are over. Laugh

I used to have two different editing workstations on two different desks, when I was trying to "grow" the business and was doing WAY to much work. Now I'm down to just one editing computer sitting on a shelf...don't even own desks anymore. I even took my laptop away from the editing area, and run my business with it from the couch. Cool

Now, when I'm rendering, I get away from the editing area altogether, and do something else. I hate editing...especially since I don't really charge brides to do it.

I got one external drive, but now only use it for emergencies and backups. I like using internal drives to keep my workspace less cluttered and more organized. Laugh

Currently I have 2 150gb internal drives, and it's rare that I run out of space. Once I finish my backlog, I'll never have more than 2-3 projects loaded at a time. (I only average about 2 tapes from my main camera with my new wedding package.) In my new computer, I'm going to put in 2 400gb hard drives...800gb is WAY more space than I've EVER needed at any given time in this business...and that's the way I plan on keeping it for a while. I don't like to work anymore. Tongue

I hear ya about RAID. I put in a RAID array for a while, because the manufacturer of my 8mm transfer machine suggested it. But later I found it works just fine without RAID, so I removed RAID.

If your replacement chipset fan ever dies again on your A8N-SLI motherboard, here's what I replaced mine with. It's just a big blue heat sink. It seems to work just fine, and totally quiet! It was a close fit, but I managed. It's also only $10: http://www.newegg.com/...014&Tpk=ZM-NBF47

Faith Poison Wedding Films Blog
Intergalactic Award-Winning Epic-Cinematic Wedding New-Doc Style Indie Bridal Movies on Hi-Definition Blu-Ray Disc