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ExtremeTech, one of my favorite 'hangouts' for hardware reviews has released a comparison article about the different aftermarket CPU cooling fans and how well they compare to stock and against each other.

April 20, 2006
Horizontal Cooler Showdown
By Victor Loh

Most factory CPU coolers blow downwards directly onto the CPU or heat spreader. Horizontal coolers elevate the heatsink radiator fins away from the base, directing airflow either toward the chassis exhaust point or channeled to help cool other motherboard components like the northbridge chipset, memory, or voltage regulators. Also, many of these coolers can be used without a fan. If you don't have a scorching hot CPU and don't plan to do much overclocking, some horizontal coolers can easily transform into silent passively-cooled solutions.

[img]http://common.ziffdavisinternet.com/util_get_image/13/0,1425,i=132740,00.jpg[/img]

The idea of mounting the cooling fan so it blows horizontally across the radiator fins is similar to what's used in BTX cooling. However, using one of these coolers allows you to continue to use ATX motherboards and cases. Note that the majority of these coolers are quite bulky, so you'll need a case that offers enough clearance above the motherboard. You'll also need to be careful about your choice of motherboard, so that no onboard parts make contact with the heat sink. Finally, you'll also have to be careful about components such as tall memory modules. These coolers may also require additional effort to install.

To read the whole article: Click HERE!

Also, many of these coolers can be used without a fan.

I can not claim to be the expert in these matters, but any equipment which has a stock fan which has been replaced by a passive heatsink either by a manufacturer or as a swap by the user on his own equipement for which I have seen reviews the passive heat sink allways come out worse in terms of performance except in noise level of course.

Furthermore even if a passive heat-sink does an excellent job of getting rid of heat it will still raise the temperature inside the case and you are in to a vicious circle there not only for the piece of equipment being cooled by the passive heat sink but the rest of the components aswell, so if you are swaping component fans for passive heat sinks you probably will have to upgrade your case fans aswell. I used late 1970 early 1980s small business computing equipement TRW/ICL System 1500 so what other people think are noisy PCs sound blissfully quiet to me, since working with the 1500 was like sitting in one of the early Boeing 707 / Douglas DC-8 turbojet airliners 5 days a week, with the noise but without the fringe benefits such as cool flight attendants!

I have ordered one of these for my new build Athlon 64 939
www.thermaltake.com/pr...-p0114.asp

www.thermaltake.com/index_eu.asp

www.thermaltake.com/

bye the way it comes with differant adaptors so you could use it with several other processor chips!

Best and Warm Regards
Adrian Wainer

not worse Adrian.
Just swapping attributes is all. You swap temp for reduced noise level. And some after-market heatsinks can also perform as well as or better than some stock fans.

Same as overclocking will increase temps but u swap that for increased performance is all.

Your fan, stock or otherwise, will depend on good cool airflow within your case to pass over and cool the cpu. So, if that is already flawed, it won't matter whether it's a fan or a sink.

Shades
wrote

Your fan, stock or otherwise, will depend on good cool airflow within your case to pass over and cool the cpu. So, if that is already flawed, it won't matter whether it's a fan or a sink.

Agreed!

Best Regards
Adrian Wainer