I've used these for my Socket 7 systems:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Thermaltake-Socket-37 … =item1e694fb88b

Some more..

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_trksid=p3984. … cat=0&_from=R40

One note - I wouldn't use a Golden Orb on a CPU with exposed die. These coolers can crack/chip the die because of the goofy twisting mount mechanism.

swaaye wrote:

One note - I wouldn't use a Golden Orb on a CPU with exposed die. These coolers can crack/chip the die because of the goofy twisting mount mechanism.

I threw some thermal paste on the die to create a lubricated surface on which to twist the cooler. As long as you keep the cooler level & apply even pressure (but not too much) when twisting, you should be ok.

I looked at the thermaltake golden orb's but decided against them in favour of the thermaltake volcano series. The only cheap volcano's for sale though are the volcano 5 & 6 (which are crappy). Anything above that costs $20-$30 plus postage. A cheap alternative I've found is the Dynatron coolers. Copper heatsinks but super loud fans. Think the 60mm fan on the one I purchased runs at 7000rpm!

Another decent cooler I found averaging $15 is the cooler master HAC-V81 X Dream s370 cooler.

Yep... I hear ya. I remember reading all kinds of posts about it but never had an issue with my Coppermines. Of course I was VERY patient. 😀

Oops I deleted my post but you replied already! I didn't want to rag on about it. 🤣

Hehehe. No worries my friend. Glad I'm not going nuts!

Not surprising that "consumable" parts like this are seeing outrageous price gouging as the vultures swoop in to take advantage of folks (especially on ebay). For Socket 370/A (and probably Socket 7 as well - I've fitted 370 coolers to Socket 7 in the past, but in some cases it may require modification (I've noticed that Socket 7 boards tend not to bother with a "keep clear" zone around the socket)), Arctic actually still makes a cooler; http://www.arctic.ac/us_en/products/cooling/c … r-silent-3.html

Rosewill makes some coolers for 478, 939, etc as well, none of which are terribly expensive either (you can get them from Rosewill via their Amazon shop or on Newegg). Zalman I believe still makes some of the CNPS line, and you can find them brand new on Amazon for around $30 as of this writing.

For VGA coolers I think the world has mostly passed Zalman by - I would again suggest Arctic (the L2 Plus should fit a huge variety of cards that would need such a capable cooler), and you can still find the Cooler Master passive sinks on Amazon (for around $10): http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-CoolVivaZ … /dp/B002OI4BGA/

Of course if you want whatever was "in" back in 1998 or 2002 or what-have-you, you'll have to pay the vultures. Personally I'd rather just have something that works and be done with it, unless there's some significant reason to make everything "just so" on a build.

I'd seriously consider selling a kidney for an Alpha p7125 for my Slot-A system. As for the prices of the parts you linked... those are what those cost when they were new. They don't seem outrageous to me. That said, cheaper is always better from my point of view.

@obobskivich, not a big fan of that arctic cpu cooler but thanks for the suggestion. When it comes to using socket 370/A coolers for socket 7 cpu's, it's not as hard to find decent enough coolers due to socket 7 cpu's not really running that hot. When it comes to socket 7, I'm happy to use an aluminium heatsink but for cpu's 1ghz and above I prefer to use copper heatsinks. I'm also a sucker for good looking coolers but unfortunately you pay through the nose for good looking copper coolers.

That Arctic L2 Plus vga cooler looks like a decent cooler. Only problem is that it seems to not support older graphics cards like the Geforce 4, FX5xxx or the ATI 9xxx cards. Another problem I've found with Arctic vga coolers is their size. Great for cooling but crap for those who don't want to lose use of their top 2 PCI slots.

@luckybob, yes I realise those prices are the same as when they were first released but like most retro hardware, I would've thought they'd go down in price over the years. I mean, I recently purchased 2 brand new in box FX5950's for $100 each. A massive price difference compared to their original cost. Yet decent vga coolers will cost me half the price of the graphics cards themselves.

luckybob wrote:

I'd seriously consider selling a kidney for an Alpha p7125 for my Slot-A system. As for the prices of the parts you linked... those are what those cost when they were new. They don't seem outrageous to me. That said, cheaper is always better from my point of view.

I still have a P3125. Such overkill for anything on Slot 1. I bought it and Globalwin VOS32 in 1999 when I thought Katmai and Coppermine overclocking was hot stuff.

swaaye wrote:

luckybob wrote:

I'd seriously consider selling a kidney for an Alpha p7125 for my Slot-A system. As for the prices of the parts you linked... those are what those cost when they were new. They don't seem outrageous to me. That said, cheaper is always better from my point of view.

I still have a P3125. Such overkill for anything on Slot 1. I bought it and Globalwin VOS32 in 1999 when I thought Katmai and Coppermine overclocking was hot stuff.

Yea thats the SECC2 (P3) version of what i'm looking for. You are completely correct, its it MAJOR overkill for 99% of applications. However, the 1ghz AMD chip runs hot. Basic coolers don't cut it, and after market ones are almost not enough.

These obscene brand name cooler prices are mist likely the result of lack of availability of such a specific part, but more so I think it has to do with the fact that the best coolers, just like the best agp cards, the best s478 chips, the best s370 cpu, etc. Are wanted and sought out by everybody such as those here on vogons so of course there will be a high demand and high prices no matter how ridiculously outdated the hardware is. The best is still the best and just how ridiculous the price is is directly proportional to how much you want that part and how crazy you are for retro hardware. Just my two cents.

Well said! +1

retrofanatic wrote:

These obscene brand name cooler prices are mist likely the result of lack of availability of such a specific part, but more so I think it has to do with the fact that the best coolers, just like the best agp cards, the best s478 chips, the best s370 cpu, etc. Are wanted and sought out by everybody such as those here on vogons so of course there will be a high demand and high prices no matter how ridiculously outdated the hardware is. The best is still the best and just how ridiculous the price is is directly proportional to how much you want that part and how crazy you are for retro hardware. Just my two cents.

Unfortunate but very true and as Artex stated, well said!. Stupid thing is, as much as I complain about these coolers shooting through the roof in price, I still find myself laying down the cash for them.

You can also find nice old coolers sometimes in mobo+CPU auctions. People pull apart an old gaming rig and throw it all together.