I gave myself and my Barton a treat by getting this CPU cooler:

Cooler Master Aero 7+

Not only does it have non-typical kick-ass design, it also runs circles around my basic Titan and Igloo S462 coolers. I think it would fit your concept of 2003/4 enthusiast PC very well.

Other options I considered were Gigabyte 3D Cooler Pro and Cooler Master Jet 7 (just for the looks!):

@foey - If you plan to use this platform very much, that small northbridge Abit fan has the bad habit of dying. It started to rattle soon after I bought my Abit NF7-S and then ceased up.

RacoonRider Very nice! I am looking to get an Aero 7+ but I can't find one for a decent price.

I had one originally with my XP rig in 2004, I had a play with the Aero a few months after Installed it. It directly fits a 80mm fan and found it actually performed better than the stock blower! It was quieter as well. I've managed to dig out some photos from 2004...

Both Photos from - 20 ‎January ‎2014, ‏‎22:30:21

Robert B Good shout, as you can see in the photo I had one of those as well as my fan was on its way out. I've just checked on ebay and see that they still sell them! I'll grab one!

Wow! That is one beautiful looking cooler!

** 15/08/2016 Update **

A couple of updates this evening. I've been trying to obtain a Cooler Master Aero for sometime now, The only one I could find was a brand new in box for over £40 delivered. However, I managed to find a Aero 7 (Lite?) but was part of a bundle. It was grouped with a XP 2800+ and Gigabyte motherboard - all were for spares of repairs.

I offered him £15 + delivery and he accepted. Considering on the Ebay marketplace you can't get hold of a 2800+ for less than £10 + Delivery. So the Aero 7 Lite is slightly different to the plus I previously had in 2004. It's Ali & not cooper and does not have the floppy bay speed controller (Just a PCI slot controller)

I was pleased to get the processor along with the cooler, all of which were horribly covered in thermal paste and terribly packed. But anyway - enjoy the photos...

Giving the Aero a good clean!

Specifications As of 15/08/16

CPU AMD Athlon XP Barton 2800+, 2.08Ghz, Coolermaster Aero 7 Lite Cooler
Motherboard Abit NF7-M Motherboard, n-force 2
RAM Crucial 1Gb PC4000 (250mhz) DDR CL2.5 RAM
Primary Graphics Card 128mb ATi Hercules 9800 Pro / Artic Cooling Silencer 1, REV2. Omega 3.8.252 Drivers
Sound Card Creative Sound Blaster Audigy
NIC O/B nForce Adapter 10/100
Storage 160Gb Samsung SP1654N 7200rpm PATA Hard Drive, 8mb Cache
Optical Pioneer DVD-ROM DVD-103 Drive
Optical TDK CDRW 401248B
Extra Creative Audigy Live Drive
PSU Antec 450w PSU
Case Cooler Master Wave Master
OS Windows XP Home Edition, Service Pack 2

Hell yeah!!!

Top notch! I like it a lot 😁, especially since it is very similar with my 5th PC - Athlon XP 2800+. Titan CU5TB Cooler, ABit NF7-S, 1GB DDR, Thermaltake Purepower 430W, Leadtek 6600GT 128MB AGP, Western Digital Caviar WD800JB, LG DVD-RAM. It's still in use at my aunts shop 😁

I never even knew such cool CPU HSFs existed for sA!

I only knew about one with heatpipes (never had one of those in my hands either, alas).

Lovely build 😀
I do like how those case doors looked, but I never really found them very practical.

Robert B wrote:

Top notch! I like it a lot 😁, especially since it is very similar with my 5th PC - Athlon XP 2800+. Titan CU5TB Cooler, ABit NF7-S, 1GB DDR, Thermaltake Purepower 430W, Leadtek 6600GT 128MB AGP, Western Digital Caviar WD800JB, LG DVD-RAM. It's still in use at my aunts shop 😁

Then I suppose it was really build to last! 😁

Pardon me for reviving an old thread, but that is a killer rig. Not a single component out of place. Well done!

The Cooler Master WaveMaster is particularly nice - beautiful aesthetics and great condition. That case has been on my wish list for years.

I have a build based on the Wave Master as well, but is a Socket 939 based Athlon 64 on an ASUS A8R-MVP, 2 GB RAM, Geforce 210 as placeholder, 2x 250 GB HDD

foey wrote on 2016-08-15, 21:01:

** 15/08/2016 Update **
Giving the Aero a good clean!

Sorry, sorry.. I know this post is hideously old now, but I don't suppose you could tell me how I can get the plastic upper part off the aluminium block? I just got two of these coolers, and there is no help on the internet for how to take it apart!!

RETROKOMODO wrote on 2024-02-21, 20:53:

foey wrote on 2016-08-15, 21:01:

** 15/08/2016 Update **
Giving the Aero a good clean!

Sorry, sorry.. I know this post is hideously old now, but I don't suppose you could tell me how I can get the plastic upper part off the aluminium block? I just got two of these coolers, and there is no help on the internet for how to take it apart!!

Looks like a 2-part unit...the heatsink mount (with lugs & posts) and the fan itself. Seems at each corner you'll need to ease the lug back sufficiently to free the fan from the lug retaining lip and then prize the fan up past the lip and off the post. Hope this pic makes a bit more sense!

Essentially that was it! But when I tried it first it involved using a screwdriver to release the clips through the metal fins, and then the whole top came off. Then once the collar was off I could see it properly, and your explanation was spot on. Thanks!